{"collection":"myth-cosmogony","full_text_available":true,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/gutenberg_40588/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/gutenberg_40588","id":"gutenberg_40588","license":"Public Domain (US)","rights_basis":"gutenberg_metadata_copyright_false","source":"gutenberg","source_url":"https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/40588","summary":null,"tags":["Category: Mythology, Legends & Folklore","Folk literature -- Themes, motives","Hindu mythology","India -- Social life and customs","Tales -- India"],"text":"The\n KATH\u00c1 SARIT S\u00c1GARA\n Or\n Ocean of the Streams of Story\n\n Translated from the original Sanskrit\n By\n C. H. TAWNEY, M. A.\n\n\n Calcutta:\n Printed by J. W. Thomas, at the Baptist Mission Press.\n 1880-1884.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nCONTENTS\n\n\nBook I.\n\n PAGE\nChapter I.\n\n Introduction, 1-5\n Curse of Pushpadanta and M\u00e1lyav\u00e1n, 4-5\n\n\nChapter II.\n\n Story of Pushpadanta when living on the earth as\n Vararuchi, 5-10\n How K\u00e1nabh\u00fati became a Pis\u00e1cha, 6-7\n Story of Vararuchi's teacher Varsha, and his\n fellow-pupils Vy\u00e1di and Indradatta, 7-10\n\n\nChapter III.\n\n Continuation of the story of Vararuchi, 11-16\n Story of the founding of the city of P\u00e1taliputra, 11-16\n Story of king Brahmadatta, 12-13\n\n\nChapter IV.\n\n Continuation of the story of Vararuchi, 16-23\n Story of Upakos\u00e1 and her four lovers, 17-20\n\n\nChapter V.\n\n Conclusion of the story of Vararuchi, 23-31\n Story of Sivasarman, 27-28\n\n\nChapter VI.\n\n Story of M\u00e1lyav\u00e1n when living on the earth as Gun\u00e1dhya, 32-40\n Story of the Mouse-merchant, 33-34\n Story of the chanter of the S\u00e1ma Veda, 34-35\n Story of S\u00e1tav\u00e1hana, 36-37\n\n\nChapter VII.\n\n Continuation of the story of Gun\u00e1dhya, 41-47\n How Pushpadanta got his name, 43-46\n Story of king Sivi, 45-46\n\n\nChapter VIII.\n\n Continuation of the story of Gun\u00e1dhya, 47-49\n Siva's tales, originally composed by Gun\u00e1dhya in the\n Pais\u00e1cha language, are made known in Sanskrit under the\n title of Vrihat Kath\u00e1, 49\n\n\n\nBook II.\n\n\nChapter IX.\n\n Story of the ancestors and parents of Udayana, king\n of Vatsa, 52-56\n\n\nChapter X.\n\n Continuation of the story of Udayana's parents, 56-67\n Story of Sr\u00eddatta and Mrig\u00e1nkavat\u00ed, 56-66\n Udayana succeeds to the kingdom of Vatsa, 67\n\n\nChapter XI.\n\n Continuation of the story of Udayana, 67-71\n Story of king Chandamah\u00e1sena, 69-71\n\n\nChapter XII.\n\n Continuation of the story of Udayana, 72-82\n Story of R\u00fapinik\u00e1, 76-82\n\n\nChapter XIII.\n\n Continuation of the story of Udayana, 82-93\n Story of Devasmit\u00e1, 85-92\n Story of the cunning Siddhikar\u00ed, 87-88\n Story of Saktimat\u00ed, 91-92\n\n\nChapter XIV.\n\n Continuation of the story of Udayana, 94-98\n Story of the clever deformed child, 96\n Story of Ruru, 97-98\n\n\n\nBook III.\n\n\nChapter XV.\n\n Continuation of the story of Udayana, 101-109\n Story of the clever physician, 101-102\n Story of the hypocritical ascetic, 102-104\n Story of Unm\u00e1din\u00ed, 104-105\n Story of the loving couple who died of separation, 105-106\n Story of Punyasena, 106\n Story of Sunda and Upasunda, 108\n\n\nChapter XVI.\n\n Continuation of the story of Udayana, 109-115\n Story of Kunt\u00ed, 110-111\n\n\nChapter XVII.\n\n Continuation of the story of Udayana, 115-124\n Story of Urvas\u00ed, 115-117\n Story of Vihitasena, 117\n Story of Somaprabh\u00e1, 118-122\n Story of Ahaly\u00e1, 122-123\n\n\nChapter XVIII.\n\n Continuation of the story of Udayana, 124-145\n Story of Vid\u00fashaka, 128-144\n\n\nChapter XIX.\n\n Continuation of the story of Udayana, 145-152\n Story of Devad\u00e1sa, 146-147\n\n\nChapter XX.\n\n Continuation of the story of Udayana, 152-164\n Story of Phalabh\u00fati, 152-163\n Story of Kuvalay\u00e1val\u00ed and the witch K\u00e1lar\u00e1tri, 155-158\n Story of the birth of K\u00e1rtikeya, 155-157\n Story of Sundaraka and K\u00e1lar\u00e1tri, 158-161\n\n\n\nBook IV.\n\n\nChapter XXI.\n\n Continuation of the story of Udayana, 165-173\n Story of P\u00e1ndu, 166\n Story of Devadatta, 168-170\n Story of Pingalik\u00e1, 170-171\n\n\nChapter XXII.\n\n Continuation of the story of Udayana, 173-186\n Story of J\u00edm\u00fatav\u00e1hana, 174-186\n Story of J\u00edm\u00fatav\u00e1hana's adventures in a former life, 176-181\n Story of Kadr\u00fa and Vinat\u00e1, 182-183\n\n\nChapter XXIII.\n\n Continuation of the story of Udayana, 186-191\n Story of Sinhapar\u00e1krama, 188\n Birth of Udayana's son Narav\u00e1hanadatta, 189\n\n\n\nBook V.\n\n\nChapter XXIV.\n\n Continuation of the story of Udayana and his son, 193-204\n Story of Saktivega, king of the Vidy\u00e1dharas, 194-204\n Story of Siva and M\u00e1dhava, 197-202\n Story of Harasv\u00e1min, 203-204\n\n\nChapter XXV.\n\n Continuation of the story of Saktivega, 205-219\n Story of Asokadatta and Vijayadatta, 208-219\n\n\nChapter XXVI.\n\n Conclusion of the story of Saktivega, 220-233\n Story of Devadatta, 229-231\n Continuation of the story of Udayana and his son, 233\n\n\n\nBook VI.\n\n\nChapter XXVII.\n\n Continuation of the story of Udayana and his son, 235-246\n Story of Kalingadatta, king of Takshasil\u00e1, 235-246\n Story of the merchant's son in Takshasil\u00e1, 236-238\n Story of the Apsaras Surabhidatt\u00e1, 238-239\n Story of king Dharmadatta and his wife N\u00e1gasr\u00ed, 239-240\n Story of the seven Br\u00e1hmans who devoured a cow in time\n of famine, 241\n Story of the two ascetics, the one a Br\u00e1hman, the other\n a Chand\u00e1la, 241-242\n Story of king Vikramasinha and the two Br\u00e1hmans, 242-246\n\n\nChapter XXVIII.\n\n Continuation of the story of Kalingadatta, 246-257\n Birth of his daughter Kalingasen\u00e1, 246\n Story of the seven princesses, 247-249\n Story of the prince who tore out his own eye, 247-248\n Story of the ascetic who conquered anger, 248-249\n Story of Sulochan\u00e1 and Sushena, 249-252\n Story of the prince and the merchant's son who saved\n his life, 253-255\n Story of the Br\u00e1hman and the Pis\u00e1cha, 255-256\n\n\nChapter XXIX.\n\n Continuation of the story of Kalingadatta, 257-267\n Story of K\u00edrtisen\u00e1 and her cruel mother-in-law, 260-267\n\n\nChapter XXX.\n\n Continuation of the story of Kalingadatta, 267-274\n Story of Tejasvat\u00ed, 270-271\n Story of the Br\u00e1hman Harisarman, 272-274\n\n\nChapter XXXI.\n\n Conclusion of the story of Kalingadatta, 276-278\n Story of Ush\u00e1 and Aniruddha, 276-277\n Kalingasen\u00e1, daughter of Kalingadatta, escapes to Vatsa, 278\n Continuation of the story of Udayana and his son, 278-280\n\n\nChapter XXXII.\n\n Continuation of the story of Udayana and his son, 281-291\n Story of the Br\u00e1hman's son Vishnudatta and his seven\n foolish companions, 283-285\n Story of Kadal\u00edgarbh\u00e1, 286-290\n Story of the king and the barber's wife, 288-289\n\n\nChapter XXXIII.\n\n Continuation of the story of Udayana and his son, 291-302\n Story of Srutasena, 292-295\n Story of the three Br\u00e1hman brothers, 293\n Story of Devasena and Unm\u00e1din\u00ed, 294\n Story of the ichneumon, the owl, the cat and the mouse, 296-298\n Story of king Prasenajit and the Br\u00e1hman who lost his\n treasure, 298-299\n\n\nChapter XXXIV.\n\n Continuation of the story of Udayana and his son, 302-317\n Story of king Indradatta, 303\n Story of the Yaksha Vir\u00fap\u00e1ksha, 306-307\n Story of Satrughna and his wicked wife, 312\n Story of king S\u00farasena and his ministers, 313-314\n Story of king Harisinha, 314\n\n\n\nBook VII.\n\n\nChapter XXXV.\n\n Continuation of the story of Udayana and his son, 319-327\n Story of Ratnaprabh\u00e1, 320-326\n Story of Sattvas\u00edla and the two treasures, 321-322\n Story of the brave king Vikramatunga, 322-323\n\n\nChapter XXXVI.\n\n Continuation of the story of Udayana and his son, 328-334\n Story of king Ratn\u00e1dhipati and the white elephant\n Svetarasmi, 328-334\n Story of Yavanasena, 331-332\n\n\nChapter XXXVII.\n\n Continuation of the story of Udayana and his son, 334-346\n Story of Nischayadatta, 334-346\n Story of Somasv\u00e1min, 339-341\n Story of Bhavasarman, 342-343\n\n\nChapter XXXVIII.\n\n Continuation of the story of Udayana and his son, 346-354\n Story of king Vikram\u00e1ditya and the het\u00e6ra, 347-354\n Story of king Vikram\u00e1ditya and the treacherous mendicant, 349-350\n\n\nChapter XXXIX.\n\n Continuation of the story of Udayana and his son, 355-367\n Story of Sringabhuja and the daughter of the R\u00e1kshasa, 355-367\n\n\nChapter XL.\n\n Continuation of the story of Udayana and his son, 369-375\n Story of Tapodatta, 370\n Story of Vir\u00fapasarman, 371\n Story of king Vil\u00e1sas\u00edla and the physician Tarunachandra, 372-375\n\n\nChapter XLI.\n\n Continuation of the story of Udayana and his son, 376-379\n Story of king Chir\u00e1yus and his minister N\u00e1g\u00e1rjuna, 376-378\n\n\nChapter XLII.\n\n Continuation of the story of Udayana and his son, 379-390\n Story of king Parity\u00e1gasena, his wicked wife, and his\n two sons, 381-389\n\n\nChapter XLIII.\n\n Continuation of the story of Udayana and his son, 390-403\n Story of the two brothers Pr\u00e1nadhara and R\u00e1jyadhara, 391-393\n Story of Arthalobha and his beautiful wife, 393-396\n Story of the princess Karp\u00farik\u00e1 in her birth as a swan, 397-398\n\n\n\nBook VIII.\n\n\nChapter XLIV.\n\n Continuation of the story of Udayana and his son, 405-406\n Story of S\u00faryaprabha, 406-414\n\n\nChapter XLV.\n\n Continuation of the story of S\u00faryaprabha, 414-434\n Story of the Br\u00e1hman K\u00e1la, 418-419\n\n\nChapter XLVI.\n\n Continuation of the story of S\u00faryaprabha, 434-446\n Story of the generous D\u00e1nava Namuchi, 444-446\n\n\nChapter XLVII.\n\n Continuation of the story of S\u00faryaprabha, 446-452\n\n\nChapter XLVIII.\n\n Continuation of the story of S\u00faryaprabha, 452-459\n Adventure of the witch Sarabh\u00e1nan\u00e1, 458\n\n\nChapter XLIX.\n\n Continuation of the story of S\u00faryaprabha, 459-471\n Story of king Mah\u00e1sena and his virtuous minister\n Gunasarman, 459-471\n\n\nChapter L.\n\n Conclusion of the story of S\u00faryaprabha, 472-481\n Continuation of the story of Udayana and his son, 481\n\n\n\nBook IX.\n\n\nChapter LI.\n\n Continuation of the story of Udayana and his son, 483-494\n Story of Alank\u00e1ravat\u00ed, 484-485\n Story of R\u00e1ma and S\u00edt\u00e1, 486-488\n Story of the handsome king Prithv\u00edr\u00fapa, 489-492\n\n\nChapter LII.\n\n Continuation of the story of Udayana and his son, 494-515\n Story of Asokam\u00e1l\u00e1, 496-498\n Story of Sth\u00falabhuja, 497-498\n Story of Anangarati and her four suitors, 498-514\n Story of Anangarati in a former birth, 502-503\n\n\nChapter LIII.\n\n Continuation of the story of Udayana and his son, 515-524\n Story of king Lakshadatta and his dependent Labdhadatta, 515-518\n Story of the Br\u00e1hman V\u00edravara, 519-524\n Story of Suprabha, 520-521\n\n\nChapter LIV.\n\n Continuation of the story of Udayana and his son, 524-537\n Story of the merchant Samudras\u00fara, 529-531\n Story of king Chamarab\u00e1la, 532-536\n Story of Yasovarman and the two fortunes, 532-535\n\n\nChapter LV.\n\n Continuation of the story of Udayana and his son, 537-549\n Story of Chirad\u00e1tri, 537-538\n Story of king Kanakavarsha and Madanasundar\u00ed, 538-549\n\n\nChapter LVI.\n\n Continuation of the story of Udayana and his son, 549-569\n Story of the Br\u00e1hman Chandrasv\u00e1min, his son Mah\u00edp\u00e1la,\n and his daughter Chandravat\u00ed, 549-569\n Story of Chakra, 554-556\n Story of the hermit and the faithful wife, 556-557\n Story of Dharmavy\u00e1dha, the righteous seller of flesh, 557\n Story of the treacherous P\u00e1supata ascetic, 558-559\n Story of king Tribhuvana, 558-559\n Story of Nala and Damayant\u00ed, 559-568\n\n\n\nBook X.\n\n\nChapter LVII.\n\n Continuation of the story of Udayana and his son 1-10\n Story of the porter who found a bracelet 1-2\n Story of the inexhaustible pitcher 2-4\n Story of the merchant's son, the het\u00e6ra and the wonderful\n ape \u00c1la 4-10\n\n\nChapter LVIII.\n\n Continuation of the story of Udayana and his son 10-17\n Story of king Vikramasinha, the het\u00e6ra and the young\n Br\u00e1hman 11-13\n Story of the faithless wife who burnt herself with her\n husband's body 13-14\n Story of the faithless wife who had her husband murdered 14\n Story of Vajras\u00e1ra whose wife cut off his nose and ears 14-16\n Story of king Sinhabala and his faithless wife 16-17\n\n\nChapter LIX.\n\n Continuation of the story of Udayana and his son 17-26\n Story of king Sumanas, the Nish\u00e1da maiden, and the\n learned parrot 18-26\n The parrot's account of his own life as a parrot 19-21\n The hermit's story of Somaprabha, Manorathaprabh\u00e1, and\n Makarandik\u00e1 21-25\n Episode of Manorathaprabh\u00e1 and Rasmimat 22-23\n\n\nChapter LX.\n\n Continuation of the story of Udayana and his son 27-43\n Story of S\u00faravarman who spared his guilty wife 27\n Story of the ox abandoned in the forest, and the lion,\n and the two jackals 27-43\n Story of the monkey that pulled out the wedge 28\n Story of the jackal and the drum 30\n Story of the crane and the Makara 31-32\n Story of the lion and the hare 32-33\n Story of the louse and the flea 34\n Story of the lion, the panther, the crow and the jackal 35-36\n Story of the pair of titthibhas 36-38\n Story of the tortoise and the two swans 37\n Story of the three fish 37-38\n Story of the monkeys, the firefly and the bird 39\n Story of Dharmabuddhi and Dushtabuddhi 40-41\n Story of the crane, the snake, and the mungoose 41\n Story of the mice that ate an iron balance 41-42\n\n\nChapter LXI.\n\n Continuation of the story of Udayana and his son 41-63\n Story of the foolish merchant who made aloes-wood into\n charcoal 44\n Story of the man who sowed roasted seed 44\n Story of the man who mixed fire and water 44\n Story of the man who tried to improve his wife's nose 45\n Story of the foolish herdsman 45\n Story of the fool and the ornaments 45\n Story of the fool and the cotton 45\n Story of the foolish villagers who cut down the palm-trees 46\n Story of the treasure-finder who was blinded 46\n Story of the fool and the salt 46-47\n Story of the fool and his milch-cow 47\n Story of the foolish bald man and the fool who pelted him 47\n Story of the crow, and the king of the pigeons, the\n tortoise and the deer 48-52\n Story of the mouse and the hermit 49-51\n Story of the Br\u00e1hman's wife and the sesame-seeds 50-51\n Story of the greedy jackal 50\n Story of the wife who falsely accused her husband of\n murdering a Bhilla 53-54\n Story of the snake who told his secret to a woman 54-55\n Story of the bald man and the hair-restorer 55\n Story of a foolish servant 55\n Story of the faithless wife who was present at her own\n Sr\u00e1ddha 55-56\n Story of the ambitious Chand\u00e1la maiden 56\n Story of the miserly king 57\n Story of Dhavalamukha, his trading friend, and his fighting\n friend 57-58\n Story of the thirsty fool that did not drink 58\n Story of the fool who killed his son 58\n Story of the fool and his brother 58\n Story of the Brahmach\u00e1rin's son 59\n Story of the astrologer who killed his son 59\n Story of the violent man who justified his character 59-60\n Story of the foolish king who made his daughter grow 60\n Story of the man who recovered half a pana from his servant 60\n Story of the fool who took notes of a certain spot in the\n sea 60-61\n Story of the king who replaced the flesh 61\n Story of the woman who wanted another son 61\n Story of the servant who tasted the fruit 62\n Story of the two brothers Yajnasoma and K\u00edrtisoma 62-63\n Story of the fool who wanted a barber 63\n Story of the man who asked for nothing at all 63\n\n\nChapter LXII.\n\n Continuation of the story of Udayana and his son 64-79\n Story of the war between the crows and the owls 64-75\n Story of the ass in the panther's skin 65\n How the crow dissuaded the birds from choosing the\n owl king 65-68\n Story of the elephant and the hares 66-67\n Story of the bird, the hare, and the cat 67-68\n Story of the Br\u00e1hman, the goat, and the rogues 68-69\n Story of the old merchant and his young wife 69-70\n Story of the Br\u00e1hman, the thief, and the R\u00e1kshasa 70\n Story of the carpenter and his wife 71-72\n Story of the mouse that was turned into a maiden 72-73\n Story of the snake and the frogs 74\n Story of the foolish servant 75\n Story of the two brothers who divided all that they had 75\n Story of the mendicant who became emaciated from discontent 75-76\n Story of the fool who saw gold in the water 76\n Story of the servants who kept rain off the trunks 76-77\n Story of the fool and the cakes 77\n Story of the servant who looked after the door 77\n Story of the simpletons who ate the buffalo 77-78\n Story of the fool who behaved like a Brahmany drake 78\n Story of the physician who tried to cure a hunchback 78-79\n\n\nChapter LXIII.\n\n Continuation of the story of Udayana and his son 79-90\n Story of Yasodhara and Lakshm\u00eddhara and the two wives\n of the water-genius 79-83\n Story of the water-genius in his previous birth 82\n Story of the Br\u00e1hman who became a Yaksha 83\n Story of the monkey and the porpoise 84-87\n Story of the sick lion, the jackal, and the ass 85-87\n Story of the fool who gave a verbal reward to the musician 87\n Story of the teacher and his two jealous pupils 88\n Story of the snake with two heads 88-89\n Story of the fool who was nearly choked with rice 89\n Story of the boys that milked the donkey 89-90\n Story of the foolish boy that went to the village for\n nothing 90\n\n\nChapter LXIV.\n\n Continuation of the story of Udayana and his son 90-100\n Story of the Br\u00e1hman and the mungoose 90-91\n Story of the fool that was his own doctor 91\n Story of the fool who mistook hermits for monkeys 91-92\n Story of the fool who found a purse 92\n Story of the fool who looked for the moon 92\n Story of the woman who escaped from the monkey and the\n cowherd 92-93\n Story of the two thieves Ghata and Karpara 93-96\n Story of Devadatta's wife 96\n Story of the wife of the Br\u00e1hman Rudrasoma 96-97\n Story of the wife of Susin 97-98\n Story of the snake-god and his wife 98-99\n\n\nChapter LXV.\n\n Continuation of the story of Udayana and his son 101-115\n Story of the ungrateful wife 101-103\n Story of the grateful animals and the ungrateful woman 103-108\n The lion's story 104-105\n The golden-crested bird's story 105-106\n The snake's story 106\n The woman's story 106\n Story of the Buddhist monk who was bitten by a dog 108-109\n Story of the man who submitted to be burnt alive sooner\n than share his food with a guest 109-110\n Story of the foolish teacher, the foolish pupils, and\n the cat 110-111\n Story of the fools and the bull of Siva 111-112\n Story of the fool who asked his way to the village 112\n Story of Hirany\u00e1ksha and Mrig\u00e1nkalekh\u00e1 113-115\n\n\nChapter LXVI.\n\n Continuation of the story of Udayana and his son 115-124\n Story of the mendicant who travelled from Kasm\u00edra to\n P\u00e1taliputra 115-118\n Story of the wife of king Sinh\u00e1ksha, and the wives of\n his principal courtiers 116-118\n Story of the woman who had eleven husbands 119\n Story of the man who, thanks to Durg\u00e1, had always one ox 119-120\n Story of the man who managed to acquire wealth by speaking\n to the king 120-121\n Story of Ratnarekh\u00e1 and Lakshm\u00edsena 121-124\n Marriage of Narav\u00e1hanadatta and Saktiyasas 124\n\n\n\nBook XI.\n\n\nChapter LXVII.\n\n Continuation of the story of Udayana and his son 125-131\n Story of the race between the elephant and the horses 125-126\n Story of the merchant and his wife Vel\u00e1 127-131\n Marriage of Narav\u00e1hanadatta and Jayendrasen\u00e1 131\n\n\n\nBook XII.\n\n\nChapter LXVIII.\n\n Continuation of the story of Udayana and his son 133-137\n Marriage of Narav\u00e1hanadatta and Lalitalochan\u00e1 134\n Story of the jackal that was turned into an elephant 134\n Story of V\u00e1madatta and his wicked wife 134-137\n\n\nChapter LXIX.\n\n Continuation of the story of Udayana and his son 137-138\n Story of Mrig\u00e1nkadatta and Sas\u00e1nkavat\u00ed 138-146\n Story of king Bhadrab\u00e1hu and his clever minister 139-141\n Story of Pushkar\u00e1ksha and Vinayavat\u00ed 141-146\n Story of the birth of Vinayavat\u00ed 141-142\n The adventures of Pushkar\u00e1ksha and Vinayavat\u00ed in a former\n life 143-145\n Story of L\u00e1vanyamanjar\u00ed 145\n\n\nChapter LXX.\n\n Continuation of the Story of Mrig\u00e1nkadatta and Sas\u00e1nkavat\u00ed 146-154\n Story of Srutadhi 148\n\n\nChapter LXXI.\n\n Continuation of the story of Mrig\u00e1nkadatta and Sas\u00e1nkavat\u00ed 154-169\n Story of Kamal\u00e1kara and Hans\u00e1val\u00ed 157-167\n\n\nChapter LXXII.\n\n Continuation of the story of Mrig\u00e1nkadatta and Sas\u00e1nkavat\u00ed 170-191\n Story of king Vin\u00edtamati who became a holy man 171-191\n Story of the holy boar 176-178\n Story of Devabh\u00fati 180-181\n Story of the generous Induprabha 181-182\n Story of the parrot who was taught virtue by the king of\n the parrots 182-183\n Story of the patient hermit Subhanaya 183-184\n Story of the persevering young Br\u00e1hman 184\n Story of Malayam\u00e1lin 184-186\n Story of the robber who won over Yama's secretary 186-189\n\n\nChapter LXXIII.\n\n Continuation of the story of Mrig\u00e1nkadatta and Sas\u00e1nkavat\u00ed 191-214\n Story of Sr\u00eddarsana 192-214\n Story of Saud\u00e1min\u00ed 193-194\n Story of Bh\u00fanandana 196-201\n\n\nChapter LXXIV.\n\n Continuation of the story of Mrig\u00e1nkadatta and Sas\u00e1nkavat\u00ed 214-231\n Story of Bh\u00edmabhata 215-230\n Story of Akshakshapanaka 222-223\n\n\nChapter LXXV.\n\n Continuation of the story of Mrig\u00e1nkadatta and Sas\u00e1nkavat\u00ed 231-232\n Story of king Trivikramasena and the Vampire 232-241\n Story of the prince who was helped to a wife by the son\n of his father's minister 234-241\n\n\nChapter LXXVI.\n\n Continuation of the story of king Trivikramasena and\n the Vampire 242-244\n Story of the three young Br\u00e1hmans who restored a dead lady\n to life 242-244\n\n\nChapter LXXVII.\n\n Continuation of the story of king Trivikramasena and\n the Vampire 245-250\n Story of the king and the two wise birds 245-250\n The maina's story 246-247\n The parrot's story 247-250\n\n\nChapter LXXVIII.\n\n Continuation of the story of king Trivikramasena and\n the Vampire 251-257\n Story of V\u00edravara 251-256\n\n\nChapter LXXIX.\n\n Continuation of the story of king Trivikramasena and\n the Vampire 257-260\n Story of Somaprabh\u00e1 and her three sisters 258-260\n\n\nChapter LXXX.\n\n Continuation of the story of king Trivikramasena and\n the Vampire 261-264\n Story of the lady who caused her brother and husband to\n change heads 261-264\n\n\nChapter LXXXI.\n\n Continuation of the story of king Trivikramasena and\n the Vampire 265-271\n Story of the king who married his dependent to the Nereid 265-271\n\n\nChapter LXXXII.\n\n Continuation of the story of king Trivikramasena and\n the Vampire 271-274\n Story of the three fastidious men 271-273\n\n\nChapter LXXXIII.\n\n Continuation of the story of king Trivikramasena and\n the Vampire 275-277\n Story of Anangarati and her four suitors 275-277\n\n\nChapter LXXXIV.\n\n Continuation of the story of king Trivikramasena and\n the Vampire 281-283\n Story of Madanasen\u00e1 and her rash promise 278-280\n\n\nChapter LXXXV.\n\n Continuation of the story of king Trivikramasena and\n the Vampire 281-283\n Story of king Dharmadhvaja and his three very sensitive\n wives 281-283\n\n\nChapter LXXXVI.\n\n Continuation of the story of king Trivikramasena and\n the Vampire 284-293\n Story of king Yasahketu, his Vidy\u00e1dhar\u00ed wife and his\n faithful minister 284-292\n\n\nChapter LXXXVII.\n\n Continuation of the story of king Trivikramasena and\n the Vampire 293-297\n Story of Harisv\u00e1min who first lost his wife and then\n his life 293-296\n\n\nChapter LXXXVIII.\n\n Continuation of the story of king Trivikramasena and\n the Vampire 297-300\n Story of the merchant's daughter who fell in love with\n a thief 297-300\n\n\nChapter LXXXIX.\n\n Continuation of the story of king Trivikramasena and\n the Vampire 301-307\n Story of the magic globule 301-306\n\n\nChapter XC.\n\n Continuation of the story of king Trivikramasena and\n the Vampire 307-318\n Story of J\u00edm\u00fatav\u00e1hana 307-317\n\n\nChapter XCI.\n\n Continuation of the story of king Trivikramasena and\n the Vampire 318-322\n Story of Unm\u00e1din\u00ed 318-321\n\n\nChapter XCII.\n\n Continuation of the story of king Trivikramasena and\n the Vampire 322-327\n Story of the Br\u00e1hman's son who failed to acquire the\n magic power 323-327\n\n\nChapter XCIII.\n\n Continuation of the story of king Trivikramasena and\n the Vampire 328-334\n Story of the thief's son 328-334\n\n\nChapter XCIV.\n\n Continuation of the story of king Trivikramasena and\n the Vampire 334-342\n Story of the Br\u00e1hman boy who offered himself up to save\n the life of the king 335-341\n\n\nChapter XCV.\n\n Continuation of the story of king Trivikramasena and\n the Vampire 342-347\n Story of Anangamanjar\u00ed, her husband Manivarman, and the\n Br\u00e1hman Kamal\u00e1kara 342-347\n\n\nChapter XCVI.\n\n Continuation of the story of king Trivikramasena and\n the Vampire 348-350\n Story of the four Br\u00e1hman brothers who resuscitated the\n tiger 348-350\n\n\nChapter XCVII.\n\n Continuation of the story of king Trivikramasena and\n the Vampire 351-351\n Story of the Hermit who first wept and then danced 351-353\n\n\nChapter XCVIII.\n\n Continuation of the story of king Trivikramasena and\n the Vampire 354-358\n Story of the father that married the daughter and the\n son that married the mother 354-357\n\n\nChapter XCIX.\n\n Conclusion of the story of king Trivikramasena and\n the Vampire 358-360\n Continuation of the story of Mrig\u00e1nkadatta and Sas\u00e1nkavat\u00ed 360-362\n\n\nChapter C.\n\n Continuation of the story of Mrig\u00e1nkadatta and Sas\u00e1nkavat\u00ed 362-365\n\n\nChapter CI.\n\n Continuation of the story of Mrig\u00e1nkadatta and Sas\u00e1nkavat\u00ed 366-386\n Story of Sundarasena and Mand\u00e1ravat\u00ed 368-385\n\n\nChapter CII.\n\n Continuation of the story of Mrig\u00e1nkadatta and Sas\u00e1nkavat\u00ed 387-396\n\n\nChapter CIII.\n\n Conclusion of the story of Mrig\u00e1nkadatta and Sas\u00e1nkavat\u00ed 396-409\n Continuation of the story of Udayana and his son 409\n\n\n\nBook XIII.\n\n\nChapter CIV.\n\n Continuation of the story of Udayana and his son 411-423\n Story of the two Br\u00e1hman friends 412-423\n\n\n\nBook XIV.\n\nChapter CV.\n\n Continuation of the story of Udayana and his son 425-430\n Story of S\u00e1vitr\u00ed and Angiras 426-427\n\n\nChapter CVI.\n\n Continuation of the story of Udayana and his son 430-441\n Story of the child that died of a broken heart 435-436\n\n\nChapter CVII.\n\n Continuation of the story of Udayana and his son 441-448\n Story of R\u00e1ma 442\n\n\nChapter CVIII.\n\n Continuation of the story of Udayana and his son 448-460\n Story of N\u00e1gasv\u00e1min and the witches 449-452\n Story of Marubh\u00fati and the mermaids and the gold-producing\n grains 452-454\n\n\n\nBook XV.\n\n\nChapter CIX.\n\n Continuation of the story of Udayana and his son 461-469\n History of the cave of Tris\u00edrsha 464-465\n\n\nChapter CX.\n\n Continuation of the story of Udayana and his son 469-478\n Narav\u00e1hanadatta crowned emperor of the Vidy\u00e1dharas 473-474\n\n\n\nBook XVI.\n\n\nChapter CXI.\n\n Continuation of the story of Udayana and his son 479-483\n Story of the devoted couple S\u00farasena and Sushen\u00e1 480-481\n Death of Chandamah\u00e1sena and Ang\u00e1ravat\u00ed 482\n Death of Udayana king of Vatsa 483\n Continuation of the story of Narav\u00e1hanadatta son\n of Udayana 484-485\n\n\nChapter CXII.\n\n Continuation of the story of Narav\u00e1hanadatta son\n of Udayana 485-497\n Story of king Chandamah\u00e1sena and the Asura's daughter 486-488\n Story of prince Avantivardhana and the daughter of\n the M\u00e1tanga 488-496\n Story of the young Chand\u00e1la who married the daughter of\n king Prasenajit 490-491\n Story of the young fisherman who married a princess 491-493\n Story of the Merchant's daughter who fell in love with\n a thief 493-495\n\n\nChapter CXIII.\n\n Continuation of the story of Narav\u00e1hanadatta son\n of Udayana 497-503\n Story of T\u00e1r\u00e1valoka 498-503\n\n\n\nBook XVII.\n\n\nChapter CXIV.\n\n Continuation of the story of Narav\u00e1hanadatta son\n of Udayana 505-513\n Story of king Brahmadatta and the swans 506-513\n How P\u00e1rvat\u00ed condemned her five attendants to be reborn\n on earth 508-510\n Story of the metamorphoses of Pingesvara and Guhesvara 510-513\n\n\nChapter CXV.\n\n Continuation of The story of Brahmadatta and the swans 513-514\n Story of Mukt\u00e1phalaketu and Padm\u00e1vat\u00ed 514-522\n\n\nChapter CXVI.\n\n Continuation of the story of Mukt\u00e1phalaketu and Padm\u00e1vat\u00ed 522-528\n\n\nChapter CXVII.\n\n Continuation of the story of Mukt\u00e1phalaketu and Padm\u00e1vat\u00ed 528-538\n\n\nChapter CXVIII.\n\n Continuation of the story of Mukt\u00e1phalaketu and Padm\u00e1vat\u00ed 538-549\n\n\nChapter CXIX.\n\n Conclusion of the story of Mukt\u00e1phalaketu and Padm\u00e1vat\u00ed 549-561\n Conclusion of the story of Brahmadatta and the swans 561\n Continuation of the story of Narav\u00e1hanadatta son of Udayana 561\n\n\n\nBook XVIII.\n\n\nChapter CXX.\n\n Continuation of the story of Narav\u00e1hanadatta son\n of Udayana 563\n Story of Vikram\u00e1ditya king of Ujjayin\u00ed 563-570\n\n\nChapter CXXI.\n\n Continuation of the story of Vikram\u00e1ditya king of Ujjayin\u00ed 571-586\n Story of Madanamanjar\u00ed 571-583\n Story of the gambler D\u00e1gineya 572-574\n Story of Thinth\u00e1kar\u00e1la the bold gambler 574-582\n Story of the gambler who cheated Yama 581\n Story of Ghanta and Nighanta and the two maidens 583\n Story of the golden deer 584\n\n\nChapter CXXII.\n\n Continuation of the story of Vikram\u00e1ditya king of Ujjayin\u00ed 586-593\n Story of Malayavat\u00ed the man-hating maiden 587-593\n\n\nChapter CXXIII.\n\n Continuation of the Story of Vikram\u00e1ditya king of Ujjayin\u00ed 593\n Story of Kalingasen\u00e1's marriage 593-611\n How Devasena obtained the magic ointment 594\n Story of the grateful monkey 596-597\n Story of the two princesses 598-599\n Story of Dhanadatta 600-601\n Story of Kesata and Kandarpa 601-610\n Story of Kusum\u00e1yudha and Kamalalochan\u00e1 606-607\n\n\nChapter CXXIV.\n\n Conclusion of the story of Kalingasen\u00e1's marriage 611-614\n Story of Chandrasv\u00e1min 611-612\n Conclusion of the story of Vikram\u00e1ditya king of Ujjayin\u00ed 614-624\n Story of Devasv\u00e1min 616-617\n Story of Agnisarman 617-618\n Story of M\u00faladeva 618-624\n Conclusion of the story of Narav\u00e1hanadatta son of Udayana 624\n Conclusion of the Kath\u00e1 Sarit S\u00e1gara 625\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nTRANSLATION OF THE KATH\u00c1 SARIT S\u00c1GARA OR OCEAN OF THE STREAMS OF STORY.\n\n\nBOOK I.\n\nCALLED KATH\u00c1P\u00cdTHA\n\n\nCHAPTER I.\n\n\nMay the dark neck of Siva, which the god of love has, so to speak,\nsurrounded with nooses in the form of the alluring looks of P\u00e1rvat\u00ed\nreclining on his bosom, assign to you prosperity.\n\nMay that victor of obstacles, [1] who after sweeping away the stars\nwith his trunk in the delirious joy of the evening dance, seems to\ncreate others with the spray issuing from his hissing [2] mouth,\nprotect you.\n\nAfter worshipping the goddess of Speech, the lamp that illuminates\ncountless objects, [3] I compose this collection which contains the\npith of the Vr\u00edhat-Kath\u00e1.\n\nThe first book in my collection is called Kath\u00e1p\u00edtha, then comes\nKath\u00e1mukha, then the third book named L\u00e1v\u00e1naka, then follows\nNarav\u00e1hanadattajanana, and then the book called Chaturd\u00e1rik\u00e1, and then\nMadanamanchuk\u00e1, then the seventh book named Ratnaprabh\u00e1, and then the\neighth book named S\u00faryaprabh\u00e1, then Alank\u00e1ravat\u00ed, then Saktiyasas,\nand then the eleventh book called Vel\u00e1, then comes Sas\u00e1nkavat\u00ed,\nand then Madir\u00e1vat\u00ed, then comes the book called Pancha followed by\nMah\u00e1bhisheka, and then Suratamanjar\u00ed, then Padm\u00e1vat\u00ed, and then will\nfollow the eighteenth book Vishamas\u00edla.\n\nThis book is precisely on the model of that from which it is taken,\nthere is not even the slightest deviation, only such language is\nselected as tends to abridge the prolixity of the work; the observance\nof propriety and natural connexion, and the joining together of the\nportions of the poem so as not to interfere with the spirit of the\nstories, are as far as possible kept in view: I have not made this\nattempt through desire of a reputation for ingenuity, but in order\nto facilitate the recollection of a multitude of various tales.\n\nThere is a mountain celebrated under the name of Himavat, haunted\nby Kinnaras, Gandharvas, and Vidy\u00e1dharas, a very monarch of mighty\nhills, whose glory has attained such an eminence among mountains that\nBhav\u00e1n\u00ed the mother of the three worlds deigned to become his daughter;\nthe northernmost summit thereof is a great peak named Kail\u00e1sa,\nwhich towers many thousand yojanas in the air, [4] and as it were,\nlaughs forth with its snowy gleams this boast--\"Mount Mandara [5] did\nnot become white as mortar even when the ocean was churned with it,\nbut I have become such without an effort.\" There dwells Mahesvara\nthe beloved of P\u00e1rvat\u00ed, the chief of things animate and inanimate,\nattended upon by Ganas, Vidy\u00e1dharas and Siddhas. In the upstanding\nyellow tufts of his matted hair, the new moon enjoys the delight of\ntouching the eastern mountain yellow in the evening twilight. When he\ndrove his trident into the heart of Andhaka, the king of the Asuras,\nthough he was only one, the dart which that monarch had infixed in the\nheart of the three worlds was, strange to say, extracted. The image\nof his toe-nails being reflected in the crest-jewels of the gods and\nAsuras made them seem as if they had been presented with half moons\nby his favour. [6] Once on a time that lord, the husband of P\u00e1rvat\u00ed,\nwas gratified with praises by his wife, having gained confidence as\nshe sat in secret with him; the moon-crested one attentive to her\npraise and delighted, placed her on his lap, and said, \"What can I do\nto please thee?\" Then the daughter of the mountain spake--\"My lord,\nif thou art satisfied with me, then tell me some delightful story that\nis quite new.\" And Siva said to her, \"What can there be in the world,\nmy beloved, present, past, or future that thou dost not know?\" Then\nthat goddess, beloved of Siva, importuned him eagerly because she\nwas proud in soul on account of his affection.\n\nThen Siva wishing to flatter her, began by telling her a very short\nstory, referring to her own divine power.\n\n\"Once on a time [7] Brahm\u00e1 and N\u00e1r\u00e1yana roaming through the world\nin order to behold me, came to the foot of Himavat. Then they beheld\nthere in front of them a great flame-linga; [8] in order to discover\nthe end of it, one of them went up, and the other down; and when\nthey could not find the end of it, they proceeded to propitiate\nme by means of austerities: and I appeared to them and bade them\nask for some boon: hearing that Brahm\u00e1 asked me to become his son;\non that account he has ceased to be worthy of worship, disgraced by\nhis overweening presumption.\n\n\"Then that god N\u00e1r\u00e1yana craved a boon of me, saying--Oh revered one,\nmay I become devoted to thy service! Then he became incarnate, and\nwas born as mine in thy form; for thou art the same as N\u00e1r\u00e1yana,\nthe power of me all-powerful.\n\n\"Moreover thou wast my wife in a former birth.\" When Siva had thus\nspoken, P\u00e1rvat\u00ed asked, \"How can I have been thy wife in a former\nbirth?\" Then Siva answered her. \"Long ago to the Praj\u00e1pati Daksha\nwere born many daughters, and amongst them thou, O goddess! He gave\nthee in marriage to me, and the others to Dharma and the rest of the\ngods. Once on a time he invited all his sons-in-law to a sacrifice. But\nI alone was not included in the invitation; thereupon thou didst ask\nhim to tell thee why thy husband was not invited. Then he uttered a\nspeech which pierced thy ears like a poisoned needle; 'Thy husband\nwears a necklace of skulls; how can he be invited to a sacrifice?'\n\n\"And then thou, my beloved, didst in anger abandon thy body,\nexclaiming,--'This father of mine is a villain; what profit have I\nthen in this carcase sprung from him?'\n\n\"And thereupon in wrath I destroyed that sacrifice of Daksha. Then\nthou wast born as the daughter of the mount of snow, as the moon's\ndigit springs from the sea. Then recall how I came to the Him\u00e1laya\nin order to perform austerities; and thy father ordered thee to do\nme service as his guest: and there the god of love who had been sent\nby the gods in order that they might obtain from me a son to oppose\nT\u00e1raka, was consumed, [9] when endeavouring to pierce me, having\nobtained a favourable opportunity. Then I was purchased by thee,\n[10] the enduring one, with severe austerities, and I accepted this\nproposal of thine, my beloved, in order that I might add this merit\nto my stock. [11] Thus it is clear that thou wast my wife in a former\nbirth. What else shall I tell thee?\" Thus Siva spake, and when he had\nceased, the goddess transported with wrath, exclaimed,--\"Thou art a\ndeceiver; thou wilt not tell me a pleasing tale even though I ask thee:\nDo I not know that thou worshippest Sandhy\u00e1, and bearest Gang\u00e1 on thy\nhead?\" Hearing that, Siva proceeded to conciliate her and promised to\ntell her a wonderful tale: then she dismissed her anger. She herself\ngave the order that no one was to enter where they were; Nandin [12]\nthereupon kept the door, and Siva began to speak.\n\n\"The gods are supremely blessed, men are ever miserable, the actions\nof demigods are exceedingly charming, therefore I now proceed to\nrelate to thee the history of the Vidy\u00e1dharas.\" While Siva was thus\nspeaking to his consort, there arrived a favourite dependant of Siva's,\nPushpadanta, best of Ganas, [13] and his entrance was forbidden by\nNandin who was guarding the door. Curious to know why even he had\nbeen forbidden to enter at that time without any apparent reason,\nPushpadanta immediately entered, making use of his magic power attained\nby devotion to prevent his being seen, and when he had thus entered,\nhe heard all the extraordinary and wonderful adventures of the seven\nVidy\u00e1dharas being narrated by the trident-bearing god, and having heard\nthem he in turn went and narrated them to his wife Jay\u00e1; for who can\nhide wealth or a secret from women? Jay\u00e1 the doorkeeper being filled\nwith wonder went and recited it in the presence of P\u00e1rvat\u00ed. How can\nwomen be expected to restrain their speech? And then the daughter of\nthe mountain flew into a passion, and said to her husband, \"Thou didst\nnot tell me any extraordinary tale, for Jay\u00e1 knows it also.\" Then the\nlord of Um\u00e1, perceiving the truth by profound meditation, thus spake:\n\"Pushpadanta employing the magic power of devotion entered in where\nwe were, and thus managed to hear it. He narrated it to Jay\u00e1; no one\nelse knows it, my beloved.\"\n\nHaving heard this, the goddess exceedingly enraged caused Pushpadanta\nto be summoned, and cursed him, as he stood trembling before her,\nsaying, \"Become a mortal thou disobedient servant.\" [14] She cursed\nalso the Gana M\u00e1lyav\u00e1n who presumed to intercede on his behalf. Then\nthe two fell at her feet together with Jay\u00e1 and entreated her to say\nwhen the curse would end, and the wife of Siva slowly uttered this\nspeech--\"A Yaksha named Suprat\u00edka who has been made a Pis\u00e1cha by the\ncurse of Kuvera is residing in the Vindhya forest under the name of\nK\u00e1nabh\u00fati. When thou shalt see him and, calling to mind thy origin,\ntell him this tale, then, Pushpadanta, thou shalt be released from\nthis curse. And when M\u00e1lyav\u00e1n shall hear this tale from K\u00e1nabh\u00fati,\nthen K\u00e1nabh\u00fati shall be released, and thou, M\u00e1lyav\u00e1n, when thou\nhast published it abroad, shalt be free also.\" Having thus spoken\nthe daughter of the mountain ceased, and immediately those Ganas\ndisappeared instantaneously like flashes of lightning. Then it came\nto pass in the course of time that Gaur\u00ed full of pity asked Siva,\n\"My lord, where on the earth have those excellent Pramathas [15] whom\nI cursed, been born?\" And the moon-diademed god answered: \"My beloved,\nPushpadanta has been born under the name of Vararuchi in that great\ncity which is called Kaus\u00e1mb\u00ed. [16] Moreover M\u00e1lyav\u00e1n also has been\nborn in the splendid city called Supratishthita under the name of\nGun\u00e1dhya. This, O goddess, is what has befallen them.\" Having given\nher this information with grief caused by recalling to mind the\ndegradation of the servants that had always been obedient to him,\nthat lord continued to dwell with his beloved in pleasure-arbours on\nthe slopes of mount Kail\u00e1sa, which were made of the branches of the\nKalpa tree. [17]\n\n\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER II.\n\n\nThen Pushpadanta wandering on the earth in the form of a man,\nwas known by the name of Vararuchi and K\u00e1ty\u00e1yana. Having attained\nperfection in the sciences, and having served Nanda as minister,\nbeing wearied out he went once on a time to visit the shrine of\nDurg\u00e1. [18] And that goddess, being pleased with his austerities,\nordered him in a dream to repair to the wilds of the Vindhya to\nbehold K\u00e1nabh\u00fati. And as he wandered about there in a waterless\nand savage wood, [19] full of tigers and apes, he beheld a lofty\nNyagrodha tree. [20] And near it he saw, surrounded by hundreds of\nPis\u00e1chas, that Pis\u00e1cha K\u00e1nabh\u00fati, in stature like a S\u00e1la tree. When\nK\u00e1nabh\u00fati had seen him and respectfully clasped his feet, K\u00e1ty\u00e1yana\nsitting down immediately spake to him. \"Thou art an observer of the\ngood custom; how hast thou come into this state?\" Having heard this\nK\u00e1nabh\u00fati said to K\u00e1ty\u00e1yana, who had shewn affection towards him, \"I\nknow not of myself, but listen to what I heard from Siva at Ujjayin\u00ed\nin the place where corpses are burnt; I proceed to tell it thee.\" The\nadorable god was asked by Durg\u00e1--\"Whence, my lord, comes thy delight\nin skulls and burning-places?\" He thereupon gave this answer.\n\n\"Long ago when all things had been destroyed at the end of a Kalpa,\nthe universe became water: I then cleft my thigh and let fall a drop\nof blood; that drop falling into the water turned into an egg, from\nthat sprang the Supreme Soul, [21] the Disposer; from him proceeded\nNature, [22] created by me for the purpose of further creation, and\nthey created the other lords of created beings, [23] and those in turn\nthe created beings, for which reason, my beloved, the Supreme Soul is\ncalled in the world the grandfather. Having thus created the world,\nanimate and inanimate, that Spirit became arrogant: [24] thereupon I\ncut off his head: then through regret for what I had done, I undertook\na difficult vow. So thus it comes to pass that I carry skulls in my\nhand, and love the places where corpses are burned. Moreover this world\nresembling a skull, rests in my hand; for the two skull-shaped halves\nof the egg before mentioned are called heaven and earth.\" When Siva\nhad thus spoken, I, being full of curiosity, determined to listen;\nand P\u00e1rvat\u00ed again said to her husband, \"After how long a time will\nthat Pushpadanta return to us?\" Hearing that, Mahesvara spoke to the\ngoddess, pointing me out to her; \"That Pis\u00e1cha whom thou beholdest\nthere, was once a Yaksha, a servant of Kuvera, the god of wealth,\nand he had for a friend a R\u00e1kshasa named Sth\u00falasiras; and the lord of\nwealth perceiving that he associated with that evil one, banished him\nto the wilds of the Vindhya mountains. But his brother D\u00edrghajangha\nfell at the feet of the god, and humbly asked when the curse would\nend. Then the god of wealth said--\"After thy brother has heard the\ngreat tale from Pushpadanta, who has been born into this world in\nconsequence of a curse, and after he has in turn told it to M\u00e1lyav\u00e1n,\nwho owing to a curse has become a human being, he together with those\ntwo Ganas shall be released from the effects of the curse.\" Such were\nthe terms on which the god of wealth then ordained that M\u00e1lyav\u00e1n\nshould obtain remission from his curse here below, and thou didst\nfix the same in the case of Pushpadanta; recall it to mind, my\nbeloved.\" When I heard that speech of Siva, I came here overjoyed,\nknowing that the calamity of my curse would be terminated by the\narrival of Pushpadanta. When K\u00e1nabh\u00fati ceased after telling this story,\nthat moment Vararuchi remembered his origin, and exclaimed like one\naroused from sleep, \"I am that very Pushpadanta, hear that tale from\nme.\" Thereupon K\u00e1ty\u00e1yana related to him the seven great tales in seven\nhundred thousand verses, and then K\u00e1nabh\u00fati said to him--\"My lord,\nthou art an incarnation of Siva, who else knows this story? Through thy\nfavour that curse has almost left my body. Therefore tell me thy own\nhistory from thy birth, thou mighty one, sanctify me yet further, if\nthe narrative may be revealed to such a one as I am.\" Then Vararuchi,\nto gratify K\u00e1nabh\u00fati, who remained prostrate before him, told all\nhis history from his birth at full length, in the following words:\n\n\n\nStory of Vararuchi, his teacher Varsha, and his fellow-pupils Vy\u00e1di\nand Indradatta.\n\nIn the city of Kaus\u00e1mb\u00ed there lived a Br\u00e1hman called Somadatta, who\nalso had the title of Agnisikha, and his wife was called Vasudatt\u00e1. She\nwas the daughter of a hermit, and was born into the world in this\nposition in consequence of a curse; and I was born by her to this\nexcellent Br\u00e1hman, also in consequence of a curse. Now while I was\nstill quite a child my father died, but my mother continued to support\nme, as I grew up, by severe drudgery; then one day two Br\u00e1hmans came\nto our house to stop a night, exceedingly dusty with a long journey;\nand while they were staying in our house there arose the noise of\na tabor, thereupon my mother said to me, sobbing, as she called to\nmind her husband--\"there, my son, is your father's friend Bhavananda,\ngiving a dramatic entertainment.\" I answered, \"I will go and see it,\nand will exhibit the whole of it to you, with a recitation of all\nthe speeches.\" On hearing that speech of mine, those Br\u00e1hmans were\nastonished, but my mother said to them--\"Come, my children, there is\nno doubt about the truth of what he says; this boy will remember by\nheart everything that he has heard once.\" [25] Then they, in order\nto test me, recited to me a Pr\u00e1tis\u00e1khya [26]; immediately I repeated\nthe whole in their presence, then I went with the two Br\u00e1hmans and\nsaw that play, and when I came home, I went through the whole of it\nin front of my mother: then one of the Br\u00e1hmans, named Vy\u00e1di, having\nascertained that I was able to recollect a thing on hearing it once,\ntold with submissive reverence this tale to my mother.\n\nMother, in the city of Vetasa there were two Br\u00e1hman brothers,\nDeva-Sw\u00e1min and Karambaka, who loved one another very dearly;\nthis Indradatta here is the son of one of them, and I am the son\nof the other, and my name is Vy\u00e1di. It came to pass that my father\ndied. Owing to grief for his loss, the father of Indradatta went\non the long journey, [27] and then the hearts of our two mothers\nbroke with grief; thereupon being orphans though we had wealth,\n[28] and, desiring to acquire learning, we went to the southern\nregion to supplicate the lord K\u00e1rtikeya. And while we were engaged\nin austerities there, the god gave us the following revelation in\na dream. \"There is a city called P\u00e1taliputra, the capital of king\nNanda, and in it there is a Br\u00e1hman, named Varsha, from him ye\nshall learn all knowledge, therefore go there.\" Then we went to\nthat city, and when we made enquiries there, people said to us:\n\"There is a blockhead of a Br\u00e1hman in this town, of the name of\nVarsha.\" Immediately we went on with minds in a state of suspense,\nand saw the house of Varsha in a miserable condition, made a very\nant-hill by mice, dilapidated by the cracking of the walls, untidy,\n[29] deprived of eaves, looking like the very birth-place of misery.\n\nThen, seeing Varsha plunged in meditation within the house, we\napproached his wife, who shewed us all proper hospitality; her body\nwas emaciated and begrimed, her dress tattered and dirty; she looked\nlike the incarnation of poverty, attracted thither by admiration\nfor the Br\u00e1hman's virtues. Bending humbly before her, we then told\nher our circumstances, and the report of her husband's imbecility,\nwhich we heard in the city. She exclaimed--\"My children, I am not\nashamed to tell you the truth; listen! I will relate the whole story,\"\nand then she, chaste lady, proceeded to tell us the tale which follows:\n\nThere lived in this city an excellent Br\u00e1hman, named Sankara Sv\u00e1min,\nand he had two sons, my husband Varsha, and Upavarsha; my husband\nwas stupid and poor, and his younger brother was just the opposite:\nand Upavarsha appointed his own wife to manage his elder brother's\nhouse. [30] Then in the course of time, the rainy season came on,\nand at this time the women are in the habit of making a cake of\nflour mixed with molasses, of an unbecoming and disgusting shape,\n[31] and giving it to any Br\u00e1hman who is thought to be a blockhead,\nand if they act thus, this cake is said to remove their discomfort\ncaused by bathing in the cold season, and their exhaustion [32] caused\nby bathing in the hot weather; but when it is given, Br\u00e1hmans refuse\nto receive it, on the ground that the custom is a disgusting one. This\ncake was presented by my sister-in-law to my husband, together with\na sacrificial fee; he received it, and brought it home with him, and\ngot a severe scolding from me; then he began to be inwardly consumed\nwith grief at his own stupidity, and went to worship the sole of the\nfoot of the god K\u00e1rtikeya: the god, pleased with his austerities,\nbestowed on him the knowledge of all the sciences; and gave him\nthis order--\"When thou findest a Br\u00e1hman who can recollect what\nhe has heard only once, then thou mayest reveal these\"--thereupon\nmy husband returned home delighted, and when he had reached home,\ntold the whole story to me. From that time forth, he has remained\ncontinually muttering prayers and meditating: so find you some one who\ncan remember anything after hearing it once, and bring him here: if you\ndo that, you will both of you undoubtedly obtain all that you desire.\n\nHaving heard this from the wife of Varsha, and having immediately given\nher a hundred gold pieces to relieve her poverty, we went out of that\ncity; then we wandered through the earth, and could not find anywhere\na person who could remember what he had only heard once: at last we\narrived tired out at your house to-day, and have found here this boy,\nyour son, who can recollect anything after once hearing it: therefore\ngive him us and let us go forth to acquire the commodity knowledge.\n\nHaving heard this speech of Vy\u00e1di, my mother said with respect,\n\"All this tallies completely; I repose confidence in your tale:\nfor long ago at the birth of this my only son, a distinct spiritual\n[33] voice was heard from heaven. \"A boy has been born who shall be\nable to remember what he has heard once; he shall acquire knowledge\nfrom Varsha, and shall make the science of grammar famous in the\nworld, and he shall be called Vararuchi by name, because whatever\nis excellent, [34] shall please him.\" Having uttered this, the\nvoice ceased. Consequently, ever since this boy has grown big, I\nhave been thinking, day and night, where that teacher Varsha can be,\nand to-day I have been exceedingly gratified at hearing it from your\nmouth. Therefore take him with you: what harm can there be in it, he\nis your brother?\" When they heard this speech of my mother's, those\ntwo, Vy\u00e1di and Indradatta, overflowing with joy, thought that night\nbut a moment in length. Then Vy\u00e1di quickly gave his own wealth to my\nmother to provide a feast, and desiring that I should be qualified to\nread the Vedas, invested me with the Br\u00e1hmanical thread. Then Vy\u00e1di\nand Indradatta took me, who managed by my own fortitude to control\nthe excessive grief I felt at parting, while my mother in taking\nleave of me could with difficulty suppress her tears, and considering\nthat the favour of K\u00e1rtikeya towards them had now put forth blossom,\nset out rapidly from that city; then in course of time we arrived at\nthe house of the teacher Varsha: he too considered that I was the\nfavour of K\u00e1rtikeya arrived in bodily form. The next day he placed\nus in front of him, and sitting down in a consecrated spot, he began\nto recite the syllable Om with heavenly voice. Immediately the Vedas\nwith the six supplementary sciences rushed into his mind, and then he\nbegan to teach them to us; then I retained what the teacher told us\nafter hearing it once, Vy\u00e1di after hearing it twice, and Indradatta\nafter hearing it three times: then the Br\u00e1hmans of the city hearing\nof a sudden that divine sound, came at once from all quarters with\nwonder stirring in their breasts to see what this new thing might be;\nand with their reverend mouths loud in his praises honoured Varsha with\nlow bows. Then beholding that wonderful miracle, not only Upavarsha,\nbut all the citizens of P\u00e1taliputra [35] kept high festival. Moreover\nthe king Nanda of exalted fortune, seeing the power of the boon of\nthe son of Siva, was delighted, and immediately filled the house of\nVarsha with wealth, shewing him every mark of respect. [36]\n\n\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER III.\n\n\nHaving thus spoken while K\u00e1nabh\u00fati was listening with intent mind,\nVararuchi went on to tell his tale in the wood.\n\nIt came to pass in the course of time, that one day, when the reading\nof the Vedas was finished, the teacher Varsha, who had performed his\ndaily ceremonies, was asked by us, \"How comes it that such a city as\nthis has become the home of Sarasvat\u00ed and Lakshm\u00ed, [37] tell us that,\nO teacher.\" Hearing this, he bade us listen, for that he was about\nto tell the history of the city.\n\n\n\nStory of the founding of the city of P\u00e1taliputra.\n\nThere is a sanctifying place of pilgrimage, named Kanakhala, at the\npoint where the Ganges issues from the hills, [38] where the sacred\nstream was brought down from the table-land of mount Us\u00ednara, by\nK\u00e1nchanap\u00e1ta the elephant of the gods, having cleft it asunder. [39]\nIn that place lived a certain Br\u00e1hman from the Deccan, performing\nausterities in the company of his wife, and to him were born there\nthree sons. In the course of time he and his wife went to heaven,\nand those sons of his went to a place named R\u00e1jagriha, for the sake\nof acquiring learning. And having studied the sciences there, the\nthree, grieved at their unprotected condition, went to the Deccan in\norder to visit the shrine of the god K\u00e1rtikeya. Then they reached a\ncity named Chinchin\u00ed on the shore of the sea, and dwelt in the house\nof a Br\u00e1hman named Bhojika, and he gave them his three daughters in\nmarriage, and bestowed on them all his wealth, and having no other\nchildren, went to the Ganges to perform austerities. And while they\nwere living there in the house of their father-in-law, a terrible\nfamine arose produced by drought, thereupon the three Br\u00e1hmans fled,\nabandoning their virtuous wives, (since no care for their families\ntouches the hearts of cruel men,) then the middle one of the three\nsisters was found to be pregnant; and those ladies repaired to the\nhouse of Yajnadatta a friend of their father's: there they remained\nin a miserable condition, thinking each on her own husband, (for even\nin calamity women of good family do not forget the duties of virtuous\nwives). Now in course of time the middle one of the three sisters\ngave birth to a son, and they all three vied with one another in love\ntowards him. So it happened once upon a time that, as Siva was roaming\nthrough the air, the mother of Skanda [40] who was reposing on Siva's\nbreast, moved with compassion at seeing their love for their child,\nsaid to her husband, \"My lord, observe, these three women feel great\naffection for this boy, and place hope in him, trusting that he may\nsome day support them; therefore bring it about that he may be able\nto maintain them, even in his infancy.\" Having been thus entreated by\nhis beloved, Siva, the giver of boons, thus answered her: I adopt him\nas my prot\u00e9g\u00e9, for in a previous birth he and his wife propitiated\nme, therefore he has been born on the earth to reap the fruit of his\nformer austerities; and his former wife has been born again as P\u00e1tal\u00ed\nthe daughter of the king Mahendravarman, and she shall be his wife in\nthis birth also. Having said this, that mighty god told those three\nvirtuous women in a dream,--\"This young son of yours shall be called\nPutraka; and every day when he awakes from sleep, a hundred thousand\ngold pieces shall be found under his pillow, [41] and at last he shall\nbecome a king.\" Accordingly, when he woke up from sleep, those virtuous\ndaughters of Yajnadatta found the gold and rejoiced that their vows and\nprayers had brought forth fruit. Then by means of that gold Putraka\nhaving in a short time accumulated great treasure, became a king,\nfor good fortune is the result of austerities. [42] Once upon a time\nYajnadatta said in private to Putraka,--\"King, your father and uncles\nhave gone away into the wide world on account of a famine, therefore\ngive continually to Br\u00e1hmans, in order that they may hear of it and\nreturn: and now listen, I will tell you the story of Brahmadatta.\"\n\n\n\nStory of king Brahmadatta. [43]\n\n\"There lived formerly in Benares a king named Brahmadatta. He saw a\npair of swans flying in the air at night. They shone with the lustre\nof gleaming gold, and were begirt with hundreds of white swans,\nand so looked like a sudden flash of lightning, surrounded by white\nclouds. And his desire to behold them again kept increasing so mightily\nthat he took no pleasure in the delights of royalty. And then having\ntaken counsel with his ministers he caused a fair tank to be made\naccording to a design of his own, and gave to all living creatures\nsecurity from injury. In a short time he perceived that those two\nswans had settled in that lake, and when they had become tame he\nasked them the reason of their golden plumage. And then those swans\naddressed the king with an articulate voice. 'In a former birth,\nO king, we were born as crows; and when we were fighting for the\nremains of the daily offering [44] in a holy empty temple of Siva, we\nfell down and died within a sacred vessel belonging to that sanctuary,\nand consequently we have been born as golden swans with a remembrance\nof our former birth';--having heard this the king gazed on them to\nhis heart's content, and derived great pleasure from watching them.\n\n\"Therefore you will gain back your father and uncles by an unparalleled\ngift.\" When Yajnadatta had given him this advice, Putraka did as he\nrecommended; when they heard the tidings of the distribution those\nBr\u00e1hmans arrived: and when they were recognized they had great wealth\nbestowed on them, and were reunited to their wives. Strange to say,\neven after they have gone through calamities, wicked men having their\nminds blinded by want of discernment, are unable to put off their\nevil nature. After a time they hankered after royal power, and being\ndesirous of murdering Putraka they enticed him under pretext of a\npilgrimage to the temple of Durg\u00e1: and having stationed assassins in\nthe inner sanctuary of the temple, they said to him, \"First go and\nvisit the goddess alone, step inside.\" Thereupon he entered boldly,\nbut when he saw those assassins preparing to slay him, he asked them\nwhy they wished to kill him. They replied, \"We were hired for gold to\ndo it by your father and uncles.\" Then the discreet Putraka said to\nthe assassins, whose senses were bewildered by the goddess, \"I will\ngive you this priceless jewelled ornament of mine. Spare me, I will\nnot reveal your secret; I will go to a distant land.\" The assassins\nsaid, \"So be it,\" and taking the ornament they departed, and falsely\ninformed the father and uncles of Putraka that he was slain. Then those\nBr\u00e1hmans returned and endeavoured to get possession of the throne,\nbut they were put to death by the ministers as traitors. How can the\nungrateful prosper?\n\nIn the meanwhile that king Putraka, faithful to his promise, entered\nthe impassable wilds of the Vindhya, disgusted with his relations:\nas he wandered about he saw two heroes engaged heart and soul in\na wrestling-match, and he asked them who they were. They replied,\n\"We are the two sons of the Asura Maya, and his wealth belongs to\nus, this vessel, and this stick, and these shoes; it is for these\nthat we are fighting, and whichever of us proves the mightier is to\ntake them.\" When he heard this speech of theirs, Putraka said with\na smile--\"That is a fine inheritance for a man.\" Then they said--\"By\nputting on these shoes one gains the power of flying through the air;\nwhatever is written with this staff turns out true; and whatever food\na man wishes to have in the vessel is found there immediately.\" When\nhe heard this, Putraka said--\"What is the use of fighting? Make this\nagreement, that whoever proves the best man in running shall possess\nthis wealth.\" [45] Those simpletons said--\"Agreed\"--and set off to run,\nwhile the prince put on the shoes and flew up into the air, taking with\nhim the staff and the vessel; then he went a great distance in a short\ntime and saw beneath him a beautiful city named \u00c1karshik\u00e1 and descended\ninto it from the sky. He reflected with himself; \"het\u00e6r\u00e6 are prone\nto deceive, Br\u00e1hmans are like my father and uncles, and merchants are\ngreedy of wealth; in whose house shall I dwell?\" Just at that moment he\nreached a lonely dilapidated house, and saw a single old woman in it;\nso he gratified that old woman with a present, and lived unobserved in\nthat broken down old house, waited upon respectfully by the old woman.\n\nOnce upon a time the old woman in an affectionate mood said to\nPutraka--\"I am grieved, my son, that you have not a wife meet\nfor you. But here there is a maiden named P\u00e1tal\u00ed, the daughter of\nthe king, and she is preserved like a jewel in the upper story of a\nseraglio.\" While he was listening to this speech of hers with open ear,\nthe god of love found an unguarded point, and entered by that very path\ninto his heart. He made up his mind that he must see that damsel that\nvery day, and in the night flew up through the air to where she was,\nby the help of his magic shoes. He then entered by a window, which\nwas as high above the ground as the peak of a mountain, and beheld\nthat P\u00e1tal\u00ed, asleep in a secret place in the seraglio, continually\nbathed in the moonlight that seemed to cling to her limbs: as it\nwere the might of love in fleshly form reposing after the conquest of\nthis world. While he was thinking how he should awake her, suddenly\noutside a watchman began to chant: \"Young men obtain the fruit of\ntheir birth, when they awake the sleeping fair one, embracing her as\nshe sweetly scolds, with her eyes languidly opening.\" On hearing this\nencouraging prelude, he embraced that fair one with limbs trembling\nwith excitement, and then she awoke. When she beheld that prince,\nthere was a contest between shame and love in her eye, which was\nalternately fixed on his face and averted. When they had conversed\ntogether, and gone through the ceremony of the G\u00e1ndharva marriage,\nthat couple found their love continually increasing, as the night\nwaned away. Then Putraka took leave of his sorrowing wife, and with\nhis mind dwelling only on her went in the last watch of the night to\nthe old woman's house. So every night the prince kept going backwards\nand forwards, and at last the intrigue was discovered by the guards\nof the seraglio, accordingly they revealed the matter to the lady's\nfather, and he appointed a woman to watch secretly in the seraglio\nat night. She, finding the prince asleep, made a mark with red lac\nupon his garment to facilitate his recognition. In the morning she\ninformed the king of what she had done, and he sent out spies in all\ndirections, and Putraka was discovered by the mark and dragged out from\nthe dilapidated house into the presence of the king. Seeing that the\nking was enraged, he flew up into the air with the help of the shoes,\nand entered the palace of P\u00e1tal\u00ed. He said to her,--\"We are discovered,\ntherefore rise up, let us escape with the help of the shoes, and so\ntaking P\u00e1tal\u00ed in his arms he flew away from that place through the\nair. [46] Then descending from heaven near the bank of the Ganges,\nhe refreshed his weary beloved with cakes provided by means of the\nmagic vessel. When P\u00e1tal\u00ed saw the power of Putraka she made a request\nto him, in accordance with which he sketched out with the staff a\ncity furnished with a force of all four arms. [47] In that city he\nestablished himself as king, and his great power having attained\nfull development, he subdued that father-in-law of his, and became\nruler of the sea-engirdled earth. This is that same divine city,\nproduced by magic, together with its citizens; hence it bears the\nname of P\u00e1taliputra, and is the home of wealth and learning.\n\nWhen we heard from the mouth of Varsha the above strange and\nextraordinarily marvellous story, our minds, O K\u00e1nabh\u00fati, were for\na long time delighted with thrilling wonder.\n\n\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER IV.\n\n\nHaving related this episode to K\u00e1nabh\u00fati in the Vindhya forest,\nVararuchi again resumed the main thread of his narrative.\n\nWhile thus dwelling there with Vy\u00e1di and Indradatta, I gradually\nattained perfection in all sciences, and emerged from the condition of\nchildhood. Once on a time when we went out to witness the festival of\nIndra, we saw a maiden looking like some weapon of Cupid, not of the\nnature of an arrow. Then, Indradatta, on my asking him who that lady\nmight be, replied,--\"She is the daughter of Upavarsha, and her name\nis Upakos\u00e1,\" and she found out by means of her handmaids who I was,\nand drawing my soul after her with a glance made tender by love, she\nwith difficulty managed to return to her own house. She had a face\nlike a full moon, and eyes like a blue lotus, she had arms graceful\nlike the stalk of a lotus, and a lovely full [48] bosom; she had a neck\nmarked with three lines like a shell, [49] and magnificent coral lips;\nin short she was a second Lakshm\u00ed, so to speak, the store-house of the\nbeauty of king Cupid. Then my heart was cleft by the stroke of love's\narrow, and I could not sleep that night through my desire to kiss her\nbimba [50] lip. Having at last with difficulty gone off to sleep,\nI saw, at the close of night, a celestial woman in white garments;\nshe said to me--\"Upakos\u00e1 was thy wife in a former birth; as she\nappreciates merit, she desires no one but thee, therefore, my son,\nthou oughtest not to feel anxious about this matter. I am Sarasvat\u00ed\n[51] that dwell continually in thy frame, I cannot bear to behold thy\ngrief.\" When she had said this, she disappeared. Then I woke up and\nsomewhat encouraged I went slowly and stood under a young mango tree\nnear the house of my beloved; then her confidante came and told me of\nthe ardent attachment of Upakos\u00e1 to me, the result of sudden passion:\nthen I with my pain doubled, said to her, \"How can I obtain Upakos\u00e1,\nunless her natural protectors willingly bestow her upon me? For\ndeath is better than dishonour; so if by any means your friend's\nheart became known to her parents, perhaps the end might be prosperous.\n\n\"Therefore bring this about, my good woman, save the life of me and\nof thy friend.\" When she heard this, she went and told all to her\nfriend's mother, she immediately told it to her husband Upavarsha,\nhe to Varsha his brother, and Varsha approved of the match. Then, my\nmarriage having been determined upon, Vy\u00e1di by the order of my tutor\nwent and brought my mother from Kaus\u00e1mb\u00ed; so Upakos\u00e1 was bestowed\nupon me by her father with all due ceremonies, and I lived happily\nin P\u00e1taliputra with my mother and my wife.\n\nNow in course of time Varsha got a great number of pupils, and among\nthem there was one rather stupid pupil of the name of P\u00e1nini; he,\nbeing wearied out with service, was sent away by the preceptor's wife,\nand being disgusted at it and longing for learning, he went to the\nHim\u00e1laya to perform austerities: then he obtained from the god, who\nwears the moon as a crest, propitiated by his severe austerities, a new\ngrammar, the source of all learning. Thereupon he came and challenged\nme to a disputation, and seven days passed away in the course of our\ndisputation; on the eighth day he had been fairly conquered by me,\nbut immediately afterwards a terrible menacing sound was uttered by\nSiva in the firmament; owing to that our Aindra grammar was exploded\nin the world, [52] and all of us, being conquered by P\u00e1nini, became\naccounted fools. Accordingly full of despondency I deposited in the\nhand of the merchant Hiranyadatta my wealth for the maintenance of\nmy house, and after informing Upakos\u00e1 of it, I went fasting to mount\nHim\u00e1laya to propitiate Siva with austerities.\n\n\n\nStory of Upakos\u00e1 and her four lovers.\n\nUpakos\u00e1 on her part anxious for my success, remained in her own house,\nbathing every day in the Ganges, strictly observing her vow. One day,\nwhen spring had come, she being still beautiful, though thin and\nslightly pale, and charming to the eyes of men, like the streak of\nthe new moon, was seen by the king's domestic chaplain while going\nto bathe in the Ganges, and also by the head magistrate, and by the\nprince's minister; and immediately they all of them became a target for\nthe arrows of love. It happened too somehow or other that she took a\nlong time bathing that day, and as she was returning in the evening,\nthe prince's minister laid violent hands on her, but she with great\npresence of mind said to him, \"Dear Sir, I desire this as much as you,\nbut I am of respectable family, and my husband is away from home. How\ncan I act thus? Some one might perhaps see us, and then misfortune\nwould befall you as well as me. Therefore you must come without fail\nto my house in the first watch of the night of the spring-festival\nwhen the citizens are all excited.\" [53] When she had said this,\nand pledged herself, he let her go, but, as chance would have it, she\nhad not gone many steps further, before she was stopped by the king's\ndomestic chaplain. She made a similar assignation with him also for\nthe second watch of the same night; and so he too was, though with\ndifficulty, induced to let her go; but, after she had gone a little\nfurther, up comes a third person, the head magistrate, and detains the\ntrembling lady. Then she made a similar assignation with him too for\nthe third watch of the same night, and having by great good fortune\ngot him to release her, she went home all trembling, and of her own\naccord told her handmaids the arrangements she had made, reflecting,\n\"Death is better for a woman of good family when her husband is away,\nthan to meet the eyes of people who lust after beauty.\" Full of these\nthoughts and regretting me, the virtuous lady spent that night in\nfasting, lamenting her own beauty. Early the next morning she sent\na maid-servant to the merchant Hiranyagupta to ask for some money\nin order that she might honour the Br\u00e1hmans: then that merchant also\ncame and said to her in private, \"Shew me love, and then I will give\nyou what your husband deposited.\" When she heard that, she reflected\nthat she had no witness to prove the deposit of her husband's wealth,\nand perceived that the merchant was a villain, and so tortured with\nsorrow and grief, she made a fourth and last assignation with him for\nthe last watch of the same night; so he went away. In the meanwhile\nshe had prepared by her handmaids in a large vat lamp-black mixed\nwith oil and scented with musk and other perfumes, and she made ready\nfour pieces of rag anointed with it, and she caused to be made a large\ntrunk with a fastening outside. So on that day of the spring-festival\nthe prince's minister came in the first watch of the night in gorgeous\narray. When he had entered without being observed Upakos\u00e1 said to him,\n\"I will not receive you until you have bathed, so go in and bathe.\" The\nsimpleton agreed to that, and was taken by the handmaids into a secret\ndark inner apartment. There they took off his under-garments and\nhis jewels, and gave him by way of an under-garment a single piece\nof rag, and they smeared the rascal from head to foot with a thick\ncoating of that lamp-black and oil, pretending it was an unguent,\nwithout his detecting it. While they continued rubbing it into every\nlimb, the second watch of the night came and the chaplain arrived,\nthe handmaids thereupon said to the minister,--\"here is the king's\nchaplain come, a great friend of Vararuchi's, so creep into this\nbox\"--and they bundled him into the trunk, just as he was, all naked,\nwith the utmost precipitation: and then they fastened it outside with\na bolt. The priest too was brought inside into the dark room on the\npretence of a bath, and was in the same way stripped of his garments\nand ornaments, and made a fool of by the handmaids by being rubbed with\nlamp-black and oil, with nothing but the piece of rag on him, until in\nthe third watch the chief magistrate arrived. The handmaids immediately\nterrified the priest with the news of his arrival, and pushed him into\nthe trunk like his predecessor. After they had bolted him in, they\nbrought in the magistrate on the pretext of giving him a bath, and\nso he, like his fellows, with the piece of rag for his only garment,\nwas bamboozled by being continually anointed with lamp-black, until in\nthe last watch of the night the merchant arrived. The handmaids made\nuse of his arrival to alarm the magistrate and bundled him also into\nthe trunk, and fastened it on the outside. So those three being shut\nup inside the box, as if they were bent on accustoming themselves to\nlive in the hell of blind darkness, did not dare to speak on account\nof fear, though they touched one another. Then Upakos\u00e1 brought a\nlamp into the room, and making the merchant enter it, said to him,\n\"give me that money which my husband deposited with you.\" When he\nheard that, the rascal said, observing that the room was empty,\n\"I told you that I would give you the money your husband deposited\nwith me.\" Upakos\u00e1 calling the attention of the people in the trunk,\nsaid--\"Hear, O ye gods this speech of Hiranyagupta.\" When she had\nsaid this, she blew out the light, and the merchant, like the others,\non the pretext of a bath was anointed by the handmaids for a long time\nwith lamp-black. Then they told him to go, for the darkness was over,\nand at the close of the night they took him by the neck and pushed\nhim out of the door sorely against his will. Then he made the best of\nhis way home, with only the piece of rag to cover his nakedness, and\nsmeared with the black dye, with the dogs biting him at every step,\nthoroughly ashamed of himself, and at last reached his own house; and\nwhen he got there he did not dare to look his slaves in the face while\nthey were washing off that black dye. The path of vice is indeed a\npainful one. In the early morning Upakos\u00e1 accompanied by her handmaids\nwent, without informing her parents, to the palace of king Nanda, and\nthere she herself stated to the king that the merchant Hiranyagupta\nwas endeavouring to deprive her of money deposited with him by her\nhusband. The king in order to enquire into the matter immediately\nhad the merchant summoned, who said--\"I have nothing in my keeping\nbelonging to this lady.\" Upakos\u00e1 then said, \"I have witnesses, my lord;\nbefore he went, my husband put the household gods into a box, and this\nmerchant with his own lips admitted the deposit in their presence. Let\nthe box be brought here and ask the gods yourself.\" Having heard this\nthe king in astonishment ordered the box to be brought.\n\nThereupon in a moment that trunk was carried in by many men. Then\nUpakos\u00e1 said--\"Relate truly, O gods, what that merchant said and then\ngo to your own houses; if you do not, I will burn you or open the\nbox in court.\" Hearing that, the men in the box, beside themselves\nwith fear, said--\"It is true, the merchant admitted the deposit in\nour presence.\" Then the merchant being utterly confounded confessed\nall his guilt; but the king, being unable to restrain his curiosity,\nafter asking permission of Upakos\u00e1, opened the chest there in court\nby breaking the fastening, and those three men were dragged out,\nlooking like three lumps of solid darkness, and were with difficulty\nrecognised by the king and his ministers. The whole assembly then burst\nout laughing, and the king in his curiosity asked Upakos\u00e1, what was the\nmeaning of all this; so the virtuous lady told the whole story. All\npresent in court expressed their approbation of Upakos\u00e1's conduct,\nobserving: \"The virtuous behaviour of women of good family who are\nprotected by their own excellent disposition [54] only, is incredible.\"\n\nThen all those coveters of their neighbour's wife were deprived\nof all their living, and banished from the country. Who prospers\nby immorality? Upakos\u00e1 was dismissed by the king, who shewed his\ngreat regard for her by a present of much wealth, and said to her:\n\"Henceforth thou art my sister,\"--and so she returned home. Varsha\nand Upavarsha when they heard it, congratulated that chaste lady,\nand there was a smile of admiration on the face of every single person\nin that city. [55]\n\nIn the meanwhile, by performing a very severe penance on the snowy\nmountain, I propitiated the god, the husband of P\u00e1rvat\u00ed, the great\ngiver of all good things; he revealed to me that same treatise of\nP\u00e1nini; and in accordance with his wish I completed it: then I returned\nhome without feeling the fatigue of the journey, full of the nectar\nof the favour of that god who wears on his crest a digit of the moon;\nthen I worshipped the feet of my mother and of my spiritual teachers,\nand heard from them the wonderful achievement of Upakos\u00e1, thereupon\njoy and astonishment swelled to the upmost height in my breast,\ntogether with natural affection and great respect for my wife.\n\nNow Varsha expressed a desire to hear from my lips the new grammar,\nand thereupon the god K\u00e1rtikeya himself revealed it to him. And it\ncame to pass that Vy\u00e1di and Indradatta asked their preceptor Varsha\nwhat fee they should give him? He replied, \"Give me ten millions of\ngold pieces.\" So they, consenting to the preceptor's demand, said to\nme; \"Come with us, friend, to ask the king Nanda to give us the sum\nrequired for our teacher's fee; we cannot obtain so much gold from\nany other quarter: for he possesses nine hundred and ninety millions,\nand long ago he declared your wife Upakos\u00e1, his sister in the faith,\ntherefore you are his brother-in-law; we shall obtain something for\nthe sake of your virtues.\" Having formed this resolution, we three\nfellow-students [56] went to the camp of king Nanda in Ayodhy\u00e1,\nand the very moment we arrived, the king died; accordingly an\noutburst of lamentation arose in the kingdom, and we were reduced\nto despair. Immediately Indradatta, who was an adept in magic, said,\n\"I will enter the body of this dead king [57]; let Vararuchi prefer\nthe petition to me, and I will give him the gold, and let Vy\u00e1di guard\nmy body until I return.\" Saying this, Indradatta entered into the body\nof king Nanda, and when the king came to life again, there was great\nrejoicing in the kingdom. While Vy\u00e1di remained in an empty temple to\nguard the body of Indradatta, I went to the king's palace. I entered,\nand after making the usual salutation, I asked the supposed Nanda for\nten million gold pieces as my instructor's fee. Then he ordered a man\nnamed Sakat\u00e1la, the minister of the real Nanda, to give me ten million\nof gold pieces. That minister, when he saw that the dead king had\ncome to life, and that the petitioner immediately got what he asked,\nguessed the real state of the case. What is there that the wise cannot\nunderstand? That minister said--\"It shall be given, your Highness,\" and\nreflected with himself; \"Nanda's son is but a child, and our realm is\nmenaced by many enemies, so I will do my best for the present to keep\nhis body on the throne even in its present state.\" Having resolved\non this, he immediately took steps to have all dead bodies burnt,\nemploying spies to discover them, and among them was found the body\nof Indradatta, which was burned after Vy\u00e1di had been hustled out of\nthe temple. In the meanwhile the king was pressing for the payment\nof the money, but Sakat\u00e1la, who was still in doubt, said to him,\n\"All the servants have got their heads turned by the public rejoicing,\nlet the Br\u00e1hman wait a moment until I can give it.\" Then Vy\u00e1di came and\ncomplained aloud in the presence of the supposed Nanda, \"Help, help,\na Br\u00e1hman engaged in magic, whose life had not yet come to an end in a\nnatural way, has been burnt by force on the pretext that his body was\nuntenanted, and this in the very moment of your good fortune.\" [58]\nOn hearing this the supposed Nanda was in an indescribable state of\ndistraction from grief: but as soon as Indradatta was imprisoned in\nthe body of Nanda, beyond the possibility of escape, by the burning of\nhis body, the discreet Sakat\u00e1la went out and gave me that ten millions.\n\nThen the supposed Nanda, [59] full of grief, said in secret to\nVy\u00e1di,--\"Though a Br\u00e1hman by birth I have become a S\u00fadra, what is the\nuse of my royal fortune to me though it be firmly established?\" When he\nheard that, Vy\u00e1di comforted him, [60] and gave him seasonable advice,\n\"You have been discovered by Sakat\u00e1la, so you must henceforth be on\nyour guard against him, for he is a great minister, and in a short\ntime he will, when it suits his purpose, destroy you, and will\nmake Chandragupta, the son of the previous Nanda, king. Therefore\nimmediately appoint Vararuchi your minister, in order that your rule\nmay be firmly established by the help of his intellect, which is of\ngod-like acuteness.\" When he had said this, Vy\u00e1di departed to give\nthat fee to his preceptor, and immediately Yogananda sent for me and\nmade me his minister. Then I said to the king, \"Though your caste as a\nBr\u00e1hman has been taken from you, I do not consider your throne secure\nas long as Sakat\u00e1la remains in office, therefore destroy him by some\nstratagem.\" When I had given him this advice, Yogananda threw Sakat\u00e1la\ninto a dark dungeon, and his hundred sons with him, [61] proclaiming\nas his crime that he had burnt a Br\u00e1hman alive. One porringer of\nbarley-meal and one of water was placed inside the dungeon every day\nfor Sakat\u00e1la and his sons, and thereupon he said to them;--\"My sons,\neven one man alone would with difficulty subsist on this barley-meal,\nmuch less can a number of people do so. Therefore let that one of us,\nwho is able to take vengeance on Yogananda, consume every day the\nbarley-meal and the water.\" His sons answered him, \"You alone are\nable to punish him, therefore do you consume them.\" For vengeance is\ndearer to the resolute than life itself. So Sakat\u00e1la alone subsisted\non that meal and water every day. Alas! those whose souls are set\non victory are cruel. Sakat\u00e1la in the dark dungeon, beholding the\ndeath agonies of his starving sons, thought to himself, \"A man who\ndesires his own welfare should not act in an arbitrary manner towards\nthe powerful, without fathoming their character and acquiring their\nconfidence.\" Accordingly his hundred sons perished before his eyes,\nand he alone remained alive surrounded by their skeletons. Then\nYogananda took firm root in his kingdom. And Vy\u00e1di approached him after\ngiving the present to his teacher, and after coming near to him said,\n\"May thy rule, my friend, last long! I take my leave of thee, I go to\nperform austerities somewhere.\" Hearing that, Yogananda, with his voice\nchoked with tears, said to him, \"Stop thou, and enjoy pleasures in my\nkingdom, do not go and desert me.\" Vy\u00e1di answered--\"King! Life comes to\nan end in a moment. What wise man, I pray you, drowns himself in these\nhollow and fleeting enjoyments? Prosperity, a desert mirage, does not\nturn the head of the wise man.\" Saying this he went away that moment\nresolved to mortify his flesh with austerities. Then that Yogananda\nwent to his metropolis P\u00e1taliputra, for the purpose of enjoyment,\naccompanied by me, and surrounded with his whole army. So I, having\nattained prosperity, lived for a long time in that state, waited upon\nby Upakos\u00e1, and bearing the burden of the office of prime-minister\nto that king, accompanied by my mother and my preceptors. There the\nGanges, propitiated by my austerities, gave me every day much wealth,\nand Sarasvat\u00ed present in bodily form told me continually what measures\nto adopt.\n\n\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER V.\n\n\nHaving said this, Vararuchi continued his tale as follows:--\n\nIn course of time Yogananda became enslaved by his passions, and like\na mad elephant he disregarded every restraint. Whom will not a sudden\naccess of prosperity intoxicate? Then I reflected with myself, \"The\nking has burst all bonds, and my own religious duties are neglected\nbeing interfered with by my care for his affairs, therefore it is\nbetter for me to draw out that Sakat\u00e1la from his dungeon and make\nhim my colleague in the ministry; even if he tries to oppose me,\nwhat harm can he do as long as I am in office?\" Having resolved on\nthis I asked permission of the king, and drew Sakat\u00e1la out of the\ndeep dungeon. Br\u00e1hmans are always soft-hearted. Now the discreet\nSakat\u00e1la made up his mind, that it would be difficult to overthrow\nYogananda as long as I was in office, and that he had accordingly\nbetter imitate the cane which bends with the current, and watch a\nfavourable moment for vengeance, so at my request he resumed the\noffice of minister and managed the king's affairs.\n\nOnce on a time Yogananda went outside the city, and beheld in the\nmiddle of the Ganges a hand, the five fingers of which were closely\npressed together. That moment he summoned me and said, \"What does\nthis mean?\" But I displayed two of my fingers in the direction of\nthe hand. Thereupon that hand disappeared, and the king, exceedingly\nastonished, again asked me what this meant, and I answered him,\n\"That hand meant to say, by shewing its five fingers, 'What cannot\nfive men united effect in this world?' Then I, king, shewed it these\ntwo fingers, wishing to indicate that nothing is impossible when even\ntwo men are of one mind.\" When I uttered this solution of the riddle\nthe king was delighted, and Sakat\u00e1la was despondent seeing that my\nintellect would be difficult to circumvent.\n\nOne day Yogananda saw his queen leaning out of the window and asking\nquestions of a Br\u00e1hman guest that was looking up. That trivial\ncircumstance threw the king into a passion, and he gave orders that\nthe Br\u00e1hman should be put to death; for jealousy interferes with\ndiscernment. Then as that Br\u00e1hman was being led off to the place\nof execution in order that he might be put to death, a fish in the\nmarket laughed aloud, though it was dead. [62] The king hearing it\nimmediately prohibited for the present the execution of that Br\u00e1hman,\nand asked me the reason why the fish laughed. I replied that I would\ntell him after I had thought over the matter; and after I had gone out\nSarasvat\u00ed came to me secretly on my thinking of her and gave me this\nadvice; \"Take up a position on the top of this palm tree at night so as\nnot to be observed, and thou shalt without doubt hear the reason why\nthe fish laughed.\" Hearing this I went at night to that very place,\nand ensconced myself on the top of the palm tree, and saw a terrible\nfemale R\u00e1kshasa coming past with her children; when they asked her\nfor food, she said, \"Wait, and I will give you to-morrow morning the\nflesh of a Br\u00e1hman, he was not killed to-day.\" [63] They said to their\nmother, \"Why was he not killed to-day?\" Then she replied, \"He was not\nexecuted because a fish in the town, though dead, laughed when it saw\nhim.\" The sons said, \"Why did the fish laugh?\" She continued, \"The\nfish of course said to himself--all the king's wives are dissolute,\nfor in every part of this harem there are men dressed up as women,\nand nevertheless while these escape, an innocent Br\u00e1hman is to be put\nto death--and this tickled the fish so that he laughed. For demons\nassume these disguises, insinuating themselves into everything, and\nlaughing at the exceeding want of discernment of kings.\" After I had\nheard that speech of the female R\u00e1kshasa I went away from thence, and\nin the morning I informed the king why the fish laughed. The king after\ndetecting in the harem those men clothed as women, looked upon me with\ngreat respect, and released that Br\u00e1hman from the sentence of death.\n\nI was disgusted by seeing this and other lawless proceedings on the\npart of the king, and, while I was in this frame of mind, there\ncame to court a new painter. He painted on a sheet of canvas the\nprincipal queen and Yogananda, and that picture of his looked as if\nit were alive, it only lacked speech and motion. And the king being\ndelighted loaded that painter with wealth, and had the painting set\nup on a wall in his private apartments. Now one day when I entered\ninto the king's private apartments, it occurred to me that the\npainting of the queen did not represent all her auspicious marks;\nfrom the arrangement of the other marks I conjectured by means of\nmy acuteness that there ought to be a spot where the girdle comes,\nand I painted one there. Then I departed after thus giving the queen\nall her lucky marks. Then Yogananda entered and saw that spot, and\nasked his chamberlains who had painted it. And they indicated me to\nhim as the person who had painted it. Yogananda thus reflected while\nburning with anger; \"No one except myself knows of that spot, which\nis in a part of the queen's body usually concealed, then how can this\nVararuchi have come thus to know it? [64] No doubt he has secretly\ncorrupted my harem, and this is how he came to see there those men\ndisguised as women.\" Foolish men often find such coincidences. Then of\nhis own motion he summoned Sakat\u00e1la, and gave him the following order:\n\"You must put Vararuchi to death for seducing the queen.\" Sakat\u00e1la\nsaid, \"Your Majesty's orders shall be executed,\" and went out of the\npalace, reflecting, \"I should not have power to put Vararuchi to death,\nfor he possesses godlike force of intellect; and he delivered me from\ncalamity; moreover he is a Br\u00e1hman, therefore I had better hide him and\nwin him over to my side.\" Having formed this resolution, he came and\ntold me of the king's causeless wrath which had ended in his ordering\nmy execution, and thus concluded, \"I will have some one else put to\ndeath in order that the news may get abroad, and do you remain hidden\nin my house to protect me from this passionate king.\" In accordance\nwith this proposal of his, I remained concealed in his house, and he\nhad some one else put to death at night in order that the report of\nmy death might be spread. [65] When he had in this way displayed his\nstatecraft, I said to him out of affection, \"You have shewn yourself an\nunrivalled minister in that you did not attempt to put me to death;\nfor I cannot be slain, since I have a R\u00e1kshasa to friend, and he\nwill come, on being only thought of, and at my request will devour\nthe whole world. As for this king he is a friend of mine, being a\nBr\u00e1hman named Indradatta, and he ought not to be slain.\" Hearing\nthis, that minister said--\"Shew me the R\u00e1kshasa.\" Then I shewed\nhim that R\u00e1kshasa who came with a thought; and on beholding him,\nSakat\u00e1la was astonished and terrified. And when the R\u00e1kshasa had\ndisappeared, Sakat\u00e1la again asked me--\"How did the R\u00e1kshasa become\nyour friend?\" Then I said--\"Long ago the heads of the police as they\nwent through the city night after night on inspecting duty, perished\none by one. On hearing that, Yogananda made me head of the police,\nand as I was on my rounds at night, I saw a R\u00e1kshasa roaming about,\nand he said to me, \"Tell me, who is considered the best-looking woman\nin this city?\" When I heard that, I burst out laughing and said--\"You\nfool, any woman is good-looking to the man who admires her.\" Hearing\nmy answer, he said--\"You are the only man that has beaten me.\" And\nnow that I had escaped death by solving his riddle, [66] he again\nsaid to me, \"I am pleased with you, henceforth you are my friend,\nand I will appear to you when you call me to mind.\" Thus he spoke and\ndisappeared, and I returned by the way that I came. Thus the R\u00e1kshasa\nhas become my friend, and my ally in trouble. When I had said this,\nSakat\u00e1la made a second request to me, and I shewed him the goddess\nof the Ganges in human form who came when I thought of her. And that\ngoddess disappeared when she had been gratified by me with hymns of\npraise. But Sakat\u00e1la became from thenceforth my obedient ally.\n\nNow once on a time that minister said to me when my state of\nconcealment weighed upon my spirits; \"why do you, although you know\nall things, abandon yourself to despondency? Do you not know that\nthe minds of kings are most undiscerning, and in a short time you\nwill be cleared from all imputations; [67] in proof of which listen\nto the following tale:--\n\n\n\nThe story of Sivavarman.\n\nThere reigned here long ago a king named \u00c1dityavarman, and he had a\nvery wise minister, named Sivavarman. Now it came to pass that one\nof that king's queens became pregnant, and when he found it out,\nthe king said to the guards of the harem, \"It is now two years since\nI entered this place, then how has this queen become pregnant? Tell\nme.\" Then they said, \"No man except your minister Sivavarman is\nallowed to enter here, but he enters without any restriction.\" When\nhe heard that, the king thought,--\"Surely he is guilty of treason\nagainst me, and yet if I put him to death publicly, I shall incur\nreproach,\"--thus reflecting, that king sent that Sivavarman on some\npretext to Bhogavarman a neighbouring chief, [68] who was an ally of\nhis, and immediately afterwards the king secretly sent off a messenger\nto the same chief, bearing a letter by which he was ordered to put\nthe minister to death. When a week had elapsed after the minister's\ndeparture, that queen tried to escape out of fear, and was taken by\nthe guards with a man in woman's attire, then \u00c1dityavarman when he\nheard of it was filled with remorse, and asked himself why he had\ncauselessly brought about the death of so excellent a minister. In\nthe meanwhile Sivavarman reached the Court of Bhogavarman, and that\nmessenger came bringing the letter; and fate would have it so that\nafter Bhogavarman had read the letter he told to Sivavarman in secret\nthe order he had received to put him to death.\n\nThe excellent minister Sivavarman in his turn said to that chief,--\"put\nme to death; if you do not, I will slay myself with my own hand.\" When\nhe heard that, Bhogavarman was filled with wonder, and said to him,\n\"What does all this mean? Tell me Br\u00e1hman, if you do not, you will lie\nunder my curse.\" Then the minister said to him, \"King, in whatever land\nI am slain, on that land God will not send rain for twelve years.\" When\nhe heard that, Bhogavarman debated with his minister,--\"that wicked\nking desires the destruction of our land, for could he not have\nemployed secret assassins to kill his minister? So we must not put this\nminister to death, moreover we must prevent him from laying violent\nhands on himself.\" Having thus deliberated and appointed him guards,\nBhogavarman sent Sivavarman out of his country that moment; so that\nminister by means of his wisdom returned alive, and his innocence was\nestablished from another quarter, for righteousness cannot be undone.\n\nIn the same way your innocence will be made clear, K\u00e1ty\u00e1yana; remain\nfor a while in my house; this king too will repent of what he has\ndone. When Sakat\u00e1la said this to me, I spent those days concealed in\nhis house, waiting my opportunity.\n\nThen it came to pass that one day, O K\u00e1nabh\u00fati, a son of that\nYogananda named Hiranyagupta went out hunting, and when he had\nsomehow or other been carried to a great distance by the speed of\nhis horse, while he was alone in the wood the day came to an end;\nand then he ascended a tree to pass the night. Immediately afterwards\na bear, which had been terrified by a lion, ascended the same tree;\nhe seeing the prince frightened, said to him with a human voice,\n\"Fear not, thou art my friend,\" and thus promised him immunity from\nharm. Then the prince confiding in the bear's promise went to sleep,\nwhile the bear remained awake. Then the lion below said to the bear,\n\"Bear, throw me down this man, and I will go away.\" Then the bear said,\n\"Villain, I will not cause the death of a friend.\" When in course of\ntime the bear went to sleep while the prince was awake, the lion said\nagain, \"Man, throw me down the bear.\" When he heard that, the prince,\nwho through fear for his own safety wished to propitiate the lion,\ntried to throw down the bear, but wonderful to say, it did not fall,\nsince Fate caused it to awake. And then that bear said to the prince,\n\"become insane, thou betrayer of thy friend,\" [69] laying upon him\na curse destined not to end until a third person guessed the whole\ntransaction. Accordingly the prince, when he reached his palace in the\nmorning went out of his mind, and Yogananda seeing it, was immediately\nplunged in despondency; and said, \"If Vararuchi were alive at this\nmoment, all this matter would be known; curse on my readiness to have\nhim put to death!\" Sakat\u00e1la, when he heard this exclamation of the\nking's, thought to himself, \"Ha! here is an opportunity obtained for\nbringing K\u00e1ty\u00e1yana out of concealment, and he being a proud man will\nnot remain here, and the king will repose confidence in me.\" After\nreflecting thus, he implored pardon, and said to the king, \"O King,\ncease from despondency, Vararuchi remains alive.\" Then Yogananda said,\n\"Let him be brought quickly.\" Then I was suddenly brought by Sakat\u00e1la\ninto the presence of Yogananda and beheld the prince in that state;\nand by the favour of Sarasvat\u00ed I was enabled to reveal the whole\noccurrence; and I said, \"King, he has proved a traitor to his friend\";\nthen I was praised by that prince who was delivered from his curse;\nand the king asked me how I had managed to find out what had taken\nplace. Then I said, \"King, the minds of the wise see everything by\ninference from signs, and by acuteness of intellect. So I found out\nall this in the same way as I found out that mole.\" When I had said\nthis, that king was afflicted with shame. Then without accepting his\nmunificence, considering myself to have gained all I desired by the\nclearing of my reputation, I went home: for to the wise character\nis wealth. And the moment I arrived, the servants of my house wept\nbefore me, and when I was distressed at it Upavarsha came to me and\nsaid, \"Upakos\u00e1, when she heard that the king had put you to death,\ncommitted her body to the flames, and then your mother's heart\nbroke with grief.\" Hearing that, senseless with the distraction\nproduced by recently aroused grief, I suddenly fell on the ground\nlike a tree broken by the wind: and in a moment I tasted the relief\nof loud lamentations; whom will not the fire of grief, produced by\nthe loss of dear relations, scorch? Varsha came and gave me sound\nadvice in such words as these, \"The only thing that is stable in\nthis ever-changeful world is instability, then why are you distracted\nthough you know this delusion of the Creator\"? By the help of these\nand similar exhortations I at length, though with difficulty, regained\nmy equanimity; then with heart disgusted with the world, I flung aside\nall earthly lords, and choosing self-restraint for my only companion,\nI went to a grove where asceticism was practised.\n\nThen, as days went by, once on a time a Br\u00e1hman from Ayodhy\u00e1 came to\nthat ascetic-grove while I was there: I asked him for tidings about\nYogananda's government, and he recognizing me told me in sorrowful\naccents the following story:\n\n\"Hear what happened to Nanda after you had left him. Sakat\u00e1la\nafter waiting for it a long time, found that he had now obtained\nan opportunity of injuring him. While thinking how he might by\nsome device get Yogananda killed, he happened to see a Br\u00e1hman\nnamed Ch\u00e1nakya digging up the earth in his path; he said to him,\n\"Why are you digging up the earth?\" The Br\u00e1hman, whom he had asked,\nsaid, I am rooting up a plant of darbha grass here, because it has\npricked my foot. [70] When he heard that, the minister thought that\nBr\u00e1hman who formed such stern resolves out of anger, would be the best\ninstrument to destroy Nanda with. After asking his name he said to him,\n\"Br\u00e1hman, I assign to you the duty of presiding at a sr\u00e1ddha on the\nthirteenth day of the lunar fortnight, in the house of king Nanda;\nyou shall have one hundred thousand gold pieces by way of fee, and\nyou shall sit at the board above all others; in the meanwhile come\nto my house.\" Saying this, Sakat\u00e1la took that Br\u00e1hman to his house,\nand on the day of the sr\u00e1ddha he showed the Br\u00e1hman to the king,\nand he approved of him. Then Ch\u00e1nakya went and sat at the head of\nthe table during the sr\u00e1ddha, but a Br\u00e1hman named Subandhu desired\nthat post of honour for himself. Then Sakat\u00e1la went and referred the\nmatter to king Nanda, who answered, \"Let Subandhu sit at the head of\nthe table, no one else deserves the place.\" Then Sakat\u00e1la went, and,\nhumbly bowing through fear, communicated that order of the king's to\nCh\u00e1nakya, adding, \"it is not my fault.\" Then that Ch\u00e1nakya, being,\nas it were, inflamed all over with wrath, undoing the lock of hair on\nthe crown of his head, made this solemn vow, \"Surely this Nanda must be\ndestroyed by me within seven days, and then my anger being appeased I\nwill bind up my lock.\" When he had said this, Yogananda was enraged;\nso Ch\u00e1nakya escaped unobserved, and Sakat\u00e1la gave him refuge in his\nhouse. Then being supplied by Sakat\u00e1la with the necessary instruments,\nthat Br\u00e1hman Ch\u00e1nakya went somewhere and performed a magic rite;\nin consequence of this rite Yogananda caught a burning fever, and\ndied when the seventh day arrived; and Sakat\u00e1la, having slain Nanda's\nson Hiranyagupta, bestowed the royal dignity upon Chandragupta a son\nof the previous Nanda. And after he had requested Ch\u00e1nakya, equal in\nability to Brihaspati, [71] to be Chandragupta's prime-minister, and\nestablished him in the office, that minister, considering that all\nhis objects had been accomplished, as he had wreaked his vengeance\non Yogananda, despondent through sorrow for the death of his sons,\nretired to the forest.\" [72]\n\nAfter I had heard this, O K\u00e1nabh\u00fati, from the mouth of that Br\u00e1hman, I\nbecame exceedingly afflicted, seeing that all things are unstable; and\non account of my affliction I came to visit this shrine of Durg\u00e1, and\nthrough her favour having beheld you, O my friend, I have remembered\nmy former birth.\n\nAnd having obtained divine discernment I have told you the great tale:\nnow as my curse has spent its strength, I will strive to leave the\nbody; and do you remain here for the present, until there comes to you\na Br\u00e1hman named Gun\u00e1dhya, who has forsaken the use of three languages,\n[73] surrounded with his pupils, for he like myself was cursed by the\ngoddess in anger, being an excellent Gana M\u00e1lyav\u00e1n by name, who for\ntaking my part has become a mortal. To him you must tell this tale\noriginally told by Siva, then you shall be delivered from your curse,\nand so shall he.\n\nHaving said all this to K\u00e1nabh\u00fati, that Vararuchi set forth for the\nholy hermitage of Badarik\u00e1 in order to put off his body. As he was\ngoing along he beheld on the banks of the Ganges a vegetable-eating\n[74] hermit, and while he was looking on, that hermit's hand was\npricked with kusa grass. Then Vararuchi turned his blood, as it\nflowed out, into sap [75] through his magic power, out of curiosity,\nin order to test his egotism; on beholding that, the hermit exclaimed,\n\"Ha! I have attained perfection;\" and so he became puffed up with\npride. Then Vararuchi laughed a little and said to him, \"I turned\nyour blood into sap in order to test you, because even now, O hermit,\nyou have not abandoned egotism. Egotism is in truth an obstacle in the\nroad to knowledge hard to overcome, and without knowledge liberation\ncannot be attained even by a hundred vows. But the perishable joys of\nSvarga cannot attract the hearts of those who long for liberation,\ntherefore, O hermit, endeavour to acquire knowledge by forsaking\negotism.\" Having thus read that hermit a lesson, and having been\npraised by him prostrate in adoration, Vararuchi went to the tranquil\nsite of the hermitage of Badar\u00ed. [76] There he, desirous of putting off\nhis mortal condition, resorted for protection with intense devotion\nto that goddess who only can protect, and she manifesting her real\nform to him told him the secret of that meditation which arises from\nfire, to help him to put off the body. Then Vararuchi having consumed\nhis body by that form of meditation, reached his own heavenly home;\nand henceforth that K\u00e1nabh\u00fati remained in the Vindhya forest eager\nfor his desired meeting with Gun\u00e1dhya.\n\n\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER VI.\n\n\nThen that M\u00e1lyav\u00e1n wandering about in the wood in human form, passing\nunder the name of Gun\u00e1dhya, having served the king S\u00e1tav\u00e1hana, and\nhaving, in accordance with a vow, abandoned in his presence the use\nof Sanskrit and two other languages, with sorrowful mind came to pay a\nvisit to Durg\u00e1, the dweller in the Vindhya hills; and by her orders he\nwent and beheld K\u00e1nabh\u00fati. Then he remembered his origin and suddenly,\nas it were, awoke from sleep; and making use of the Pais\u00e1cha language,\nwhich was different from the three languages he had sworn to forsake,\nhe said to K\u00e1nabh\u00fati, after telling him his own name; \"Quickly tell\nme that tale which you heard from Pushpadanta, in order that you\nand I together, my friend, may escape from our curse.\" Hearing that,\nK\u00e1nabh\u00fati bowed before him, and said to him in joyful mood, \"I will\ntell you the story, but great curiosity possesses me, my lord, first\ntell me all your adventures from your birth, do me this favour.\" Thus\nbeing entreated by him, Gun\u00e1dhya proceeded to relate as follows:\n\nIn Pratishth\u00e1na [77] there is a city named Supratishthita; in it there\ndwelt once upon a time an excellent Br\u00e1hman named Somasarman, and he,\nmy friend, had two sons Vatsa and Gulmaka, and he had also born to\nhim a third child, a daughter named Srut\u00e1rth\u00e1. Now in course of time,\nthat Br\u00e1hman and his wife died, and those two sons of his remained\ntaking care of their sister. And she suddenly became pregnant. Then\nVatsa and Gulma began to suspect one another, because no other man\ncame in their sister's way: thereupon Srut\u00e1rth\u00e1, who saw what was\nin their minds, said to those brothers,--\"Do not entertain evil\nsuspicions, listen, I will tell you the truth; there is a prince of\nthe name of K\u00edrtisena, brother's son to V\u00e1suki, the king of the N\u00e1gas;\n[78] he saw me when I was going to bathe, thereupon he was overcome\nwith love, and after telling me his lineage and his name, made me\nhis wife by the G\u00e1ndharva marriage; he belongs to the Br\u00e1hman race,\nand it is by him that I am pregnant.\" When they heard this speech of\ntheir sister's, Vatsa and Gulma said, \"What confidence can we repose\nin all this?\" Then she silently called to mind that N\u00e1ga prince, and\nimmediately he was thought upon, he came and said to Vatsa and Gulma,\n\"In truth I have made your sister my wife, she is a glorious heavenly\nnymph fallen down to earth in consequence of a curse, and you too have\ndescended to earth for the same reason, but a son shall without fail\nbe born to your sister here, and then you and she together shall be\nfreed from your curse.\" Having said this he disappeared, and in a few\ndays from that time, a son was born to Srut\u00e1rth\u00e1; know me my friend as\nthat son. [79] At that very time a divine voice was heard from heaven,\n\"This child that is born is an incarnation of virtue, and he shall\nbe called Gun\u00e1dhya, [80] and is of the Br\u00e1hman caste.\" Thereupon\nmy mother and uncles, as their curse had spent its force, died,\nand I for my part became inconsolable. Then I flung aside my grief,\nand though a child I went in the strength of my self-reliance to\nthe Deccan to acquire knowledge. Then, having in course of time\nlearned all sciences, and become famous, I returned to my native\nland to exhibit my accomplishments; and when I entered after a long\nabsence into the city of Supratishthita, surrounded by my disciples,\nI saw a wonderfully splendid scene. In one place chanters were\nintoning according to prescribed custom the hymns of the S\u00e1ma Veda,\nin another place Br\u00e1hmans were disputing about the interpretation of\nthe sacred books, in another place gamblers were praising gambling\nin these deceitful words, \"Whoever knows the art of gambling, has a\ntreasure in his grasp,\" and in another place, in the midst of a knot\nof merchants, who were talking to one another about their skill in\nthe art of making money, a certain merchant spoke as follows:\n\n\n\nStory of the Mouse-merchant.\n\nIt is not very wonderful that a thrifty man should acquire wealth by\nwealth; but I long ago achieved prosperity without any wealth to start\nwith. My father died before I was born, and then my mother was deprived\nby wicked relations of all she possessed. Then she fled through fear of\nthem, watching over the safety of her unborn child, and dwelt in the\nhouse of Kum\u00e1radatta a friend of my father's, and there the virtuous\nwoman gave birth to me, who was destined to be the means of her future\nmaintenance; and so she reared me up by performing menial drudgery. And\nas she was so poor, she persuaded a teacher by way of charity to give\nme some instruction in writing and ciphering. Then she said to me,\n\"You are the son of a merchant, so you must now engage in trade,\nand there is a very rich merchant in this country called Vis\u00e1khila;\nhe is in the habit of lending capital to poor men of good family,\ngo and entreat him to give you something to start with.\" Then I went\nto his house, and he at the very moment I entered, said in a rage to\nsome merchant's son; \"you see this dead mouse here upon the floor,\neven that is a commodity by which a capable man would acquire wealth,\nbut I gave you, you good-for-nothing fellow, many d\u00edn\u00e1rs, [81] and\nso far from increasing them, you have not even been able to preserve\nwhat you got.\" When I heard that, I suddenly said to that Vis\u00e1khila,\n\"I hereby take from you that mouse as capital advanced;\" saying this\nI took the mouse up in my hand, and wrote him a receipt for it,\nwhich he put in his strong box, and off I went. The merchant for\nhis part burst out laughing. Well, I sold that mouse to a certain\nmerchant as cat's-meat for two handfuls of gram, then I ground up\nthat gram, and taking a pitcher of water, I went and stood on the\ncross-road in a shady place, outside the city; there I offered with\nthe utmost civility the water and gram to a band of wood-cutters;\n[82] every wood-cutter gave me as a token of gratitude two pieces of\nwood; and I took those pieces of wood and sold them in the market;\nthen for a small part of the price which I got for them, I bought a\nsecond supply of gram, and in the same way on a second day I obtained\nwood from the wood-cutters. Doing this every day I gradually acquired\ncapital, and I bought from those wood-cutters all their wood for three\ndays. Then suddenly there befell a dearth of wood on account of heavy\nrains, and I sold that wood for many hundred panas, with that wealth I\nset up a shop, and engaging in traffic, I have become a very wealthy\nman by my own ability. Then I made a mouse of gold, and gave it to\nthat Vis\u00e1khila, then he gave me his daughter; and in consequence of\nmy history I am known in the world by the name of Mouse. So without a\ncoin in the world I acquired this prosperity. All the other merchants\nthen, when they heard this story, were astonished. How can the mind\nhelp being amazed at pictures without walls? [83]\n\n\n\nStory of the chanter of the S\u00e1ma Veda.\n\nIn another place a Br\u00e1hman who had got eight gold m\u00e1shas as a\npresent, a chanter of the S\u00e1ma Veda, received the following piece\nof advice from a man who was a bit of a rou\u00e9, \"You get enough to\nlive upon by your position as a Br\u00e1hman, so you ought now to employ\nthis gold for the purpose of learning the way of the world in order\nthat you may become a knowing fellow.\" The fool said \"Who will teach\nme?\" Thereupon the rou\u00e9 said to him, \"This lady [84] named Chaturik\u00e1,\ngo to her house.\" The Br\u00e1hman said, \"What am I to do there\"? The rou\u00e9\nreplied--\"Give her gold, and in order to please her make use of some\ns\u00e1ma.\" [85] When he heard this, the chanter went quickly to the house\nof Chaturik\u00e1; when he entered, the lady advanced to meet him and he\ntook a seat. Then that Br\u00e1hman gave her the gold and faltered out the\nrequest, \"Teach me now for this fee the way of the world.\" Thereupon\nthe people who were there began to titter, and he, after reflecting\na little, putting his hands together in the shape of a cow's ear,\nso that they formed a kind of pipe, began, like a stupid idiot, to\nchant with a shrill sound the S\u00e1ma Veda, so that all the rou\u00e9s in\nthe house came together to see the fun; and they said \"Whence has\nthis jackal blundered in here? Come, let us quickly give him the\nhalf-moon [86] on his throat.\" Thereupon the Br\u00e1hman supposing that\nthe half-moon meant an arrow with a head of that shape, and afraid\nof having his head cut off, rushed out of the house, bellowing out,\n\"I have learnt the way of the world;\" then he went to the man who had\nsent him, and told him the whole story. He replied \"when I told you\nto use s\u00e1ma, I meant coaxing and wheedling; what is the propriety\nof introducing the Veda in a matter of this kind? The fact is, I\nsuppose, that stupidity is engrained in a man who muddles his head\nwith the Vedas?\" So he spoke, bursting with laughter all the while,\nand went off to the lady's house, and said to her, \"Give back to that\ntwo-legged cow his gold-fodder.\" So she laughing gave back the money,\nand when the Br\u00e1hman got it, he went back to his house as happy as\nif he had been born again.\n\nWitnessing strange scenes of this kind at every step, I reached\nthe palace of the king which was like the court of Indra. And then\nI entered it, with my pupils going before to herald my arrival,\nand saw the king S\u00e1tav\u00e1hana sitting in his hall of audience upon a\njewelled throne, surrounded by his ministers, Sarvavarman and his\ncolleagues, as Indra is by the gods. After I had blessed him and had\ntaken a seat, and had been honoured by the king, Sarvavarman and the\nother ministers praised me in the following words, \"This man, O king,\nis famous upon the earth as skilled in all lore, and therefore his\nname Gun\u00e1dhya [87] is a true index of his nature.\" S\u00e1tav\u00e1hana hearing\nme praised in this style by his ministers, was pleased with me and\nimmediately entertained me honourably, and appointed me to the office\nof Minister. Then I married a wife, and lived there comfortably,\nlooking after the king's affairs and instructing my pupils.\n\nOnce, as I was roaming about at leisure on the banks of the God\u00e1var\u00ed\nout of curiosity, I beheld a garden called Dev\u00edkriti, and seeing\nthat it was an exceedingly pleasant garden, like an earthly Nandana,\n[88] I asked the gardener how it came there, and he said to me,\n\"My lord, according to the story which we hear from old people,\nlong ago there came here a certain Br\u00e1hman who observed a vow of\nsilence and abstained from food, he made this heavenly garden with\na temple; then all the Br\u00e1hmans assembled here out of curiosity, and\nthat Br\u00e1hman being persistently asked by them told his history. There\nis in this land a province called Vakakachchha on the banks of the\nNarmad\u00e1, in that district I was born as a Br\u00e1hman, and in former\ntimes no one gave me alms, as I was lazy as well as poor; then in\na fit of annoyance I quitted my house being disgusted with life,\nand wandering round the holy places, I came to visit the shrine\nof Durg\u00e1 the dweller in the Vindhya hills, and having beheld that\ngoddess, I reflected, 'People propitiate with animal offerings this\ngiver of boons, but I will slay myself here, stupid beast that I\nam.' Having formed this resolve, I took in hand a sword to cut off\nmy head. Immediately that goddess being propitious, herself said to\nme, 'Son, thou art perfected, do not slay thyself, remain near me;'\nthus I obtained a boon from the goddess and attained divine nature;\nfrom that day forth my hunger and thirst disappeared; then once on a\ntime, as I was remaining there, that goddess herself said to me, 'Go,\nmy son, and plant in Pratishth\u00e1na a glorious garden;' thus speaking,\nshe gave me, with her own hands, heavenly seed; thereupon I came here\nand made this beautiful garden by means of her power; and this garden\nyou must keep in good order. Having said this, he disappeared. In this\nway this garden was made by the goddess long ago, my lord.\" When I\nhad heard from the gardener this signal manifestation of the favour\nof the goddess, I went home penetrated with wonder.\n\n\n\nThe story of S\u00e1tav\u00e1hana.\n\nWhen Gun\u00e1dhya had said this, K\u00e1nabh\u00fati asked, \"Why, my lord, was the\nking called S\u00e1tav\u00e1hana?\" Then Gun\u00e1dhya said, Listen, I will tell you\nthe reason. There was a king of great power named Dv\u00edpikarni. He had\na wife named Saktimat\u00ed, whom he valued more than life, and once upon a\ntime a snake bit her as she was sleeping in the garden. Thereupon she\ndied, and that king thinking only of her, though he had no son, took a\nvow of perpetual chastity. Then once upon a time the god of the moony\ncrest said to him in a dream--\"While wandering in the forest thou shalt\nbehold a boy mounted on a lion, take him and go home, he shall be thy\nson.\" Then the king woke up, and rejoiced remembering that dream, and\none day in his passion for the chase he went to a distant wood; there\nin the middle of the day that king beheld on the bank of a lotus-lake\na boy splendid as the sun, riding on a lion; the lion desiring to\ndrink water set down the boy, and then the king remembering his dream\nslew it with one arrow. The creature thereupon abandoned the form of\na lion, and suddenly assumed the shape of a man; the king exclaimed,\n\"Alas! what means this? tell me!\" and then the man answered him--\"O\nking, I am a Yaksha of the name of S\u00e1ta, an attendant upon the god\nof wealth; long ago I beheld the daughter of a Rishi bathing in the\nGanges; she too, when she beheld me, felt love arise in her breast,\nlike myself: then I made her my wife by the G\u00e1ndharva form of marriage;\nand her relatives, finding it out, in their anger cursed me and her,\nsaying, \"You two wicked ones, doing what is right in your own eyes,\nshall become lions.\" The hermit-folk appointed that her curse should\nend when she gave birth to offspring, and that mine should continue\nlonger, until I was slain by thee with an arrow. So we became a pair\nof lions; she in course of time became pregnant, and then died after\nthis boy was born, but I brought him up on the milk of other lionesses,\nand lo! to-day I am released from my curse having been smitten by thee\nwith an arrow. Therefore receive this noble son which I give thee, for\nthis thing was foretold long ago by those hermit-folk.\" Having said\nthis that Guhyaka named S\u00e1ta disappeared, [89] and the king taking\nthe boy went home; and because he had ridden upon S\u00e1ta he gave the\nboy the name of S\u00e1tav\u00e1hana, and in course of time he established him\nin his kingdom. Then, when that king Dv\u00edpikarni went to the forest,\nthis S\u00e1tav\u00e1hana became sovereign of the whole earth.\n\nHaving said this in the middle of his tale in answer to K\u00e1nabh\u00fati's\nquestion, the wise Gun\u00e1dhya again called to mind and went on with the\nmain thread of his narrative. Then once upon a time, in the spring\nfestival that king S\u00e1tav\u00e1hana went to visit the garden made by the\ngoddess, of which I spake before. He roamed there for a long time like\nIndra in the garden of Nandana, and descended into the water of the\nlake to amuse himself in company with his wives. There he sprinkled\nhis beloved ones sportively with water flung by his hands, and was\nsprinkled by them in return like an elephant by its females. His wives\nwith faces, the eyes of which were slightly reddened by the collyrium\nwashed into them, and which were streaming with water, and with bodies\nthe proportions of which were revealed by their clinging garments,\npelted him vigorously; and as the wind strips the creepers in the\nforest of leaves and flowers, so he made his fair ones who fled into\nthe adjoining shrubbery lose the marks on their foreheads [90] and\ntheir ornaments. Then one of his queens tardy with the weight of her\nbreasts, with body tender as a sir\u00edsha flower, became exhausted with\nthe amusement; she not being able to endure more, said to the king who\nwas sprinkling her with water,--\"do not pelt me with water-drops;\"\non hearing that, the king quickly had some sweetmeats [91] brought;\nthen the queen burst out laughing and said again--\"king, what do we\nwant with sweetmeats in the water? For I said to you, do not sprinkle\nme with water-drops. Do you not even understand the coalescence\nof the words m\u00e1 and udaka, and do you not know that chapter of the\ngrammar,--how can you be such a blockhead?\" When the queen, who knew\ngrammatical treatises, said this to him, and the attendants laughed,\nthe king was at once overpowered with secret shame; he left off romping\nin the water and immediately entered his own palace unperceived,\ncrest-fallen, and full of self-contempt. Then he remained lost in\nthought, bewildered, averse to food and other enjoyments, and, like a\npicture, even when asked a question, he answered nothing. Thinking that\nhis only resource was to acquire learning or die, he flung himself down\non a couch, and remained in an agony of grief. Then all the king's\nattendants, seeing that he had suddenly fallen into such a state,\nwere utterly beside themselves to think what it could mean. Then I\nand Sarvavarman came at last to hear of the king's condition, and by\nthat time the day was almost at an end. So perceiving that the king\nwas still in an unsatisfactory condition, we immediately summoned a\nservant of the king named R\u00e1jahansa. And he, when asked by us about\nthe state of the king's health, said this--\"I never before in my\nlife saw the king in such a state of depression: and the other queens\ntold me with much indignation that he had been humiliated to-day by\nthat superficial blue-stocking, the daughter of Vishnusakti.\" When\nSarvavarman and I had heard this from the mouth of the king's servant,\nwe fell into a state of despondency, and thus reflected in our dilemma;\n\"If the king were afflicted with bodily disease, we might introduce\nthe physicians, but if his disease is mental it is impossible to\nfind the cause of it. For there is no enemy in his country the\nthorns of which are destroyed, and these subjects are attached to\nhim; no dearth of any kind is to be seen; so how can this sudden\nmelancholy of the king's have arisen?\" After we had debated to this\neffect, the wise Sarvavarman said as follows--\"I know the cause,\nthis king is distressed by sorrow for his own ignorance, for he is\nalways expressing a desire for culture, saying 'I am a blockhead;'\nI long ago detected this desire of his, and we have heard that the\noccasion of the present fit is his having been humiliated by the\nqueen.\" Thus we debated with one another and after we had passed\nthat night, in the morning we went to the private apartments of\nthe sovereign. There, though strict orders had been given that no\none was to enter, I managed to get in with difficulty, and after me\nSarvavarman slipped in quickly. I then sat down near the king and\nasked him this question--\"Why, O king, art thou without cause thus\ndespondent?\" Though he heard this, S\u00e1tav\u00e1hana nevertheless remained\nsilent, and then Sarvavarman uttered this extraordinary speech, \"King,\nthou didst long ago say to me, 'Make me a learned man.' Thinking upon\nthat I employed last night a charm to produce a dream. [92] Then I\nsaw in my dream a lotus fallen from heaven, and it was opened by some\nheavenly youth, and out of it came a divine woman in white garments,\nand immediately, O king, she entered thy mouth. When I had seen so\nmuch I woke up, and I think without doubt that the woman who visibly\nentered thy mouth was Sarasvat\u00ed.\" As soon as Sarvavarman had in these\nterms described his dream, the king broke his silence and said to me\nwith the utmost earnestness,--\"In how short a time can a man, who\nis diligently taught, acquire learning? Tell me this. For without\nlearning all this regal splendour has no charms for me. What is the\nuse of rank and power to a blockhead? They are like ornaments on a log\nof wood.\" Then I said, \"King, it is invariably the case that it takes\nmen twelve years to learn grammar, the gate to all knowledge. But I,\nmy sovereign, will teach it you in six years.\" When he heard that,\nSarvavarman suddenly exclaimed in a fit of jealousy--\"How can a man\naccustomed to enjoyment endure hardship for so long? So I will teach\nyou grammar, my prince, in six months.\" When I heard this promise\nwhich it seemed impossible to make good, I said to him in a rage,\n\"If you teach the king in six months, I renounce at once and for ever\nSanskrit, Prakrit, and the vernacular dialect, these three languages\nwhich pass current among men;\" [93] then Sarvavarman said--\"And if I do\nnot do this, I Sarvavarman, will carry your shoes on my head for twelve\nyears.\" Having said this he went out; I too went home; and the king\nfor his part was comforted, expecting that he would attain his object\nby means of one of us two. Now Sarvavarman being in a dilemma, seeing\nthat his promise was one very difficult to perform, and regretting\nwhat he had done, told the whole story to his wife, and she grieved to\nhear it said to him, \"My lord, in this difficulty there is no way of\nescape for you except the favour of the Lord K\u00e1rtikeya.\" [94] \"It is\nso,\" said Sarvavarman and determined to implore it. Accordingly in the\nlast watch of the night, Sarvavarman set out fasting for the shrine of\nthe god. Now I came to hear of it by means of my secret emissaries,\nand in the morning I told the king of it; and he, when he heard it,\nwondered what would happen. Then a trusty R\u00e1jp\u00fat called Sinhagupta\nsaid to him, \"When I heard, O king, that thou wast afflicted I was\nseized with great despondency. Then I went out of this city, and was\npreparing to cut off my own head before the goddess Durg\u00e1 in order\nto ensure thy happiness. Then a voice from heaven forbade me, saying,\n'Do not so, the king's wish shall be fulfilled.' Therefore, I believe,\nthou art sure of success.\" When he had said this, that Sinhagupta\ntook leave of the king, and rapidly despatched two emissaries after\nSarvavarman; who feeding only on air, observing a vow of silence,\nsteadfast in resolution, reached at last the shrine of the Lord\nK\u00e1rtikeya. There, pleased with his penance that spared not the body,\nK\u00e1rtikeya favoured him according to his desire; then the two spies\nsent by Sinhagupta came into the king's presence and reported the\nminister's success. On hearing that news the king was delighted and I\nwas despondent, as the ch\u00e1taka joys, and the swan grieves, on seeing\nthe cloud. [95] Then Sarvavarman arrived successful by the favour\nof K\u00e1rtikeya, and communicated to the king all the sciences, which\npresented themselves to him on his thinking of them. And immediately\nthey were revealed to the king S\u00e1tav\u00e1hana. For what cannot the grace of\nthe Supreme Lord accomplish? Then the kingdom rejoiced on hearing that\nthe king had thus obtained all knowledge, and there was high festival\nkept throughout it; and that moment banners were flaunted from every\nhouse, and being fanned by the wind, seemed to dance. Then Sarvavarman\nwas honoured with abundance of jewels fit for a king by the sovereign,\nwho bowed humbly before him, calling him his spiritual preceptor, and\nhe was made governor of the territory called Vakakachchha, which lies\nalong the bank of the Narmad\u00e1. The king being highly pleased with that\nR\u00e1jp\u00fat Sinhagupta, who first heard by the mouth of his spies, that the\nboon had been obtained from the six-faced god, [96] made him equal to\nhimself in splendour and power. And that queen too, the daughter of\nVishnusakti, who was the cause of his acquiring learning, he exalted\nat one bound above all the queens, through affection anointing [97]\nher with his own hand.\n\n\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER VII.\n\n\nThen, having taken a vow of silence, I came into the presence of the\nsovereign, and there a certain Br\u00e1hman recited a sloka he had composed,\nand the king himself addressed him correctly in the Sanskrit language;\nand the people who were present in court were delighted when they\nwitnessed that. Then the king said deferentially to Sarvavarman--\"Tell\nme thyself after what fashion the god shewed thee favour.\" Hearing\nthat, Sarvavarman proceeded to relate to the king the whole story of\nK\u00e1rtikeya's favourable acceptance of him.\n\n\"I went, O king, on that occasion fasting and silent from this\nplace, so when the journey came to an end, being very despondent,\nand emaciated with my severe austerities, worn out I fell senseless\non the ground. Then, I remember, a man with a spear in his hand came\nand said to me in distinct accents, 'Rise up, my son, everything\nshall turn out favourably for thee.' By that speech I was, as it were,\nimmediately bedewed with a shower of nectar, and I woke up, and seemed\nfree from hunger and thirst and in good ease. Then I approached the\nneighbourhood of the god's temple, overpowered with the weight of\nmy devotion, and after bathing I entered the inner shrine of the god\nin a state of agitated suspense. Then that Lord Skanda [98] gave me\na sight of himself within, and thereupon Sarasvat\u00ed in visible shape\nentered my mouth. So that holy god, manifested before me, recited\nthe s\u00fatra beginning 'the traditional doctrine of letters.' On hearing\nthat, I, with the levity which is so natural to mankind, guessed the\nnext s\u00fatra and uttered it myself. Then that god said to me, 'if thou\nhadst not uttered it thyself, this grammatical treatise would have\nsupplanted that of P\u00e1nini. As it is, on account of its conciseness,\nit shall be called K\u00e1tantra, and K\u00e1l\u00e1paka, from the tail (kal\u00e1pa)\nof the peacock on which I ride.' Having said this, that god himself\nin visible form revealed to me that new and short grammar, [99] and\nthen added this besides; 'That king of thine in a former birth was\nhimself a holy sage, a pupil of the hermit Bharadv\u00e1ja, named Krishna,\ngreat in austerity: and he, having beheld a hermit's daughter who\nloved him in return, suddenly felt the smart of the wound which the\nshaft of the flowery-arrowed god inflicts. So, having been cursed\nby the hermits, he has now become incarnate here, and that hermit's\ndaughter has become incarnate as his queen.\n\nSo this king S\u00e1tav\u00e1hana, being an incarnation of a holy sage, [100]\nwhen he beholds thee, will attain a knowledge of all the sciences\naccording to thy wish. For the highest matters are easily acquired by\ngreat-souled ones, having been learnt in a former birth, the real truth\nof them being recalled by their powerful memories.' [101] When the\ngod had said this, he disappeared, and I went out, and there grains\nof rice were presented me by the god's servants. Then I proceeded to\nreturn, O king, and wonderful to say, though I consumed those grains\non my journey day after day, they remained as numerous as ever.\" When\nhe had related his adventure, Sarvavarman ceased speaking, and king\nS\u00e1tav\u00e1hana in cheerful mood rose up and went to bathe.\n\nThen I, being excluded from business by my vow of silence, took leave,\nwith a low bow only, of that king who was very averse to part with me,\nand went out of that town, accompanied by only two disciples, and,\nwith my mind bent on the performance of austerities, came to visit the\nshrine of the dweller in the Vindhya hills, and having been directed\nby the goddess in a dream to visit thee, I entered for that purpose\nthis terrible Vindhya forest. A hint given by a Pulinda enabled me\nto find a caravan, and so somehow or other, by the special favour of\ndestiny, I managed to arrive here, and beheld this host of Pis\u00e1chas,\nand by hearing from a distance their conversation with one another,\nI have contrived to learn this Pais\u00e1cha language, which has enabled\nme to break my vow of silence; I then made use of it to ask after\nyou, and, hearing that you had gone to Ujjayin\u00ed, I waited here until\nyour return; on beholding you I welcomed you in the fourth language,\n(the speech of the Pis\u00e1chas), and then I called to mind my origin;\nthis is the story of my adventures in this birth.\n\nWhen Gun\u00e1dhya had said this, K\u00e1nabh\u00fati said to him,--\"hear, how your\narrival was made known to me last night. I have a friend, a R\u00e1kshasa\nof the name of Bh\u00fativarman, who possesses heavenly insight; and I went\nto a garden in Ujjayin\u00ed, where he resides. On my asking him when my\nown curse would come to an end, he said, we have no power in the day,\nwait, and I will tell you at night. I consented and when night came\non, I asked him earnestly the reason why goblins [102] delighted in\ndisporting themselves then, as they were doing. Then Bh\u00fativarman said\nto me, 'Listen, I will relate what I heard Siva say in a conversation\nwith Brahm\u00e1. R\u00e1kshasas, Yakshas, and Pis\u00e1chas have no power in the day,\nbeing dazed with the brightness of the sun, therefore they delight in\nthe night. And where the gods are not worshipped, and the Br\u00e1hmans,\nin due form, and where men eat contrary to the holy law, there also\nthey have power. Where there is a man who abstains from flesh, or a\nvirtuous woman, there they do not go. They never attack chaste men,\nheroes, and men awake.' [103] When he said this on that occasion\nBh\u00fativarman continued, 'Go, for Gun\u00e1dhya has arrived, the destined\nmeans of thy release from the curse.' So hearing this, I have come,\nand I have seen thee, my lord; now I will relate to thee that tale\nwhich Pushpadanta told; but I feel curiosity on one point; tell me\nwhy he was called Pushpadanta and thou M\u00e1lyav\u00e1n.\"\n\n\n\nStory of Pushpadanta.\n\nHearing this question from K\u00e1nabh\u00fati, Gun\u00e1dhya said to him. On the bank\nof the Ganges there is a district granted to Br\u00e1hmans by royal charter,\nnamed Bahusuvarnaka, and there lived there a very learned Br\u00e1hman\nnamed Govindadatta, and he had a wife Agnidatt\u00e1 who was devoted to her\nhusband. In course of time that Br\u00e1hman had five sons by her. And they,\nbeing handsome but stupid, grew up insolent fellows. Then a guest came\nto the house of Govindadatta, a Br\u00e1hman Vaisv\u00e1nara by name, like a\nsecond god of fire. [104] As Govindadatta was away from home when he\narrived, he came and saluted his sons, and they only responded to his\nsalute with a laugh; then that Br\u00e1hman in a rage prepared to depart\nfrom his house. While he was in this state of wrath Govindadatta came,\nand asked the cause, and did his best to appease him, but the excellent\nBr\u00e1hman nevertheless spoke as follows--\"Your sons have become outcasts,\nas being blockheads, and you have lost caste by associating with them,\ntherefore I will not eat in your house; if I did so, I should not be\nable to purify myself by any expiatory ceremony.\" Then Govindadatta\nsaid to him with an oath, \"I will never even touch these wicked sons\nof mine.\" His hospitable wife also came and said the same to her\nguest; then Vaisv\u00e1nara was with difficulty induced to accept their\nhospitality. One of Govindadatta's sons, named Devadatta, when he saw\nthat, was grieved at his father's sternness, and thinking a life of\nno value which was thus branded by his parents, went in a state of\ndespondency to the hermitage of Badarik\u00e1 to perform penance; there\nhe first ate leaves, and afterwards he fed only on smoke, persevering\nin a long course of austerities in order to propitiate the husband of\nUm\u00e1 [105]. So Sambhu, won over by his severe austerities, manifested\nhimself to him, and he craved a boon from the god, that he might\never attend upon him. Sambhu thus commanded him--\"Acquire learning,\nand enjoy pleasures on the earth, and after that thou shalt attain\nall thy desire.\" Then he, eager for learning, went to the city of\nP\u00e1taliputra, and according to custom waited on an instructor named\nVedakumbha. When he was there, the wife of his preceptor distracted\nby passion, which had arisen in her heart, made violent love to him;\nalas! the fancies of women are ever inconstant! Accordingly Devadatta\nleft that place, as his studies had been thus interfered with by the\ngod of love, and went to Pratishth\u00e1na with unwearied zeal. There he\nrepaired to an old preceptor named Mantrasv\u00e1min, with an old wife,\nand acquired a perfect knowledge of the sciences. And after he had\nacquired learning, the daughter of the king Susarman, Sr\u00ed by name,\ncast eyes upon the handsome youth, as the goddess Sr\u00ed upon Vishnu. He\nalso beheld that maiden at a window, looking like the presiding goddess\nof the moon, roaming through the air in a magic chariot. Those two\nwere, as it were, fastened together by that look which was the chain\nof love, and were unable to separate. The king's daughter made him\na sign to come near with one finger, looking like Love's command in\nfleshly form. Then he came near her, and she came out of the women's\napartments, and took with her teeth a flower and threw it down to\nhim. He, not understanding this mysterious sign made by the princess,\npuzzled as to what he ought to do, went home to his preceptor. There he\nrolled on the ground unable to utter a word, being consumed within with\nburning pain, like one dumb and distracted; his wise preceptor guessing\nwhat was the matter by these love-symptoms, artfully questioned\nhim, and at last he was with difficulty persuaded to tell the whole\nstory. Then the clever preceptor guessed the riddle, and said to him,\n[106] \"By letting drop a flower with her tooth she made a sign to you,\nthat you were to go to this temple rich in flowers called Pushpadanta,\nand wait there: so you had better go now.\" When he heard this and knew\nthe meaning of the sign, the youth forgot his grief. Then he went into\nthat temple and remained there. The princess on her part also went\nthere, giving as an excuse that it was the eighth day of the month,\nand then entered the inner shrine in order to present herself alone\nbefore the god; then she touched her lover who was behind the panel\nof the door, and he suddenly springing up threw his arms round her\nneck. She exclaimed, \"this is strange; how did you guess the meaning\nof that sign of mine?\" He replied, \"it was my preceptor that found\nit out, not I.\" Then the princess flew into a passion and said, \"Let\nme go, you are a dolt,\" and immediately rushed out of the temple,\nfearing that her secret would be discovered. Devadatta on his part\nwent away, and thinking in solitude on his beloved, who was no sooner\nseen than lost to his eyes, was in such a state that the taper of\nhis life was well nigh melted away in the fire of bereavement. Siva,\nwho had been before propitiated by him, commanded an attendant of\nhis, of the name of Panchasikha, to procure for him the desire of\nhis heart. That excellent Gana thereupon came, and consoled him,\nand caused him to assume the dress of a woman, and he himself wore\nthe semblance of an aged Br\u00e1hman. Then that worthy Gana went with him\nto king Susarman the father of that bright-eyed one, and said to him;\n\"My son has been sent away somewhere, I go to seek him: accordingly\nI deposit with thee this daughter-in-law of mine, keep her safely,\nO king.\" Hearing that, king Susarman afraid of a Br\u00e1hman's curse,\ntook the young man and placed him in his daughter's guarded seraglio,\nsupposing him to be a woman. Then after the departure of Panchasikha,\nthe Br\u00e1hman dwelt in woman's clothes in the seraglio of his beloved,\nand became her trusted confidante. Once on a time the princess was\nfull of regretful longing at night, so he discovered himself to her\nand secretly married her by the G\u00e1ndharva form of marriage. And when\nshe became pregnant, that excellent Gana came on his thinking of him\nonly, and carried him away at night without its being perceived. Then\nhe quickly rent off from the young man his woman's dress, and in the\nmorning Panchasikha resumed the semblance of a Br\u00e1hman; and going\nwith the young man to the king Susarman he said; \"O king, I have\nthis day found my son: so give me back my daughter-in-law.\" Then\nthe king, supposing that she had fled somewhere at night, alarmed\nat the prospect of being cursed by the Br\u00e1hman, said this to his\nministers. \"This is no Br\u00e1hman, this is some god come to deceive me,\nfor such things often happen in this world.\n\n\n\nStory of king Sivi.\n\nSo in former times there was a king named Sivi, self-denying,\ncompassionate, generous, resolute, the protector of all creatures;\nand in order to beguile him Indra assumed the shape of a hawk,\nand swiftly pursued Dharma, [107] who by magic had transformed\nhimself into a dove. The dove in terror went and took refuge in the\nbosom of Sivi. Then the hawk addressed the king with a human voice;\n'O king, this is my natural food, surrender the dove to me, for I\nam hungry. Know that my death will immediately follow if you refuse\nmy prayer; in that case where will be your righteousness?' Then Sivi\nsaid to the god,--'this creature has fled to me for protection, and I\ncannot abandon it, therefore I will give you an equal weight of some\nother kind of flesh.' The hawk said, 'if this be so, then give me your\nown flesh.' The king, delighted, consented to do so. But as fast as\nhe cut off his flesh and threw it on the scale, the dove seemed to\nweigh more and more in the balance. Then the king threw his whole\nbody on to the scale, and thereupon a celestial voice was heard,\n'Well done! this is equal in weight to the dove.' Then Indra and\nDharma abandoned the form of hawk and dove, and being highly pleased\nrestored the body of king Sivi whole as before, and, after bestowing\non him many other blessings, they both disappeared. In the same way\nthis Br\u00e1hman is some god that has come to prove me.\" [108]\n\nHaving said this to his ministers, that king Susarman of his own\nmotion said to that excellent Gana that had assumed the form of\na Br\u00e1hman, prostrating himself before him in fear, \"Spare me; that\ndaughter-in-law of thine was carried off last night. She has been taken\nsomewhere or other by magic arts, though guarded night and day.\" Then\nthe Gana, who had assumed the Br\u00e1hman's semblance, pretending to be\nwith difficulty won over to pity him, said, \"If this be so, king,\ngive thy daughter in marriage to my son.\" When he heard this, the\nking afraid of being cursed, gave his own daughter to Devadatta: then\nPanchasikha departed. Then Devadatta having recovered his beloved,\nand that in an open manner, flourished in the power and splendour\nof his father-in-law who had no son but him. And in course of time\nSusarman anointed the son of his daughter by Devadatta, Mah\u00eddhara\nby name, as successor in his room, and retired to the forest. Then\nhaving seen the prosperity of his son, Devadatta considered that he\nhad attained all his objects, and he too with the princess retired to\nthe forest. There he again propitiated Siva, and having laid aside\nhis mortal body, by the special favour of the god he attained the\nposition of a Gana. Because he did not understand the sign given by\nthe flower dropped from the tooth of his beloved, therefore he became\nknown by the name of Pushpadanta in the assembly of the Ganas. And\nhis wife became a door-keeper in the house of the goddess, under the\nname of Jay\u00e1: this is how he came to be called Pushpadanta: now hear\nthe origin of my name.\n\nLong ago I was a son of that same Br\u00e1hman called Govindadatta\nthe father of Devadatta, and my name was Somadatta. I left my home\nindignant for the same reason as Devadatta, and I performed austerities\non the Him\u00e1laya continually striving to propitiate Siva with offerings\nof many garlands. The god of the moony crest, being pleased, revealed\nhimself to me in the same way as he did to my brother, and I chose\nthe privilege of attending upon him as a Gana, not being desirous\nof lower pleasures. The husband of the daughter of the mountain,\nthat mighty god, thus addressed me; \"Because I have been worshipped\nby thee with garlands of flowers growing in trackless forest-regions,\nbrought with thy own hand, therefore thou shalt be one of my Ganas,\nand shalt bear the name of M\u00e1lyav\u00e1n.\" Then I cast off my mortal frame,\nand immediately attained the holy state of an attendant on the god. And\nso my name of M\u00e1lyav\u00e1n was bestowed upon me by him who wears the burden\nof the matted locks, [109] as a mark of his special favour. And I,\nthat very M\u00e1lyav\u00e1n, have once more, O K\u00e1nabh\u00fati, been degraded to the\nstate of a mortal, as thou seest, owing to the curse of the daughter\nof the mountain, therefore do thou now tell me the tale told by Siva,\nin order that the state of curse of both of us may cease.\n\n\n\nNOTE TO CHAPTER VII.\n\n\"R\u00e1kshasas, Yakshas, and Pis\u00e1chas have no power in the day, being dazed\nwith the brightness of the sun therefore they delight in the night.\"\n\nFarmer commenting on Hamlet, Act I, Sc. I, 150, quotes the following\nlines of Prudentius Ad Gallicinium. Ferunt vagantes d\u00e6monas,\nL\u00e6tos tenebris noctium, Gallo canente exterritos, Sparsim timere\net cedere. Hoc esse signum pr\u00e6scii Norunt repromiss\u00e6 spei, Qua nos\nsoporis liberi Speramus adventum Dei. Douce quotes from another hymn\nsaid to have been composed by Saint Ambrose and formerly used in the\nSalisbury service. Pr\u00e6co dici jam sonat, Noctis profund\u00e6 pervigil;\nNocturna lux viantibus, A nocte noctem segregans. Hoc excitatus\nLucifer Solvit polum caligine; Hoc omnis errorum cohors Viam nocendi\ndeserit. Gallo canente spes redit &c.\n\nSee also Gr\u00f6ssler's Sagen der Grafschaft Mansfeld, pp. 58 and 59;\nthe Pentamerone of Basile, translated by Liebrecht, Vol. I, p. 251;\nDasent's Norse Tales, p. 347, \"The Troll turned round, and, of course,\nas soon as he saw the sun, he burst;\" Grimm's Irische M\u00e4rchen,\np. x; Kuhn's Westf\u00e4lische M\u00e4rchen, p. 63; Sch\u00f6ppner's Sagenbuch der\nBayerischen Lande, Vol. I, pp. 123, and 228; and Bernhard Schmidt's\nGriechische M\u00e4rchen, p. 138. He quotes the following interesting\npassage from the Philopseudes of Lucian, Syn\u00ean achri d\u00ea alektryon\u00f4n\n\u00eakousamen adont\u00f4n tote d\u00ea h\u00ea te Sel\u00ean\u00ea aneptato eis ton ouranon kai\nh\u00ea Hekat\u00ea edy kata t\u00eas g\u00eas, kai ta alla phasmata \u00eaphanisth\u00ea, &c.\n\n\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER VIII.\n\n\nIn accordance with this request of Gun\u00e1dhya that heavenly tale\nconsisting of seven stories was told by K\u00e1nabh\u00fati in his own language,\nand Gun\u00e1dhya for his part using the same Pais\u00e1cha language threw them\ninto seven hundred thousand couplets in seven years; and that great\npoet, for fear that the Vidy\u00e1dharas should steal his composition,\nwrote it with his own blood in the forest, not possessing ink. And\nso the Vidy\u00e1dharas, Siddhas and other demigods came to hear it,\nand the heaven above where K\u00e1nabh\u00fati was reciting, was, as it were,\ncontinually covered with a canopy. And K\u00e1nabh\u00fati, when he had seen that\ngreat tale composed by Gun\u00e1dhya, was released from his curse and went\nto his own place. There were also other Pis\u00e1chas that accompanied him\nin his wanderings: they too all of them attained heaven, having heard\nthat heavenly tale. Then that great poet Gun\u00e1dhya began to reflect,\n\"I must make this Great Tale [110] of mine current on the earth, for\nthat is the condition that the goddess mentioned when she revealed\nhow my curse would end. Then how shall I make it current? To whom\nshall I give it?\" Then his two disciples that had followed him, one\nof whom was called Gunadeva, and the other Nandideva said to him,\n\"The glorious S\u00e1tav\u00e1hana alone is a fit person to give this poem to,\nfor being a man of taste he will diffuse the poem far and wide, as the\nwind diffuses the perfume of the flower.\" \"So be it,\" said Gun\u00e1dhya,\nand gave the book to those two accomplished disciples and sent them\nto that king with it; and went himself to that same Pratishth\u00e1na,\nbut remained outside the city in the garden planted by the goddess,\nwhere he arranged that they should meet him. And his disciples went\nand showed the poem to king S\u00e1tav\u00e1hana, telling him at the same\ntime that it was the work of Gun\u00e1dhya. When he heard that Pais\u00e1cha\nlanguage and saw that they had the appearance of Pis\u00e1chas, that\nking, led astray by pride of learning, said with a sneer, \"The seven\nhundred thousand couplets are a weighty authority, but the Pais\u00e1cha\nlanguage is barbarous, and the letters are written in blood; away\nwith this Pais\u00e1cha tale.\" Then the two pupils took the book, and\nreturned by the way which they came, and told the whole circumstance\nto Gun\u00e1dhya. Gun\u00e1dhya for his part, when he heard it, was immediately\novercome with sorrow; who indeed is not inly grieved when scorned by\na competent authority? Then he went with his disciples to a craggy\nhill at no great distance, in an unfrequented but pleasant spot, and\nfirst prepared a consecrated fire cavity. Then he took the leaves one\nby one, and after he had read them aloud to the beasts and birds, he\nflung them into the fire while his disciples looked on with tearful\neyes. But he reserved one story, consisting of one hundred thousand\ncouplets, containing the history of Narav\u00e1hanadatta, for the sake\nof his two disciples, as they particularly fancied it. And while he\nwas reading out and burning that heavenly tale, all the deer, boars,\nbuffaloes and other wild animals, came there, leaving the pasturage,\nand formed a circle around him, listening with tears in their eyes,\nunable to quit the spot. [111]\n\nIn the meanwhile king S\u00e1tav\u00e1hana fell sick. And the physicians\nsaid that his illness was due to eating meat wanting in nutritive\nqualities. And when the cooks were scolded for it, they said--\"The\nhunters bring in to us flesh of this kind.\" And when the hunters were\ntaken to task, they said,--\"On a hill not very far from here there is a\nBr\u00e1hman reading, who throws into the fire every leaf as soon as he has\nread it; so all the animals go there and listen without ever grazing,\nthey never wander anywhere else, consequently this flesh of theirs\nis wanting in nutritive properties on account of their going without\nfood.\" When he heard this speech of the hunters he made them shew\nhim the way, and out of curiosity went in person to see Gun\u00e1dhya,\nand he beheld him owing to his forest life overspread with matted\nlocks, that looked like the smoke of the fire of his curse, that was\nalmost extinguished.\n\nThen the king recognized him as he stood in the midst of the weeping\nanimals, and after he had respectfully saluted him, he asked him\nfor an explanation of all the circumstances. That wise Br\u00e1hman then\nrelated to the king in the language of the demons his own history as\nPushpadanta, giving an account of the curse and all the circumstances\nwhich originated the descent of the tale to earth. Then the king,\ndiscovering that he was an incarnation of a Gana, bowed at his feet,\nand asked him for that celestial tale that had issued from the mouth\nof Siva. Then Gun\u00e1dhya said to that king S\u00e1tav\u00e1hana; \"O king I have\nburnt six tales containing six hundred thousand couplets; but here\nis one tale consisting of a hundred thousand couplets, take that:\n[112] and these two pupils of mine shall explain it to you.\" So\nspake Gun\u00e1dhya and took leave of the king, and then by strength of\ndevotion laid aside his earthly body, and released from the curse\nascended to his own heavenly home. Then the king took that tale which\nGun\u00e1dhya had given, called Vrihat Kath\u00e1, containing the adventures of\nNarav\u00e1hanadatta, and went to his own city. And there he bestowed on\nGunadeva and Nandideva, the pupils of the poet who composed that tale,\nlands, gold, garments, beasts of burden, palaces, and treasures. And\nhaving recovered the sense of that tale with their help, S\u00e1tav\u00e1hana\ncomposed the book named Kath\u00e1p\u00edtha, in order to shew how the tale\ncame to be first made known in the Pais\u00e1cha language. Now that tale\nwas so full of various interest, that men were so taken up with it\nas to forget the tales of the gods, and after producing that effect\nin the city it attained uninterrupted renown in the three worlds.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nBOOK II.\n\nCALLED KATH\u00c1MUKHA.\n\n\nThis nectarous tale sprang in old time from the mouth of Siva, set in\nmotion by his love for the daughter of the Him\u00e1laya, as the nectar\nof immortality sprang from the sea, when churned by the mountain\nMandara. Those who drink eagerly the nectar of this tale, have all\nimpediments removed and gain prosperity, and by the favour of Siva\nattain, while living upon earth, the high rank of gods.\n\n\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER IX.\n\n\nMay the water of Siva's sweat, fresh from the embrace of Gaur\u00ed,\n[113] which the god of love when afraid of the fire of Siva's eye,\nemploys as his aqueous weapon, protect you.\n\nListen to the following tale of the Vidy\u00e1dharas, which the excellent\nGana Pushpadanta heard on mount Kail\u00e1sa from the god of the matted\nlocks, and which K\u00e1nabh\u00fati heard on the earth from the same Pushpadanta\nafter he had become Vararuchi, and which Gun\u00e1dhya heard from K\u00e1nabh\u00fati,\nand S\u00e1tav\u00e1hana heard from Gun\u00e1dhya.\n\n\n\nStory of Udayana king of Vatsa.\n\nThere is a land famous under the name of Vatsa, that appears as\nif it had been made by the Creator as an earthly rival to dash the\npride of heaven. In the centre of it is a great city named Kaus\u00e1mb\u00ed,\nthe favourite dwelling-place of the goddess of prosperity; the\near-ornament, so to speak, of the earth. In it dwelt a king named\nSat\u00e1n\u00edka, sprung from the P\u00e1ndava family, he was the son of Janamejaya,\nand the grandson of king Par\u00edkshit, who was the great-grandson of\nAbhimanyu. The first progenitor of his race was Arjuna, the might\nof whose strong arms was tested in a struggle with the mighty arms\nof Siva; [114] his wife was the earth, and also Vishnumat\u00ed his\nqueen; the first produced jewels, but the second did not produce a\nson. Once on a time, as that king was roaming about in his passion\nfor the chase, he made acquaintance in the forest with the hermit\nS\u00e1ndilya. That worthy sage finding out that the king desired a son,\ncame to Kaus\u00e1mb\u00ed and administered to his queen an artfully prepared\noblation [115] consecrated with mystic verses. Then he had a son\nborn to him called Sahasr\u00e1n\u00edka. And his father was adorned by him\nas excellence is by modesty. Then in course of time Sat\u00e1n\u00edka made\nthat son crown-prince and though he still enjoyed kingly pleasures,\nceased to trouble himself about the cares of government. Then a\nwar arose between the gods and Asuras, and Indra sent M\u00e1tali as a\nmessenger to that king begging for aid. Then he committed his son and\nhis kingdom to the care of his principal minister, who was called\nYogandhara, and his Commander-in-chief, whose name was Suprat\u00edka,\nand went to Indra with M\u00e1tali to slay the Asuras in fight. That king,\nhaving slain many Asuras, of whom Yamadanshtra was the chief, under\nthe eyes of Indra, met death in that very battle. The king's body\nwas brought back by M\u00e1tali, and the queen burnt herself with it, and\nthe royal dignity descended to his son Sahasr\u00e1n\u00edka. Wonderful to say,\nwhen that king ascended his father's throne, the heads of the kings\non every side of his dominions were bent down with the weight. Then\nIndra sent M\u00e1tali, and brought to heaven that Sahasr\u00e1n\u00edka, as being\nthe son of his friend, that he might be present at the great feast\nwhich he was holding to celebrate his victory over his foes. There\nthe king saw the gods, attended by their fair ones, sporting in\nthe garden of Nandana, and desiring for himself a suitable wife,\nfell into low spirits. Then Indra, perceiving this desire of his,\nsaid to him; \"King, away with despondency, this desire of thine\nshall be accomplished. For there has been born upon the earth one,\nwho was long ago ordained a suitable match for thee. For listen to\nthe following history, which I now proceed to relate to thee.\n\n\"Long ago I went to the court of Brahm\u00e1 in order to visit him, and a\ncertain Vasu named Vidh\u00fama followed me. While we were there, an Apsaras\n[116] named Alambush\u00e1 came to see Brahm\u00e1, and her robe was blown\naside by the wind. And the Vasu, when he beheld her, was overpowered\nby love, and the Apsaras too had her eyes immediately attracted by his\nform. The lotus-sprung god, [117] when he beheld that, looked me full\nin the face, and I, knowing his meaning, in wrath cursed those two,\n'Be born, you two, shameless creatures, into the world of mortals,\nand there become man and wife.' That Vasu has been born as thou,\nSahasr\u00e1n\u00edka, the son of Sat\u00e1n\u00edka, an ornament to the race of the\nmoon. And that Apsaras too has been born in Ayodhy\u00e1 as the daughter\nof king Kritavarman, Mrig\u00e1vat\u00ed by name, she shall be thy wife.\" By\nthese words of Indra the flame of love was fanned in the passionate\n[118] heart of the king and burst out into full blaze; as a fire when\nfanned by the wind. Indra then dismissed the king from heaven with\nall due honour in his own chariot, and he set out with M\u00e1tali [119]\nfor his capital. But as he was starting, the Apsaras Tilottam\u00e1 said\nto him out of affection, \"King I have somewhat to say to thee, wait a\nmoment.\" But he, thinking on Mrig\u00e1vat\u00ed, went off without hearing what\nshe said, then Tilottam\u00e1 in her rage cursed him; \"King, thou shalt be\nseparated for fourteen years from her who has so engrossed thy mind\nthat thou dost not hear my speech.\" Now M\u00e1tali heard that curse,\nbut the king, yearning for his beloved, did not. In the chariot he\nwent to Kaus\u00e1mb\u00ed but in spirit he went to Ayodhy\u00e1. Then the king told\nwith longing heart, all that he had heard from Indra with reference\nto Mrig\u00e1vat\u00ed, to his ministers, Yogandhara and the others: and not\nbeing able to endure delay, he sent an ambassador to Ayodhy\u00e1 to ask\nher father Kritavarman for the hand of that maiden. And Kritavarman\nhaving heard from the ambassador his commission, told in his joy the\nqueen Kal\u00e1vat\u00ed, and then she said to him--\"King we ought certainly to\ngive Mrig\u00e1vat\u00ed to Sahasr\u00e1n\u00edka, and, I remember, a certain Br\u00e1hman told\nme this very thing in a dream\"; then in his delight the king showed\nto the ambassador Mrig\u00e1vat\u00ed's wonderful skill in dancing, singing,\nand other accomplishments, and her matchless beauty; so the king\nKritavarman gave to Sahasr\u00e1n\u00edka that daughter of his who was unequalled\nas a mine of graceful arts, and who shone like an incarnation of the\nmoon; that marriage of Sahasr\u00e1n\u00edka and Mrig\u00e1vat\u00ed was one in which\nthe good qualities of either party supplemented those of the other,\nand might be compared to the union of learning and intelligence.\n\nNot long after sons were born to the king's ministers; Yogandhara had a\nson born to him named Yaugandhar\u00e1yana; and Suprat\u00edka had a son born to\nhim named Rumanvat. And to the king's master of the revels was born a\nson named Vasantaka. Then in a few days Mrig\u00e1vat\u00ed became slightly pale\nand promised to bear a child to king Sahasr\u00e1n\u00edka. And then she asked\nthe king, who was never tired of looking at her, to gratify her longing\nby filling a tank full of blood for her to bathe in. Accordingly the\nking, who was a righteous man, in order to gratify her desire, had a\ntank filled with the juice of lac and other red extracts, so that it\nseemed to be full of blood. [120] And while she was bathing in that\nlake, and covered with red dye, a bird of the race of Garuda [121]\nsuddenly pounced upon her and carried her off thinking she was raw\nflesh. As soon as she was carried away in some unknown direction by\nthe bird, the king became distracted, and his self-command forsook him\nas if in order to go in search of her. His heart was so attached to\nhis beloved that it was in very truth carried off by that bird, and\nthus he fell senseless upon the earth. As soon as he had recovered\nhis senses, M\u00e1tali, who had discovered all by his divine power,\ndescended through the air and came where the king was. He consoled\nthe king, and told him the curse of Tilottam\u00e1 with its destined end,\nas he had heard it long ago, and then he took his departure. Then the\nking tormented with grief lamented on this wise; \"Alas my beloved, that\nwicked Tilottam\u00e1 has accomplished her desire.\" But having learned the\nfacts about the curse, and having received advice from his ministers,\nhe managed, though with difficulty, to retain his life through hope\nof a future reunion.\n\nBut that bird, which had carried off Mrig\u00e1vat\u00ed, as soon as it found\nout that she was alive, abandoned her, and as fate would have it, left\nher on the mountain where the sun rises. And when the bird let her drop\nand departed, the queen, distracted with grief and fear, saw that she\nwas left unprotected on the slope of a trackless mountain. While she\nwas weeping in the forest, alone, with one garment only to cover her,\nan enormous serpent rose up and prepared to swallow her. Then she,\nfor whom prosperity was reserved in the future, was delivered by some\nheavenly hero that came down and slew the serpent, and disappeared\nalmost as soon as he was seen. Thereupon she, longing for death,\nflung herself down in front of a wild elephant, but even he spared\nher as if out of compassion. Wonderful was it that even a wild beast\ndid not slay her when she fell in his way! Or rather it was not to\nbe wondered at. What cannot the will of Siva effect?\n\nThen the girl tardy with the weight of her womb, desiring to hurl\nherself down from a precipice, and thinking upon that lord of hers,\nwept aloud; and a hermit's son, who had wandered there in search of\nroots and fruits, hearing that, came up, and found her looking like\nthe incarnation of sorrow. And he, after questioning the queen about\nher adventures, and comforting her as well as he could, with a heart\nmelted with compassion led her off to the hermitage of Jamadagni. There\nshe beheld Jamadagni, looking like the incarnation of comfort, whose\nbrightness so illumined the eastern mountain that it seemed as if the\nrising sun ever rested on it. When she fell at his feet, that hermit\nwho was kind to all that came to him for help, and possessed heavenly\ninsight, said to her who was tortured with the pain of separation;\n\"Here there shall be born to thee, my daughter, a son that shall\nuphold the family of his father, and thou shalt be reunited to thy\nhusband, therefore weep not.\" When that virtuous woman heard that\nspeech of the hermit's, she took up her abode in that hermitage,\nand entertained hope of a reunion with her beloved. And some days\nafter, the blameless one gave birth to a charmingly beautiful son,\nas association with the good produces good manners. At that moment\na voice was heard from heaven; \"an august king of great renown has\nbeen born, Udayana by name, and his son shall be monarch of all\nthe Vidy\u00e1dharas.\" That voice restored to the heart of Mrig\u00e1vat\u00ed\njoy which she had long forgotten. Gradually that boy grew up to\nsize and strength in that grove of asceticism, accompanied by his\nown excellent qualities as playmates. And the heroic child had the\nsacraments appropriate to a member of the warrior-caste performed for\nhim by Jamadagni, and was instructed by him in the sciences, and the\npractice of archery. And out of love for him Mrig\u00e1vat\u00ed drew off from\nher own wrist, and placed on his, a bracelet marked with the name\nof Sahasr\u00e1n\u00edka. Then that Udayana roaming about once upon a time in\npursuit of deer, beheld in the forest a snake that had been forcibly\ncaptured by a Savara. [122] And he, feeling pity for the beautiful\nsnake, said to that Savara, \"Let go this snake to please me.\" Then\nthat Savara said, \"My lord, this is my livelihood, for I am a poor\nman, and I always maintain myself by exhibiting dancing snakes. The\nsnake I previously had having died, I searched through this great\nwood, and, finding this one, overpowered him by charms and captured\nhim.\" When he heard this, the generous Udayana gave that Savara the\nbracelet which his mother had bestowed on him, and persuaded him to\nset the snake at liberty. The Savara took the bracelet and departed,\nand then the snake being pleased with Udayana bowed before him and\nsaid as follows, \"I am the eldest brother of V\u00e1suki, [123] called\nVasunemi: receive from me, whom thou hast preserved, this lute,\nsweet in the sounding of its strings, divided according to the\ndivision of the quarter-tones; and betel leaf, together with the art\nof weaving unfading garlands, and adorning the forehead with marks\nthat never become indistinct.\" Then Udayana furnished with all these,\nand dismissed by the snake, returned to the hermitage of Jamadagni,\nraining nectar, so to speak, into the eyes of his mother.\n\nIn the meanwhile that Savara who had lighted on this forest, and\nwhile roaming about in it had obtained the bracelet from Udayana by\nthe will of fate, was caught attempting to sell this ornament marked\nwith the king's name in the market, and was arrested by the police,\nand brought up in court before the king. Then king Sahasr\u00e1n\u00edka himself\nasked him in sorrow whence he had obtained the bracelet. Then that\nSavara told him the whole story of his obtaining possession of the\nbracelet, beginning with his capture of the snake upon the eastern\nmountain. Hearing that from the Savara, and beholding that bracelet\nof his beloved, king Sahasr\u00e1n\u00edka ascended the swing of doubt.\n\nThen a divine voice from heaven delighted the king who was tortured\nwith the fire of separation, as the rain-drops delight the peacock\nwhen afflicted with the heat, uttering these words--\"Thy curse is at\nan end, O king, and that wife of thine Mrig\u00e1vat\u00ed is residing in the\nhermitage of Jamadagni together with thy son.\" Then that day at last\ncame to an end, though made long by anxious expectation, and on the\nmorrow that king Sahasr\u00e1n\u00edka, making the Savara show him the way,\nset out with his army for that hermitage on the eastern mountain,\nin order quickly to recover his beloved wife.\n\n\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER X.\n\n\nAfter he had gone a long distance the king encamped that day in a\ncertain forest on the border of a lake. He went to bed weary, and in\nthe evening he said to Sangataka a story-teller who had come to him\non account of the pleasure he took in his service; \"Tell me some tale\nthat will gladden my heart, for I am longing for the joy of beholding\nthe lotus-face of Mrig\u00e1vat\u00ed.\" Then Sangataka said, King why do you\ngrieve without cause? The union with your queen, which will mark the\ntermination of your curse, is nigh at hand. Human beings experience\nmany unions and separations: and I will tell you a story to illustrate\nthis; listen, my lord!\n\n\n\nStory of Sr\u00eddatta and Mrig\u00e1nkavat\u00ed.\n\nOnce on a time there lived in the country of M\u00e1lava a Br\u00e1hman named\nYajnasoma. And that good man had two sons born to him, beloved by\nmen. One of them was known as K\u00e1lanemi and the second was named\nVigatabhaya. Now, when their father had gone to heaven, those two\nbrothers, having passed through the age of childhood, went to the city\nof P\u00e1taliputra to acquire learning. And when they had completed their\nstudies, their teacher Devasarman gave them his own two daughters,\nlike another couple of sciences incarnate in bodily form.\n\nThen seeing that the householders around him were rich, K\u00e1lanemi\nthrough envy made a vow and propitiated the goddess of Fortune with\nburnt-offerings. And the goddess being satisfied appeared in bodily\nform and said to him--\"Thou shalt obtain great wealth and a son\nwho shall rule the earth; but at last thou shalt be put to death\nlike a robber, because thou hast offered flesh in the fire with\nimpure motives.\" When she had said this, the goddess disappeared;\nand K\u00e1lanemi in course of time became very rich; moreover after some\ndays a son was born to him. So the father, whose desires were now\naccomplished, called that son Sr\u00eddatta, [124] because he had been\nobtained by the favour of the goddess of Fortune. In course of time\nSr\u00eddatta grew up, and though a Br\u00e1hman, became matchless upon earth\nin the use of weapons, and in boxing and wrestling.\n\nThen K\u00e1lanemi's brother Vigatabhaya went to a foreign land, having\nbecome desirous of visiting places of pilgrimage, through sorrow for\nhis wife, who died of the bite of a snake.\n\nMoreover the king of the land, Vallabhasakti, who appreciated good\nqualities, made Sr\u00eddatta the companion of his son Vikramasakti. So\nhe had to live with a haughty prince, as the impetuous Bh\u00edma lived\nin his youth with Duryodhana. Then two Kshatriyas, natives of Avanti,\nB\u00e1hus\u00e1lin and Vajramushti became friends of that Br\u00e1hman's. And some\nother men from the Deccan, sons of ministers, having been conquered\nby him in wrestling, resorted to him out of spontaneous friendship,\nas they knew how to value merit. Mah\u00e1bala and Vy\u00e1ghrabhata and also\nUpendrabala and a man named Nishthuraka became his friends. One day,\nas years rolled on, Sr\u00eddatta, being in attendance on the prince,\nwent with him and those friends to sport on the bank of the Ganges;\nthen the prince's own servants made him king, and at the same time\nSr\u00eddatta was chosen king by his friends. This made the prince angry,\nand in over-weening confidence he at once challenged that Br\u00e1hman\nhero to fight. Then being conquered by him in wrestling, and so\ndisgraced, he made up his mind that this rising hero should be put\nto death. But Sr\u00eddatta found out that intention of the prince's, and\nwithdrew in alarm with those friends of his from his presence. And as\nhe was going along, he saw in the middle of the Ganges a woman being\ndragged under by the stream, looking like the goddess of Fortune in\nthe middle of the sea. And then he plunged in to pull her out of the\nwater, leaving B\u00e1hus\u00e1lin and his five other friends on the bank. Then\nthat woman, though he seized her by the hair, sank deep in the water;\nand he dived as deep in order to follow her. And after he had dived a\nlong way, he suddenly saw a splendid temple of Siva, but no water and\nno woman. [125] After beholding that wonderful sight, being wearied\nout he paid his adorations to the god whose emblem is a bull, and\nspent that night in a beautiful garden attached to the temple. And in\nthe morning that lady was seen by him having come to worship the god\nSiva, like the incarnate splendour of beauty attended by all womanly\nperfections. And after she had worshipped the god, the moon-faced one\ndeparted to her own house, and Sr\u00eddatta for his part followed her. And\nhe saw that palace of hers resembling the city of the gods, which\nthe haughty beauty entered hurriedly in a contemptuous manner. And\nwithout deigning to address him, the graceful lady sat down on a sofa\nin the inner part of the house, waited upon by thousands of women. And\nSr\u00eddatta also took a seat near her; then suddenly that virtuous lady\nbegan to weep. The tear-drops fell in an unceasing shower on her\nbosom, and that moment pity entered into the heart of Sr\u00eddatta. And\nthen he said to her, \"Who art thou, and what is thy sorrow? Tell me,\nfair one, for I am able to remove it.\" Then she said reluctantly,\n\"We are the thousand granddaughters of Bali [126] the king of the\nDaityas, and I am the eldest of all, and my name is Vidyutprabh\u00e1. That\ngrandfather of ours was carried off by Vishnu to long imprisonment,\nand the same hero slew our father in a wrestling-match. And after he\nhad slain him, he excluded us from our own city, and he placed a lion\nin it to prevent us from entering. The lion occupies that place, and\ngrief our hearts. It is a Yaksha that was made a lion by the curse of\nKuvera, and long ago it was predicted that the Yaksha's curse should\nend when he was conquered by some mortal; so Vishnu deigned to inform\nus on our humbly asking him how we might be enabled to enter our\ncity. Therefore subdue that lion our enemy; it was for that reason,\nO hero, that I enticed you hither. And when you have overcome him you\nwill obtain from him a sword named Mrig\u00e1nka, by the virtue of which\nyou shall conquer the world and become a king.\" When he heard that,\nSr\u00eddatta agreed to undertake the adventure, and after that day had\npassed, on the morrow he took those Daitya maidens with him as guides,\nand went to that city, and there he overcame in wrestling that haughty\nlion. [127] He being freed from his curse assumed a human form, and\nout of gratitude gave his sword to the man who had put an end to his\ncurse, and then disappeared together with the burden of the sorrow\nof the great Asura's daughter. Then that Sr\u00eddatta, together with\nthe Daitya's daughter, who was accompanied by her younger sisters,\nentered that splendid city which looked like the serpent Ananta [128]\nhaving emerged from the earth. And that Daitya maiden gave him a ring\nthat destroyed the effect of poison. Then that young man remaining\nthere fell in love with her. And she cunningly said to him, \"Bathe\nin this tank, and when you dive in, take with you this sword [129]\nto keep off the danger of crocodiles.\" He consented, and diving into\nthe tank, rose upon that very bank of the Ganges from which he first\nplunged in. Then he, seeing the ring and the sword, felt astonishment\nat having emerged from the lower regions, and despondency at having\nbeen tricked by the Asura maid. Then he went towards his own house\nto look for his friends, and as he was going he saw on the way his\nfriend Nishthuraka. Nishthuraka came up to him and saluted him, and\nquickly took him aside into a lonely place, and when asked by him\nfor news of his relations, gave him this answer; \"On that occasion\nwhen you plunged into the Ganges we searched for you many days, and\nout of grief we were preparing to cut off our heads, but a voice from\nheaven forbade that attempt of ours saying, 'My sons, do no rash act,\nyour friend shall return alive.' And then we were returning into the\npresence of your father, when on the way a man hurriedly advanced\nto meet us and said this--'You must not enter this city at present,\nfor the king of it Vallabhasakti is dead, and the ministers have with\none accord conferred the royal dignity on Vikramasakti;' now the day\nafter he was made king he went to the house of K\u00e1lanemi, and full of\nwrath asked him where his son Sr\u00eddatta was, and he replied--'I do not\nknow.' Then the king in a rage, supposing he had concealed his son,\nhad him put to death by impalement as a thief. When his wife saw that,\nher heart broke. Men of cruel deeds must always pile one evil action\nupon another in long succession; and so Vikramasakti is searching for\nSr\u00eddatta to slay him, and you are his friends, therefore leave this\nplace.' When the man had given us this warning, B\u00e1hus\u00e1lin and his\nfour companions being grieved went by common consent to their own\nhome in Ujjayin\u00ed. And they left me here in concealment, my friend,\nfor your sake. So come, let us go to that very place to meet our\nfriends.\" Having heard this from Nishthuraka, and having bewailed\nhis parents, Sr\u00eddatta cast many a look at his sword, as if reposing\nin that his hope of vengeance; then the hero, biding his time, set\nout accompanied by Nishthuraka for that city of Ujjayin\u00ed in order to\nmeet his friends.\n\nAnd as he was relating to his friend his adventures from the time\nof his plunging into the stream, Sr\u00eddatta beheld a woman weeping\nin the road; when she said, \"I am a woman going to Ujjayin\u00ed and I\nhave lost my way,\" Sr\u00eddatta out of pity made her journey along with\nhim. He and Nishthuraka, together with that woman, whom he kept\nwith him out of compassion, halted that day in a certain deserted\ntown. There he suddenly woke up in the night and beheld that the\nwoman had slain Nishthuraka, and was devouring his flesh with the\nutmost delight. Then he rose up drawing his sword Mrig\u00e1nka, and that\nwoman assumed her own terrible form, that of a R\u00e1kshas\u00ed, [130] and\nhe seized that night-wanderer by her hair, to slay her. That moment\nshe assumed a heavenly shape and said to him, \"Slay me not, mighty\nhero, let me go, I am not a R\u00e1kshas\u00ed; the hermit Visv\u00e1mitra imposed\nthis condition on me by a curse. For once when he was performing\nausterities from a desire to attain the position of the god of wealth,\nI was sent by the god to impede him. Then finding that I was not able\nto seduce him with my alluring form, being abashed, I assumed in order\nto terrify him a formidable shape. When he saw this, that hermit laid\non me a curse suitable to my offence, exclaiming--'Wicked one, become\na R\u00e1kshas\u00ed and slay men.' And he appointed that my curse should end\nwhen you took hold of my hair; accordingly I assumed this detestable\ncondition of a R\u00e1kshas\u00ed, and I have devoured all the inhabitants of\nthis town: now to-day after a long time you have brought my curse to\nan end in the manner foretold; therefore receive now some boon.\" When\nhe heard that speech of hers, Sr\u00eddatta said respectfully, \"Mother\ngrant that my friend may be restored to life. What need have I of\nany other boon?\" \"So be it,\" said she, and after granting the boon\ndisappeared. And Nishthuraka rose up again alive without a scratch on\nhis body. Then Sr\u00eddatta set out the next morning with him, delighted\nand astonished, and at last reached Ujjayin\u00ed. There he revived by his\nappearance the spirits of his friends, who were anxiously expecting\nhim, as the arrival of the cloud revives the peacocks. And after he\nhad told all the wonders of his adventures, B\u00e1hus\u00e1lin went through the\nusual formalities of hospitality, taking him to his own home. There\nSr\u00eddatta was taken care of by the parents of B\u00e1hus\u00e1lin, and lived\nwith his friends as comfortably as if he were in his own house.\n\nOnce on a time, when the great feast of spring-tide [131] had arrived,\nhe went with his friends to behold some festal rejoicings in a\ngarden. There he beheld a maiden, the daughter of king Bimbaki, who\nhad come to see the show, looking like the goddess of the Splendour\nof Spring present in bodily form. She, by name Mrig\u00e1nkavat\u00ed, that\nmoment penetrated into his heart, as if through the openings left\nby the expansion of his eye. Her passionate look too, indicative\nof the beginning of love, fixed on him, went and returned like a\nconfidante. When she entered a thicket of trees, Sr\u00eddatta not beholding\nher, suddenly felt his heart so empty that he did not know where he\nwas. His friend B\u00e1hus\u00e1lin, who thoroughly understood the language of\ngestures, said to him, \"My friend, I know your heart, do not deny your\npassion, therefore, come, let us go to that part of the garden where\nthe king's daughter is.\" He consented and went near her accompanied\nby his friend. That moment a cry was heard there, which gave great\npain to the heart of Sr\u00eddatta, \"Alas the princess has been bitten by\na snake!\" B\u00e1hus\u00e1lin then went and said to the chamberlain--\"My friend\nhere possesses a ring that counteracts the effects of poison, and\nalso healing spells.\" Immediately the chamberlain came, and bowing at\nhis feet, quickly led Sr\u00eddatta to the princess. He placed the ring on\nher finger, and then muttered his spells so that she revived. Then all\nthe attendants were delighted, and loud in praise of Sr\u00eddatta, and the\nking Bimbaki hearing the circumstances came to the place. Accordingly\nSr\u00eddatta returned with his friends to the house of B\u00e1hus\u00e1lin without\ntaking back the ring. And all the gold and other presents, which\nthe delighted king sent to him there, he handed over to the father\nof B\u00e1hus\u00e1lin. Then, thinking upon that fair one, he was so much\nafflicted, that his friends became utterly bewildered as to what to\ndo with him. Then a dear friend of the princess, Bh\u00e1vanik\u00e1, by name,\ncame to him on pretence of returning the ring; and said to him, \"That\nfriend of mine, illustrious Sir, has made up her mind, that either you\nmust save her life by becoming her husband, or she will be married to\nher grave.\" When Bh\u00e1vanik\u00e1 had said this, Sr\u00eddatta and B\u00e1hus\u00e1lin and\nthe others quickly put their heads together and came to the following\nresolution, \"We will carry off this princess secretly by a stratagem,\nand will go unperceived from here to Mathur\u00e1 and live there.\" The\nplan having been thoroughly talked over, and the conspirators having\nagreed with one another what each was to do in order to carry it out,\nBh\u00e1vanik\u00e1 then departed. And the next day B\u00e1hus\u00e1lin, accompanied by\nthree of his friends, went to Mathur\u00e1 on pretext of trafficking,\nand as he went he posted in concealment at intervals swift horses\nfor the conveyance of the princess. But Sr\u00eddatta then brought at\neventide a woman with her daughter into the palace of the princess,\nafter making them both drink spirits, and then Bh\u00e1vanik\u00e1, on pretence\nof lighting up the palace, set fire to it, and secretly conveyed\nthe princess out of it; and that moment Sr\u00eddatta, who was remaining\noutside, received her, and sent her on to B\u00e1hus\u00e1lin, who had started\nin the morning, and directed two of his friends to attend on her and\nalso Bh\u00e1vanik\u00e1. Now that drunken woman and her daughter were burnt in\nthe palace of the princess, and people supposed that the princess had\nbeen burnt with her friend. But Sr\u00eddatta took care to show himself\nin the morning as before, in the city; then on the second night,\ntaking with him his sword Mrig\u00e1nka, he started to follow his beloved,\nwho had set out before him. And in his eagerness he accomplished\na great distance that night, and when the morning watch [132] had\npassed, he reached the Vindhya forest. There he first beheld unlucky\nomens, and afterwards he saw all those friends of his together with\nBh\u00e1vanik\u00e1 lying in the road gashed with wounds. And when he came\nup all distracted, they said to him, \"We were robbed to-day by a\nlarge troop of horsemen that set upon us. And after we were reduced\nto this state, one of the horsemen threw the terrified princess on\nhis horse and carried her off. So before she has been carried to\na great distance, go in this direction, do not remain near us, she\nis certainly of more importance than we.\" Being urged on with these\nwords by his friends, Sr\u00eddatta rapidly followed after the princess,\nbut could not help frequently turning round to look at them. And\nafter he had gone a considerable distance, he caught up that troop\nof cavalry, and he saw a young man of the warrior caste in the midst\nof it. And he beheld that princess held by him upon his horse. So\nhe slowly approached that young warrior; and when soft words would\nnot induce him to let the princess go, he hurled him from his horse\nwith a blow of his foot, and dashed him to pieces on a rock. And\nafter he had slain him, he mounted on his horse and slew a great\nnumber of the other horsemen who charged him in anger. And then those\nwho remained alive, seeing that the might which the hero displayed\nwas more than human, fled away in terror; and Sr\u00eddatta mounted on\nthe horse with the princess Mrig\u00e1nkavat\u00ed and set out to find those\nfriends of his. And after he had gone a little way, he and his wife\ngot off the horse which had been severely wounded in the fight, and\nsoon after it fell down and died. And then his beloved Mrig\u00e1nkavat\u00ed,\nexhausted with fear and exertion, became very thirsty. And leaving\nher there, he roamed a long distance hither and thither, and while\nhe was looking for water the sun set. Then he discovered that, though\nhe had found water, he had lost his way, and he passed that night in\nthe wood roaming about, moaning aloud like a Chakrav\u00e1ka. [133] And\nin the morning he reached that place, which was easy to recognise by\nthe carcass of the horse. And nowhere there did he behold his beloved\nprincess. Then in his distraction he placed his sword Mrig\u00e1nka on the\nground, and climbed to the top of a tree, in order to cast his eye in\nall directions for her. That very moment a certain Savara chieftain\npassed that way; and he came up and took the sword from the foot of\nthe tree. Beholding that Savara chieftain, Sr\u00eddatta came down from\nthe top of the tree, and in great grief asked him for news of his\nbeloved. The Savara chieftain said--\"Leave this place and come to my\nvillage; I have no doubt she whom you seek has gone there; and I shall\ncome there and return you this sword.\" When the Savara chieftain urged\nhim to go with these words, Sr\u00eddatta, being himself all eagerness,\nwent to that village with the chief's men. And there those men said to\nhim,--\"Sleep off your fatigue,\"--and when he reached the house of the\nchief of the village, being tired he went to sleep in an instant. And\nwhen he woke up he saw his two feet fastened with fetters, like the\ntwo efforts he had made in order to obtain his beloved, which failed\nto reach their object. Then he remained there weeping for his darling,\nwho, like the course of destiny, had for a moment brought him joy,\nand the next moment blasted his hopes.\n\nOne day a serving maid of the name of Mochanik\u00e1 came to him and\nsaid,--Illustrious Sir, unwittingly you have come hither to your\ndeath? For the Savara chieftain has gone somewhither to accomplish\ncertain weighty affairs, and when he returns, he will offer you\nto Chandik\u00e1. [134] For with that object he decoyed you here by a\nstratagem from this slope of the wild Vindhya hill, and immediately\nthrew you into the chains in which you now are. And it is because\nyou are intended to be offered as a victim to the goddess, that you\nare continually served with garments and food. But I know of only\none expedient for delivering you, if you agree to it. This Savara\nchieftain has a daughter named Sundar\u00ed, and she having seen you is\nbecoming exceedingly love-sick; marry her who is my friend, then you\nwill obtain deliverance. [135] When she said this to him, Sr\u00eddatta\nconsented, desiring to be set at liberty, and secretly made that\nSundar\u00ed his wife by the G\u00e1ndharva form of marriage. And every night she\nremoved his chains and in a short time Sundar\u00ed became pregnant. Then\nher mother, having heard the whole story from the mouth of Mochanik\u00e1,\nout of love for her son-in-law Sr\u00eddatta, went and of her own accord\nsaid to him--\"My son, Sr\u00edchanda the father of Sundar\u00ed is a wrathful\nman, and will show thee no mercy. Therefore depart, but thou must not\nforget Sundar\u00ed.\" When his mother-in-law had said this, she set him at\nliberty, and Sr\u00eddatta departed after telling Sundar\u00ed that the sword,\nwhich was in her father's possession, really belonged to himself.\n\nSo he again entered full of anxiety that forest, in which he had before\nwandered about, in order again to search for traces of Mrig\u00e1vat\u00ed. And\nhaving seen an auspicious omen he came to that same place, where that\nhorse of his died before, and whence his wife was carried off. And\nthere he saw near [136] him a hunter coming towards him, and when\nhe saw him he asked him for news of that gazelle-eyed lady. Then\nthe hunter asked him \"Are you Sr\u00eddatta?\" and he sighing replied \"I\nam that unfortunate man.\" Then that hunter said, \"Listen, friend, I\nhave somewhat to tell you. I saw that wife of yours wandering hither\nand thither lamenting your absence, and having asked her her story,\nand consoled her, moved with compassion I took her out of this wood\nto my own village. But when I saw the young Pulindas [137] there,\nI was afraid, and I took her to a village named N\u00e1gasthala near\nMathur\u00e1. [138] And then I placed her in the house of an old Br\u00e1hman\nnamed Visvadatta commending her with all due respect to his care. And\nthence I came here having learnt your name from her lips. Therefore\nyou had better go quickly to N\u00e1gasthala to search for her.\" When the\nhunter had told him this, Sr\u00eddatta quickly set out, and he reached\nN\u00e1gasthala in the evening of the second day. Then he entered the house\nof Visvadatta and when he saw him said, \"Give me my wife who was placed\nhere by the hunter.\" Visvadatta when he heard that, answered him,\n\"I have a friend in Mathur\u00e1 a Br\u00e1hman, dear to all virtuous men, the\nspiritual preceptor and minister of the king S\u00farasena. In his care\nI placed your wife. For this village is an out-of-the-way place and\nwould not afford her protection. So go to that city to-morrow morning,\nbut to-day rest here.\" When Visvadatta said this, he spent that night\nthere, and the next morning he set off, and reached Mathur\u00e1 on the\nsecond day. Being weary and dusty with the long journey, he bathed\noutside that city in the pellucid water of a lake. And he drew out\nof the middle of the lake a garment placed there by some robbers,\nnot suspecting any harm. But in one corner of the garment, which was\nknotted up, a necklace was concealed. [139] Then Sr\u00eddatta took that\ngarment, and in his eagerness to meet his wife did not notice the\nnecklace, and so entered the city of Mathur\u00e1. Then the city police\nrecognized the garment, and finding the necklace, arrested Sr\u00eddatta\nas a thief, and carried him off, and brought him before the chief\nmagistrate exactly as he was found, with the garment in his possession;\nby him he was handed up to the king, and the king ordered him to be\nput to death.\n\nThen, as he was being led off to the place of execution with the\ndrum being beaten behind him, [140] his wife Mrig\u00e1nkavat\u00ed saw him in\nthe distance. She went in a state of the utmost distraction and said\nto the chief minister, in whose house she was residing, \"Yonder is\nmy husband being led off to execution.\" Then that minister went and\nordered the executioners to desist, and, by making a representation\nto the king, got Sr\u00eddatta pardoned, and had him brought to his\nhouse. And when Sr\u00eddatta reached his house, and saw that minister,\nhe recognised him and fell at his feet, exclaiming, \"What! is this my\nuncle Vigatabhaya, who long ago went to a foreign country, and do I now\nby good luck find him established in the position of a minister?\" He\ntoo recognised to his astonishment Sr\u00eddatta as his brother's son,\nand embraced him, and questioned him about all his adventures. Then\nSr\u00eddatta related to his uncle his whole history beginning with the\nexecution of his father. And he, after weeping, said to his nephew in\nprivate, \"Do not despond, my son, for I once brought a female Yaksha\ninto subjection by means of magic; and she gave me, though I have\nno son, five thousand horses and seventy millions of gold pieces:\nand all that wealth is at your disposal.\" After telling him this,\nhis uncle brought him his beloved, and he, having obtained wealth,\nmarried her on the spot. And then he remained there in joy, united\nwith that beloved Mrig\u00e1nkavat\u00ed as a bed of white lotuses [141] with\nthe night. But even when his happiness was at its full, anxiety for\nB\u00e1hus\u00e1lin and his companions clouded his heart, as a spot of darkness\ndoes the full moon. Now one day his uncle said secretly to Sr\u00eddatta:\n\"my son, the king S\u00farasena has a maiden daughter, and in accordance\nwith his orders I have to take her to the land of Avanti to give her\naway in marriage; so I will take her away on that very pretext, and\nmarry her to you. Then, when you have got possession of the force that\nfollows her, with mine already at your disposal, you will soon gain\nthe kingdom that was promised you by the goddess Sr\u00ed.\" Having resolved\non this, and having taken that maiden, Sr\u00eddatta and his uncle set out\nwith their army and their attendants. But as soon as they had reached\nthe Vindhya forest, before they were aware of the danger, a large army\nof brigands set upon them showering arrows. After routing Sr\u00eddatta's\nforce, and seizing all the wealth, they bound Sr\u00eddatta himself, who\nhad fainted from his wounds, and carried him off to their village. And\nthey took him to the awful temple of Durg\u00e1, in order to offer him up\nin sacrifice, and, as it were, summoned Death with the sound of their\ngongs. There Sundar\u00ed saw him, one of his wives, the daughter of the\nchief of the village, who had come with her young son to visit the\nshrine of the goddess. Full of joy she ordered the brigands, who were\nbetween her and her husband, to stand aside, and then Sr\u00eddatta entered\nher palace with her. Immediately Sr\u00eddatta obtained the sovereignty of\nthat village, which Sundar\u00ed's father, having no son, bequeathed to\nher when he went to heaven. So Sr\u00eddatta recovered his wife and his\nsword Mrig\u00e1nka, and also his uncle and his followers, who had been\noverpowered by the robbers. And, while he was in that town, he married\nthe daughter of S\u00farasena, and became a great king there. And from\nthat place he sent ambassadors to his two fathers-in-law, to Bimbaki,\nand king S\u00farasena. And they, being very fond of their daughters,\ngladly recognised him as a connection, and came to him accompanied by\nthe whole of their armies. And his friends B\u00e1hus\u00e1lin and the others,\nwho had been separated from him, when they heard what had happened,\ncame to him with their wounds healed and in good health. Then the hero\nmarched, united with his fathers-in-law, and made that Vikramasakti,\nwho had put his father to death, a burnt-offering in the flame of his\nwrath. And then Sr\u00eddatta, having gained dominion over the sea-encircled\nearth, and deliverance from the sorrow of separation, joyed in the\nsociety of Mrig\u00e1nkavat\u00ed. Even so, my king, do men of firm resolution\ncross the calamitous sea of separation and obtain prosperity.\n\nAfter hearing this tale from Sangataka, the king Sahasr\u00e1n\u00edka, though\nlonging for the sight of his beloved one, managed to get through\nthat night on the journey. Then, engrossed with his desire, sending\nhis thoughts on before, in the morning Sahasr\u00e1n\u00edka set out to meet\nhis darling. And in a few days he reached that peaceful hermitage of\nJamadagni, in which even the deer laid aside their wantonness. And\nthere he beheld with reverence that Jamadagni, the sight of whom\nwas sanctifying, like the incarnate form of penance, who received him\nhospitably. And the hermit handed over to him that queen Mrig\u00e1vat\u00ed with\nher son, regained by the king after long separation, like tranquillity\naccompanied with joy. And that sight which the husband and wife\nobtained of one another, now that the curse had ceased, rained,\nas it were, nectar into their eyes, which were filled with tears of\njoy. And the king embracing that son Udayana, whom he now beheld for\nthe first time, could with difficulty let him go, as he was, so to\nspeak, riveted to his body with his own hairs that stood erect from\njoy. [142] Then king Sahasr\u00e1n\u00edka took his queen Mrig\u00e1vat\u00ed with Udayana,\nand, bidding adieu to Jamadagni, set out from that tranquil hermitage\nfor his own city, and even the deer followed him as far as the border\nof the hermitage with tearful eyes. Beguiling the way by listening to\nthe adventures of his beloved wife during the period of separation,\nand by relating his own, he at length reached the city of Kaus\u00e1mb\u00ed,\nin which triumphal arches were erected and banners displayed. And\nhe entered that city in company with his wife and child, being, so\nto speak, devoured [143] by the eyes of the citizens, that had the\nfringe of their lashes elevated. And immediately the king appointed\nhis son Udayana crown-prince, being incited to it by his excellent\nqualities. And he assigned to him as advisers the sons of his own\nministers, Vasantaka and Rumanvat and Yaugandhar\u00e1yana. Then a rain\nof flowers fell, and a celestial voice was heard--\"By the help of\nthese excellent ministers, the prince shall obtain dominion over the\nwhole earth.\" Then the king devolved on his son the cares of empire,\nand enjoyed in the society of Mrig\u00e1vat\u00ed the long-desired pleasures of\nthe world. At last the desire of earthly enjoyment, beholding suddenly\nthat old age, the harbinger of composure had reached the root of the\nking's ear, [144] became enraged and fled far from him. Then that king\nSahasr\u00e1n\u00edka established in his throne his excellent son Udayana, [145]\nwhom the subjects loved so well, to ensure the world's prosperity,\nand accompanied by his ministers, and his beloved wife, ascended the\nHim\u00e1laya to prepare for the last great journey.\n\n\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XI.\n\n\nThen Udayana took the kingdom of Vatsa, which his father had\nbequeathed to him, and, establishing himself in Kaus\u00e1mb\u00ed, ruled his\nsubjects well. But gradually he began to devolve the cares of empire\nupon his ministers, Yaugandhar\u00e1yana and others, and gave himself\nup entirely to pleasures. He was continually engaged in the chase,\nand day and night he played on the melodious lute which V\u00e1suki [146]\ngave him long ago; and he subdued evermore infuriated wild elephants,\noverpowered by the fascinating spell of its strings' dulcet sound,\nand, taming them, brought them home. That king of Vatsa drank wine\nadorned by the reflection of the moon-faces of fair women, and at the\nsame time robbed his minister's faces of their cheerful hue. [147]\nOnly one anxiety had he to bear, he kept thinking, \"Nowhere is a\nwife found equal to me in birth and personal appearance, the maiden\nnamed V\u00e1savadatt\u00e1 alone has a liking for me, but how is she to be\nobtained?\" Chandamah\u00e1sena also in Ujjayin\u00ed thought; \"There is no\nsuitable husband to be found for my daughter in the world, except one\nUdayana by name, and he has ever been my enemy. Then how can I make\nhim my son-in-law and my submissive ally? There is only one device\nwhich can effect it. He wanders about alone in the forest capturing\nelephants, for he is a king addicted to the vice of hunting; I will\nmake use of this failing of his to entrap him and bring him here by\na stratagem: and, as he is acquainted with music, I will make this\ndaughter of mine his pupil, and then his eye will without doubt\nbe charmed with her, and he will certainly became my son-in-law,\nand my obedient ally. No other artifice seems applicable in this\ncase for making him submissive to my will.\" Having thus reflected,\nhe went to the temple of Durg\u00e1, in order that his scheme might\nbe blessed with success, and, after worship and praise, offered a\nprayer to the goddess. And there he heard a bodiless voice saying,\n\"This desire of thine, O king, shall shortly be accomplished.\" Then\nhe returned satisfied, and deliberated over that very matter with\nthe minister Buddhadatta [148] saying--\"That prince is elated with\npride, he is free from avarice, his subjects are attached to him,\nand he is of great power, therefore he cannot be reached by any of\nthe four usual expedients beginning with negotiation, nevertheless\nlet negotiation be tried first.\" [149] Having thus deliberated,\nthe king gave this order to an ambassador, \"Go and give the king\nof Vatsa this message from me; 'My daughter desires to be thy pupil\nin music, if thou love us, come here and teach her.'\" When sent off\nby the king with this message, the ambassador went and repeated it\nto the king of Vatsa in Kaus\u00e1mb\u00ed exactly as it was delivered; and\nthe king of Vatsa, after hearing this uncourteous message from the\nambassador, repeated it in private to the minister Yaugandhar\u00e1yana,\nsaying \"Why did that monarch send me that insolent message? What can\nbe the villain's object in making such a proposal?\" When the king\nasked him this question, the great minister Yaugandhar\u00e1yana, who was\nstern to his master for his good, thus answered him; \"Your reputation\nfor vice [150] has shot up in the earth like a creeper, and this,\nO king, is its biting bitter fruit. For that king Chandamah\u00e1sena,\nthinking that you are the slave of your passions, intends to ensnare\nyou by means of his beautiful daughter, throw you into prison, and so\nmake you his unresisting instrument. Therefore abandon kingly vices,\nfor kings that fall into them are easily captured by their enemies,\neven as elephants are taken in pits.\" When his minister had said this\nto him, the resolute king of Vatsa sent in return an ambassador to\nChandamah\u00e1sena with the following reply, \"If thy daughter desires to\nbecome my pupil, then send her here.\" When he had sent this reply,\nthat king of Vatsa said to his ministers--\"I will march and bring\nChandamah\u00e1sena here in chains.\" When he heard that, the head minister\nYaugandhar\u00e1yana said--\"That is not a fitting thing to do, my king, nor\nis it in thy power to do it. For Chandamah\u00e1sena is a mighty monarch,\nand not to be subdued by thee. And in proof of this, hear his whole\nhistory, which I now proceed to relate to thee.\"\n\n\n\nStory of king Chandamah\u00e1sena.\n\nThere is in this land a city named Ujjayin\u00ed, the ornament of the earth,\nthat, so to speak, laughs to scorn with its palaces of enamelled\nwhiteness [151] Amar\u00e1vat\u00ed, the city of the gods. In that city dwells\nSiva himself, the lord of existence, under the form of Mah\u00e1k\u00e1la,\n[152] when he desists from the kingly vice of absenting himself\non the heights of mount Kail\u00e1sa. In that city lived a king named\nMahendravarman, best of monarchs, and he had a son like himself,\nnamed Jayasena. Then to that Jayasena was born a son named Mah\u00e1sena,\nmatchless in strength of arm, an elephant among monarchs. And that\nking, while cherishing his realm, reflected, \"I have not a sword worthy\nof me, [153] nor a wife of good family.\" Thus reflecting that monarch\nwent to the temple of Durg\u00e1, and there he remained without food,\npropitiating for a long time the goddess. Then he cut off pieces of\nhis own flesh, and offered a burnt-offering with them, whereupon the\ngoddess Durg\u00e1 being pleased appeared in visible shape and said to\nhim, \"I am pleased with thee, receive from me this excellent sword,\nby means of its magic power thou shalt be invincible to all thy\nenemies. Moreover thou shalt soon obtain as a wife Ang\u00e1ravat\u00ed, the\ndaughter of the Asura Ang\u00e1raka, the most beautiful maiden in the three\nworlds. And since thou didst here perform this very cruel penance,\ntherefore thy name shall be Chandamah\u00e1sena.\" Having said this and\ngiven him the sword, the goddess disappeared. But in the king there\nappeared joy at the fulfilment of his desire. He now possessed, O king,\ntwo jewels, his sword and a furious elephant named Nad\u00e1giri, which\nwere to him what the thunderbolt and Air\u00e1vana are to Indra. Then that\nking, delighting in the power of these two, one day went to a great\nforest to hunt; and there he beheld an enormous and terrible wild\nboar; like the darkness of the night suddenly condensed into a solid\nmass in the day time. That boar was not wounded by the king's arrows,\nin spite of their sharpness, but after breaking the king's chariot\n[154] fled and entered a cavern. The king, leaving that car of his,\nin revengeful pursuit of the boar, entered into that cavern with only\nhis bow to aid him. And after he had gone a long distance, he beheld a\ngreat and splendid capital, and astonished he sat down inside the city\non the bank of a lake. While there, he beheld a maiden moving along,\nsurrounded by hundreds of women, like the arrow of love that cleaves\nthe armour of self-restraint. She slowly approached the king, bathing\nhim, so to speak, again and again in a look, that rained in showers\nthe nectar of love. [155] She said, \"who art thou, illustrious sir, and\nfor what reason hast thou entered our home on this occasion?\" The king,\nbeing thus questioned by her, told her the whole truth; hearing which,\nshe let fall from her eyes a passionate flood of tears, and from her\nheart all self-control. The king said, \"Who art thou, and why dost\nthou weep?\" When he asked her this question, she, being a prisoner\nto love at his will, answered him, \"The boar that entered here is the\nDaitya Ang\u00e1raka by name. And I am his daughter, O king, and my name is\nAng\u00e1ravat\u00ed. And he is of adamantine frame, and has carried off these\nhundred princesses from the palaces of kings and appointed them to\nattend on me. Moreover this great Asura has become a R\u00e1kshasa owing\nto a curse, but to-day as he was exhausted with thirst and fatigue,\neven when he found you, he spared you. At present he has put off the\nform of a boar and is resting in his own proper shape, but when he\nwakes up from his sleep, he will without fail do you an injury. It\nis for this reason that I see no hope of a happy issue for you, and\nso these tear-drops fall from my eyes like my vital spirits boiled\nwith the fire of grief.\" When he heard this speech of Ang\u00e1ravat\u00ed's the\nking said to her,--\"If you love me, do this which I ask you. When your\nfather awakes, go and weep in front of him, and then he will certainly\nask you the cause of your agitation; then you must say--If some one\nwere to slay thee, what would become of me? [156] This is the cause of\nmy grief. If you do this, there will be a happy issue both for you and\nme.\" When the king said this to her, she promised him that she would\ndo what he wished. And that Asura maiden, apprehending misfortune,\nplaced the king in concealment, and went near her sleeping father. Then\nthe Daitya woke up, and she began to weep. And then he said to her,\n\"Why do you weep, my daughter?\" She with affected grief said to him,\n\"If some one were to slay thee, what would become of me?\" Then he\nburst out laughing and said;--\"Who could possibly slay me, my daughter,\nfor I am cased in adamant all over, only in my left hand is there an\nunguarded place, but that is protected by the bow.\" In these words the\nDaitya consoled his daughter, and all this was heard by the king in\nhis concealment. Immediately afterwards the D\u00e1nava rose up and took\nhis bath, and proceeded in devout silence to worship the god Siva;\nat that moment the king appeared with his bow bent, and rushing up\nimpetuously towards the Daitya, challenged him to fight. He, without\ninterrupting his devout silence, lifted his left hand towards the king\nand made a sign that he must wait for a moment. The king for his part,\nbeing very quick of hand, immediately smote him with an arrow in that\nhand which was his vital part. And that great Asura Ang\u00e1raka, being\npierced in a vital spot, immediately uttered a terrible cry and fell\non the ground, and exclaimed, as his life departed,--\"If that man,\nwho has slain me when thirsty, does not offer water to my manes every\nyear, then his five ministers shall perish.\" After he had said this,\nthat Daitya died, and the king, taking his daughter Ang\u00e1ravat\u00ed as a\nprize, returned to Ujjayin\u00ed. There the king Chandamah\u00e1sena married that\nDaitya maiden, and two sons were born to him, the first named Gop\u00e1laka,\nand the second P\u00e1laka; and when they were born, he held a feast in\nhonour of Indra on their account. Then Indra, being pleased, said\nto that king in a dream, \"By my favour thou shalt obtain a matchless\ndaughter.\" Then in course of time a graceful daughter was born to that\nking, like a second and more wonderful shape of the moon made by the\nCreator. And on that occasion a voice was heard from heaven;--\"She\nshall give birth to a son, who shall be a very incarnation of the\ngod of love, and king of the Vidy\u00e1dharas.\" Then the king gave that\ndaughter the name of V\u00e1savadatt\u00e1, because she was given by Indra being\npleased with him. And that maiden still remains unmarried in the house\nof her father, like the goddess of prosperity in the hollow cavity\nof the ocean before it was churned. That king Chandamah\u00e1sena cannot\nindeed be conquered by you, O king, in the first place because he is\nso powerful, and in the next place because his realm is situated in\na difficult country. Moreover he is ever longing to give you that\ndaughter of his in marriage, but being a proud monarch, he desires\nthe triumph of himself and his adherents. But, I think, you must\ncertainly marry that V\u00e1savadatt\u00e1. When he heard this, that king of\nVatsa immediately lost his heart to V\u00e1savadatt\u00e1.\n\n\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XII.\n\n\nIn the meanwhile the ambassador, sent by the king of Vatsa in\nanswer to Chandamah\u00e1sena's embassy, went and told that monarch his\nmaster's reply. Chandamah\u00e1sena for his part, on hearing it, began to\nreflect--\"It is certain that that proud king of Vatsa will not come\nhere. And I cannot send my daughter to his court, such conduct would\nbe unbecoming; so I must capture him by some stratagem and bring him\nhere as a prisoner.\" Having thus reflected and deliberated with his\nministers, the king had made a large artificial elephant like his own,\nand, after filling it with concealed warriors, he placed it in the\nVindhya forest. There the scouts kept in his pay by the king of Vatsa,\nwho was passionately fond of the sport of elephant-catching, discerned\nit from a distance; [157] and they came with speed and informed the\nking of Vatsa in these words: \"O king, we have seen a single elephant\nroaming in the Vindhya forest, such that nowhere else in this wide\nworld is his equal to be found, filling the sky with his stature,\nlike a moving peak of the Vindhya range.\"\n\nThen the king rejoiced on hearing this report from the scouts, and\nhe gave them a hundred thousand gold pieces by way of reward. The\nking spent that night in thinking; \"If I obtain that mighty elephant,\na fit match for Nad\u00e1giri, then that Chandamah\u00e1sena will certainly be\nin my power, and then he will of his own accord give me his daughter\nV\u00e1savadatt\u00e1.\" So in the morning he started for the Vindhya forest,\nmaking these scouts shew him the way, disregarding, in his ardent\ndesire to capture the elephant, the advice of his ministers. He did\nnot pay any attention to the fact, that the astrologers said, that\nthe position of the heavenly bodies at the moment of his departure\nportended the acquisition of a maiden together with imprisonment. When\nthe king of Vatsa reached the Vindhya forest, he made his troops halt\nat a distance through fear of alarming that elephant, and accompanied\nby the scouts only, holding in his hand his melodious lute, he entered\nthat great forest boundless as his own kingly vice. The king saw on\nthe southern slope of the Vindhya range that elephant looking like a\nreal one, pointed out to him by his scouts from a distance. He slowly\napproached it, alone, playing on his lute, thinking how he should bind\nit, and singing in melodious tones. As his mind was fixed on his music,\nand the shades of evening were setting in, that king did not perceive\nthat the supposed wild elephant was an artificial one. The elephant\ntoo for its part, lifting up its ears and flapping them, as if through\ndelight in the music, kept advancing and then retiring, and so drew\nthe king to a great distance. And then, suddenly issuing from that\nartificial elephant, a body of soldiers in full armour surrounded\nthat king of Vatsa. When he beheld them, the king in a rage drew his\nhunting knife, but while he was fighting with those in front of him,\nhe was seized by others coming up behind. And those warriors with the\nhelp of others, who appeared at a concerted signal, carried that king\nof Vatsa into the presence of Chandamah\u00e1sena. Chandamah\u00e1sena for his\npart came out to meet him with the utmost respect, and entered with\nhim the city of Ujjayin\u00ed. Then the newly arrived king of Vatsa was\nbeheld by the citizens, like the moon, pleasing to the eyes, though\nspotted with humiliation. Then all the citizens, suspecting that\nhe was to be put to death, through regard for his virtues assembled\nand determined to commit suicide. [158] Then the king Chandamah\u00e1sena\nput a stop to the agitation of the citizens, by informing them that\nhe did not intend to put the monarch of Vatsa to death, but to win\nhim over. So the king made over his daughter V\u00e1savadatt\u00e1 on the spot\nto the king of Vatsa, to be taught music, and said to him--\"Prince,\nteach this lady music; in this way you will obtain a happy issue to\nyour adventure, do not despond.\" But when he beheld that fair lady,\nthe mind of the king of Vatsa was so steeped in love that he put out of\nsight his anger: and her heart and mind turned towards him together;\nher eye was then averted through modesty, but her mind not at all. So\nthe king of Vatsa dwelt in the concert-room of Chandamah\u00e1sena's palace,\nteaching V\u00e1savadatt\u00e1 to sing, with his eyes ever fixed on her. In\nhis lap was his lute, in his throat the quarter-tone of vocal music,\nand in front of him stood V\u00e1savadatt\u00e1 delighting his heart. And that\nprincess V\u00e1savadatt\u00e1 was devoted in her attentions to him, resembling\nthe goddess of Fortune in that she was firmly attached to him, and\ndid not leave him though he was a captive.\n\nIn the meanwhile the men who had accompanied the king returned to\nKaus\u00e1mb\u00ed, and the country, hearing of the captivity of the monarch,\nwas thrown into a state of great excitement. Then the enraged subjects,\nout of love for the king of Vatsa, wanted to make a general [159]\nassault on Ujjayin\u00ed. But Rumanvat checked the impetuous fury of the\nsubjects by telling them that Chandamah\u00e1sena was not to be overcome\nby force, for he was a mighty monarch, and besides that an assault\nwas not advisable, for it might endanger the safety of the king of\nVatsa; but their object must be attained by policy. Then the calm\nand resolute Yaugandhar\u00e1yana, seeing that the country was loyal, and\nwould not swerve from its allegiance, said to Rumanvat and the others;\n\"All of you must remain here, ever on the alert; you must guard this\ncountry, and when a fit occasion comes you must display your prowess;\nbut I will go accompanied by Vasantaka only, and will without fail\naccomplish by my wisdom the deliverance of the king and bring him\nhome. For he is a truly firm and resolute man whose wisdom shines\nforth in adversity, as the lightning flash is especially brilliant\nduring pelting rain. I know spells for breaking through walls,\nand for rending fetters, and receipts for becoming invisible,\nserviceable at need.\" Having said this, and entrusted to Rumanvat\nthe care of the subjects, Yaugandhar\u00e1yana set out from Kaus\u00e1mb\u00ed with\nVasantaka. And with him he entered the Vindhya forest, full of life\n[160] like his wisdom, intricate and trackless as his policy. Then he\nvisited the palace of the king of the Pulindas, Pulindaka by name,\nwho dwelt on a peak of the Vindhya range, and was an ally of the\nking of Vatsa. He first placed him, with a large force at his heels,\nin readiness to protect the king of Vatsa when he returned that way,\nand then he went on accompanied by Vasantaka and at last arrived at the\nburning-ground of Mah\u00e1k\u00e1la in Ujjayin\u00ed, which was densely tenanted by\nvampires [161] that smelt of carrion, and hovered hither and thither,\nblack as night, rivalling the smoke-wreaths of the funeral pyres. And\nthere a Br\u00e1hman-R\u00e1kshasa of the name of Yogesvara immediately came up\nto him, delighted to see him, and admitted him into his friendship;\nthen Yaugandhar\u00e1yana by means of a charm, which he taught him,\nsuddenly altered his shape. That charm immediately made him deformed,\nhunchbacked, and old, and besides gave him the appearance of a madman,\nso that he produced loud laughter in those who beheld him. And in\nthe same way Yaugandhar\u00e1yana, by means of that very charm, gave\nVasantaka a body full of outstanding veins, with a large stomach,\nand an ugly mouth with projecting teeth; [162] then he sent Vasantaka\non in front to the gate of the king's palace, and entered Ujjayin\u00ed\nwith such an appearance as I have described. There he, singing and\ndancing, surrounded by Br\u00e1hman boys, beheld with curiosity by all,\nmade his way to the king's palace. And there he excited by that\nbehaviour the curiosity of the king's wives, and was at last heard\nof by V\u00e1savadatt\u00e1. She quickly sent a maid and had him brought\nto the concert-room. For youth is twin-brother to mirth. And when\nYaugandhar\u00e1yana came there and beheld the king of Vatsa in fetters,\nthough he had assumed the appearance of a madman, he could not help\nshedding tears. And he made a sign to the king of Vatsa, who quickly\nrecognized him, though he had come in disguise. Then Yaugandhar\u00e1yana by\nmeans of his magic power made himself invisible to V\u00e1savadatt\u00e1 and her\nmaids. So the king alone saw him, and they all said with astonishment,\n\"that maniac has suddenly escaped somewhere or other.\" Then the king\nof Vatsa hearing them say that, and seeing Yaugandhar\u00e1yana in front\nof him, understood that this was due to magic, and cunningly said\nto V\u00e1savadatt\u00e1; \"Go my good girl, and bring the requisites for the\nworship of Sarasvat\u00ed.\" When she heard that, she said, \"So I will,\"\nand went out with her companions. Then Yaugandhar\u00e1yana approached the\nking and communicated to him, according to the prescribed form, spells\nfor breaking chains; and at the same time he furnished him with other\ncharms for winning the heart of V\u00e1savadatt\u00e1, which were attached to the\nstrings of the lute; and informed him that Vasantaka had come there and\nwas standing outside the door in a changed form, and recommended him\nto have that Br\u00e1hman summoned to him; at the same time he said--\"When\nthis lady V\u00e1savadatt\u00e1 shall come to repose confidence in you, then you\nmust do what I tell you, at the present remain quiet.\" Having said\nthis, Yaugandhar\u00e1yana quickly went out, and immediately V\u00e1savadatt\u00e1\nentered with the requisites for the worship of Sarasvat\u00ed. Then the\nking said to her, \"There is a Br\u00e1hman standing outside the door, let\nhim be brought in to celebrate this ceremony in honour of Sarasvat\u00ed,\nin order that he may obtain a sacrificial fee.\" V\u00e1savadatt\u00e1 consented,\nand had Vasantaka, who wore a deformed shape, summoned from the door\ninto the music-hall. And when he was brought and saw the king of\nVatsa, he wept for sorrow, and then the king said to him, in order\nthat the secret might not be discovered, \"O Br\u00e1hman, I will remove\nall this deformity of thine produced by sickness; do not weep, remain\nhere near me.\" And then Vasantaka said--\"It is a great condescension\non thy part, O king.\" And the king seeing how he was deformed could\nnot keep his countenance. And when he saw that, Vasantaka guessed\nwhat was in the king's mind, and laughed so that the deformity of his\ndistorted face was increased; and thereupon V\u00e1savadatt\u00e1, beholding him\ngrinning like a doll, burst out laughing also, and was much delighted;\nthen the young lady asked Vasantaka in fun the following question:\n\"Br\u00e1hman, what science are you familiar with, tell us?\" So he said,\n\"Princess, I am an adept at telling tales.\" Then she said, \"Come,\ntell me a tale.\" Then in order to please that princess, Vasantaka told\nthe following tale, which was charming by its comic humour and variety.\n\n\n\nStory of R\u00fapinik\u00e1.\n\nThere is in this country a city named Mathur\u00e1, the birthplace of\nKrishna, in it there was a het\u00e6ra known by the name of R\u00fapinik\u00e1;\nshe had for a mother an old kuttin\u00ed named Makaradanshtr\u00e1, who\nseemed a lump of poison in the eyes of the young men attracted by\nher daughter's charms. One day R\u00fapinik\u00e1 went at the time of worship\nto the temple to perform her duty, [163] and beheld from a distance\na young man. When she saw that handsome young fellow, he made such an\nimpression upon her heart, that all her mother's instructions vanished\nfrom it. Then she said to her maid, \"Go and tell this man from me,\nthat he is to come to my house to-day.\" The maid said, \"So I will,\"\nand immediately went and told him. Then the man thought a little\nand said to her; \"I am a Br\u00e1hman named Lohajangha [164]; I have no\nwealth; then what business have I in the house of R\u00fapinik\u00e1 which is\nonly to be entered by the rich.\" The maid said,--\"My mistress does\nnot desire wealth from you,\"--whereupon Lohajangha consented to do\nas she wished. When she heard that from the maid, R\u00fapinik\u00e1 went home\nin a state of excitement, and remained with her eyes fixed on the\npath by which he would come. And soon Lohajangha came to her house,\nwhile the kuttin\u00ed Makaradanshtr\u00e1 looked at him, and wondered where he\ncame from. R\u00fapinik\u00e1, for her part, when she saw him, rose up to meet\nhim herself with the utmost respect, and clinging to his neck in her\njoy, led him to her own private apartments. Then she was captivated\nwith Lohajangha's wealth of accomplishments, and considered that\nshe had been only born to love him. So she avoided the society of\nother men, and that young fellow lived with her in her house in great\ncomfort. R\u00fapinik\u00e1's mother, Makaradanshtr\u00e1, who had trained up many\nhet\u00e6r\u00e6, was annoyed when she saw this, and said to her in private;\n\"My daughter, why do you associate with a poor man? Het\u00e6r\u00e6 of good\ntaste embrace a corpse in preference to a poor man. What business has a\nhet\u00e6ra like you with affection? How have you come to forget that great\nprinciple? The light of a red [165] sunset lasts but a short time, and\nso does the splendour of a het\u00e6ra who gives way to affection. A het\u00e6ra,\nlike an actress, should exhibit an assumed affection in order to get\nwealth; so forsake this pauper, do not ruin yourself.\" When she heard\nthis speech of her mother's, R\u00fapinik\u00e1 said in a rage, \"Do not talk\nin this way, for I love him more than my life. And as for wealth,\nI have plenty, what do I want with more? So you must not speak to\nme again, mother, in this way.\" When she heard this, Makaradanshtr\u00e1\nwas in a rage, and she remained thinking over some device for getting\nrid of this Lohajangha. Then she saw coming along the road a certain\nR\u00e1jp\u00fat, who had spent all his wealth, surrounded by retainers with\nswords in their hands. So she went up to him quickly and taking him\naside, said--\"My house is beset by a certain poor lover. So come there\nyourself to-day, and take such order with him that he shall depart from\nmy house, and do you possess my daughter.\" \"Agreed,\" said the R\u00e1jp\u00fat,\nand entered that house. At that precise moment R\u00fapinik\u00e1 was in the\ntemple, and Lohajangha meanwhile was absent somewhere, and suspecting\nnothing, he returned to the house a moment afterwards. Immediately\nthe retainers of the R\u00e1jp\u00fat ran upon him, and gave him severe kicks\nand blows on all his limbs, and then they threw him into a ditch full\nof all kinds of impurities, and Lohajangha with difficulty escaped\nfrom it. Then R\u00fapinik\u00e1 returned to the house, and when she heard\nwhat had taken place, she was distracted with grief, so the R\u00e1jp\u00fat,\nseeing that, returned as he came.\n\nLohajangha, after suffering this brutal outrage by the machinations\nof the kuttin\u00ed, set out for some holy place of pilgrimage, in order to\nleave his life there, now that he was separated from his beloved. As he\nwas going along in the wild country, [166] with his heart burning with\nanger against the kuttin\u00ed, and his skin with the heat of the summer,\nhe longed for shade. Not being able to find a tree, he lighted on\nthe body of an elephant, which had been stripped of all its flesh\n[167] by jackals making their way into it by the hind-quarters;\naccordingly Lohajangha being worn out crept into this carcase, which\nwas a mere shell, as only the skin remained, and went to sleep in\nit, as it was kept cool by the breeze which freely entered. Then\nsuddenly clouds arose from all sides, and began to pour down a\npelting shower of rain; that rain made the elephant's skin contract\nso that no aperture was left, and immediately a copious inundation\ncame that way, and carrying off the elephant's hide swept it into\nthe Ganges; so eventually the inundation bore it into the sea. And\nthere a bird of the race of Garuda saw that hide, and supposing it\nto be carrion, took it to the other side of the sea; there it tore\nopen the elephant's hide with its claws, and, seeing that there was\na man inside it, fled away. But Lohajangha was awaked by the bird's\npecking and scratching, and came out through the aperture made by\nits beak. And finding that he was on the other side of the sea,\nhe was astonished, and looked upon the whole thing as a day-dream;\nthen he saw there to his terror two horrible R\u00e1kshasas, and those\ntwo for their part contemplated him from a distance with feelings of\nfear. Remembering how they were defeated by R\u00e1ma, and seeing that\nLohajangha was also a man who had crossed the sea, they were once\nmore alarmed in their hearts. So, after they had deliberated together,\none of them went off immediately and told the whole occurrence to king\nVibh\u00edshana; king Vibh\u00edshana too, as he had seen the prowess of R\u00e1ma,\nbeing terrified at the arrival of a man, said to that R\u00e1kshasa; \"Go,\nmy good friend, and tell that man from me in a friendly manner, that\nhe is to do me the favour of coming to my palace.\" The R\u00e1kshasa said,\n\"I will do so,\" and timidly approached Lohajangha, and told him that\nrequest of his sovereign's. Lohajangha for his part accepted that\ninvitation with unruffled calm, and went to Lank\u00e1 with that R\u00e1kshasa\nand his companion. And when he arrived in Lank\u00e1, he was astonished\nat beholding numerous splendid edifices of gold, and entering the\nking's palace, he saw Vibh\u00edshana. The king welcomed the Br\u00e1hman who\nblessed him in return, and then Vibh\u00edshana said, \"Br\u00e1hman, how did\nyou manage to reach this country?\" Then the cunning Lohajangha said\nto Vibh\u00edshana--\"I am a Br\u00e1hman of the name of Lohajangha residing in\nMathur\u00e1; and I, Lohajangha being afflicted at my poverty, went to the\ntemple of the god, and remaining fasting, for a long time performed\nausterities in the presence of N\u00e1r\u00e1yana. [168] Then the adorable Hari*\ncommanded me in a dream, saying, 'Go thou to Vibh\u00edshana, for he is a\nfaithful worshipper of mine, and he will give thee wealth.' Then, I\nsaid, 'Vibh\u00edshana is where I cannot reach him'--but the lord continued,\n'To-day shalt thou see that Vibh\u00edshana.' So the lord spake to me,\nand immediately I woke up and found myself upon this side of the\nsea. I know no more.\" When Vibh\u00edshana heard this from Lohajangha,\nreflecting that Lank\u00e1 was a difficult place to reach, he thought\nto himself--\"Of a truth this man possesses divine power.\" And he\nsaid to that Br\u00e1hman,--\"Remain here, I will give you wealth.\" Then\nhe committed him to the care of the man-slaying R\u00e1kshasas as an\ninviolable deposit; and sent some of his subjects to a mountain\nin his kingdom called Swarnam\u00fala, and brought from it a young bird\nbelonging to the race of Garuda; and he gave it to that Lohajangha,\n(who had to take a long journey to Mathur\u00e1,) to ride upon, in order\nthat he might in the meanwhile break it in. Lohajangha for his part\nmounted on its back, and riding about on it in Lank\u00e1, rested there\nfor some time, being hospitably entertained by Vibh\u00edshana.\n\nOne day he asked the king of the R\u00e1kshasas, feeling curiosity on\nthe point, why the whole ground of Lank\u00e1 was made of wood; and\nVibh\u00edshana when he heard that, explained the circumstance to him,\nsaying, \"Br\u00e1hman, if you take any interest in this matter, listen,\nI will explain it to you. Long ago Garuda the son of Kasyapa, wishing\nto redeem his mother from her slavery to the snakes, to whom she had\nbeen subjected in accordance with an agreement, [169] and preparing\nto obtain from the gods the nectar which was the price of her ransom,\nwanted to eat something which would increase his strength, and so he\nwent to his father, who being importuned said to him, \"My son, in the\nsea there is a huge elephant, and a huge tortoise. They have assumed\ntheir present forms in consequence of a curse: go and eat them.\" Then\nGaruda went and brought them both to eat, and then perched on a bough\nof the great wishing-tree of paradise. And when that bough suddenly\nbroke with his weight, he held it up with his beak, out of regard\nto the B\u00e1lakhilyas [170] who were engaged in austerities underneath\nit. Then Garuda, afraid that the bough would crush mankind, if he let\nit fall at random, by the advice of his father brought the bough to\nthis uninhabited part of the earth, and let it drop. Lank\u00e1 was built\non the top of that bough, therefore the ground here is of wood.\" When\nhe heard this from Vibh\u00edshana, Lohajangha was perfectly satisfied.\n\nThen Vibh\u00edshana gave to Lohajangha many valuable jewels, as he desired\nto set out for Mathur\u00e1. And out of his devotion to the god Vishnu,\nwho dwells at Mathur\u00e1, he entrusted to the care of Lohajangha a lotus,\na club, a shell, and a discus all of gold, to be offered to the god;\nLohajangha took all these, and mounted the bird given to him by\nVibh\u00edshana, that could accomplish a hundred thousand yojanas, [171]\nand rising up into the air in Lank\u00e1, he crossed the sea and without\nany difficulty arrived at Mathur\u00e1. And there he descended from the air\nin an empty convent outside the town, and deposited there his abundant\ntreasure, and tied up that bird. And then he went into the market and\nsold one of his jewels, and bought garments and scented unguents, and\nalso food. And he ate the food in that convent where he was, and gave\nsome to his bird; and he adorned himself with the garments, unguents,\nflowers and other decorations. And when night came, he mounted that\nsame bird and went to the house of R\u00fapinik\u00e1, bearing in his hand the\nshell, discus and mace; then he hovered over it in the air, knowing the\nplace well, and made a low deep sound, to attract the attention of his\nbeloved, who was alone. But R\u00fapinik\u00e1, as soon as she heard that sound,\ncame out, and saw hovering in the air by night a being like N\u00e1r\u00e1yana,\ngleaming with jewels. He said to her, \"I am Hari come hither for thy\nsake;\" whereupon she bowed with her face to the earth and said--\"May\nthe god have mercy upon me!\" Then Lohajangha descended and tied up\nhis bird, and entered the private apartments of his beloved hand in\nhand with her. And after remaining there a short time, he came out,\nand mounting the bird as before, went off through the air. [172]\nIn the morning R\u00fapinik\u00e1 remained observing an obstinate silence,\nthinking to herself--\"I am the wife of the god Vishnu, I must cease\nto converse with mortals.\" And then her mother Makaradanshtr\u00e1 said\nto her,--\"Why do you behave in this way, my daughter?\" And after she\nhad been perseveringly questioned by her mother, she caused to be put\nup a curtain between herself and her parent, and told her what had\ntaken place in the night, which was the cause of her silence. When\nthe kuttin\u00ed heard that, she felt doubt on the subject, but soon after\nat night she saw that very Lohajangha mounted on the bird, and in the\nmorning Makaradanshtr\u00e1 came secretly to R\u00fapinik\u00e1, who still remained\nbehind the curtain, and inclining herself humbly, preferred to her\nthis request; \"Through the favour of the god, thou, my daughter, hast\nobtained here on earth the rank of a goddess, and I am thy mother in\nthis world, therefore grant me a reward for giving thee birth; entreat\nthe god that, old as I am, with this very body I may enter Paradise;\ndo me this favour.\" R\u00fapinik\u00e1 consented and requested that very boon\nfrom Lohajangha, who came again at night disguised as Vishnu. Then\nLohajangha, who was personating the god, said to that beloved of\nhis--\"Thy mother is a wicked woman, it would not be fitting to take\nher openly to Paradise, but on the morning of the eleventh day the\ndoor of heaven is opened, and many of the Ganas, Siva's companions,\nenter into it before any one else is admitted. Among them I will\nintroduce this mother of thine, if she assume their appearance. So,\nshave her head with a razor, in such a manner that five locks shall\nbe left, put a necklace of sculls round her neck, and stripping off\nher clothes, paint one side of her body with lamp-black, and the\nother with red lead, [173] for when she has in this way been made\nto resemble a Gana, I shall find it an easy matter to get her into\nheaven.\" When he had said this, Lohajangha remained a short time,\nand then departed. And in the morning R\u00fapinik\u00e1 attired her mother as\nhe had directed; and then she remained with her mind entirely fixed on\nParadise. So, when night came, Lohajangha appeared again, and R\u00fapinik\u00e1\nhanded over her mother to him. Then he mounted on the bird, and took\nthe kuttin\u00ed with him naked, and transformed as he had directed, and\nhe flew up rapidly with her into the air. While he was in the air,\nhe beheld a lofty stone pillar in front of a temple, with a discus on\nits summit. So he placed her on the top of the pillar, with the discus\nas her only support, [174] and there she hung like a banner to blazon\nforth his revenge for his ill-usage. He said to her--\"Remain here a\nmoment while I bless the earth with my approach,\" and vanished from\nher sight. Then beholding a number of people in front of the temple,\nwho had come there to spend the night in devout vigils before the\nfestive procession, he called aloud from the air--\"Hear, ye people,\nthis very day there shall fall upon you here the all-destroying\ngoddess of Pestilence, therefore fly to Hari for protection.\" When\nthey heard this voice from the air, all the inhabitants of Mathur\u00e1 who\nwere there, being terrified, implored the protection of the god, and\nremained devoutly muttering prayers to ward off calamity. Lohajangha,\nfor his part, descended from the air, and encouraged them to pray,\nand after changing that dress of his, came and stood among the people,\nwithout being observed. The kuttin\u00ed thought, as she sat upon the top\nof the pillar,--\"the god has not come as yet, and I have not reached\nheaven.\" At last feeling it impossible to remain up there any longer,\nshe cried out in her fear, so that the people below heard; \"Alas! I\nam falling, I am falling.\" Hearing that, the people in front of the\ngod's temple were beside themselves, fearing that the destroying\ngoddess was falling upon them, even as had been foretold, and said,\n\"O goddess, do not fall, do not fall.\" So those people of Mathur\u00e1,\nyoung and old, spent that night in perpetual dread that the destroying\ngoddess would fall upon them, but at last it came to an end; and\nthen beholding that kuttin\u00ed upon the pillar in the state described,\n[175] the citizens and the king recognized her at once; all the\npeople thereupon forgot their alarm, and burst out laughing, and\nR\u00fapinik\u00e1 herself at last arrived having heard of the occurrence. And\nwhen she saw it, she was abashed, and with the help of the people,\nwho were there, she managed to get that mother of hers down from\nthe top of the pillar immediately: then that kuttin\u00ed was asked by\nall the people there, who were filled with curiosity, to tell them\nthe whole story, and she did so. Thereupon the king, the Br\u00e1hmans,\nand the merchants, thinking that that laughable incident must have\nbeen brought about by a sorcerer or some person of that description,\nmade a proclamation, that whoever had made a fool of the kuttin\u00ed,\nwho had deceived innumerable lovers, was to shew himself, and he\nwould receive a turban of honour on the spot. When he heard that,\nLohajangha made himself known to those present, and being questioned,\nhe related the whole story from its commencement. And he offered\nto the god the discus, shell, club, and lotus of gold, the present\nwhich Vibh\u00edshana had sent, and which aroused the astonishment of the\npeople. Then all the people of Mathur\u00e1, being pleased, immediately\ninvested him with a turban of honour, and by the command of the king,\nmade that R\u00fapinik\u00e1 a free woman. And then Lohajangha, having wreaked\nupon the kuttin\u00ed his wrath caused by her ill-usage of him, lived in\ngreat comfort in Mathur\u00e1 with that beloved of his, being very well\noff by means of the large stock of jewels which he brought from Lank\u00e1.\n\nHearing this tale from the mouth of the transformed Vasantaka,\nV\u00e1savadatt\u00e1 who was sitting at the side of the fettered king of Vatsa,\nfelt extreme delight in her heart.\n\n\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XIII.\n\n\nAs time went on, V\u00e1savadatt\u00e1 began to feel a great affection for the\nking of Vatsa, and to take part with him against her father. Then\nYaugandhar\u00e1yana again came in to see the king of Vatsa, making himself\ninvisible to all the others, who were there. And he gave him the\nfollowing information in private in the presence of Vasantaka only;\n\"King, you were made captive by king Chandamah\u00e1sena by means of\nan artifice. And he wishes to give you his daughter, and set you\nat liberty, treating you with all honour; so let us carry off his\ndaughter and escape. For in this way we shall have revenged ourselves\nupon the haughty monarch, and we shall not be thought lightly of in\nthe world for want of prowess. Now the king has given that daughter\nof his, V\u00e1savadatt\u00e1, a female elephant called Bhadravat\u00ed. And no\nother elephant but Nad\u00e1giri is swift enough to catch her up, and he\nwill not fight when he sees her. The driver of this elephant is a man\nhere called \u00c1sh\u00e1dhaka, and him I have won over to our side by giving\nhim much wealth. So you must mount that elephant with V\u00e1savadatt\u00e1,\nfully armed, and start from this place secretly by night. And you\nmust have the superintendent of the royal elephants here made drunk\nwith wine, in order that he may not perceive what is about to take\nplace, [176] for he understands every sign that elephants give. I,\nfor my part, will first repair to your ally Pulindaka in order that\nhe may be prepared to guard the road by which you escape.\" When he\nhad said this, Yaugandhar\u00e1yana departed. So the king of Vatsa stored\nup all his instructions in his heart; and soon V\u00e1savadatt\u00e1 came to\nhim. Then he made all kinds of confidential speeches to her, and at\nlast told her what Yaugandhar\u00e1yana had said to him. She consented to\nthe proposal, and made up her mind to start, and causing the elephant\ndriver \u00c1sh\u00e1dhaka to be summoned, she prepared his mind for the attempt,\nand on the pretext of worshipping the gods, she gave the superintendent\nof the elephants, with all the elephant drivers, a supply of spirits,\nand made them drunk. Then in the evening, which was disturbed with\nthe echoing roar of clouds, [177] \u00c1sh\u00e1dhaka brought that female\nelephant ready harnessed, but she, while she was being harnessed,\nuttered a cry, which was heard by the superintendent of the elephants,\nwho was skilled in elephants' language; and he faltered out in a voice\nindistinct from excessive intoxication,--\"the female elephant says,\nshe is going sixty-three yojanas to-day.\" But his mind in his drunken\nstate was not capable of reasoning, and the elephant-drivers, who were\nalso intoxicated, did not even hear what he said. Then the king of\nVatsa broke his chains by means of the charms, which Yaugandhar\u00e1yana\nhad given him, and took that lute of his, and V\u00e1savadatt\u00e1 of her own\naccord brought him his weapons, and then he mounted the female elephant\nwith Vasantaka. And then V\u00e1savadatt\u00e1 mounted the same elephant with\nher friend and confidante K\u00e1nchanam\u00e1l\u00e1; then the king of Vatsa went\nout from Ujjayin\u00ed with five persons in all, including himself and\nthe elephant-driver, by a path which the infuriated elephant clove\nthrough the rampart.\n\nAnd the king attacked and slew the two warriors who guarded that point,\nthe R\u00e1jp\u00fats V\u00edrab\u00e1hu and T\u00e1labhata. Then the monarch set out rapidly\non his journey in high spirits, mounted on the female elephant,\ntogether with his beloved, \u00c1sh\u00e1dhaka holding the elephant-hook; in\nthe meanwhile in Ujjayin\u00ed the city-patrol beheld those guards of the\nrampart lying dead, and in consternation reported the news to the\nking at night. Chandamah\u00e1sena enquired into the matter, and found\nout at last that the king of Vatsa had escaped, taking V\u00e1savadatt\u00e1\nwith him. Then the alarm spread through the city, and one of his\nsons named P\u00e1laka mounted Nad\u00e1giri and pursued the king of Vatsa. The\nking of Vatsa for his part, combated him with arrows as he advanced,\nand Nad\u00e1giri, seeing that female elephant, would not attack her. Then\nP\u00e1laka, who was ready to listen to reason, was induced to desist from\nthe pursuit by his brother Gop\u00e1laka, who had his father's interests\nat heart; then the king of Vatsa boldly continued his journey,\nand as he journeyed, the night gradually came to an end. So by the\nmiddle of the day the king had reached the Vindhya forest, and his\nelephant having journeyed sixty-three yojanas, was thirsty. So the\nking and his wife dismounted, and the female elephant having drunk\nwater, owing to its being bad, fell dead on the spot. Then the king\nof Vatsa and V\u00e1savadatt\u00e1, in their despair, heard this voice coming\nfrom the air--\"I, O king, am a female Vidy\u00e1dhara named M\u00e1y\u00e1vat\u00ed, and\nfor this long time I have been a female elephant in consequence of\na curse; and to-day, O lord of Vatsa, I have done you a good turn,\nand I will do another to your son that is to be: and this queen of\nyours V\u00e1savadatt\u00e1 is not a mere mortal; she is a goddess for a certain\ncause incarnate on the earth.\" Then the king regained his spirits,\nand sent on Vasantaka to the plateau of the Vindhya hills to announce\nhis arrival to his ally Pulindaka; and as he was himself journeying\nalong slowly on foot with his beloved, he was surrounded by brigands,\nwho sprang out from an ambuscade. And the king, with only his bow\nto help him, slew one hundred and five of them before the eyes of\nV\u00e1savadatt\u00e1. And immediately the king's ally Pulindaka came up,\ntogether with Yaugandhar\u00e1yana, Vasantaka shewing them the way. The\nking of the Bheels ordered the surviving brigands [178] to desist,\nand after prostrating himself before the king of Vatsa, conducted\nhim with his beloved to his own village. The king rested there that\nnight with V\u00e1savadatt\u00e1, whose foot had been cut with a blade of forest\ngrass, and early in the morning the general Rumanvat reached him, who\nhad before been summoned by Yaugandhar\u00e1yana, who sent a messenger to\nhim. And the whole army came with him, filling the land as far as the\neye could reach, so that the Vindhya forest appeared to be besieged. So\nthat king of Vatsa entered into the encampment of his army, and\nremained in that wild region to wait for news from Ujjayin\u00ed. And,\nwhile he was there, a merchant came from Ujjayin\u00ed, a friend of\nYaugandhar\u00e1yana's, and when he had arrived reported these tidings,\n\"The king Chandamah\u00e1sena is pleased to have thee for a son-in-law,\nand he has sent his warder to thee. The warder is on the way, but\nhe has stopped short of this place, however, I came secretly on in\nfront of him, as fast as I could, to bring your Highness information.\"\n\nWhen he heard this, the king of Vatsa rejoiced, and told it all to\nV\u00e1savadatt\u00e1, and she was exceedingly delighted. Then V\u00e1savadatt\u00e1,\nhaving abandoned her own relations, and being anxious for the\nceremony of marriage, was at the same time bashful and impatient:\nthen she said, in order to divert her thoughts, to Vasantaka who was\nin attendance--\"Tell me some story.\" Then the sagacious Vasantaka\ntold that fair-eyed one the following tale in order to increase her\naffection for her husband.\n\n\n\nStory of Devasmit\u00e1.\n\nThere is a city in the world famous under the name of T\u00e1mralipt\u00e1, and\nin that city there was a very rich merchant named Dhanadatta. And he,\nbeing childless, assembled many Br\u00e1hmans and said to them with due\nrespect; \"Take such steps as will procure me a son soon.\" Then those\nBr\u00e1hmans said to him: \"This is not at all difficult, for Br\u00e1hmans\ncan accomplish all things in this world by means of ceremonies in\naccordance with the scriptures. To give you an instance there was\nin old time a king who had no sons, and he had a hundred and five\nwives in his harem. And by means of a sacrifice to procure a son,\nthere was born to him a son named Jantu, who was like the rising of\nthe new moon to the eyes of his wives. Once on a time an ant bit the\nboy on the thigh as he was crawling about on his knees, so that he\nwas very unhappy and sobbed loudly. Thereupon the whole harem was\nfull of confused lamentation, and the king himself shrieked out\n'My son! my son!' like a common man. The boy was soon comforted,\nthe ant having been removed, and the king blamed the misfortune of\nhis only having one son as the cause of all his grief. And he asked\nthe Br\u00e1hmans in his affliction if there was any expedient by which he\nmight obtain a large number of children. They answered him,--'O king,\nthere is one expedient open to you; you must slay this son and offer\nup all his flesh in the fire. By smelling the smell of that sacrifice\nall thy wives will obtain sons.' When he heard that, the king had\nthe whole ceremony performed as they directed; and he obtained as\nmany sons as he had wives. So we can obtain a son for you also by a\nburnt-offering.\" When they had said this to Dhanadatta, the Br\u00e1hmans,\nafter a sacrificial fee had been promised them, performed a sacrifice:\nthen a son was born to that merchant. That son was called Guhasena,\nand he gradually grew up to man's estate. Then his father Dhanadatta\nbegan to look out for a wife for him.\n\nThen his father went with that son of his to another country, on the\npretence of traffic, but really to get a daughter-in-law, there he\nasked an excellent merchant of the name of Dharmagupta to give him his\ndaughter named Devasmit\u00e1 for his son Guhasena. But Dharmagupta, who was\ntenderly attached to his daughter, did not approve of that connexion,\nreflecting that the city of T\u00e1mralipt\u00e1 was very far off. But when\nDevasmit\u00e1 beheld that Guhasena, her mind was immediately attracted by\nhis virtues, and she was set on abandoning her relations, and so she\nmade an assignation with him by means of a confidante, and went away\nfrom that country at night with her beloved and his father. When they\nreached T\u00e1mralipt\u00e1 they were married, and the minds of the young couple\nwere firmly knit together by the bond of mutual love. Then Guhasena's\nfather died, and he himself was urged by his relations to go to the\ncountry of Kat\u00e1ha [179] for the purpose of trafficking; but his wife\nDevasmit\u00e1 was too jealous to approve of that expedition, fearing\nexceedingly that he would be attracted by some other lady. Then,\nas his wife did not approve of it, and his relations kept inciting\nhim to it, Guhasena, whose mind was firmly set on doing his duty, was\nbewildered. Then he went and performed a vow in the temple of the god,\nobserving a rigid fast, trusting that the god would shew him some way\nout of his difficulty. And his wife Devasmit\u00e1 also performed a vow\nwith him; then Siva was pleased to appear to that couple in a dream;\nand giving them two red lotuses the god said to them,--\"take each,\nof you one of these lotuses in your hand. And if either of you shall\nbe unfaithful during your separation, the lotus in the hand of the\nother shall fade, but not otherwise [180].\" After hearing this, the\ntwo woke up, and each beheld in the hand of the other a red lotus,\nand it seemed as if they had got one another's hearts. Then Guhasena\nset out, lotus in hand, but Devasmit\u00e1 remained in the house with her\neyes fixed upon her flower. Guhasena for his part quickly reached\nthe country of Kat\u00e1ha, and began to buy and sell jewels there. And\nfour young merchants in that country, seeing that that unfading\nlotus was ever in his hand, were greatly astonished. Accordingly\nthey got him to their house by an artifice, and made him drink a\ngreat deal of wine, and then asked him the history of the lotus,\nand he being intoxicated told them the whole story. Then those four\nyoung merchants, knowing that Guhasena would take a long time to\ncomplete his sales and purchases of jewels and other wares, planned\ntogether, like rascals as they were, the seduction of his wife out of\ncuriosity, and eager to accomplish it set out quickly for T\u00e1mralipt\u00e1\nwithout their departure being noticed. There they cast about for some\ninstrument, and at last had recourse to a female ascetic of the name\nof Yogakarandik\u00e1, who lived in a sanctuary of Buddha; and they said\nto her in an affectionate manner, \"Reverend madam, if our object is\naccomplished by your help, we will give you much wealth.\" She answered\nthem; \"No doubt, you young men desire some woman in this city, so tell\nme all about it, I will procure you the object of your desire, but I\nhave no wish for money; I have a pupil of distinguished ability named\nSiddhikar\u00ed; owing to her kindness I have obtained untold wealth.\" The\nyoung merchants asked--\"How have you obtained untold wealth by the\nassistance of a pupil?\" Being asked this question, the female ascetic\nsaid,--\"If you feel any curiosity about the matter, listen, my sons,\nI will tell you the whole story.\"\n\n\n\nStory of the cunning Siddhikar\u00ed.\n\nLong ago a certain merchant came here from the north; while he was\ndwelling here, my pupil went and obtained, with a treacherous object,\nthe position of a serving-maid in his house, having first altered her\nappearance, and after she had gained the confidence of that merchant,\nshe stole all his hoard of gold from his house, and went off secretly\nin the morning twilight. And as she went out from the city moving\nrapidly through fear, a certain Domba [181] with his drum in his\nhand, saw her, and pursued her at full speed with the intention of\nrobbing her. When she had reached the foot of a Nyagrodha tree, she\nsaw that he had come up with her, and so the cunning Siddhikar\u00ed said\nthis to him in a plaintive manner, \"I have had a jealous quarrel\nwith my husband, and I have left his house to die, therefore my\ngood man, make a noose for me to hang myself with.\" Then the Domba\nthought, \"Let her hang herself, why should I be guilty of her death,\nespecially as she is a woman,\" and so he fastened a noose for her\nto the tree. Then Siddhikar\u00ed, feigning ignorance, said to the Domba,\n\"How is the noose slipped round the neck? shew me, I entreat you.\" Then\nthe Domba placed the drum under his feet, and saying,--\"This is the\nway we do the trick\"--he fastened the noose round his own throat;\nSiddhikar\u00ed for her part smashed the drum to atoms with a kick, and\nthat Domba hung till he was dead. [182] At that moment the merchant\narrived in search of her, and beheld from a distance Siddhikar\u00ed, who\nhad stolen from him untold treasures, at the foot of the tree. She\ntoo saw him coming, and climbed up the tree without being noticed,\nand remained there on a bough, having her body concealed by the dense\nfoliage. When the merchant came up with his servants, he saw the Domba\nhanging by his neck, but Siddhikar\u00ed was nowhere to be seen. Immediately\none of his servants said \"I wonder whether she has got up this tree,\"\nand proceeded to ascend it himself. Then Siddhikar\u00ed said--\"I have\nalways loved you, and now you have climbed up where I am, so all this\nwealth is at your disposal, handsome man, come and embrace me.\" So\nshe embraced the merchant's servant, and as she was kissing his mouth,\nshe bit off the fool's tongue. He, overcome with the pain, fell from\nthat tree, spitting blood from his mouth, uttering some indistinct\nsyllables, which sounded like Lalalla. When he saw that, the merchant\nwas terrified, and supposing that his servant had been seized by a\ndemon, he fled from that place, and went to his own house with his\nattendants. Then Siddhikar\u00ed the female ascetic, equally frightened,\ndescended from the top of the tree, and brought home with her all\nthat wealth. Such a person is my pupil, distinguished for her great\ndiscernment, and it is in this way, my sons, that I have obtained\nwealth by her kindness.\n\nWhen she had said this to the young merchants, the female ascetic\nshewed to them her pupil who happened to come in at that moment; and\nsaid to them, \"Now, my sons, tell me the real state of affairs--what\nwoman do you desire? I will quickly procure her for you.\" When they\nheard that they said, \"procure us an interview with the wife of the\nmerchant Guhasena named Devasmit\u00e1.\" When she heard that, the ascetic\nundertook to manage that business for them, and she gave those young\nmerchants her own house to reside in. Then she gratified the servants\nat Guhasena's house with gifts of sweetmeats and other things, and\nafterwards entered it with her pupil. Then, as she approached the\nprivate rooms of Devasmit\u00e1, a bitch, that was fastened there with a\nchain, would not let her come near, but opposed her entrance in the\nmost determined way. Then Devasmit\u00e1 seeing her, of her own accord\nsent a maid, and had her brought in, thinking to herself, \"What can\nthis person be come for?\" After she had entered, the wicked ascetic\ngave Devasmit\u00e1 her blessing, and, treating the virtuous woman with\naffected respect, said to her--\"I have always had a desire to see you,\nbut to-day I saw you in a dream, therefore I have come to visit you\nwith impatient eagerness; and my mind is afflicted at beholding you\nseparated from your husband, for beauty and youth are wasted when\none is deprived of the society of one's beloved.\" With this and many\nother speeches of the same kind she tried to gain the confidence of\nthe virtuous woman in a short interview, and then taking leave of\nher she returned to her own house. On the second day she took with\nher a piece of meat full of pepper dust, and went again to the house\nof Devasmit\u00e1, and there she gave that piece of meat to the bitch at\nthe door, and the bitch gobbled it up, pepper and all. Then owing\nto the pepper dust, the tears flowed in profusion from the animal's\neyes, and her nose began to run. And the cunning ascetic immediately\nwent into the apartment of Devasmit\u00e1, who received her hospitably,\nand began to cry. When Devasmit\u00e1 asked her why she shed tears, she\nsaid with affected reluctance: \"My friend, look at this bitch weeping\noutside here. This creature recognized me to-day as having been its\ncompanion in a former birth, and began to weep; for that reason my\ntears gushed through pity.\" When she heard that, and saw that bitch\noutside apparently weeping, Devasmit\u00e1 thought for a moment to herself,\n\"What can be the meaning of this wonderful sight?\" Then the ascetic\nsaid to her, \"My daughter, in a former birth, I and that bitch were\nthe two wives of a certain Br\u00e1hman. And our husband frequently went\nabout to other countries on embassies by order of the king. Now while\nhe was away from home, I lived with other men at my pleasure, and so\ndid not cheat the elements, of which I was composed, and my senses,\nof their lawful enjoyment. For considerate treatment of the elements\nand senses is held to be the highest duty. Therefore I have been born\nin this birth with a recollection of my former existence. But she,\nin her former life, through ignorance, confined all her attention to\nthe preservation of her character, therefore she has been degraded and\nborn again as one of the canine race, however, she too remembers her\nformer birth.\" The wise Devasmit\u00e1 said to herself, \"This is a novel\nconception of duty; no doubt this woman has laid a treacherous snare\nfor me\"; and so she said to her, \"Reverend lady, for this long time\nI have been ignorant of this duty, so procure me an interview with\nsome charming man.\"--Then the ascetic said--\"There are residing here\nsome young merchants that have come from another country, so I will\nbring them to you.\" When she had said this, the ascetic returned\nhome delighted, and Devasmit\u00e1 of her own accord said to her maids:\n\"No doubt those scoundrelly young merchants, whoever they may be,\nhave seen that unfading lotus in the hand of my husband, and have\non some occasion or other, when he was drinking wine, asked him out\nof curiosity to tell the whole story of it, and have now come here\nfrom that island to seduce me, and this wicked ascetic is employed by\nthem. So bring quickly some wine mixed with Datura, [183] and when\nyou have brought it, have a dog's foot of iron made as quickly as\npossible.\" When Devasmit\u00e1 had given these orders, the maids executed\nthem faithfully, and one of the maids, by her orders, dressed herself\nup to resemble her mistress. The ascetic for her part chose out of the\nparty of four merchants, (each of whom in his eagerness said--\"let me\ngo first\"--) one individual, and brought him with her. And concealing\nhim in the dress of her pupil, she introduced him in the evening\ninto the house of Devasmit\u00e1, and coming out, disappeared. Then that\nmaid, who was disguised as Devasmit\u00e1, courteously persuaded the young\nmerchant to drink some of that wine drugged with Datura. That liquor,\n[184] like his own immodesty, robbed him of his senses, and then\nthe maids took away his clothes and other equipments and left him\nstark naked; then they branded him on the forehead with the mark of a\ndog's foot, and during the night took him and pushed him into a ditch\nfull of filth. Then he recovered consciousness in the last watch of\nthe night, and found himself plunged in a ditch, as it were the hell\nAv\u00edchi assigned to him by his sins. Then he got up and washed himself\nand went to the house of the female ascetic, in a state of nature,\nfeeling with his fingers the mark on his forehead. And when he got\nthere, he told his friends that he had been robbed on the way, in\norder that he might not be the only person made ridiculous. And the\nnext morning he sat with a cloth wrapped round his branded forehead,\ngiving as an excuse that he had a headache from keeping awake so\nlong, and drinking too much. In the same way the next young merchant\nwas maltreated, when he got to the house of Devasmit\u00e1, and when he\nreturned home naked, he said, \"I put on my ornaments there, and as I\nwas coming out I was plundered by robbers.\" In the morning he also, on\nthe plea of a headache, put a wrapper on to cover his branded forehead.\n\nIn the same way all the four young merchants suffered in turns\nbranding and other humiliating treatment, though they concealed\nthe fact. And they went away from the place, without revealing to\nthe female Buddhist ascetic the ill-treatment they had experienced,\nhoping that she would suffer in a similar way. On the next day the\nascetic went with her disciple to the house of Devasmit\u00e1, much\ndelighted at having accomplished what she undertook to do. Then\nDevasmit\u00e1 received her courteously, and made her drink wine drugged\nwith Datura, offered as a sign of gratitude. When she and her disciple\nwere intoxicated with it, that chaste wife cut off their ears and\nnoses, and flung them also into a filthy pool. And being distressed by\nthe thought that perhaps these young merchants might go and slay her\nhusband, she told the whole circumstance to her mother-in-law. Then\nher mother-in-law said to her,--\"My daughter, you have acted nobly,\nbut possibly some misfortune may happen to my son in consequence of\nwhat you have done.\" Then Devasmit\u00e1 said--I will deliver him even\nas Saktimat\u00ed in old time delivered her husband by her wisdom. Her\nmother-in-law asked; \"How did Saktimat\u00ed deliver her husband? tell me,\nmy daughter.\" Then Devasmit\u00e1 related the following story:\n\n\n\nStory of Saktimat\u00ed.\n\nIn our country, within the city, there is the shrine of a powerful\nYaksha named Manibhadra, established by our ancestors. The people\nthere come and make petitions at this shrine, offering various gifts,\nin order to obtain various blessings. Whenever a man is found at night\nwith another man's wife, he is placed with her within the inner chamber\nof the Yaksha's temple. And in the morning he is taken away from thence\nwith the woman to the king's court, and his behaviour being made known,\nhe is punished; such is the custom. Once on a time in that city a\nmerchant, of the name of Samudradatta, was found by a city-guard in\nthe company of another man's wife. So he took him and placed him with\nthe woman in that temple of the Yaksha, fastening the door firmly. And\nimmediately the wise and devoted wife of that merchant, whose name was\nSaktimat\u00ed, came to hear of the occurrence; then that resolute woman,\ndisguising herself, went confidently at night to the temple of the\nYaksha, accompanied by her friends, taking with her offerings for\nthe god. When she arrived there, the priest whose business it was\nto eat the offerings, through desire for a fee, opened the door and\nlet her enter, informing the magistrate of what he had done. And she,\nwhen she got inside, saw her husband looking sheepish, with a woman,\nand she made the woman put on her own dress, and told her to go\nout. So that woman went out in her dress by night, and got off, but\nSaktimat\u00ed remained in the temple with her husband. And when the king's\nofficers came in the morning to examine the merchant, he was seen by\nall to be in the company of his own wife. [185] When he heard that,\nthe king dismissed the merchant from the temple of the Yaksha, as it\nwere from the mouth of death, and punished the chief magistrate. So\nSaktimat\u00ed in old time delivered her husband by her wisdom, and in\nthe same way I will go and save my husband by my discretion.\n\nSo the wise Devasmit\u00e1 said in secret to her mother-in-law, and,\nin company with her maids, she put on the dress of a merchant. Then\nshe embarked on a ship, on the pretence of a mercantile expedition,\nand came to the country of Kat\u00e1ha where her husband was. And when\nshe arrived there, she saw that husband of hers, Guhasena, in\nthe midst of a circle of merchants, like consolation in external\nbodily form. He seeing her afar off in the dress of a man, [186]\nas it were, drank her in with his eyes, and thought to himself,\n\"Who may this merchant be that looks so like my beloved wife\"? So\nDevasmit\u00e1 went and represented to the king that she had a petition\nto make, and asked him to assemble all his subjects. Then the king\nfull of curiosity assembled all the citizens, and said to that lady\ndisguised as a merchant, \"What is your petition?\" Then Devasmit\u00e1\nsaid--There are residing here in your midst four slaves of mine who\nhave escaped, let the king make them over to me. Then the king said\nto her, \"All the citizens are present here, so look at every one in\norder to recognise him, and take those slaves of yours.\" Then she\nseized upon the four young merchants, whom she had before treated in\nsuch a humiliating way in her house, and who had wrappers bound round\ntheir heads. Then the merchants, who were there, flew in a passion,\nand said to her, \"These are the sons of distinguished merchants,\nhow then can they be your slaves?\" Then she answered them, \"If you do\nnot believe what I say, examine their foreheads which I marked with a\ndog's foot.\" They consented, and removing the head-wrappers of these\nfour, they all beheld the dog's foot on their foreheads. Then all the\nmerchants were abashed, and the king, being astonished, himself asked\nDevasmit\u00e1 what all this meant. She told the whole story, and all the\npeople burst out laughing, and the king said to the lady,--\"They are\nyour slaves by the best of titles.\" Then the other merchants paid\na large sum of money to that chaste wife, to redeem those four from\nslavery, and a fine to the king's treasury. Devasmit\u00e1 received that\nmoney, and recovered her husband, and being honoured by all good men,\nreturned then to her own city T\u00e1mralipt\u00e1, and she was never afterwards\nseparated from her beloved.\n\n\"Thus, O queen, women of good family ever worship their husbands with\nchaste and resolute behaviour, [187] and never think of any other\nman, for to virtuous wives the husband is the highest deity.\" When\nV\u00e1savadatt\u00e1 on the journey heard this noble story from the mouth of\nVasantaka, she got over the feeling of shame at having recently left\nher father's house, and her mind, which was previously attached by\nstrong affection to her husband, became so fixed upon him as to be\nentirely devoted to his service.\n\n\n\nNOTE ON CHAPTER XIII.\n\nWith regard to the incident of the bitch and the pepper in the story\nof Devasmit\u00e1 see the note in the 1st volume of Wilson's Essays on\nSanskrit Literature. He says: \"This incident with a very different and\nmuch less moral d\u00e9nouement is one of the stories in the Disciplina\nClericalis, a collection of stories professedly derived from the\nArabian fabulists and compiled by Petrus Alfonsus a converted Jew, who\nflourished about 1106 and was godson to Alfonso I, king of Arragon. In\nthe Analysis prepared by Mr. Douce, this story is the 12th, and is\nentitled \"Stratagem of an old woman in favour of a young gallant.\" She\npersuades his mistress who had rejected his addresses that her little\ndog was formerly a woman, and so transformed in consequence of her\ncruelty to her lover. (Ellis's Metrical Romances, I, 130.) This story\nwas introduced into Europe, therefore, much about the time at which\nit was enrolled among the contents of the Vrihat Kath\u00e1 in Cashmir. The\nmetempsychosis is so much more obvious an explanation of the change of\nforms, that it renders it probable the story was originally Hindu. It\nwas soon copied in Europe, and occurs in Le Grand as La vieille\nqui s\u00e9duisit la jeune fille. III. 148 [ed. III. Vol. IV. 50]. The\nparallel is very close and the old woman gives \"une chienne \u00e0 manger\ndes choses fortement saupoudr\u00e8es de sen\u00e8ve qui lai picotait le palais\net les narines et l'animal larmoyait beaucoup.\" She then shows her\nto the young woman and tells her the bitch was her daughter. \"Son\nmalheur fut d'avoir le coeur dur; un jeune homme l'aimait, elle\nle rebuta. Le malheureux apr\u00e8s avoir tout tent\u00e9 pour l' attendrir,\nd\u00e9sesp\u00e9r\u00e9 de sa duret\u00e9 en prit tant de chagrin qu'il tomba malade et\nmourut. Dieu l'a bien veng\u00e8; voyez en quel \u00e9tat pour la punir il a\nreduit ma pauvre fille, et comment elle pleure sa faute.\" The lesson\nwas not thrown away. The story occurs also in the Gesta Romanorum as\n\"The Old Woman and her Dog\" [in Bohn's edition it is Tale XXVIII],\nand it also finds a place where we should little have expected to find\nit, in the Promptuarium of John Herolt of Basil, an ample repository\nof examples for composing sermons: the compiler a Dominican friar,\nprofessing to imitate his patron saint, who always abundabat exemplis\nin his discourses.\" [In Bohn's edition we are told that it appears\nin an English garb amongst a translation of \u00c6sop's Fables published\nin 1658.] Dr. Rost refers us to Th. Wright, Latin Stories, London,\n1842, p. 218. Loiseleur Deslongchamps Essai sur les Fables Indiennes,\nParis, 1838, p. 106 ff. F. H. Von der Hagen, Gesammtabenteuer, 1850\nI, cxii. ff and Gr\u00e4sse, I. 1, 374 ff. In Gonzenbach'a Sicilianische\nM\u00e4rchen, No. 55, Vol. I, p. 359, Epomata plays some young men much the\nsame trick as Devasmit\u00e1, and they try in much the same way to conceal\ntheir disgrace. The story is the second in my copy of the Suka Saptati.\n\n\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XIV.\n\n\nAccordingly while the king of Vatsa was remaining in that Vindhya\nforest, the warder of king Chandamah\u00e1sena came to him. And when he\narrived, he did obeisance to the king and spoke as follows: The king\nChandamah\u00e1sena sends you this message. You did rightly in carrying\noff V\u00e1savadatt\u00e1 yourself, for I had brought you to my court with this\nvery object; and the reason I did not myself give her to you, while\nyou were a prisoner, was, that I feared, if I did so, you might not\nbe well disposed towards me. Now, O king, I ask you to wait a little,\nin order that the marriage of my daughter may not be performed without\ndue ceremonies. For my son Gop\u00e1laka will soon arrive in your court,\nand he will celebrate with appropriate ceremonies the marriage of that\nsister of his. This message the warder brought to the king of Vatsa,\nand said various things to V\u00e1savadatt\u00e1. Then the king of Vatsa, being\npleased, determined on going to Kaus\u00e1mb\u00ed with V\u00e1savadatt\u00e1, who was\nalso in high spirits. He told his ally Pulindaka, and that warder in\nthe service of his father-in-law to await, where they were, the arrival\nof Gop\u00e1laka, and then to come with him to Kaus\u00e1mb\u00ed. Then the great king\nset out early the next day for his own city with the queen V\u00e1savadatt\u00e1,\nfollowed by huge elephants raining streams of ichor, that seemed like\nmoving peaks of the Vindhya range accompanying him out of affection;\nhe was, as it were, praised by the earth, that outdid the compositions\nof his minstrels, while it rang with the hoofs of his horses and the\ntramplings of his soldiers; and by means of the towering clouds of\ndust from his army, that ascended to heaven, he made Indra fear that\nthe mountains were sporting with unshorn wings. [188] Then the king\nreached his country in two or three days, and rested one night in a\npalace belonging to Rumanvat; and on the next day, accompanied by his\nbeloved, he enjoyed after a long absence the great delight of entering\nKaus\u00e1mb\u00ed, the people of which were eagerly looking with uplifted faces\nfor his approach. And then that city was resplendent as a wife, her\nlord having returned after a long absence, beginning her adornment\nand auspicious bathing vicariously by means of her women; and there\nthe citizens, their sorrow now at an end, beheld the king of Vatsa\naccompanied by his bride, as peacocks behold a cloud accompanied by\nlightning; [189] and the wives of the citizens standing on the tops\nof the palaces, filled the heaven with their faces, that had the\nappearance of golden lotuses blooming in the heavenly Ganges. Then\nthe king of Vatsa entered his royal palace with V\u00e1savadatt\u00e1, who\nseemed like a second goddess of royal fortune; and that palace then\nshone as if it had just awaked from sleep, full of kings who had\ncome to shew their devotion, festive with songs of minstrels. [190]\nNot long after came Gop\u00e1laka the brother of V\u00e1savadatt\u00e1, bringing\nwith him the warder and Pulindaka; the king went to meet him, and\nV\u00e1savadatt\u00e1 received him with her eyes expanded with delight, as if\nhe were a second spirit of joy. While she was looking at this brother,\na tear dimmed her eyes lest she should be ashamed; and then she, being\nencouraged by him with the words of her father's message, considered\nthat her object in life was attained, now that she was reunited to\nher own relations. Then, on the next day, Gop\u00e1laka, with the utmost\neagerness, set about the high festival of her marriage with the king of\nVatsa, carefully observing all prescribed ceremonies. Then the king of\nVatsa received the hand of V\u00e1savadatt\u00e1, like a beautiful shoot lately\nbudded on the creeper of love. She too, with her eyes closed through\nthe great joy of touching her beloved's hand, having her limbs bathed\nin perspiration accompanied with trembling, covered all over with\nextreme horripilation, appeared at that moment as if struck by the god\nof the flowery bow with the arrow of bewilderment, the weapon of wind,\nand the water weapon in quick succession; [191] when she walked round\nthe fire keeping it to the right, her eyes being red with the smoke,\nshe had her first taste, so to speak, of the sweetness of wine and\nhoney. [192] Then by means of the jewels brought by Gop\u00e1laka, and\nthe gifts of the kings, the monarch of Vatsa became a real king of\nkings. [193] That bride and bridegroom, after their marriage had been\ncelebrated, first exhibited themselves to the eyes of the people,\nand then entered their private apartments. Then the king of Vatsa,\non the day so auspicious to himself invested Gop\u00e1laka and Pulindaka\nwith turbans of honour and other distinctions, and he commissioned\nYaugandhar\u00e1yana and Rumanvat to confer appropriate distinctions\non the kings who had come to visit him, and on the citizens. Then\nYaugandhar\u00e1yana said to Rumanvat; \"The king has given us a difficult\ncommission, for men's feelings are hard to discover. And even a child\nwill certainly do mischief if not pleased; to illustrate this point\nlisten to the tale of the child Vinashtaka, my friend.\"\n\n\n\nStory of the clever deformed child.\n\nOnce on a time there was a certain Br\u00e1hman named Rudrasarman, and he,\nwhen he became a householder, had two wives, and one of his wives gave\nbirth to a son and died; and then the Br\u00e1hman entrusted that son to\nthe care of his step-mother; and when he grew to a tolerable stature,\nshe gave him coarse food; the consequence was, the boy became pale,\nand got a swollen stomach. Then Rudrasarman said to that second wife,\n\"How comes it that you have neglected this child of mine that has lost\nits mother?\" She said to her husband, \"Though I take affectionate\ncare of him, he is nevertheless the strange object you see; what am\nI to do with him?\" Whereupon the Br\u00e1hman thought, \"No doubt it is the\nchild's nature to be like this.\" For who sees through the deceitfulness\nof the speeches of women uttered with affected simplicity? Then that\nchild began to go by the name of B\u00e1lavinashtaka [194] in his father's\nhouse, because they said this child (b\u00e1la) is deformed (vinashta.) Then\nB\u00e1lavinashtaka thought to himself--\"This step-mother of mine is always\nill-treating me, therefore I had better be revenged on her in some\nway\"--for though the boy was only a little more than five years old,\nhe was clever enough. Then he said secretly to his father when he\nreturned from the king's court, with half suppressed voice--\"Papa, I\nhave two Papas.\" So the boy said every day, and his father suspecting\nthat his wife had a paramour, would not even touch her. She for her\npart thought--\"Why is my husband angry without my being guilty; I\nwonder whether B\u00e1lavinashtaka has been at any tricks?\" So she washed\nB\u00e1lavinashtaka with careful kindness, and gave him dainty food, and\ntaking him on her lap, asked him the following question: \"My son why\nhave you incensed your father Rudrasarman against me?\" When he heard\nthat, the boy said to his step-mother, \"I will do more harm to you than\nthat, if you do not immediately cease ill-treating me. You take good\ncare of your own children; why do you perpetually torment me?\" When\nshe heard that, she bowed before him, and said with a solemn oath,\n\"I will not do so any more; so reconcile my husband to me.\" Then the\nchild said to her--\"Well, when my father comes home, let one of your\nmaids shew him a mirror, and leave the rest to me.\" She said, \"Very\nwell,\" and by her orders a maid shewed a mirror to her husband as soon\nas he returned home. Thereupon the child pointing out the reflection\nof his father in the mirror, said, \"There is my second father.\" When\nhe heard that, Rudrasarman dismissed his suspicions and was immediately\nreconciled to his wife, whom he had blamed without cause.\n\n\"Thus even a child may do mischief if it is annoyed, and therefore\nwe must carefully conciliate all this retinue.\" Saying this,\nYaugandhar\u00e1yana with the help of Rumanvat, carefully honoured all\nthe people on this the king of Vatsa's great day of rejoicing. [195]\nAnd they gratified all the kings so successfully that each one of\nthem thought, \"These two men are devoted to me alone.\" And the king\nhonoured those two ministers and Vasantaka with garments, unguents,\nand ornaments bestowed with his own hand, and he also gave them\ngrants of villages. Then the king of Vatsa, having celebrated the\ngreat festival of his marriage, considered all his wishes gratified,\nnow that he was linked to V\u00e1savadatt\u00e1. Their mutual love, having\nblossomed after a long time of expectation, was so great, owing to\nthe strength of their passion, that their hearts continually resembled\nthose of the sorrowing Chakrav\u00e1kas, when the night, during which they\nare separated, comes to an end. And as the familiarity of the couple\nincreased, their love seemed to be ever renewed. Then Gop\u00e1laka, being\nordered by his father to return to get married himself, went away,\nafter having been entreated by the king of Vatsa to return quickly.\n\nIn course of time the king of Vatsa became faithless, and secretly\nloved an attendant of the harem named Virachit\u00e1, with whom he had\npreviously had an intrigue. One day he made a mistake and addressed\nthe queen by her name, thereupon he had to conciliate her by clinging\nto her feet, and bathed in her tears he was anointed [196] a fortunate\nking. Moreover he married a princess of the name of Bandhumat\u00ed, whom\nGop\u00e1laka had captured by the might of his arm, and sent as a present\nto the queen; and whom she concealed, changing her name to Manjulik\u00e1;\nwho seemed like another Lakshm\u00ed issuing from the sea of beauty. Her\nthe king saw, when he was in the company of Vasantaka, and secretly\nmarried her by the G\u00e1ndharva ceremony in a summer-house. And that\nproceeding of his was beheld by V\u00e1savadatt\u00e1, who was in concealment,\nand she was angry, and had Vasantaka put in fetters. Then the king\nhad recourse to the good offices of a female ascetic, a friend of the\nqueen's, who had come with her from her father's court, of the name\nof S\u00e1nkrity\u00e1nan\u00ed. She appeased the queen's anger, and got Bandhumat\u00ed\npresented to the king by the obedient queen, for tender is the heart of\nvirtuous wives. Then the queen released Vasantaka from imprisonment;\nhe came into the presence of the queen and said to her with a laugh,\n\"Bandhumat\u00ed did you an injury, but what did I do to you? You are\nangry with adders [197] and you kill water-snakes.\" Then the queen,\nout of curiosity, asked him to explain that metaphor, and he continued\nas follows:\n\n\n\nStory of Ruru.\n\nOnce on a time a hermit's son of the name of Ruru, wandering\nabout at will, saw a maiden of wonderful beauty, the daughter of\na heavenly nymph named Menak\u00e1 by a Vidy\u00e1dhara, and brought up by a\nhermit of the name of Sth\u00falakesa in his hermitage. That lady, whose\nname was Prishadvar\u00e1, so captivated the mind of that Ruru when he\nsaw her, that he went and begged the hermit to give her to him in\nmarriage. Sth\u00falakesa for his part betrothed the maiden to him, and\nwhen the wedding was nigh at hand, suddenly an adder bit her. Then\nthe heart of Ruru was full of despair, but he heard this voice in the\nheaven--\"O Br\u00e1hman raise to life with the gift of half thy own life,\n[198] this maiden, whose allotted term is at an end.\" When he heard\nthat, Ruru gave her the half of his own life, as he had been directed;\nby means of that she revived, and Ruru married her. Thenceforward he\nwas incensed with the whole race of serpents, and whenever he saw a\nserpent he killed it, thinking to himself as he killed each one--\"This\nmay have bitten my wife.\" One day a water snake said to him with human\nvoice, as he was about to slay it, \"You are incensed against adders,\nBr\u00e1hman, but why do you slay water-snakes? An adder bit your wife,\nand adders are a distinct species from water-snakes; all adders\nare venomous, water-snakes are not venomous.\" When he heard that,\nhe said in answer to the water-snake,--\"My friend, who are you?\" The\nwater-snake said, \"Br\u00e1hman, I am a hermit fallen from my high estate\nby a curse, and this curse was appointed to last till I held converse\nwith you.\" When he had said this he disappeared, and after that Ruru\ndid not kill water-snakes. So I said this to you metaphorically,\n\"My queen, you are angry with adders and you kill water-snakes.\" When\nhe had uttered this speech, full of pleasing wit, Vasantaka ceased,\nand V\u00e1savadatt\u00e1 sitting at the side of her husband was pleased with\nhim. Such soft and sweet tales in which Vasantaka displayed various\ningenuity, did the loving Udayana, king of Vatsa, continually make use\nof to conciliate his angry wife, while he sat at her feet. That happy\nking's tongue was ever exclusively employed in tasting the flavour of\nwine, and his ear was ever delighting in the sweet sounds of the lute,\nand his eye was ever riveted on the face of his beloved.\n\n\n\nNOTE TO CHAPTER XIV.\n\nThe practice of walking round an object of reverence with the right\nhand towards it, which is one of the ceremonies mentioned in our\nauthor's account of V\u00e1savadatt\u00e1's marriage, has been exhaustively\ndiscussed by Dr. Samuel Fergusson in his paper--\"On the Ceremonial\nturn called Desiul,\" published in the Proceedings of the Royal Irish\nAcademy for March 1877. (Vol. I. Ser. II. No. 12.) He shews it to\nhave existed among the ancient Romans as well as the Celts. One of\nthe most striking of his quotations is from the Curculio of Plautus\n(I. 1. 69.) Ph\u00e6dromus says--Quo me vortam nescio. Palinurus jestingly\nreplies--Si deos salutas dextrovorsum censeo. Cp. also the following\npassage of Valerius Flaceus (Argon VIII. 243).\n\n\n Inde ubi sacrificas cum conjuge venit ad aras\n \u00c6sonides, unaque adeunt pariterque precari\n Incipiunt. Ignem Pollux undamque jugalem\n Pr\u00e6tulit ut dextrum pariter vertantur in orbem.\n\n\nThe above passage forms a striking comment upon our text. Cp. also\nPlutarch in this life of Camillus Tauta eip\u00f4n, kathaper esti R\u00f4maiois\nethos, epeuxamenois kai proskyn\u00easasin, epi dexia exelittein, esphal\u00ea\nperistrephomenos. It is possible that the following passage in\nLucretius alludes to the same practice--\n\n\n Nec pietas ulla est velatum s\u00e6pe videri\n Vertier ad lapidem atque omnes accedere ad aras.\n\n\nDr. Fergusson is of opinion that this movement was a symbol of the\ncosmical rotation, an imitation of the apparent course of the sun\nin the heavens. Cp. Hyginus Fable CCV. Arge venatrix, cum cervum\nsequeretur, cervo dixisse fertur: Tu licet Solis cursum sequaris,\ntamen te consequar. Sol, iratus, in cervam eam convertit. He quotes,\nto prove that the practice existed among the ancient Celts, Athen\u00e6us\nIV, p. 142, who adduces from Posidonius the following statement \"Tous\ntheous proskynousin epi dexia strephomenoi.\" The above quotations are\nbut a few scraps from the full feast of Dr. Fergusson's paper. See\nalso the remarks of the Rev. S. Beal in the Indian Antiquary for\nMarch 1880, p. 67.\n\nSee also Henderson's Folk-lore of the Northern Counties, p. 45. \"The\nvicar of Stranton was standing at the churchyard gate, awaiting the\narrival of a funeral party, when to his astonishment the whole group,\nwho had arrived within a few yards of him, suddenly wheeled and made\nthe circuit of the churchyard wall, thus traversing its west, north,\nand east boundaries, and making the distance some five or six times\ngreater than was necessary. The vicar, astonished at this proceeding,\nasked the sexton the reason of so extraordinary a movement. The reply\nwas as follows: 'Why, ye wad no hae them carry the dead again the sun;\nthe dead maun aye go with the sun.' This custom is no doubt an ancient\nBritish or Celtic custom, and corresponds to the Highland usage of\nmaking the deazil or walking three times round a person according to\nthe course of the sun. Old Highlanders will still make the deazil\naround those to whom they wish well. To go round the person in the\nopposite direction, or \"withershins,\" is an evil incantation and\nbrings ill-fortune. Hunt in his Romances and Drolls of the West of\nEngland, p. 418, says, \"If an invalid goes out for the first time,\nand makes a circuit, the circuit must be with the sun, if against\nthe sun, there will be a relapse. Liebrecht, Zur Volkskunde, p. 322,\nquotes from the Statistical Account of Scotland, Vol. V. p. 88 the\nfollowing statement of a Scottish minister, with reference to a\nmarriage ceremony: \"After leaving the church, the whole company walk\nround it, keeping the church walls always on the right hand.\"\n\nThiselton Dyer, in his English Folk-lore, p. 171, mentions a similar\ncustom as existing in the West of England. In Devonshire blackhead\nor pinsoles are cured by creeping on one's hands and knees under\nor through a bramble three times with the sun; that is from east to\nwest. See also Ralston's Songs of the Russian people, p. 299.\n\nSee also the extract from Sinclair's Statistical Account of Scotland in\nBrand's Popular Antiquities, Vol. 1, p. 225; \"When a Highlander goes to\nbathe or to drink water out of a consecrated fountain, he must always\napproach by going round the place from East to West on the South side,\nin imitation of the apparent diurnal motion of the sun. This is called\nin Gaelic going round the right, or the lucky way. The opposite course\nis the wrong, or the unlucky way. And if a person's meat or drink\nwere to affect the wind-pipe, or come against his breath, they would\ninstantly cry out, \"Desheal,\" which is an ejaculation praying it may\ngo by the right way.\" Cp. the note in Munro's Lucretius on V, 1199, and\nBurton's Narratives from Criminal Trials in Scotland, Vol. I, p. 278.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nBOOK III.\n\n\nCHAPTER XV.\n\n\nHonour to that conqueror of obstacles whose favour, I ween, even the\nCreator [199] implored, in order that he might accomplish the creation\nof the world without let or hindrance.\n\nThat five-arrowed god of love conquers the world, at whose command\neven Siva trembles, when he is being embraced by his beloved.\n\n\n\nThus having obtained V\u00e1savadatt\u00e1, that king of Vatsa gradually became\nmost exclusively devoted to the pleasure of her society. But his prime\nminister Yaugandhar\u00e1yana, and his general Rumanvat, upheld day and\nnight the burden of his empire. And once upon a time the minister\nYaugandhar\u00e1yana, full of anxiety, brought Rumanvat to his house at\nnight and said to him as follows: \"This lord of Vatsa is sprung from\nthe P\u00e1ndava race, and the whole earth is his by hereditary descent,\nas also the city named of the elephant. [200] All these this king has\nabandoned not being desirous of making conquests, and his kingdom\nhas so become confined to this one small corner of the earth. For\nhe certainly remains devoted to women, wine and hunting, and he has\ndelegated to us all the duty of thinking about his kingdom. So we by\nour own intelligence must take such steps, as that he shall obtain\nthe empire of the whole earth, which is his hereditary right. For,\nif we do this, we shall have exhibited devotion to his cause, and\nperformed our duty as ministers; for every thing is accomplished by\nintellect, and in proof of this listen to the following tale:\"\n\n\n\nStory of the clever physician.\n\nOnce on a time there was a king named Mah\u00e1sena, and he was attacked by\nanother king far superior to him in power. Then the king's ministers\nmet together, and in order to prevent the ruin of his interests,\nMah\u00e1sena was persuaded by them to pay tribute to that enemy. And after\nhe had paid tribute, that haughty king was exceedingly afflicted,\nthinking to himself, \"Why have I made submission to my enemy?\" And\nhis sorrow on that account caused an abscess to form in his vitals,\nand he was so pulled down by the abscess that at last he was at the\npoint of death. Then a certain wise physician considering that that\ncase could not be cured by medicine, said falsely to that king; \"O\nking, your wife is dead.\" When he heard that, the king suddenly fell\non the ground, and owing to the excessive violence of his grief, the\nabscess burst of itself. And so the king recovered from his disease,\nand long enjoyed in the society of that queen the pleasures he desired,\nand conquered his enemies in his turn. [201]\n\n\"So, as that physician did his king a good turn by his wisdom, let us\nalso do our king a good turn, let us gain for him the empire of the\nearth. And in this undertaking our only adversary is Pradyota, the\nking of Magadha; for he is a foe in the rear that is always attacking\nus behind. So we must ask for our sovereign that pearl of princesses,\nhis daughter, named Padm\u00e1vat\u00ed. And by our cleverness we will conceal\nV\u00e1savadatt\u00e1 somewhere, and setting fire to her house, we will give\nout everywhere that the queen is burnt. For in no other case will\nthe king of Magadha give his daughter to our sovereign, for when I\nrequested him to do so on a former occasion, he answered--'I will not\ngive my daughter, whom I love more than myself, to the king of Vatsa,\nfor he is passionately attached to his wife V\u00e1savadatt\u00e1.' Moreover,\nas long as the queen is alive, the king of Vatsa will not marry any\none else; but if a report is once spread that the queen is burnt,\nall will succeed. And when Padm\u00e1vat\u00ed is secured, the king of Magadha\nwill be our marriage connection, and will not attack us in the rear,\nbut will become our ally. Then we will march to conquer the eastern\nquarter, and the others in due succession, so we shall obtain for\nthe king of Vatsa all this earth. And if we only exert ourselves,\nthis king will obtain the dominion of the earth, for long ago a\ndivine voice predicted this.\" When Rumanvat heard this speech from\nthe great minister Yaugandhar\u00e1yana, he feared that the plan would\ncover them with ridicule, and so he said to him--\"Deception practised\nfor the sake of Padm\u00e1vat\u00ed might some day be to the ruin of us both;\"\nin proof of this, listen to the following tale:\n\n\n\nStory of the hypocritical ascetic.\n\nOn the bank of the Ganges there is a city named M\u00e1kandik\u00e1; in that city\nlong ago there was a certain ascetic who observed a vow of silence,\nand he lived on alms, and surrounded by numerous other holy beggars,\ndwelt in a monastery within the precincts of a god's temple where he\nhad taken up his abode. Once, when he entered a certain merchant's\nhouse to beg, he saw a beautiful maiden coming out with alms in her\nhand, and the rascal seeing that she was wonderfully beautiful was\nsmitten with love and exclaimed \"Ah! Ah! Alas!\" And that merchant\noverheard him. Then taking the alms he had received, he departed to\nhis own house; and then the merchant went there and said to him in\nhis astonishment,--\"Why did you to-day suddenly break your vow of\nsilence and say what you did?\" When he heard that, the ascetic said\nto the merchant--\"This daughter of yours has inauspicious marks; when\nshe marries, you will undoubtedly perish, wife, sons, and all. So,\nwhen I saw her, I was afflicted, for you are my devoted adherent;\nand thus it was on your account that I broke silence and said what I\ndid. So place this daughter of yours by night in a basket, on the top\nof which there must be a light, and set her adrift on the Ganges.\" The\nmerchant said, \"So I will,\" and went away, and at night he did all\nhe had been directed to do out of pure fear. The timid are ever\nunreflecting. The hermit for his part said at that time to his own\npupils, \"Go to the Ganges, and when you see a basket floating along\nwith a light on the top of it, bring it here secretly, but you must not\nopen it, even if you hear a noise inside.\" They said, \"We will do so,\"\nand off they went; but before they reached the Ganges, strange to say,\na certain prince went into the river to bathe. He seeing that basket,\nwhich the merchant had thrown in, by the help of the light on it,\ngot his servants to fetch it for him, and immediately opened it out\nof curiosity. And in it he saw that heart-enchanting girl, and he\nmarried her on the spot by the G\u00e1ndharva ceremony of marriage. And he\nset the basket adrift on the Ganges, exactly as it was before, putting\na lamp on the top of it, and placing a fierce monkey inside it. The\nprince having departed with that pearl of maidens, the pupils of the\nhermit came there in the course of their search, and saw that basket,\nand took it up and carried it to the hermit. Then he being delighted,\nsaid to them, \"I will take this upstairs and perform incantations with\nit alone, but you must lie in silence this night.\" When he had said\nthis, the ascetic took the basket to the top of the monastery, and\nopened it, eager to behold the merchant's daughter. And then a monkey\nof terrible appearance sprang out of it, [202] and rushed upon the\nascetic, like his own immoral conduct incarnate in bodily form. The\nmonkey in its fury immediately tore off with its teeth the nose of\nthe wicked ascetic, and his ears with its claws, as if it had been\na skilful executioner; and in that state the ascetic ran downstairs,\nand when his pupils beheld him, they could with difficulty suppress\ntheir laughter. And early next morning everybody heard the story,\nand laughed heartily, but the merchant was delighted, and his daughter\nalso, as she had obtained a good husband. And even as the ascetic made\nhimself ridiculous, so too may we possibly become a laughing-stock,\nif we employ deceit, and fail after all. For the separation of the\nking from V\u00e1savadatt\u00e1 involves many disadvantages. When Rumanvat had\nsaid this to Yaugandhar\u00e1yana, the latter answered; \"In no other way\ncan we conduct our enterprise successfully, and if we do not undertake\nthe enterprise, it is certain that with this self-indulgent king we\nshall lose even what territory we have got; and the reputation which\nwe have acquired for statesmanship will be tarnished, and we shall\ncease to be spoken of as men who shew loyalty to their sovereign. For\nwhen a king is one who depends on himself for success, his ministers\nare considered merely the instruments of his wisdom; and in the case\nof such monarchs you would not have much to do with their success\nor failures. But when a king depends on his ministers for success,\nit is their wisdom that achieves his ends, and if they are wanting in\nenterprise, he must bid a long farewell to all hope of greatness. [203]\nBut if you fear the queen's father Chandamah\u00e1sena, I must tell you that\nhe and his son and the queen also will do whatever I bid them.\" When\nYaugandhar\u00e1yana, most resolute among the resolute, had said this,\nRumanvat, whose heart dreaded some fatal blunder, again said to him;\n\"Even a discerning prince is afflicted by the pain of being separated\nfrom a beloved woman, much more will this king of Vatsa be. In proof\nof what I say, listen to the following tale:\"\n\n\n\nStory of Unm\u00e1din\u00ed. [204]\n\nOnce on a time there was a king named Devasena, best of wise men,\nand the city of Sr\u00e1vast\u00ed was his capital. And in that city there was a\nwealthy merchant, and to him there was born a daughter of unparalleled\nbeauty. And that daughter became known by the name of Unm\u00e1din\u00ed,\nbecause every one, who beheld her beauty, became mad. Her father the\nmerchant thought, \"I must not give this daughter of mine to any one\nwithout telling the king, or he may be angry.\" So he went and said\nto the king Devasena, \"King, I have a daughter who is a very pearl,\ntake her if she finds favour in your eyes.\" When he heard that, the\nking sent some Br\u00e1hmans, his confidential ministers, saying to them,\n\"Go and see if that maiden possesses the auspicious marks or not.\" The\nministers said, \"We will do so,\" and went. But when they beheld that\nmerchant's daughter, Unm\u00e1din\u00ed, love was suddenly produced in their\nsouls, and they became utterly bewildered. When they recovered their\nsenses, the Br\u00e1hmans said to one another: \"If the king marries this\nmaiden, he will think only of her, and will neglect the affairs of\nthe State, and everything will go to rack and ruin; so what is the\ngood of her?\" Accordingly they went and told the king, what was not\ntrue, that the maiden had inauspicious marks. Then the merchant gave\nthat Unm\u00e1din\u00ed, whom the king had refused, and who in her heart felt\na proud resentment at it, to the king's commander-in-chief. When she\nwas in the house of her husband, she ascended one day to the roof, and\nexhibited herself to the king, who she knew would pass that way. And\nthe moment the king beheld her, resembling a world-bewildering drug\nemployed by the god of love, distraction seemed to be produced within\nhim. When he returned to his palace, and discovered that it was the\nsame lady he had previously rejected, he was full of regret, and fell\nviolently ill with fever; the commander-in-chief, the husband of the\nlady, came to him and earnestly entreated him to take her, saying, \"She\nis a slave, she is not the lawful wife of another, or if it seem fit,\nI will repudiate her in the temple, then my lord can take her for his\nown.\" But the king said to him, \"I will not take unto myself another\nman's wife, and if you repudiate her, your righteousness will be at\nend, and you will deserve punishment at my hands.\" When they heard\nthat, the other ministers remained silent, and the king was gradually\nconsumed by love's burning fever, and so died. So that king perished,\nthough of firm soul, being deprived of Unm\u00e1din\u00ed; but what will become\nof the lord of Vatsa without V\u00e1savadatt\u00e1? When Yaugandhar\u00e1yana heard\nthis from Rumanvat, he answered; \"Affliction is bravely endured by\nkings who have their eyes firmly fixed on their duty. Did not R\u00e1ma\nwhen commissioned by the gods, who were obliged to resort to that\ncontrivance, to kill R\u00e1vana, endure the pain of separation from queen\nS\u00edt\u00e1? When he heard this, Rumanvat said in answer--\"Such as R\u00e1ma are\ngods, their souls can endure all things. But the thing is intolerable\nto men; in proof whereof listen to the following tale.\n\n\n\nStory of the loving couple who died of separation.\n\nThere is on this earth a great city rich in jewels, named Mathur\u00e1. In\nit there lived a certain young merchant, called Illaka. And he had a\ndear wife whose mind was devoted to him alone. Once on a time, while he\nwas dwelling with her, the young merchant determined to go to another\ncountry on account of the exigencies of his affairs. And that wife of\nhis wished to go with him. For when women are passionately attached to\nany one, they cannot endure to be separated from him. And then that\nyoung merchant set out, having offered the usual preliminary prayer\nfor success in his undertaking, and did not take with him that wife of\nhis, though she had dressed herself for the journey. She looking after\nhim, when he had started, with tears in her eyes, stood supporting\nherself against the panel of the door of the courtyard. Then, he\nbeing out of sight, she was no longer able to endure her grief; but\nshe was too timid to follow him. So her breath left her body. And as\nsoon as the young merchant came to know of that, he returned and to\nhis horror found that dear wife of his a corpse, with pale though\nlovely complexion, set off by her waving locks, like the spirit of\nbeauty that tenants the moon fallen down to the earth in the day\nduring her sleep. [205] So he took her in his arms and wept over her,\nand immediately the vital spirits left his body, which was on fire\nwith the flame of grief, as if they were afraid to remain. So that\nmarried couple perished by mutual separation, and therefore we must\ntake care that the king is not separated from the queen.\" When he had\nsaid this, Rumanvat ceased, with his mind full of apprehension, but\nthe wise Yaugandhar\u00e1yana, that ocean of calm resolution answered him;\n\"I have arranged the whole plan, and the affairs of kings often require\nsuch steps to be taken, in proof of it, hear the following tale:\"\n\n\n\nStory of Punyasena.\n\nThere lived long ago in Ujjayin\u00ed a king named Punyasena, and once on\na time a powerful sovereign came and attacked him. Then his resolute\nministers, seeing that that king was hard to conquer, spread everywhere\na false report that their own sovereign Punyasena was dead; and they\nplaced him in concealment, and burnt some other man's corpse with\nall the ceremonies appropriate to a king, and they proposed to the\nhostile king through an ambassador that, as they had now no king,\nhe should come and be their king. The hostile monarch was pleased and\nconsented, and then the ministers assembled accompanied by soldiers,\nand proceeded to storm his camp. And the enemy's army being destroyed,\nPunyasena's ministers brought him out of concealment, and having\nrecovered their power put that hostile king to death.\n\n\"Such necessities will arise in monarch's affairs, therefore let\nus resolutely accomplish this business of the king's by spreading\na report of the queen's having been burnt.\" When he heard this from\nYaugandhar\u00e1yana, who had made up his mind, Rumanvat said; \"If this\nis resolved upon, let us send for Gop\u00e1laka the queen's respected\nbrother, and let us take all our measures duly, after consultation\nwith him.\" Then Yaugandhar\u00e1yana said, \"So be it,\" and Rumanvat\nallowed himself to be guided, in determining what was to be done,\nby the confidence which he placed in his colleague. The next day,\nthese dexterous ministers sent off a messenger of their own to bring\nGop\u00e1laka, on the pretext that his relations longed to see him. And as\nhe had only departed before on account of urgent business, Gop\u00e1laka\ncame at the request of the messenger, seeming like an incarnate\nfestival. And the very day he came, Yaugandhar\u00e1yana took him by night\nto his own house together with Rumanvat, and there he told him of that\ndaring scheme which he wished to undertake, all of which he had before\ndeliberated about together with that Rumanvat; and Gop\u00e1laka desiring\nthe good of the king of Vatsa consented to the scheme though he knew\nit would bring sorrow to his sister, for the mind of good men is ever\nfixed upon duty. Then Rumanvat again said,--\"All this is well planned,\nbut when the king of Vatsa hears that his wife is burnt, he will be\ninclined to yield up his breath, and how is he to be prevented from\ndoing so? This is a matter which ought to be considered. For though\nall the usual politic expedients may advantageously be employed,\nthe principal element of sound state-craft is the averting of\nmisfortune.\" Then Yaugandhar\u00e1yana who had reflected on everything\nthat was to be done, said, \"There need be no anxiety about this,\nfor the queen is a princess, the younger sister of Gop\u00e1laka, and\ndearer to him than his life, and when the king of Vatsa sees how\nlittle afflicted Gop\u00e1laka is, he will think to himself, 'Perhaps the\nqueen may be alive after all,' and so will be able to control his\nfeelings. Moreover he is of heroic disposition, and the marriage of\nPadm\u00e1vat\u00ed will be quickly got through, and then we can soon bring the\nqueen out of concealment.\" Then Yaugandhar\u00e1yana, and Gop\u00e1laka, and\nRumanvat having made up their minds to this, deliberated as follows:\n\"Let us adopt the artifice of going to L\u00e1v\u00e1naka with the king and\nqueen, for that district is a border-district near the kingdom\nof Magadha. And because it contains admirable hunting-grounds,\nit will tempt the king to absent himself from the palace, so we\ncan set the women's apartments there on fire and carry out the plan\n[206] on which we have determined. And by an artifice we will take\nthe queen and leave her in the palace of Padm\u00e1vat\u00ed, in order that\nPadm\u00e1vat\u00ed herself may be a witness to the queen's virtuous behaviour\nin a state of concealment.\" Having thus deliberated together during\nthe night, they all, with Yaugandhar\u00e1yana at their head, entered\nthe king's palace on the next day. Then Rumanvat made the following\nrepresentation to the king, \"O king, it is a long time since we have\ngone to L\u00e1v\u00e1naka, and it is a very delightful place, moreover you will\nfind capital hunting-grounds there, and grass for the horses can easily\nbe obtained. And the king of Magadha, being so near, afflicts all that\ndistrict. So let us go there for the sake of defending it, as well as\nfor our own enjoyment.\" And the king, when he heard this, having his\nmind always set on enjoyment, determined to go to L\u00e1v\u00e1naka together\nwith V\u00e1savadatt\u00e1. The next day, the journey having been decided on,\nand the auspicious hour having been fixed by the astrologers, suddenly\nthe hermit N\u00e1rada came to visit the monarch.\n\nHe illuminated the region with his splendour, as he descended from\nthe midst of heaven, and gave a feast to the eyes of all spectators,\nseeming as if he were the moon come down out of affection towards his\nown descendants. [207] After accepting the usual hospitable attentions,\nthe hermit graciously gave to the king, who bowed humbly before him,\na garland from the P\u00e1rij\u00e1ta [208] tree. And he congratulated the\nqueen, by whom he was politely received, promising her that she\nshould have a son, who should be a portion of Cupid [209] and king\nof all the Vidy\u00e1dharas. And then he said to the king of Vatsa, while\nYaugandhar\u00e1yana was standing by, \"O king, the sight of your wife\nV\u00e1savadatt\u00e1 has strangely brought something to my recollection. In\nold time you had for ancestors Yudhishthira and his brothers. And\nthose five had one wife between them, Draupad\u00ed by name. And she,\nlike V\u00e1savadatt\u00e1, was matchless in beauty. Then, fearing that her\nbeauty would do mischief, I said to them, you must avoid jealousy,\nfor that is the seed of calamities; in proof of it, listen to the\nfollowing tale, which I will relate to you. [210]\n\n\n\nStory of Sunda and Upasunda.\n\nThere were two brothers, Asuras by race, Sunda and Upasunda, hard to\novercome, inasmuch as they surpassed the three worlds in valour. And\nBrahm\u00e1, wishing to destroy them, gave an order to Visvakarman, [211]\nand had constructed a heavenly woman named Tilottam\u00e1, in order to\nbehold whose beauty even Siva truly became four-faced, so as to look\nfour ways at once, while she was devoutly circumambulating him. She, by\nthe order of Brahm\u00e1, went to Sunda and Upasunda, while they were in the\ngarden of Kail\u00e1sa, in order to seduce them. And both those two Asuras\ndistracted with love, seized the fair one at the same time by both her\narms, the moment they saw her near them. And as they were dragging her\noff in mutual opposition, they soon came to blows, and both of them\nwere destroyed. To whom is not the attractive object called woman the\ncause of misfortune? And you, though many, have one love, Draupad\u00ed,\ntherefore you must without fail avoid quarrelling about her. And by my\nadvice always observe this rule with respect to her. When she is with\nthe eldest, she must be considered a mother by the younger, and when\nshe is with the youngest, she must be considered a daughter-in-law by\nthe eldest. Your ancestors, O king, accepted that speech of mine with\nunanimous consent, having their minds fixed on salutary counsels. And\nthey were my friends, and it is through love for them that I have come\nto visit you here, king of Vatsa, therefore I give you this advice. Do\nyou follow the counsel of your ministers, as they followed mine,\nand in a short time you will gain great success. For some time you\nwill suffer grief, but you must not be too much distressed about it,\nfor it will end in happiness.\" After the hermit N\u00e1rada, so clever in\nindirectly intimating future prosperity, had said this duly to the\nking of Vatsa, he immediately disappeared. And then Yaugandhar\u00e1yana\nand all the other ministers, auguring from the speech of that great\nhermit that the scheme they had in view was about to succeed, became\nexceedingly zealous about carrying it into effect.\n\n\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XVI.\n\n\nThen Yaugandhar\u00e1yana and the other ministers managed to conduct the\nking of Vatsa with his beloved, by the above-mentioned stratagem,\nto L\u00e1v\u00e1naka. The king arrived at that place, which, by the roar of\nthe host echoing through it, seemed, as it were, to proclaim that\nthe ministers' object would be successfully attained. And the king\nof Magadha, when he heard that the lord of Vatsa had arrived there\nwith a large following, trembled, anticipating attack. But he being\nwise, sent an ambassador to Yaugandhar\u00e1yana, and that excellent\nminister well-versed in his duties, received him gladly. The king\nof Vatsa for his part, while staying in that place, ranged every\nday the wide-extended forest for the sake of sport. One day, the\nking having gone to hunt, the wise Yaugandhar\u00e1yana accompanied by\nGop\u00e1laka, having arranged what was to be done, and taking with him\nalso Rumanvat and Vasantaka, went secretly to the queen V\u00e1savadatt\u00e1,\nwho bowed at their approach. There he used various representations to\npersuade her to assist in furthering the king's interests, though she\nhad been previously informed of the whole affair by her brother. And\nshe agreed to the proposal, though it inflicted on her the pain of\nseparation. What indeed is there which women of good family, who are\nattached to their husbands, will not endure? Thereupon the skilful\nYaugandhar\u00e1yana made her assume the appearance of a Br\u00e1hman woman,\nhaving given her a charm, which enabled her to change her shape. And\nhe made Vasantaka one-eyed and like a Br\u00e1hman boy, and as for himself,\nhe in the same way assumed the appearance of an old Br\u00e1hman. Then\nthat mighty-minded one took the queen, after she had assumed that\nappearance, and accompanied by Vasantaka, set out leisurely for\nthe town of Magadha. And so V\u00e1savadatt\u00e1 left her house, and went in\nbodily presence along the road, though she wandered in spirit to her\nhusband. Then Rumanvat burnt her pavilion with fire, and exclaimed\naloud--\"Alas! alas! The queen and Vasantaka are burnt.\" And so in that\nplace there rose to heaven at the same time flames and lamentation;\nthe flames gradually subsided, not so the sound of weeping. Then\nYaugandhar\u00e1yana with V\u00e1savadatt\u00e1 and Vasantaka reached the city\nof the king of Magadha, and seeing the princess Padm\u00e1vat\u00ed in the\ngarden, he went up to her with those two, though the guards tried to\nprevent him. And Padm\u00e1vat\u00ed, when she saw the queen V\u00e1savadatt\u00e1 in the\ndress of a Br\u00e1hman woman, fell in love with her at first sight. The\nprincess ordered the guards to desist from their opposition, and had\nYaugandhar\u00e1yana, who was disguised as a Br\u00e1hman, conducted into her\npresence. And she addressed to him this question, \"Great Br\u00e1hman,\nwho is this girl you have with you, and why are you come?\" And he\nanswered her, \"Princess, this is my daughter \u00c1vantik\u00e1 by name, and\nher husband, being addicted to vice, [212] has deserted her and fled\nsomewhere or other. So I will leave her in your care, illustrious lady,\nwhile I go and find her husband, and bring him back, which will be\nin a short time. And let this one-eyed boy, her brother, remain here\nnear her, in order that she may not be grieved at having to remain\nalone.\" He said this to the princess, and she granted his request,\nand, taking leave of the queen, the good minister quickly returned to\nL\u00e1v\u00e1naka. Then Padm\u00e1vat\u00ed took with her V\u00e1savadatt\u00e1, who was passing\nunder the name of \u00c1vantik\u00e1, and Vasantaka who accompanied her in\nthe form of a one-eyed boy; and shewing her excellent disposition by\nher kind reception and affectionate treatment of them, entered her\nsplendidly-adorned palace; and there V\u00e1savadatt\u00e1, seeing S\u00edt\u00e1 in the\nhistory of R\u00e1ma represented upon the painted walls, was enabled to\nbear her own sorrow. And Padm\u00e1vat\u00ed perceived that V\u00e1savadatt\u00e1 was\na person of very high rank, by her shape, her delicate softness,\nthe graceful manner in which she sat down, and ate, and also by the\nsmell of her body, which was fragrant as the blue lotus, and so she\nentertained her with luxurious comfort to her heart's content, even\nsuch as she enjoyed herself. And she thought to herself, \"Surely she\nis some distinguished person remaining here in concealment; did not\nDraupad\u00ed remain concealed in the palace of the king of Vir\u00e1ta?\" Then\nV\u00e1savadatt\u00e1, out of regard for the princess made for her unfading\ngarlands and forehead-streaks, as the king of Vatsa had previously\ntaught her; and Padm\u00e1vat\u00ed's mother, seeing her adorned with them,\nasked her privately who had made those garlands and streaks. Then\nPadm\u00e1vat\u00ed said to her, \"There is dwelling here in my house a certain\nlady of the name of \u00c1vantik\u00e1, she made all these for me.\" When her\nmother heard that, she said to her, then, my daughter, she is not a\nwoman, she is some goddess, since she possesses such knowledge; gods\nand also hermits remain in the houses of good people for the sake of\ndeluding them, and in proof of this listen to the following anecdote.\n\n\n\nStory of Kunt\u00ed.\n\nThere was once a king named Kuntibhoja; and a hermit of the name\nof Durv\u00e1sas, who was exceedingly fond of deluding people, came and\nstayed in his palace. He commissioned his own daughter Kunt\u00ed to attend\nupon the hermit, and she diligently waited upon him. And one day he,\nwishing to prove her, said to her, \"Cook boiled rice with milk and\nsugar quickly, while I bathe, and then I will come and eat it.\" The\nsage said this, and bathed quickly, and then he came to eat it, and\nKunt\u00ed brought him the vessel full of that food; and then the hermit,\nknowing that it was almost red-hot with the heated rice, and seeing\nthat she could not hold it in her hands, [213] cast a look at the back\nof Kunt\u00ed and she perceiving what was passing in the hermit's mind,\nplaced the vessel on her back; then he ate to his heart's content while\nKunt\u00ed's back was being burnt, and because, though she was terribly\nburnt, she stood without being at all discomposed, the hermit was much\npleased with her conduct, and after he had eaten granted her a boon.\n\n\"So the hermit remained there, and in the same way this \u00c1vantik\u00e1, who\nis now staying in your palace, is some distinguished person, therefore\nendeavour to conciliate her.\" When she heard this from the mouth of\nher mother, Padm\u00e1vat\u00ed showed the utmost consideration for V\u00e1savadatt\u00e1,\nwho was living disguised in her palace. And V\u00e1savadatt\u00e1 for her part,\nbeing separated from her lord, remained there pale with bereavement,\nlike a lotus in the night. [214] But the various boyish grimaces,\nwhich Vasantaka exhibited, [215] again and again called a smile into\nher face.\n\nIn the meanwhile the king of Vatsa, who had wandered away into very\ndistant hunting-grounds, returned late in the evening to L\u00e1v\u00e1naka. And\nthere he saw the women's apartments reduced to ashes by fire, and heard\nfrom his ministers that the queen was burnt with Vasantaka. And when\nhe heard it, he fell on the ground, and he was robbed of his senses by\nunconsciousness, that seemed to desire to remove the painful sense of\ngrief. But in a moment he came to himself and was burnt with sorrow\nin his heart, as if penetrated with the fire that strove to consume\n[216] the image of the queen imprinted there. Then overpowered\nwith sorrow he lamented, and thought of nothing but suicide; but\na moment after he began to reflect, calling to mind the following\nprediction--\"From this queen shall be born a son who shall reign\nover all the Vidy\u00e1dharas. This is what the hermit N\u00e1rada told me,\nand it cannot be false. Moreover that same hermit warned me that\nI should have sorrow for some time. And the affliction of Gop\u00e1laka\nseems to be but slight. Besides I cannot detect any excessive grief\nin Yaugandhar\u00e1yana and the other ministers, therefore I suspect the\nqueen may possibly be alive. But the ministers may in this matter\nhave employed a certain amount of politic artifice, therefore I\nmay some day be re-united with the queen. So I see an end to this\naffliction.\" Thus reflecting and being exhorted by his ministers,\nthe king established in his heart self-control. And Gop\u00e1laka sent\noff a private messenger immediately, without any one's knowing\nof it, to his sister, to comfort her, with an exact report of the\nstate of affairs. Such being the situation in L\u00e1v\u00e1naka, the spies\nof the king of Magadha who were there, went off to him and told him\nall. The king who was ever ready to seize the opportune moment, when\nhe heard this, was once more anxious to give to the king of Vatsa\nhis daughter Padm\u00e1vat\u00ed, who had before been asked in marriage by\nhis ministers. Then he communicated his wishes with respect to this\nmatter to the king of Vatsa, and also to Yaugandhar\u00e1yana. And by the\nadvice of Yaugandhar\u00e1yana, the king of Vatsa accepted that proposal,\nthinking to himself that perhaps this was the very reason why the\nqueen had been concealed. Then Yaugandhar\u00e1yana quickly ascertained an\nauspicious moment, and sent to the sovereign of Magadha an ambassador\nwith an answer to his proposal which ran as follows: \"Thy desire is\napproved by us, so on the seventh day from this, the king of Vatsa\nwill arrive at thy court to marry Padm\u00e1vat\u00ed, in order that he may\nquickly forget V\u00e1savadatt\u00e1.\" This was the message which the great\nminister sent to that king. And that ambassador conveyed it to the\nking of Magadha, who received him joyfully. Then the lord of Magadha\nmade such preparations for the joyful occasion of the marriage, as were\nin accordance with his love for his daughter, his own desire, and his\nwealth; and Padm\u00e1vat\u00ed was delighted at hearing that she had obtained\nthe bridegroom she desired, but, when V\u00e1savadatt\u00e1 heard that news,\nshe was depressed in spirit. That intelligence, when it reached her\near, changed the colour of her face, and assisted the transformation\neffected by her disguise. But Vasantaka said, \"In this way an enemy\nwill be turned into a friend, and your husband will not be alienated\nfrom you.\" This speech of Vasantaka consoled her like a confidante,\nand enabled her to bear up. Then the discreet lady again prepared for\nPadm\u00e1vat\u00ed unfading garlands and forehead-streaks, both of heavenly\nbeauty, as her marriage was now nigh at hand; and when the seventh\nday from that arrived, the monarch of Vatsa actually came there with\nhis troops, accompanied by his ministers, to marry her. How could he\nin his state of bereavement have ever thought of undertaking such a\nthing, if he had not hoped in that way to recover the queen? And the\nking of Magadha immediately came with great delight to meet him, (who\nwas a feast to the eyes of the king's subjects,) as the sea advances\nto meet the rising moon. Then the monarch of Vatsa entered the city of\nthe king of Magadha, and at the same time great joy entered the minds\nof the citizens on every side. There the women beheld him fascinating\n[217] the mind, though his frame was attenuated from bereavement,\nlooking like the god of love, deprived of his wife Rati. Then the king\nof Vatsa entered the palace of the lord of Magadha, and proceeded to\nthe chamber prepared for the marriage ceremony, which was full of women\nwhose husbands were still alive. In that chamber he beheld Padm\u00e1vat\u00ed\nadorned for the wedding, surpassing with the full moon of her face\nthe circle of the full moon. And seeing that she had garlands and\nforehead-streaks such as he himself only could make, the king could\nnot help wondering where she got them. Then he ascended the raised\nplatform of the altar, and his taking her hand there was a commencement\nof his taking the tribute [218] of the whole earth. The smoke of the\naltar dimmed his eyes with tears, as supposing that he could not bear\nto witness the ceremony, since he loved V\u00e1savadatt\u00e1 so much. Then the\nface of Padm\u00e1vat\u00ed, reddened with circumambulating the fire, appeared\nas if full of anger on account of her perceiving what was passing in\nher husband's mind. When the ceremony of marriage was completed, the\nking of Vatsa let the hand of Padm\u00e1vat\u00ed quit his, but he never even\nfor a moment allowed the image of V\u00e1savadatt\u00e1 to be absent from his\nheart. Then the king of Magadha gave him jewels in such abundance,\nthat the earth seemed to be deprived of her gems, they all having\nbeen extracted. And Yaugandhar\u00e1yana, calling the fire to witness on\nthat occasion, made the king of Magadha undertake never to injure his\nmaster. So that festive scene proceeded, with the distribution of\ngarments and ornaments, with the songs of excellent minstrels, and\nthe dancing of dancing-girls. In the meanwhile V\u00e1savadatt\u00e1 remained\nunobserved, hoping for the glory of her husband, appearing [219] to\nbe asleep, like the beauty of the moon in the day. Then the king of\nVatsa went to the women's apartments, and the skilful Yaugandhar\u00e1yana,\nbeing afraid that he would see the queen, and that so the whole\nsecret would be divulged, said to the sovereign of Magadha, \"Prince,\nthis very day the king of Vatsa will set forth from thy house.\" The\nking of Magadha consented to it, and then the minister made the very\nsame announcement to the king of Vatsa, and he also approved of it.\n\nThen the king of Vatsa set out from that place, after his attendants\nhad eaten and drunk, together with his ministers, escorting his\nbride Padm\u00e1vat\u00ed. And V\u00e1savadatt\u00e1, ascending a comfortable carriage\nsent by Padm\u00e1vat\u00ed, with its great horses also put at her disposal by\nher, went secretly in the rear of the army, making the transformed\nVasantaka precede her. At last the king of Vatsa reached L\u00e1v\u00e1naka,\nand entered his own house, together with his bride, but thought all\nthe time only of the queen V\u00e1savadatt\u00e1. The queen also arrived and\nentered the house of Gop\u00e1laka at night, making the chamberlains wait\nround it. There she saw her brother Gop\u00e1laka who shewed her great\nattention, and she embraced his neck weeping, while his eyes filled\nwith tears; and at that moment arrived Yaugandhar\u00e1yana, true to his\nprevious agreement, together with Rumanvat, and the queen shewed him\nall due courtesy. And while he was engaged in dispelling the queen's\ngrief caused by the great effort she had made, and her separation\nfrom her husband, those chamberlains repaired to Padm\u00e1vat\u00ed, and said,\n\"Queen, \u00c1vantik\u00e1 has arrived, but she has in a strange way dismissed\nus, and gone to the house of prince Gop\u00e1laka.\" When Padm\u00e1vat\u00ed heard\nthat representation from her chamberlains, she was alarmed and in the\npresence of the king of Vatsa answered them, \"Go and say to \u00c1vantik\u00e1,\n'The queen says--You are a deposit in my hands, so what business\nhave you where you are? Come where I am.'\" When they heard that, they\ndeparted and the king asked Padm\u00e1vat\u00ed in private who made for her the\nunfading garlands and forehead-streaks. Then she said, \"It is all the\nproduct of the great artistic skill of the lady named \u00c1vantik\u00e1 who\nwas deposited in my house by a certain Br\u00e1hman.\" No sooner did the\nking hear that, then he went off to the house of Gop\u00e1laka, thinking\nthat surely V\u00e1savadatt\u00e1 would be there. And he entered the house, at\nthe door of which eunuchs were standing, [220] and within which were\nthe queen, Gop\u00e1laka, the two ministers, and Vasantaka. There he saw\nV\u00e1savadatt\u00e1 returned from banishment, like the orb of the moon freed\nfrom its eclipse. Then he fell on the earth delirious with the poison\nof grief, and trembling was produced in the heart of V\u00e1savadatt\u00e1. Then\nshe too fell on the earth with limbs pale from separation, and lamented\naloud, blaming her own conduct. And that couple, afflicted with grief,\nlamented so that even the face of Yaugandhar\u00e1yana was washed with\ntears. And then Padm\u00e1vat\u00ed too heard that wailing, which seemed so\nlittle suited to the occasion, and came in a state of bewilderment to\nthe place whence it proceeded. And gradually finding out the truth with\nrespect to the king and V\u00e1savadatt\u00e1, she was reduced to the same state,\nfor good women are affectionate and tender-hearted. And V\u00e1savadatt\u00e1\nfrequently exclaimed with tears, \"What profit is there in my life that\ncauses only sorrow to my husband?\" Then the calm Yaugandhar\u00e1yana said\nto the king of Vatsa: \"King, I have done all this in order to make you\nuniversal emperor, by marrying you to the daughter of the sovereign\nof Magadha, and the queen is not in the slightest degree to blame;\nmoreover this, her rival wife, is witness to her good behaviour during\nher absence from you.\" Thereupon Padm\u00e1vat\u00ed, whose mind was free from\njealousy, said, \"I am ready to enter the fire on the spot to prove\nher innocence.\" And the king said, \"I am in fault, as it was for my\nsake that the queen endured this great affliction.\" And V\u00e1savadatt\u00e1\nhaving firmly resolved, said, \"I must enter the fire to clear from\nsuspicion the mind of the king.\" Then the wise Yaugandhar\u00e1yana, best\nof right-acting men, rinsed his mouth, with his face towards the east,\nand spoke a blameless speech; \"If I have been a benefactor to this\nking, and if the queen is free from stain, speak, ye guardians of\nthe world; if it is not so, I will part from my body.\" Thus he spoke\nand ceased, and this heavenly utterance was heard: \"Happy art thou, O\nking, that hast for minister Yaugandhar\u00e1yana, and for wife V\u00e1savadatt\u00e1,\nwho in a former birth was a goddess; not the slightest blame attaches\nto her.\" Having uttered this, the Voice ceased. All who were present,\nwhen they heard that sound, which resounded though all the regions,\ndelightful as the deep thunder-roar at the first coming of the\nrain-clouds, having endured affliction for a long time, lifted up their\nhands and plainly imitated peafowl in their joy. Moreover the king\nof Vatsa and Gop\u00e1laka praised that proceeding of Yaugandhar\u00e1yana's,\nand the former already considered that the whole earth was subject\nto him. Then that king possessing those two wives, whose affection\nwas every day increased by living with him, like joy and tranquillity\ncome to visit him in bodily form, was in a state of supreme felicity.\n\n\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XVII.\n\n\nThe next day, the king of Vatsa, sitting in private with V\u00e1savadatt\u00e1,\nand Padm\u00e1vat\u00ed, engaged in a festive banquet, sent for Yaugandhar\u00e1yana,\nGop\u00e1laka, Rumanvat and Vasantaka, and had much confidential\nconversation with them. Then the king, in the hearing of them all,\ntold the following tale with reference to the subject of his separation\nfrom his beloved.\n\n\n\nStory of Urvas\u00ed. [221]\n\nOnce on a time there was a king of the name of Pur\u00faravas, who was a\ndevoted worshipper of Vishnu; he traversed heaven as well as earth\nwithout opposition, and one day, as he was sauntering in Nandana,\nthe garden of the gods, a certain Apsaras of the name of Urvas\u00ed,\nwho was a second stupefying weapon [222] in the hands of Love, cast\nan eye upon him. The moment she beheld him, the sight so completely\nrobbed her of her senses, that she alarmed the timid minds of Rambh\u00e1\nand her other friends. The king too, when he saw that torrent\nof the nectar of beauty, was quite faint with thirst, because he\ncould not obtain possession of her. Then Vishnu, who knoweth all,\ndwelling in the sea of milk, gave the following command to N\u00e1rada,\nan excellent hermit, who came to visit him--\"O Divine sage, [223]\nthe king Pur\u00faravas, at present abiding in the garden of Nandana,\nhaving had his mind captivated by Urvas\u00ed, remains incapable of bearing\nthe pain of separation from his love. Therefore go, O hermit, and\ninforming Indra as from me, cause that Urvas\u00ed to be quickly given to\nthe king.\" Having received this order from Vishnu, N\u00e1rada undertook\nto execute it, and going to Pur\u00faravas who was in the state described,\nroused him from his lethargy and said to him;--\"Rise up, O king, for\nthy sake I am sent here by Vishnu, for that god does not neglect the\nsufferings of those who are unfeignedly devoted to him.\" With these\nwords, the hermit N\u00e1rada cheered up Pur\u00faravas, and then went with\nhim into the presence of the king of the gods.\n\nThen he communicated the order of Vishnu to Indra, who received it\nwith reverent mind, and so the hermit caused Urvas\u00ed to be given to\nPur\u00faravas. That gift of Urvas\u00ed deprived the inhabitants of heaven\nof life, but it was to Urvas\u00ed herself an elixir to restore her to\nlife. Then Pur\u00faravas returned with her to the earth, exhibiting\nto the eyes of mortals the wonderful spectacle of a heavenly\nbride. Thenceforth those two, Urvas\u00ed and that king, remained, so to\nspeak, fastened together by the leash of gazing on one another, so\nthat they were unable to separate. One day Pur\u00faravas went to heaven,\ninvited by Indra to assist him, as a war had arisen between him and\nthe D\u00e1navas. In that war the king of the Asuras, named M\u00e1y\u00e1dhara,\nwas slain, and accordingly Indra held a great feast, at which all\nthe nymphs of heaven displayed their skill. And on that occasion\nPur\u00faravas, when he saw the nymph Rambh\u00e1 performing a dramatic dance\ncalled chalita, [224] with the teacher Tumburu standing by her,\nlaughed. Then Rambh\u00e1 said to him sarcastically--\"I suppose, mortal,\nyou know this heavenly dance, do you not?\" Pur\u00faravas answered,\n\"From associating with Urvas\u00ed, I knew dances which even your teacher\nTumburu does not know.\" When Tumburu heard that, he laid this curse\non him in his wrath, \"Mayest thou be separated from Urvas\u00ed until thou\npropitiate Krishna.\" When he heard that curse, Pur\u00faravas went and told\nUrvas\u00ed what had happened to him, which was terrible as \"a thunderbolt\nfrom the blue.\" Immediately some Gandharvas swooped down, without the\nking's seeing them, and carried off Urvas\u00ed, whither he knew not. Then\nPur\u00faravas, knowing that the calamity was due to that curse, went and\nperformed penance to appease Vishnu in the hermitage of Badarik\u00e1.\n\nBut Urvas\u00ed, remaining in the country of the Gandharvas, afflicted at\nher separation, was as void of sense as if she had been dead, asleep,\nor a mere picture. She kept herself alive with hoping for the end\nof the curse, but it is wonderful that she did not lose her hold on\nlife, while she remained like the female chakrav\u00e1ka during the night,\nthe appointed time of her separation from the male bird. And Pur\u00faravas\npropitiated Vishnu by that penance, and, owing to Vishnu's having been\ngratified, the Gandharvas surrendered Urvas\u00ed to him. So that king,\nre-united to the nymph whom he had recovered at the termination of\nthe curse, enjoyed heavenly pleasures, though living upon earth.\n\nThe king stopped speaking, and V\u00e1savadatt\u00e1 felt an emotion of shame\nat having endured separation, when she heard of the attachment of\nUrvas\u00ed to her husband.\n\nThen Yaugandhar\u00e1yana, seeing that the queen was abashed at having\nbeen indirectly reproved by her husband, said, in order to make him\nfeel in his turn,--\"King, listen to this tale, if you have not already\nheard it.\n\n\n\nStory of Vihitasena.\n\nThere is on this earth a city of the name of Timir\u00e1, the dwelling\nof the goddess of Prosperity; in it there was a famous king named\nVihitasena; he had a wife named Tejovat\u00ed, a very goddess upon\nearth. That king was ever hanging on her neck, devoted to her embraces,\nand could not even bear that his body should be for a short time\nscratched with the coat of mail. And once there came upon the king a\nlingering fever with diminishing intensity; and the physicians forbade\nhim to continue in the queen's society. But when he was excluded from\nthe society of the queen, there was engendered in his heart a disease\nnot to be reached by medicine or treatment. The physicians told the\nministers in private that the disease might relieve itself by fear or\nthe stroke of some affliction. The ministers reflected--\"How can we\nproduce fear in that brave king, who did not tremble when an enormous\nsnake once fell on his back, who was not confused when a hostile\narmy penetrated into his harem? It is useless thinking of devices to\nproduce fear; what are we ministers, to do with the king?\" Thus the\nministers reflected, and after deliberating with the queen, concealed\nher, and said to the king, \"The queen is dead.\" While the king was\ntortured with that exceeding grief, in his agitation that disease\nin his heart relieved itself. [225] When the king had got over the\npain of the illness, the ministers restored to him that great queen,\nwho seemed like a second gift of ease, and the king valued her highly\nas the saviour of his life, and was too wise to bear anger against\nher afterwards for concealing herself.\n\nFor it is care for a husband's interests that entitles a king's wife\nto the name of queen; by mere compliance with a husband's whims the\nname of queen is not obtained. And discharging the duty of minister\nmeans undivided attention to the burden of the king's affairs, but\nthe compliance with a king's passing fancies is the characteristic of\na mere courtier. Accordingly we made this effort in order to come to\nterms with your enemy, the king of Magadha, and with a view to your\nconquering the whole earth. So it is not the case that the queen, who,\nthrough love for you, endured intolerable separation, has done you a\nwrong; on the contrary she has conferred on you a great benefit.\" When\nthe king of Vatsa heard this true speech of his prime-minister's,\nhe thought that he himself was in the wrong, and was quite satisfied.\n\nAnd he said; \"I know this well enough, that the queen, like Policy\nincarnate in bodily form, acting under your inspiration, has bestowed\nupon me the dominion of the earth. But that unbecoming speech, which\nI uttered, was due to excessive affection; how can people whose minds\nare blinded with love bring themselves to deliberate calmly? [226]\"\nWith such conversation that king of Vatsa brought the day and the\nqueen's eclipse of shame to an end. On the next day a messenger sent\nby the king of Magadha, who had discovered the real state of the case,\ncame to the sovereign of Vatsa, and said to him as from his master;\n\"We have been deceived by thy ministers, therefore take such steps as\nthat the world may not henceforth be to us a place of misery.\" When\nhe heard that, the king shewed all honour to the messenger, and sent\nhim to Padm\u00e1vat\u00ed to take his answer from her. She, for her part, being\naltogether devoted to V\u00e1savadatt\u00e1, had an interview with the ambassador\nin her presence. For humility is an unfailing characteristic of good\nwomen. The ambassador delivered her father's message--\"My daughter,\nyou have been married by an artifice, and your husband is attached to\nanother, thus it has come to pass that I reap in misery the fruit of\nbeing the father of a daughter.\" But Padm\u00e1vat\u00ed thus answered him, Say\nto my father from me here--\"What need of grief? For my husband is very\nindulgent to me, and the queen V\u00e1savadatt\u00e1 is my affectionate sister,\nso my father must not be angry with my husband, unless he wishes to\nbreak his own plighted faith and my heart at the same time.\" When this\nbecoming answer had been given by Padm\u00e1vat\u00ed, the queen V\u00e1savadatt\u00e1\nhospitably entertained the ambassador and then sent him away. When\nthe ambassador had departed, Padm\u00e1vat\u00ed remained somewhat depressed\nwith regret, calling to mind her father's house. Then V\u00e1savadatt\u00e1\nordered Vasantaka to amuse her, and he came near, and with that object\nproceeded to tell the following tale:\n\n\n\nStory of Somaprabh\u00e1.\n\nThere is a city, the ornament of the earth, called P\u00e1taliputra,\nand in it there was a great merchant named Dharmagupta. He had a\nwife named Chandraprabh\u00e1, and she once on a time became pregnant,\nand brought forth a daughter beautiful in all her limbs. That girl,\nthe moment she was born, illuminated the chamber with her beauty,\nspoke distinctly, [227] and got up and sat down. Then Dharmagupta,\nseeing that the women in the lying-in-chamber were astonished and\nterrified, went there himself in a state of alarm. And immediately\nhe asked that girl in secret, bowing before her humbly,--\"Adorable\none, who art thou, that art thus become incarnate in my family?\" She\nanswered him, \"Thou must not give me in marriage to any one; as\nlong as I remain in thy house, father, I am a blessing to thee;\nwhat profit is there in enquiring further?\" When she said this to\nhim, Dharmagupta was frightened, and he concealed her in his house\ngiving out abroad that she was dead. Then that girl, whose name was\nSomaprabh\u00e1 gradually grew up with human body, but celestial splendour\nof beauty. And one day a young merchant, of the name of Guhachandra,\nbeheld her, as she was standing upon the top of her palace, looking on\nwith delight at the celebration of the spring-festival; she clung like\na creeper of love round his heart, so that he was, as it were, faint,\nand with difficulty got home to his house. There he was tortured with\nthe pain of love, and when his parents persistently importuned him to\ntell them the cause of his distress, he informed them by the mouth of\na friend. Then his father, whose name was Guhasena, out of love for his\nson, went to the house of Dharmagupta, to ask him to give his daughter\nin marriage to Guhachandra. Then Dharmagupta put off Guhasena when he\nmade the request, desiring to obtain a daughter-in-law, and said to\nhim, \"The fact is, my daughter is out of her mind.\" Considering that\nhe meant by that to refuse to give his daughter, Guhasena returned\nhome, and there he beheld his son prostrated by the fever of love,\nand thus reflected, \"I will persuade the king to move in this matter,\nfor I have before this conferred an obligation on him, and he will\ncause that maiden to be given to my son, who is at the point of\ndeath.\" Having thus determined, the merchant went and presented to\nthe king a splendid jewel, and made known to him his desire. The\nking, for his part, being well-disposed towards him, commissioned\nthe head of the police to assist him, with whom he went to the house\nof Dharmagupta; and surrounded it on all sides with policemen, [228]\nso that Dharmagupta's throat was choked with tears, as he expected\nutter ruin. Then Somaprabh\u00e1 said to Dharmagupta--\"Give me in marriage,\nmy father, let not calamity befall you on my account, but I must never\nbe treated as a wife by my husband, and this agreement you must make\nin express terms with my future father-in-law.\" When his daughter had\nsaid this to him. Dharmagupta agreed to give her in marriage, after\nstipulating that she should not be treated as a wife; and Guhasena with\ninward laughter agreed to the condition, thinking to himself, \"Only\nlet my son be once married.\" Then Guhachandra, the son of Guhasena,\nwent to his own house, taking with him his bride Somaprabh\u00e1. And in\nthe evening his father said to him, \"My son, treat her as a wife,\nfor who abstains from the society of his own wife?\" When she heard\nthat, the bride Somaprabh\u00e1 looked angrily at her father-in-law, and\nwhirled round her threatening fore-finger, as it were the decree of\ndeath. When he saw that finger of his daughter-in-law, the breath of\nthat merchant immediately left him, and fear came upon all besides. But\nGuhachandra, when his father was dead, thought to himself, \"The goddess\nof death has entered into my house as a wife.\" And thenceforth he\navoided the society of that wife, though she remained in his house,\nand so observed a vow difficult as that of standing on the edge of a\nsword. And being inly consumed by that grief, losing his taste for\nall enjoyment, he made a vow and feasted Br\u00e1hmans every day. And\nthat wife of his, of heavenly beauty, observing strict silence,\nused always to give a fee to those Br\u00e1hmans after they had eaten. One\nday an aged Br\u00e1hman, who had come to be fed, beheld her exciting the\nwonder of the world by her dower of beauty; then the Br\u00e1hman full of\ncuriosity secretly asked Guhachandra; \"Tell me who this young wife\nof yours is.\" Then Guhachandra, being importuned by that Br\u00e1hman,\ntold him with afflicted mind her whole story. When he heard it, the\nexcellent Br\u00e1hman, full of compassion, gave him a charm for appeasing\nthe fire, in order that he might obtain his desire. Accordingly,\nwhile Guhachandra was in secret muttering that charm, there appeared\nto him a Br\u00e1hman from the midst of the fire. And that god of fire in\nthe shape of a Br\u00e1hman, said to him, as he lay prostrate at his feet,\n\"To-day I will eat in thy house, and I will remain there during the\nnight. And after I have shewn thee the truth with respect to thy wife,\nI will accomplish thy desire.\" When he had said this to Guhachandra,\nthe Br\u00e1hman entered his house. There he ate like the other Br\u00e1hmans,\nand lay down at night near Guhachandra for one watch of the night\nonly, such was his unwearying zeal. And at this period of the night,\nSomaprabh\u00e1, the wife of Guhachandra, went out from the house of her\nhusband, all the inmates of which were asleep. At that moment that\nBr\u00e1hman woke up Guhachandra, and said to him, \"Come, see what thy\nwife is doing.\"\n\nAnd by magic power he gave Guhachandra and himself the shape of bees,\n[229] and going out he shewed him that wife of his, who had issued from\nthe house. And that fair one went a long distance outside the city,\nand the Br\u00e1hman with Guhachandra followed her. Thereupon Guhachandra\nsaw before him a Nyagrodha [230] tree of wide extent, beautiful with\nits shady stem, and under it he heard a heavenly sound of singing,\nsweet with strains floating on the air, accompanied with the music of\nthe lyre and the flute. And on the trunk of the tree he saw a heavenly\nmaiden [231], like his wife in appearance, seated on a splendid throne,\neclipsing by her beauty the moon-beam, fanned with white chowries, like\nthe goddess presiding over the treasure of all the moon's beauty. And\nthen Guhachandra saw his wife ascend that very tree and sit down beside\nthat lady, occupying half of her throne. While he was contemplating\nthose two heavenly maidens of equal beauty sitting together, it seemed\nto him as if that night were lighted by three moons. [232]\n\nThen he, full of curiosity, thought for a moment, \"Can this be sleep\nor delusion? But away with both these suppositions! This is the\nexpanding of the blossom from the bud of association with the wise,\nwhich springs on the tree of right conduct, and this blossom gives\npromise of the appropriate fruit.\" While he was thus reflecting at\nhis leisure, those two celestial maidens, after eating food suited for\nsuch as they were, drank heavenly wine. Then the wife of Guhachandra\nsaid to the second heavenly maiden, \"To-day some glorious Br\u00e1hman\nhas arrived in our house, for which reason, my sister, my heart is\nalarmed and I must go.\" In these words she took leave of that other\nheavenly maiden and descended from the tree. When Guhachandra and\nthe Br\u00e1hman saw that, they returned in front of her, still preserving\nthe form of bees, and arrived in the house by night before she did,\nand afterwards arrived that heavenly maiden, the wife of Guhachandra,\nand she entered the house without being observed. Then that Br\u00e1hman\nof his own accord said to Guhachandra; \"You have had ocular proof\nthat your wife is divine and not human, and you have to-day seen her\nsister who is also divine; and how do you suppose that a heavenly\nnymph can desire the society of a man? So I will give you a charm to\nbe written up over her door, and I will also teach you an artifice\nto be employed outside the house, which must increase the force of\nthe charm. A fire burns even without being fanned, but much more\nwhen a strong current of air is brought to bear on it; in the same\nway a charm will produce the desired effect unaided, but much more\nreadily when assisted by an artifice.\" When he had said this, the\nexcellent Br\u00e1hman gave a charm to Guhachandra, and instructed him\nin the artifice, and then vanished in the dawn. Guhachandra for his\npart wrote it up over the door of his wife's apartment, and in the\nevening had recourse to the following stratagem calculated to excite\nher affection. He dressed himself splendidly and went and conversed\nwith a certain het\u00e6ra before her eyes. When she saw this, the heavenly\nmaiden being jealous, called to him with voice set free by the charm,\nand asked him who that woman was. He answered her falsely; \"She is\na het\u00e6ra who has taken a fancy to me, and I shall go and pay her a\nvisit to-day.\" Then she looked at him askance with wrinkled brows,\nand lifting up her veil with her left hand, said to him, \"Ah! I see:\nthis is why you are dressed so grandly, do not go to her, what have you\nto do with her? Visit me, for I am your wife.\" When he had been thus\nimplored by her, agitated with excitement, as if she were possessed,\nthough that evil demon which held her had been expelled by the charm,\nhe was in a state of ecstatic joy, and he immediately entered into her\nchamber with her, and enjoyed, though a mortal, celestial happiness\nnot conceived of in imagination. Having thus obtained her as a loving\nwife, conciliated by the magic power of the charm, who abandoned for\nhim her celestial rank, Guhachandra lived happily ever after.\n\n\"Thus heavenly nymphs, who have been cast down by some curse, live as\nwives in the houses of righteous men, as a reward for their good deeds,\nsuch as acts of devotion and charity. For the honouring of gods and\nBr\u00e1hmans is considered the wishing-cow [233] of the good. For what\nis not obtained by that? All the other politic expedients, known as\nconciliation and so on, are mere adjuncts. [234] But evil actions\nare the chief cause of even heavenly beings, born in a very lofty\nstation, falling from their high estate; as a hurricane is the cause\nof the falling of blossoms.\" When he had said this to the princess,\nVasantaka continued; \"Hear moreover what happened to Ahaly\u00e1.\"\n\n\n\nStory of Ahaly\u00e1.\n\nOnce upon a time there was a great hermit named Gautama, who knew the\npast, the present, and the future. And he had a wife named Ahaly\u00e1,\nwho in beauty surpassed the nymphs of heaven. One day Indra, in\nlove with her beauty, tempted her in secret, for the mind of rulers,\nblinded with power, runs towards unlawful objects.\n\nAnd she in her folly encouraged that husband of Sach\u00ed, being the slave\nof her passions; but the hermit Gautama found out the intrigue by his\nsuperhuman power, and arrived upon the scene. And Indra immediately\nassumed, out of fear, the form of a cat. Then Gautama said to Ahaly\u00e1;\n\"Who is here?\" She answered her husband ambiguously in the Pr\u00e1krit\ndialect,--\"Here forsooth is a cat,\" so managing to preserve verbal\ntruth. [235] Then Gautama said, laughing, \"It is quite true that your\nlover is here,--and he inflicted on her a curse, but ordained that it\nshould terminate because she had shewed some regard for truth.\" The\ncurse ran as follows; \"Woman of bad character, take for a long time the\nnature of a stone, until thou behold R\u00e1ma wandering in the forest.\" And\nGautama at the same time inflicted on the god Indra the following\ncurse; \"A thousand pictures of that which thou hast desired shall\nbe upon thy body, but when thou shalt behold Tilottam\u00e1, a heavenly\nnymph, whom Visvakarman shall make, they shall turn into a thousand\neyes.\" When he had pronounced this curse, the hermit returned to his\nausterities according to his desire, but Ahaly\u00e1 for her part assumed\nthe awful condition of a stone. And Indra immediately had his body\ncovered with repulsive marks; for to whom is not immorality a cause\nof humiliation?\n\n\"So true is it that every man's evil actions always bear fruit\nin himself, for whatever seed a man sows, of that he reaps the\nfruit. Therefore persons of noble character never desire that, which\nis disagreeable to their neighbours, for this is the invariable\nobservance of the good, prescribed by divine law. And you two were\nsister goddesses in a former birth, but you have been degraded in\nconsequence of a curse, and accordingly your hearts are free from\nstrife and bent on doing one another good turns.\" When they heard\nthis from Vasantaka, V\u00e1savadatt\u00e1 and Padm\u00e1vat\u00ed dismissed from their\nhearts even the smallest remnants of mutual jealousy. But the queen\nV\u00e1savadatt\u00e1 made her husband equally the property of both, and acted\nas kindly to Padm\u00e1vat\u00ed as if she were herself, desiring her welfare.\n\nWhen the king of Magadha heard of that so great generosity of hers\nfrom the messengers sent by Padm\u00e1vat\u00ed, he was much pleased. So on the\nnext day the minister Yaugandhar\u00e1yana came up to the king of Vatsa\nin the presence of the queen, the others also standing by, and said,\n\"Why do we not go now to Kaus\u00e1mb\u00ed, my prince, in order to begin our\nenterprise, for we know that there is nothing to be feared from the\nking of Magadha, even though he has been deceived? For he has been\ncompletely gained over by means of the negotiation termed 'Giving of a\ndaughter': and how could he make war and so abandon his daughter whom\nhe loves more than life? He must keep his word; moreover he has not\nbeen deceived by you; I did it all myself; and it does not displease\nhim; indeed I have learned from my spies that he will not act in a\nhostile way, and it was for this very purpose that we remained here\nfor these days.\" While Yaugandhar\u00e1yana, who had accomplished the task\nhe had in hand, was speaking thus, a messenger belonging to the king\nof Magadha arrived there, and entered into the palace immediately,\nbeing announced by the warder, and after he had done obeisance,\nhe sat down and said to the king of Vatsa; \"The king of Magadha is\ndelighted with the intelligence sent by the queen Padm\u00e1vat\u00ed, and he\nnow sends this message to your Highness--'What need is there of many\nwords? I have heard all, and I am pleased with thee. Therefore do the\nthing for the sake of which this beginning has been made; we submit\nourselves.'\" The king of Vatsa joyfully received this clear speech of\nthe messenger's, resembling the blossom of the tree of policy planted\nby Yaugandhar\u00e1yana. Then he brought Padm\u00e1vat\u00ed with the queen, and,\nafter he had bestowed a present upon the messenger, he dismissed him\nwith honour. Then a messenger from Chandamah\u00e1sena also arrived, and,\nafter entering, he bowed before the king, according to custom, and\nsaid to him, \"O king, his majesty Chandamah\u00e1sena, who understands the\nsecrets of policy, has learnt the state of thy affairs and delighted\nsends this message--'Your majesty's excellence is plainly declared\nby this one fact, that you have Yaugandhar\u00e1yana for your minister,\nwhat need of further speeches? Blessed too is V\u00e1savadatt\u00e1, who,\nthrough devotion to you, has done a deed which makes us exalt our\nhead for ever among the good, moreover Padm\u00e1vat\u00ed is not separated\nfrom V\u00e1savadatt\u00e1 in my regard, for they two have one heart; therefore\nquickly exert yourself.'\"\n\nWhen the king of Vatsa heard this speech of his father-in-law's\nmessenger, joy suddenly arose in his heart, and his exceeding warmth\nof affection for the queen was increased, and also the great respect\nwhich he felt for his excellent minister. Then the king, together with\nthe queens, entertained the messenger according to the laws of due\nhospitality, in joyful excitement of mind, and sent him away pleased;\nand as he was bent on commencing his enterprise, he determined,\nafter deliberating with his ministers, on returning to Kaus\u00e1mb\u00ed.\n\n\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XVIII.\n\n\nSo on the next day the king of Vatsa set out from L\u00e1v\u00e1naka for\nKaus\u00e1mb\u00ed, accompanied by his wives and his ministers, and as he\nadvanced, shouts broke forth from his forces, that filled the plains\nlike the waters of the ocean overflowing out of due time. An image\nwould be furnished of that king advancing on his mighty elephant,\nif the sun were to journey in the heaven accompanied by the eastern\nmountain. That king, shaded with his white umbrella, shewed as if\nwaited upon by the moon, delighted at having outdone the splendour\nof the sun. While he towered resplendent above them all, the chiefs\ncircled around him, like the planets [236] in their orbits around\nthe polar star. And those queens, mounted on a female elephant that\nfollowed his, shone like the earth-goddess and the goddess of Fortune\naccompanying him out of affection in visible shape. The earth, that\nlay in his path, dinted with the edges of the hoofs of the troops\nof his prancing steeds, seemed to bear the prints of loving nails,\nas if it had been enjoyed by the king. In this style progressing,\nthe king of Vatsa, being continually praised by his minstrels,\nreached in a few days the city of Kaus\u00e1mb\u00ed, in which the people kept\nholiday. The city was resplendent on that occasion, her lord [237]\nhaving returned from sojourning abroad. She was clothed in the red silk\nof banners, round windows were her expanded eyes, the full pitchers\nin the space in front of the gates were her two swelling breasts, the\njoyous shouts of the crowd were her cheerful conversation, and white\npalaces her smile. [238] So, accompanied by his two wives, the king\nentered the city, and the ladies of the town were much delighted at\nbeholding him. The heaven was filled with hundreds of faces of fair\nones standing on charming palaces, as if with the soldiers of the\nmoon [239] that was surpassed in beauty by the faces of the queens,\nhaving come to pay their respects. And other women established at\nthe windows, looking with unwinking eyes, [240] seemed like heavenly\nnymphs in a\u00ebrial chariots, that had come there out of curiosity. Other\nwomen, with their long-lashed eyes closely applied to the lattice of\nthe windows, made, so to speak, cages of arrows to confine love. The\neager eye of one woman expanded with desire to behold the king, came,\nso to speak, to the side of her ear, [241] that did not perceive\nhim, in order to inform it. The rapidly heaving breasts of another,\nwho had run up hastily, seemed to want to leap out of her bodice with\nardour to behold him. The necklace of another lady was broken with her\nexcitement, and the pearl-beads seemed like tear-drops of joy falling\nfrom her heart. Some women, beholding V\u00e1savadatt\u00e1 and remembering the\nformer report of her having been burned, said as if with anxiety;\n\"If the fire were to do her an injury at L\u00e1v\u00e1naka, then the sun\nmight as well diffuse over the world darkness which is alien to his\nnature.\" Another lady beholding Padm\u00e1vat\u00ed said to her companion; \"I\nam glad to see that the queen is not put to shame by her fellow-wife,\nwho seems like her friend.\" And others beholding those two queens,\nand throwing over them garlands of eyes expanded with joy so as to\nresemble blue lotuses, said to one another; \"Surely Siva and Vishnu\nhave not beheld the beauty of these two, otherwise how could they\nregard with much respect their consorts Um\u00e1 and Sr\u00ed?\" In this way\nfeasting the eyes of the population, the king of Vatsa with the queens\nentered his own palace, after performing auspicious ceremonies. Such\nas is the splendour of a lotus-pool in windy weather, or of the\nsea when the moon is rising, such was at that period the wonderful\nsplendour of the king's palace. And in a moment it was filled with\nthe presents, which the feudatories offered to procure good luck,\nand which foreshadowed the coming in of offerings from innumerable\nkings. And so the king of Vatsa, after honouring the chiefs, entered\nwith great festivity the inner apartments, at the same time finding\nhis way to the heart of every one present. And there he remained\nbetween the two queens, like the god of Love between Rati and Pr\u00edti,\n[242] and spent the rest of the day in drinking and other enjoyments.\n\nThe next day, when he was sitting in the hall of assembly accompanied\nby his ministers, a certain Br\u00e1hman came and cried out at the door;\n\"Protection for the Br\u00e1hmans! O king! certain wicked herdsmen have\ncut off my son's foot in the forest without any reason.\" When he\nheard that, the king immediately had two or three herdsmen seized and\nbrought before him, and proceeded to question them. Then they gave the\nfollowing answer; \"O king, being herdsmen we roam in the wilderness,\nand there we have among us a herdsman named Devasena, and he sits in\na certain place in the forest on a stone seat, and says to us 'I am\nyour king' and gives us orders. And not a man among us disobeys his\norders. Thus, O king, that herdsman rules supreme in the wood. Now\nto-day the son of this Br\u00e1hman came that way, and did not do obeisance\nto the herdsman king, and when we by the order of the king said to\nhim--'Depart not without doing thy reverence'--the young fellow pushed\nus aside, and went off laughing in spite of the admonition. Then the\nherdsman king commanded us to punish the contumacious boy by cutting\noff his foot. So we, O king, ran after him, and cut off his foot;\nwhat man of our humble degree is able to disobey the command of a\nruler?\" When the herdsmen had made this representation to the king, the\nwise Yaugandhar\u00e1yana, after thinking it over, said to him in private;\n\"Certainly that place must contain treasure, on the strength of which\na mere herdsman has such influence. [243] So let us go there.\" When\nhis minister had said this to him, the king made those herdsmen shew\nhim the way, and went to that place in the forest with his soldiers\nand his attendants.\n\nAnd while, after the ground had been examined, peasants were digging\nthere, a Yaksha in stature like a mountain rose up from beneath it,\nand said, \"O king, this treasure, which I have so long guarded,\nbelongs to thee, as having been buried by thy forefathers, therefore\ntake possession of it.\" After he had said this to the king and\naccepted his worship, the Yaksha disappeared, and a great treasure\nwas displayed in the excavation. And from it was extracted a valuable\nthrone studded with jewels, [244] for in the time of prosperity a long\nseries of happy and fortunate events takes place. The Lord of Vatsa\ntook away the whole treasure from the spot in high glee, and after\nchastising those herdsmen returned to his own city. There the people\nsaw that golden throne brought by the king, which seemed with the\nstreams of rays issuing from its blood-red jewels to foretell [245]\nthe king's forceful conquest of all the regions, and which with its\npearls fixed on the end of projecting silver spikes seemed to show its\nteeth as if laughing again and again when it considered the astonishing\nintellect of the king's ministers; [246] and they expressed their joy\nin a charming manner, by striking drums of rejoicing so that they sent\nforth their glad sounds. The ministers too rejoiced exceedingly, making\ncertain of the king's triumph; for prosperous events happening at the\nvery commencement of an enterprise portend its final success. Then\nthe sky was filled with flags resembling flashes of lightning, and the\nking like a cloud rained gold on his dependants. And this day having\nbeen spent in feasting, on the morrow Yaugandhar\u00e1yana, wishing to know\nthe mind of the king of Vatsa, said to him; \"O king, ascend and adorn\nthat great throne, which thou hast obtained by inheritance from thy\nancestors.\" But the king said, \"Surely it is only after conquering all\nthe regions that I can gain glory by ascending that throne, which those\nfamous ancestors of mine mounted after conquering the earth. Not till\nI have subdued this widely-gemmed earth bounded by the main, will I\nascend the great jewelled throne of my ancestors.\" Saying this, the\nking did not mount the throne as yet. For men of high birth possess\ngenuine loftiness of spirit. Thereupon Yaugandhar\u00e1yana being delighted\nsaid to him in private; \"Bravo! my king! So make first an attempt to\nconquer the eastern region.\" When he heard that, the king eagerly\nasked his minister; \"When there are other cardinal points, why do\nkings first march towards the East?\" When Yaugandhar\u00e1yana heard this,\nhe said to him again; \"The North, O king, though rich, is defiled by\nintercourse with barbarians, and the West is not honoured as being\nthe cause of the setting of the sun and other heavenly bodies; and\nthe South is seen to be neighboured by R\u00e1kshasas and inhabited by\nthe god of death; but in the eastern quarter the sun rises, over the\nEast presides Indra, and towards the East flows the Ganges, therefore\nthe East is preferred. Moreover among the countries situated between\nthe Vindhya and Him\u00e1laya mountains, the country laved by the waters\nof the Ganges is considered most excellent. Therefore monarchs who\ndesire success march first towards the East, and dwell moreover in\nthe land visited by the river of the gods. [247] For your ancestors\nalso conquered the regions by beginning with the East, and made their\ndwelling in Hastin\u00e1pura on the banks of the Ganges; but Sat\u00e1n\u00edka\nrepaired to Kaus\u00e1mb\u00ed on account of its delightful situation, seeing\nthat empire depended upon valour, and situation had nothing to do\nwith it.\" When he had said this Yaugandhar\u00e1yana stopped speaking;\nand the king out of his great regard for heroic exploits said; \"It\nis true that dwelling in any prescribed country is not the cause of\nempire in this world, for to men of brave disposition their own valour\nis the only cause of success. For a brave man by himself without any\nsupport obtains prosperity; have you never heard \u00e0 propos of this\nthe tale of the brave man?\" Having said this, the lord of Vatsa on\nthe entreaty of his ministers again began to speak, and related in\nthe presence of the queens the following wonderful story.\n\n\n\nStory of Vid\u00fashaka.\n\nIn the city of Ujjayin\u00ed, which is celebrated throughout the\nearth, there was in former days a king named \u00c1dityasena. He was a\ntreasure-house of valour, and on account of his sole supremacy, his war\nchariot, like that of the sun, [248] was not impeded anywhere. When his\nlofty umbrella, gleaming white like snow, illuminated the firmament,\nother kings free from heat depressed theirs. He was the receptacle\nof the jewels produced over the surface of the whole earth, as the\nsea is the receptacle of waters. Once on a time, he was encamped\nwith his army on the banks of the Ganges, where he had come for some\nreason or other. There a certain rich merchant of the country, named\nGunavartman, came to the king bringing a gem of maidens as a present,\nand sent this message by the mouth of the warder. This maiden, though\nthe gem of the three worlds, has been born in my house, and I cannot\ngive her to any one else, only your Highness is fit to be the husband\nof such a girl. Then Gunavartman entered and shewed his daughter to\nthe king. The king, when he beheld that maiden, Tejasvat\u00ed by name,\nilluminating with her brightness the quarters of the heavens, like the\nflame of the rays from the jewels in the temple of the god of Love,\nwas all enveloped with the radiance of her beauty and fell in love with\nher, and, as if heated with the fire of passion, began to dissolve in\ndrops of sweat. So he at once accepted her, who was fit for the rank\nof head queen, and being highly delighted made Gunavartman equal to\nhimself in honour. Then, having married his dear Tejasvat\u00ed, the king\nthought all his objects in life accomplished, and went with her to\nUjjayin\u00ed. There the king fixed his gaze so exclusively on her face,\nthat he could not see the affairs of his kingdom, though they were\nof great importance. And his ear being, so to speak, riveted on her\nmusical discourse could not be attracted by the cries of his distressed\nsubjects. The king entered into his harem for a long time and never\nleft it, but the fever of fear left the hearts of his enemies. And\nafter some time there was born to the king, by the queen Tejasvat\u00ed,\na girl welcomed by all, and there arose in his heart the desire of\nconquest, which was equally welcome to his subjects. That girl of\nexceeding beauty, who made the three worlds seem worthless as stubble,\nexcited in him joy, and desire of conquest excited his valour. Then\nthat king \u00c1dityasena set out one day from Ujjayin\u00ed to attack a certain\ncontumacious chieftain; and he made that queen Tejasvat\u00ed go with\nhim mounted on an elephant, as if she were the protecting goddess\nof the host. And he mounted an admirable horse, that in spirit and\nfury resembled a torrent, [249] tall like a moving mountain, with a\ncurl on its breast, and a girth. It seemed to imitate with its feet\nraised as high as its mouth, the going of Garuda which it had seen in\nthe heaven, rivalling its own swiftness, and it lifted up its head\nand seemed with fearless eye to measure the earth, as if thinking,\n\"what shall be the limit of my speed?\" And after the king had gone a\nlittle way, he came to a level piece of ground, and put his horse to\nits utmost speed to shew it off to Tejasvat\u00ed. That horse, on being\nstruck with his heel, went off rapidly, like an arrow impelled from\na catapult, in some unknown direction, so that it became invisible\nto the eyes of men. The soldiers, when they saw that take place,\nwere bewildered, and horsemen galloped in a thousand directions after\nthe king, who was run away with by his horse, but could not overtake\nhim. Thereupon the ministers with the soldiers, fearing some calamity,\nin their anxiety took with them the weeping queen and returned to\nUjjayin\u00ed; there they remained with gates closed and ramparts guarded,\nseeking for news of the king, having cheered up the citizens.\n\nIn the meanwhile the king was carried by the horse in an instant\nto the impassable forest of the Vindhya hills, haunted by terrible\nlions. Then the horse happened to stand still, and the king was\nimmediately distracted with bewilderment, as the great forest made it\nimpossible for him to know whereabouts he was. Seeing no other way\nout of his difficulties, the king, who knew what the horse had been\nin a former birth, got down from his saddle, and prostrating himself\nbefore the excellent horse, said to him [250]: \"Thou art a god; a\ncreature like thee should not commit treason against his lord; so I\nlook upon thee as my protector, take me by a pleasant path.\" When the\nhorse heard that, he was full of regret, remembering his former birth;\nand mentally acceded to the king's request, for excellent horses are\ndivine beings. Then the king mounted again, and the horse set out by\na road bordered with clear cool lakes, that took away the fatigue\nof the journey; and by evening the splendid horse had taken the\nking another hundred yojanas and brought him near Ujjayin\u00ed. As the\nsun beholding his horses, though seven in number, excelled by this\ncourser's speed, had sunk, as it were through shame, into the ravines\nof the western mountain, and as the darkness was diffused abroad,\nthe wise horse seeing that the gates of Ujjayin\u00ed were closed, and\nthat the burning-place outside the gates was terrible at that time,\ncarried the king for shelter to a concealed monastery of Br\u00e1hmans,\nthat was situated in a lonely place outside the walls. And the king\n\u00c1dityasena seeing that that monastery was a fit place to spend the\nnight in, as his horse was tired, attempted to enter it. But the\nBr\u00e1hmans, who dwelt there, opposed his entrance, saying that he must\nbe some keeper of a cemetery [251] or some thief. And out they poured\nin quarrelsome mood, with savage gestures, for Br\u00e1hmans who live\nby chanting the S\u00e1ma Veda, are the home of timidity, boorishness,\nand ill-temper. While they were clamouring, a virtuous Br\u00e1hman named\nVid\u00fashaka, the bravest of the brave, came out from that monastery. He\nwas a young man distinguished for strength of arm, who had propitiated\nthe fire by his austerities, and obtained a splendid sword from that\ndivinity, which he had only to think of, and it came to him. That\nresolute youth Vid\u00fashaka seeing that king of distinguished bearing,\nwho had arrived by night, thought to himself that he was some god\nin disguise. And the well-disposed youth pushed away all those other\nBr\u00e1hmans, and bowing humbly before the king, caused him to enter the\nmonastery. And when he had rested, and had the dust of the journey\nwashed off by female slaves, Vid\u00fashaka prepared for him suitable\nfood. And he took the saddle off that excellent horse of his, and\nrelieved its fatigue by giving it grass and other fodder. And after\nhe had made a bed for the wearied king, he said to him,--\"My lord, I\nwill guard your person, so sleep in peace\"--and while the king slept,\nthat Br\u00e1hman kept watch the whole night at the door with the sword\nof the Fire-god in his hand, that came to him on his thinking of it.\n\nAnd on the morrow early, Vid\u00fashaka, without receiving any orders, of\nhis own accord saddled the horse for the king, as soon as he awoke. The\nking for his part took leave of him, and mounting his horse entered\nthe city of Ujjayin\u00ed, beheld afar off by the people bewildered with\njoy. And the moment he entered, his subjects approached him with a\nconfused hum of delight at his return. The king accompanied by his\nministers entered the palace, and great anxiety left the breast of the\nqueen Tejasvat\u00ed. Immediately grief seemed to be swept away from the\ncity by the rows of silken flags displayed out of joy, which waved in\nthe wind; and the queen made high festival until the end of the day,\nuntil such time as the people of the city and the sun were red as\nvermilion. [252] And the next day the king \u00c1dityasena had Vid\u00fashaka\nsummoned from the monastery with all the other Br\u00e1hmans. And as\nsoon as he had made known what took place in the night, he gave his\nbenefactor Vid\u00fashaka a thousand villages. And the grateful king also\ngave that Br\u00e1hman an umbrella and an elephant and appointed him his\ndomestic chaplain, so that he was beheld with great interest by the\npeople. So Vid\u00fashaka then became equal to a chieftain, for how can\na benefit conferred on great persons fail of bearing fruit? And the\nnoble-minded Vid\u00fashaka shared all those villages, which he had received\nfrom the king, with the Br\u00e1hmans who lived in the monastery. And he\nremained in the court of the king in attendance upon him, enjoying\ntogether with the other Br\u00e1hmans the income of those villages. But\nas time went on, those other Br\u00e1hmans began striving each of them\nto be chief, and made no account of Vid\u00fashaka, being intoxicated\nwith the pride of wealth. Dwelling in separate parties, seven in one\nplace, with their mutual rivalries they oppressed the villages like\nmalignant planets. Vid\u00fashaka regarded their excesses with scornful\nindifference, for men of firm mind rightly treat with contempt men of\nlittle soul. Once upon a time a Br\u00e1hman of the name of Chakradhara,\nwho was naturally stern, seeing them engaged in wrangling, came up to\nthem. Chakradhara, though he was one-eyed, was keen-sighted enough in\ndeciding what was right in other men's affairs, and though a hunchback,\nwas straightforward enough in speech. He said to them--\"While you\nwere living by begging, you obtained this windfall, you rascals,\nthen why do you ruin the villages with your mutual intolerance? It is\nall the fault of Vid\u00fashaka who has permitted you to act thus; so you\nmay be certain that in a short time you will again have to roam about\nbegging. For a situation, in which there is no head, and every one has\nto shift for himself by his own wits as chance directs, is better than\none of disunion under many heads, in which all affairs go to rack and\nruin. So take my advice and appoint one firm man as your head, if you\ndesire unshaken prosperity, which can only be ensured by a capable\ngovernor.\" On hearing that, every one of them desired the headship\nfor himself; thereupon Chakradhara after reflection again said to\nthose fools; \"As you are so addicted to mutual rivalry I propose to\nyou a basis of agreement. In the neighbouring cemetery three robbers\nhave been executed by impalement; whoever is daring enough to cut off\nthe noses of those three by night and to bring them here, he shall be\nyour head, for courage merits command. [253]\" When Chakradhara made\nthis proposal to the Br\u00e1hmans, Vid\u00fashaka, who was standing near, said\nto them; \"Do this, what is there to be afraid of?\" Then the Br\u00e1hmans\nsaid to him; \"We are not bold enough to do it, let whoever is able, do\nit, and we will abide by the agreement.\" Then Vid\u00fashaka said, \"Well,\nI will do it, I will cut off the noses of those robbers by night and\nbring them from the cemetery.\" Then those fools, thinking the task a\ndifficult one, said to him; \"If you do this you shall be our lord,\nwe make this agreement.\" When they had pronounced this agreement,\nand night had set in, Vid\u00fashaka took leave of those Br\u00e1hmans and went\nto the cemetery. So the hero entered the cemetery awful as his own\nundertaking, with the sword of the Fire-god, that came with a thought,\nas his only companion. And in the middle of that cemetery where the\ncries of vultures and jackals were swelled by the screams of witches,\nand the flames of the funeral pyres were reinforced by the fires in the\nmouths of the fire-breathing demons, he beheld those impaled men with\ntheir faces turned up, as if through fear of having their noses cut\noff. And when he approached them, those three being tenanted by demons\nstruck him with their fists [254]; and he for his part slashed them\nin return with his sword, for fear has not learned to bestir herself\nin the breast of the resolute. Accordingly the corpses ceased to be\nconvulsed with demons, and then the successful hero cut off their\nnoses and brought them away, binding them up in his garment. And as\nhe was returning, he beheld in that cemetery a religious mendicant\nsitting on a corpse muttering charms, and through curiosity to have\nthe amusement of seeing what he was doing, he stood concealed behind\nthat mendicant. In a moment the corpse under the mendicant gave\nforth a hissing sound, and flames issued from its mouth, and from its\nnavel mustard-seeds. And then the mendicant took the mustard-seeds,\nand rising up struck the corpse with the flat of his hand, and the\ncorpse, which was tenanted by a mighty demon, stood up, and then that\nmendicant mounted on its shoulder, and began to depart at a rapid rate,\n[255] and Vid\u00fashaka silently followed him unobserved, and after he had\ngone a short distance Vid\u00fashaka saw an empty temple with an image of\nDurg\u00e1 in it. Then the mendicant got down from the shoulder of the\ndemon, and entered the inner shrine of the temple, while the demon\nfell flat on the earth. But Vid\u00fashaka was present also, contriving\nto watch the mendicant, unperceived by him. The mendicant worshipped\nthe goddess there and offered the following prayer; \"If thou art\npleased with me, O goddess, grant me the desired boon. If not I will\npropitiate thee with the sacrifice of myself.\" When the mendicant,\nintoxicated with the success of his powerful spells, said this,\na voice coming from the inner shrine thus addressed the mendicant;\n\"Bring here the maiden daughter of king \u00c1dityasena, and offer her as a\nsacrifice, then thou shalt obtain thy desire.\" When the mendicant heard\nthis, he went out, and striking once more with his hand the demon,\n[256] who hissed at the blow, made him stand upright. And mounting\non the shoulder of the demon, from whose mouth issued flames of\nfire, he flew away through the air to bring the princess. Vid\u00fashaka\nseeing all this from his place of concealment thought to himself;\n\"What! shall he slay the king's daughter while I am alive? I will\nremain here until the scoundrel returns.\" Having formed this resolve,\nVid\u00fashaka remained there in concealment. But the mendicant entered\nthe female apartments of the palace through the window, and found the\nking's daughter asleep, as it was night. And he returned, all clothed\nin darkness, through the air, bringing with him the princess who\nilluminated with her beauty the region, as R\u00e1hu carries off a digit\nof the moon. And bearing along with him that princess who exclaimed\nin her grief--\"Alas! my father! Alas! my mother\"--he descended from\nthe sky in that very temple of the goddess. And then, dismissing the\ndemon, he entered with that pearl of maidens into the inner shrine of\nthe goddess, and while he was preparing to slay the princess there,\nVid\u00fashaka came in with his sword drawn. He said to the mendicant,\n\"Villain! do you wish to smite a jasmine flower with a thunder-bolt,\nin that you desire to employ a weapon against this tender form?\" And\nthen he seized the trembling mendicant by the hair, and cut off his\nhead. And he consoled the princess distracted with fear, who clung to\nhim closely as she began to recognise him. And then the hero thought;\n\"How can I manage during the night to convey this princess from\nthis place to the harem?\" Then a voice from the air addressed him;\n\"Hear this O Vid\u00fashaka! the mendicant, whom thou hast slain, had\nin his power a great demon and some grains of mustard-seed. Thence\narose his desire to be ruler of the earth and marry the daughters\nof kings, and so the fool has this day been baffled. Therefore thou\nhero, take those mustard-seeds, in order that for this night only\nthou mayest be enabled to travel through the air.\" Thus the a\u00ebrial\nvoice addressed the delighted Vid\u00fashaka; for even the gods often\ntake such a hero under their protection. Then he took in his hand\nthose grains of mustard-seed from the corner of the mendicant's robe,\nand the princess in his arms. And while he was setting out from that\ntemple of the goddess, another voice sounded in the air; \"Thou must\nreturn to this very temple of the goddess at the end of a month, thou\nmust not forget this, O hero!\" When he heard this, Vid\u00fashaka said \"I\nwill do so,\"--and by the favour of the goddess he immediately flew\nup into the air bearing with him the princess. And flying through\nthe air he quickly placed that princess in her private apartments,\nand said to her after she had recovered her spirits; \"To-morrow\nmorning I shall not be able to fly through the air, and so all men\nwill see me going out, so I must depart now.\" When he said this to\nher, the maiden being alarmed, answered him; \"When you are gone, this\nbreath of mine will leave my body overcome with fear. Therefore do\nnot depart, great-souled hero; once more save my life, for the good\nmake it their business from their birth to carry out every task they\nhave undertaken.\" When the brave Vid\u00fashaka heard that, he reflected,\n\"If I go, and leave this maiden, she may possibly die of fear; and then\nwhat kind of loyalty to my sovereign shall I have exhibited? Thinking\nthus he remained all night in those female apartments, and he gradually\ndropped off to sleep wearied with toil and watching. But the princess\nin her terror passed that night without sleeping: and even when the\nmorning came she did not wake up the sleeping Vid\u00fashaka, as her mind\nwas made tender by love [257], and she said to herself; \"Let him rest\na little longer.\" Then the servants of the harem came in and saw him,\nand in a state of consternation they went and told the king. The king\nfor his part sent the warder to discover the truth, and he entering\nbeheld Vid\u00fashaka there. And he heard the whole story from the mouth\nof the princess, and went and repeated it all to the king. And the\nking knowing the excellent character of Vid\u00fashaka, was immediately\nbewildered, wondering what it could mean. And he had Vid\u00fashaka brought\nfrom his daughter's apartment, escorted all the way by her soul,\nwhich followed him out of affection. And when he arrived, the king\nasked him what had taken place, and Vid\u00fashaka told him the whole\nstory from the beginning, and shewed him the noses of the robbers\nfastened up in the end of his garment, and the mustard-seeds which\nhad been in the possession of the mendicant, different from those\nfound on earth. The high-minded monarch suspected that Vid\u00fashaka's\nstory was true from these circumstances, so he had all the Br\u00e1hmans\nof the monastery brought before him, together with Chakradhara, and\nasked about the original cause of the whole matter. And he went in\nperson to the cemetery and saw those men with their noses cut off,\nand that base mendicant with his neck severed, and then he reposed\ncomplete confidence in, and was much pleased with, the skilful and\nsuccessful Vid\u00fashaka, who had saved his daughter's life. And he gave\nhim his own daughter on the spot; what do generous men withhold when\npleased with their benefactors? Surely the goddess of Prosperity, [258]\nout of love for the lotus, dwelt in the hand of the princess, since\nVid\u00fashaka obtained great good fortune after he had received it in the\nmarriage ceremony. Then Vid\u00fashaka enjoying a distinguished reputation,\nand engaged in attending upon the sovereign, lived with that beloved\nwife in the palace of king \u00c1dityasena. Then as days went on, once upon\na time the princess impelled by some supernatural power said at night\nto Vid\u00fashaka; \"My lord, you remember that when you were in the temple\nof the goddess a divine voice said to you, 'Come here at the end of a\nmonth.' To-day is the last day of the month, and you have forgotten\nit.\" When his beloved said this to him, Vid\u00fashaka was delighted,\nand recalled it to mind, and said to his wife--\"Well remembered on\nthy part, fair one! But I had forgotten it.\" And then he embraced\nher by way of reward. And then, while she was asleep, he left the\nwomen's apartments by night, and in high spirits he went armed with\nhis sword to the temple of the goddess; then he exclaimed outside,\n\"I Vid\u00fashaka am arrived:\" and he heard this speech uttered by some\none inside--\"Come in, Vid\u00fashaka.\" Thereupon he entered and beheld\na heavenly palace, and inside it a lady of heavenly beauty with a\nheavenly retinue, dispelling with her brightness the darkness, like a\nnight set on fire, looking as if she were the medicine to restore to\nlife the god of love consumed with the fire of the wrath of Siva. He\nwondering what it could all mean, was joyfully received by her in\nperson with a welcome full of affection and great respect. And when\nhe had sat down and had gained confidence from seeing her affection,\nhe became eager to understand the real nature of the adventure, and she\nsaid to him; \"I am a maiden of the Vidy\u00e1dhara race, of high descent,\nand my name is Bhadr\u00e1, and as I was roaming about at my will I saw you\nhere on that occasion. And as my mind was attracted by your virtues,\nI uttered at that time that voice which seemed to come from some one\ninvisible, in order that you might return. And to-day I bewildered\nthe princess by employing my magic skill, so that under my impulse she\nrevived your remembrance of this matter, and for your sake I am here,\nand so, handsome hero, I surrender myself to you; marry me.\" The noble\nVid\u00fashaka, when the Vidy\u00e1dhar\u00ed Bhadr\u00e1 addressed him in this style,\nagreed that moment, and married her by the G\u00e1ndharva ceremony. Then\nhe remained in that very place, having obtained celestial joys,\nthe fruits of his own valour, living with that beloved wife.\n\nMeanwhile the princess woke up when the night came to an end, and not\nseeing her husband, was immediately plunged in despair. So she got\nup and went with tottering steps to her mother, all trembling, with\nher eyes flooded with gushing tears. And she told her mother that\nher husband had gone away somewhere in the night, and was full of\nself-reproach, fearing that she had been guilty of some fault. Then\nher mother was distracted owing to her love for her daughter, and\nso in course of time the king heard of it, and came there, and fell\ninto a state of the utmost anxiety. When his daughter said to him--\"I\nknow my husband has gone to the temple of the goddess outside the\ncemetery\"--the king went there in person. But he was not able to find\nVid\u00fashaka there in spite of all his searching, for he was concealed\nby virtue of the magic science of the Vidy\u00e1dhar\u00ed. Then the king\nreturned, and his daughter in despair determined to leave the body,\nbut while she was thus minded, some wise man came to her and said\nthis to her; \"Do not fear any misfortune, for that husband of thine\nis living in the enjoyment of heavenly felicity, and will return to\nthee shortly.\" When she heard that, the princess retained her life,\nwhich was kept in her by the hope of her husband's return, that had\ntaken deep root in her heart.\n\nThen, while Vid\u00fashaka was living there, a certain friend of\nhis beloved, named Yogesvar\u00ed, came to Bhadr\u00e1, and said to her in\nsecret--\"My friend, the Vidy\u00e1dharas are angry with you because you live\nwith a man, and they seek to do you an injury, therefore leave this\nplace. There is a city called K\u00e1rkotaka on the shore of the eastern\nsea, and beyond that there is a sanctifying stream named S\u00edtod\u00e1,\nand after you cross that, there is a great mountain named Udaya,\n[259] the land of the Siddhas, [260] which the Vidy\u00e1dharas may not\ninvade; go there immediately, and do not be anxious about the beloved\nmortal whom you leave here, for before you start you can tell all this\nto him, so that he shall be able afterwards to journey there with\nspeed.\" When her friend said this to her, Bhadr\u00e1 was overcome with\nfear, and though attached to Vid\u00fashaka, she consented to do as her\nfriend advised. So she told her scheme to Vid\u00fashaka, and providently\ngave him her ring, and then disappeared at the close of the night. And\nVid\u00fashaka immediately found himself in the empty temple of the goddess,\nin which he had been before, and no Bhadr\u00e1 and no palace. Remembering\nthe delusion produced by Bhadr\u00e1's magic skill, and beholding the ring,\nVid\u00fashaka was overpowered by a paroxysm of despair and wonder. And\nremembering her speech as if it were a dream, he reflected,--\"Before\nshe left, she assigned as a place of meeting the mountain of the\nsun-rising; so I must quickly go there to find her: but if I am seen\nby the people in this state, the king will not let me go: so I will\nemploy a stratagem in this matter, in order that I may accomplish my\nobject.\" So reflecting, the wise man assumed another appearance, and\nwent out from that temple with tattered clothes, begrimed with dust,\nexclaiming, \"Ah Bhadr\u00e1! Ah Bhadr\u00e1!\" And immediately the people, who\nlived in that place, beholding him, raised a shout; \"Here is Vid\u00fashaka\nfound!\" And the king hearing of it came out from his palace in person,\nand seeing Vid\u00fashaka in such a state, conducting himself like a madman,\nhe laid hold on him and took him back to his palace. When he was there,\nwhatever his servants and connexions, who were full of affection, said\nto him, he answered only by exclaiming, \"Ah Bhadr\u00e1! Ah Bhadr\u00e1!\" And\nwhen he was anointed with unguents prescribed by the physicians,\nhe immediately defiled his body with much cinder-dust; and the\nfood which the princess out of love offered to him with her own\nhands, he instantly threw down and trampled under foot. And in this\ncondition Vid\u00fashaka remained there some days, without taking interest\nin anything, tearing his own clothes, and playing the madman. And\n\u00c1dityasena thought to himself; \"His condition is past cure, so what\nis the use of torturing him? He may perhaps die, and then I should\nbe guilty of the death of a Br\u00e1hman, whereas if he roams about at\nhis will, he may possibly recover in course of time.\" So he let him\ngo. Then the hero Vid\u00fashaka, being allowed to roam where he liked, set\nout the next day at his leisure to find Bhadr\u00e1, taking with him the\nring. And as he journeyed on day by day towards the East, he at last\nreached a city named Paundravardhana [261], which lay in his way as\nhe travelled on; there he entered the house of a certain aged Br\u00e1hman\nwoman, saying to her--\"Mother, I wish to stop here one night.\" And\nshe gave him a lodging and entertained him, and shortly after, she\napproached him, full of inward sorrow, and said to him--\"My son, I\nhereby give thee all this house, therefore receive it, since I cannot\nnow live any longer.\" He, astonished, said to her--\"Why do you speak\nthus?\" Then she said--\"Listen, I will tell you the whole story,\" and\nso continued as follows--\"My son, in this city there is a king named\nDevasena, and to him there was born one daughter, the ornament of the\nearth. The affectionate king said--'I have with difficulty obtained\nthis one daughter',--so he gave her the name of Duhkalabdhik\u00e1. [262]\n\n\"In course of time when she had grown up, the king gave her in marriage\nto the king of Kachchhapa, whom he had brought to his own palace. The\nking of Kachchhapa entered at night the private apartments of his\nbride, and died the very first time he entered them. Then the king\nmuch distressed, again gave his daughter in marriage to another king;\nhe also perished in the same way [263]: and when through fear of the\nsame fate other kings did not wish to marry her, the king gave this\norder to his general--'You must bring a man in turn from every single\nhouse in this country, so that one shall be supplied every day, and\nhe must be a Br\u00e1hman or a Kshatriya. And after you have brought the\nman, you must cause him to enter by night into the apartment of my\ndaughter; let us see how many will perish in this way, and how long\nit will go on. Whoever escapes shall afterwards become her husband;\nfor it is impossible to bar the course of fate, whose dispensations\nare mysterious.' The general, having received this order from the\nking, brings a man every day turn about from every house in this\ncity, and in this way hundreds of men have met their death in the\napartment of the princess. Now I, whose merits in a former life must\nhave been deficient, have one son here; his turn has to-day arrived\nto go to the palace to meet his death; and I being deprived of him\nmust to-morrow enter the fire. Therefore, while I am still alive,\nI give to you, a worthy object, all my house with my own hand, in\norder that my lot may not again be unfortunate in my next birth.\" When\nshe had said this, the resolute Vid\u00fashaka answered; \"If this is the\nwhole matter, do not be despondent, mother, I will go there to-day,\nlet your only son live. And do not feel any commiseration with regard\nto me, so as to say to yourself--'Why should I be the cause of this\nman's death?'--for owing to the magical power which I possess I run\nno risk by going there.\" When Vid\u00fashaka had said this, that Br\u00e1hman\nwoman said to him, \"Then you must be some god come here as a reward\nfor my virtue, so cause me, my son, to recover life, and yourself to\ngain felicity.\" When she had expressed her approval of his project in\nthese words, he went in the evening to the apartment of the princess,\ntogether with a servant appointed by the general to conduct him. There\nhe beheld the princess flushed with the pride of youth, like a creeper\nweighed down with the burden of its abundant flowers that had not\nyet been gathered. Accordingly, when night came, the princess went\nto her bed, and Vid\u00fashaka remained awake in her apartment, holding in\nhis hand the sword of the Fire-god, which came to him with a thought,\nsaying to himself, \"I will find out who it is that slays men here.\" And\nwhen people were all asleep, he saw a terrible R\u00e1kshasa coming from the\nside of the apartment where the entrance was, having first opened the\ndoor; and the R\u00e1kshasa standing at the entrance stretched forward into\nthe room an arm, which had been the swift wand of Death to hundreds\nof men. But Vid\u00fashaka in wrath springing forward, cut off suddenly\nthe arm of the R\u00e1kshasa with one stroke of his sword. [264] And the\nR\u00e1kshasa immediately fled away through fear of his exceeding valour,\nwith the loss of one arm, never again to return. When the princess\nawoke, she saw the severed arm lying there, and she was terrified,\ndelighted and astonished at the same time. And in the morning the\nking Devasena saw the arm of the R\u00e1kshasa, which had fallen down\nafter it was cut off, lying at the door of his daughter's apartments;\nin this way Vid\u00fashaka, as if to say \"Henceforth no other men must\nenter here\"--fastened the door as it were with a long bar. [265]\nAccordingly the delighted king gave to Vid\u00fashaka, who possessed\nthis divine power, his daughter and much wealth; and Vid\u00fashaka dwelt\nthere some days with this fair one, as if with prosperity incarnate\nin bodily form. But one day he left the princess while asleep, and\nset out at night in haste to find his Bhadr\u00e1. And the princess in the\nmorning was afflicted at not seeing him, but she was comforted by her\nfather with the hope of his return. Vid\u00fashaka journeying on day by\nday, at last reached the city of T\u00e1mralipt\u00e1 not far from the eastern\nsea. There he joined himself to a certain merchant, named Skandhad\u00e1sa\nwho desired to cross the sea. In his company, embarking on a ship\nladen with much wealth belonging to the merchant, he set out on the\nocean path. Then that ship was stopped suddenly when it had reached the\nmiddle of the ocean, as if it were held by something. And when it did\nnot move, though the sea was propitiated with jewels, that merchant\nSkandhad\u00e1sa being grieved, said this: \"Whosoever releases this ship\nof mine which is detained, to him I will give half of my own wealth\nand my daughter.\" The resolute-souled Vid\u00fashaka, when he heard that,\nsaid, \"I will descend into the water of the sea and search it, and\nI will set free in a moment this ship of yours which is stopped: but\nyou must support me by ropes fastened round my body. And the moment\nthe ship is set free, you must draw me up out of the midst of the\nsea by the supporting ropes.\" The merchant welcomed his speech with\na promise to do what he asked, and the steersmen bound ropes under\nhis armpits. Supported in that way Vid\u00fashaka descended in the sea;\na brave man never desponds when the moment for action has arrived. So\ntaking in his hand the sword of the Fire-god, that came to him with\na thought, the hero descended into the midst of the sea under the\nship. And there he saw a giant asleep, and he saw that the ship was\nstopped by his leg. So he immediately cut off his leg with his sword,\nand at once the ship moved on freed from its impediment. [266] When\nthe wicked merchant saw that, he cut the ropes, by which Vid\u00fashaka was\nsupported, through desire to save the wealth he had promised him; and\nwent swiftly to the other shore of the ocean vast as his own avarice,\nin the ship which had thus been set free. Vid\u00fashaka for his part,\nbeing in the midst of the sea with the supporting ropes cut, rose to\nthe surface, and seeing how matters stood he calmly reflected for\na moment; \"Why did the merchant do this? Surely in this case the\nproverb is applicable; 'Ungrateful men blinded by desire of gain\ncannot see a benefit.' Well, it is now high time for me to display\nintrepidity, for if courage fails, even a small calamity cannot be\novercome.\" Thus he reflected on that occasion, and then he got astride\non the leg which he had cut off from the giant sleeping in the water,\nand by its help he crossed the sea, as if with a boat, paddling with\nhis hands, for even destiny takes the part of men of distinguished\nvalour. Then a voice from heaven addressed that mighty hero, who had\ncome across the ocean, as Hanum\u00e1n did for the sake of R\u00e1ma [267];\n\"Bravo, Vid\u00fashaka! Bravo! who except thee is a man of valour? I am\npleased with this courage of thine: therefore hear this. Thou hast\nreached a desolate coast here, but from this thou shalt arrive in\nseven days at the city of K\u00e1rkotaka; then thou shalt pluck up fresh\nspirits, and journeying quickly from that place, thou shalt obtain\nthy desire. But I am the Fire, the consumer of the oblations to\ngods and the spirits of deceased ancestors, whom thou didst before\npropitiate: and owing to my favour thou shalt feel neither hunger\nnor thirst,--therefore go prosperously and confidently;\" having thus\nspoken, the voice ceased. And Vid\u00fashaka, when he heard that, bowed,\nadoring the Fire-god, and set forth in high spirits, and on the\nseventh day he reached the city of K\u00e1rkotaka. And there he entered a\nmonastery, inhabited by many noble Br\u00e1hmans from various lands, who\nwere noted for hospitality. It was a wealthy foundation of the king\nof that place \u00c1ryavarman, and had annexed to it beautiful temples\nall made of gold. There all of the Br\u00e1hmans welcomed him, and one\nBr\u00e1hman took the guest to his chamber, and provided him with a bath,\nwith food and with clothing. And while he was living in the monastery,\nhe heard this proclamation being made by beat of drum in the evening;\n\"Whatever Br\u00e1hman or Kshatriya wishes to-morrow morning to marry\nthe king's daughter, let him spend a night in her chamber.\" When he\nheard that, he suspected the real reason, and being always fond of\ndaring adventures, he desired immediately to go to the apartment\nof the princess. Thereupon the Br\u00e1hmans of the monastery said to\nhim,--\"Br\u00e1hman, do not be guilty of rashness. The apartment of the\nprincess is not rightly so called, rather is it the open mouth of\ndeath, [268] for whoever enters it at night does not escape alive,\nand many daring men have thus met their death there.\" In spite of\nwhat these Br\u00e1hmans told him, Vid\u00fashaka would not take their advice,\n[269] but went to the palace of the king with his servants. There\nthe king \u00c1ryavarman, when he saw him, welcomed him in person, and\nat night he entered the apartment of the king's daughter, looking\nlike the sun entering the fire. And he beheld that princess who\nseemed by her appearance to be attached to him, for she looked at him\nwith tearful eye, and a sad look expressive of the grief produced by\nutter despair. And he remained awake there all night gazing intently,\nholding in his hand the sword of the Fire-god that came to him with\na thought. And suddenly he beheld at the entrance a very terrible\nR\u00e1kshasa, extending his left hand because his right had been cut\noff. And when he saw him, he said to himself; \"Here is that very\nR\u00e1kshasa, whose arm I cut off in the city of Paundravardhana. So\nI will not strike at his arm again, lest he should escape me and\ndepart as before, and for this reason it is better for me to kill\nhim.\" Thus reflecting, Vid\u00fashaka ran forward and seized his hair,\nand was preparing to cut off his head, when suddenly the R\u00e1kshasa in\nextreme terror said to him; \"Do not slay me, you are brave, therefore\nshew mercy.\" Vid\u00fashaka let him go and said, \"Who are you, and what are\nyou about here?\" Then the R\u00e1kshasa, being thus questioned by the hero,\ncontinued--\"My name is Yamadanshtra, and I had two daughters, this is\none, and she who lives in Paundravardhana is another. And Siva favoured\nme by laying on me this command; 'Thou must save the two princesses\nfrom marrying any one who is not a hero.' While thus engaged I first\nhad an arm cut off at Paundravardhana, and now I have been conquered\nby you here, so this duty of mine is accomplished.\" When Vid\u00fashaka\nheard this, he laughed, and said to him in reply; \"It was I that\ncut off your arm there in Paundravardhana.\" The R\u00e1kshasa answered\n\"Then you must be a portion of some divinity, not a mere man, I\nthink it was for your sake that Siva did me the honour of laying\nthat command upon me. So henceforth I consider you my friend, and\nwhen you call me to mind I will appear to you to ensure your success\neven in difficulties.\" In these words the R\u00e1kshasa Yamadanshtra out of\nfriendship chose him as a sworn brother, and when Vid\u00fashaka accepted\nhis proposal, disappeared. Vid\u00fashaka, for his part, was commended for\nhis valour by the princess, and spent the night there in high spirits;\nand in the morning the king hearing of the incident and highly pleased,\ngave him his daughter as the conspicuous banner of his valour together\nwith much wealth. Vid\u00fashaka lived there some nights with her, as if\nwith the goddess of prosperity, bound so firmly by his virtue [270]\nthat she could not move a step. But one night he went off of his\nown accord from that place, longing for his beloved Bhadr\u00e1, for who\nthat has tasted heavenly joys, can take pleasure in any other? And\nafter he had left the town, he called to mind that R\u00e1kshasa, and\nsaid to him, who appeared the moment he called him to mind, and made\nhim a bow,--\"My friend, I must go to the land of the Siddhas on the\nEastern mountain for the sake of the Vidy\u00e1dhar\u00ed named Bhadr\u00e1, so do\nyou take me there.\" The R\u00e1kshasa said--\"Very good\"--so he ascended\nhis shoulder, and travelled in that night over sixty yojanas of\ndifficult country; and in the morning he crossed the S\u00edtod\u00e1, a river\nthat cannot be crossed by mortals, and without effort reached the\nborder of the land of the Siddhas. [271] The R\u00e1kshasa said to him;\n\"Here is the blessed mountain, called the mountain of the rising sun,\nin front of you, but I cannot set foot upon it as it is the home\nof the Siddhas.\" Then the R\u00e1kshasa being dismissed by him departed,\nand there Vid\u00fashaka beheld a delightful lake, and he sat down on the\nbank of that lake beautiful with the faces of full-blown lotuses,\nwhich, as it were, uttered a welcome to him with the hum of roaming\nbees. And there he saw unmistakeable footsteps as of women, seeming to\nsay to him, this is the path to the house of your beloved. While he\nwas thinking to himself--\"Mortals cannot set foot on this mountain,\ntherefore I had better stop here a moment, and see whose footsteps\nthese are\"--there came to the lake to draw water many beautiful\nwomen with golden pitchers in their hands. So he asked the women,\nafter they had filled their pitchers with water, in a courteous\nmanner; \"For whom are you taking this water?\" And those women said to\nhim--\"Excellent Sir, a Vidy\u00e1dhar\u00ed of the name of Bhadr\u00e1 is dwelling\non this mountain, this water is for her to bathe in.\" Wonderful to\nsay! Providence seeming to be pleased with resolute men, who attempt\nmighty enterprises, makes all things subserve their ends. For one\nof these women suddenly said to Vid\u00fashaka; \"Noble sir, please lift\nthis pitcher on to my shoulder.\" He consented and when he lifted the\npitcher on to her shoulder, the discreet man put into it the jewelled\nring he had before received from Bhadr\u00e1, [272] and then he sat down\nagain on the bank of that lake, while those women went with the water\nto the house of Bhadr\u00e1. And while they were pouring over Bhadr\u00e1 the\nwater of ablution, her ring fell into her lap. When Bhadr\u00e1 saw it,\nshe recognized it and asked those friends of hers whether they had\nseen any stranger about. And they gave her this answer; \"We saw a\nyoung mortal on the banks of the lake, and he lifted this pitcher\nfor us.\" Then Bhadr\u00e1 said \"Go and make him bathe and adorn himself,\nand quickly bring him here, for he is my husband who has arrived in\nthis country.\" When Bhadr\u00e1 had said this, her companions went and told\nVid\u00fashaka the state of the case, and after he had bathed brought him\ninto her presence. And when he arrived, he saw after long separation\nBhadr\u00e1 who was eagerly expecting him, like the ripe blooming fruit\nof the tree of his own valour in visible form: she for her part rose\nup when she saw him, and offering him the argha, [273] so to speak,\nby sprinkling him with her tears of joy, she fastened her twining\narms round his neck like a garland. When they embraced one another,\nthe long accumulated affection [274] seemed to ooze from their limbs\nin the form of sweat, owing to excessive pressure. Then they sat down,\nand never satisfied with gazing at one another, they both, as it were,\nendured the agony of longing multiplied a hundred-fold. Bhadr\u00e1 then\nsaid to Vid\u00fashaka; \"How did you come to this land?\" And he thereupon\ngave her this answer; \"Supported by affection for thee, I came here\nenduring many risks to my life, what else can I say, fair one?\" When\nshe heard that, seeing that his love was excessive, as it caused him\nto disregard his own life, Bhadr\u00e1 said to him who through affection\nhad endured the utmost, \"My husband, I care not for my friends, nor\nmy magic powers; you are my life, and I am your slave, my lord, bought\nby you with your virtues.\" Then Vid\u00fashaka said, \"Then come with me to\nlive in Ujjayin\u00ed, my beloved, leaving all this heavenly joy.\" Bhadr\u00e1\nimmediately accepted his proposal, and gave up all her magic gifts,\n(which departed from her the moment she formed that resolution,)\nwith no more regret than if they had been straw. Then Vid\u00fashaka\nrested with her there during that night, being waited on by her\nfriend Yogesvar\u00ed, and in the morning the successful hero descended\nwith her from the mountain of the sun-rise, and again called to\nmind the R\u00e1kshasa Yamadanshtra; the R\u00e1kshasa came the moment he was\nthought of, and Vid\u00fashaka told him the direction of the journey he\nhad to take, and then ascended his shoulder, having previously placed\nBhadr\u00e1 there. She too endured patiently to be placed on the shoulder\nof a very loathsome R\u00e1kshasa; what will not women do when mastered\nby affection? So Vid\u00fashaka, mounted on the R\u00e1kshasa, set out with\nhis beloved, and again reached the city of K\u00e1rkotaka; and there men\nbeheld him with fear inspired by the sight of the R\u00e1kshasa; and when\nhe saw king \u00c1ryavarman, he demanded from him his daughter; and after\nreceiving that princess surrendered by her father, whom he had won\nwith his arm, he set forth from that city in the same style, mounted\non the R\u00e1kshasa. And after he had gone some distance, he found that\nwicked merchant on the shore of the sea, who long ago cut the ropes\nwhen he had been thrown into the sea. And he took, together with his\nwealth, his daughter, whom he had before won as a reward for setting\nfree the ship in the sea. And he considered the depriving that villain\nof his wealth as equivalent to putting him to death, for grovelling\nsouls often value their hoards more than their life. Then mounted on\nthe R\u00e1kshasa as on a chariot, taking with him that daughter of the\nmerchant, he flew up into the heaven with the princess and Bhadr\u00e1,\nand journeying through the air, he crossed the ocean, which like\nhis valour was full of boisterous impetuosity, exhibiting it to his\nfair ones. [275] And he again reached the city of Paundravardhana,\nbeheld with astonishment by all as he rode on a R\u00e1kshasa. There he\ngreeted his wife, the daughter of Devasena, who had long desired his\narrival, whom he had won by the defeat of the R\u00e1kshasa; and though\nher father tried to detain him, yet longing for his native land,\nhe took her also with him, and set out for Ujjayin\u00ed. And owing to\nthe speed of the R\u00e1kshasa, he soon reached that city, which appeared\nlike his satisfaction at beholding his home, exhibited in visible\nform. There Vid\u00fashaka was seen by the people, perched on the top of\nthat huge R\u00e1kshasa, whose vast frame was illuminated by the beauty of\nhis wives seated on his shoulder, as the moon [276] rising over the\neastern mountain with gleaming herbs on its summit. The people being\nastonished and terrified, his father-in-law the king \u00c1dityasena came\nto hear of it, and went out from the city. But Vid\u00fashaka, when he\nsaw him, quickly descended from the R\u00e1kshasa, and after prostrating\nhimself approached the king; the king too welcomed him. Then Vid\u00fashaka\ncaused all his wives to come down from the shoulder of the R\u00e1kshasa,\nand released him to wander where he would. And after that R\u00e1kshasa\nhad departed, Vid\u00fashaka accompanied by his wives entered the king's\npalace together with the king his father-in-law. There he delighted\nby his arrival that first wife of his, the daughter of that king, who\nsuffered a long regret for his absence. And when the king said to him;\n\"How did you obtain these wives, and who is that R\u00e1kshasa?\" he told him\nthe whole story. Then that king pleased with his son-in-law's valour,\nand knowing what it was expedient to do, gave him half his kingdom;\nand immediately Vid\u00fashaka, though a Br\u00e1hman, became a monarch, with\na lofty white umbrella and chowries waving on both sides of him. And\nthen the city of Ujjayin\u00ed was joyful, full of the sound of festive\ndrums and music, uttering shouts of delight. Thus he obtained the\nmighty rank of a king, and gradually conquered the whole earth, so\nthat his foot was worshipped by all kings, and with Bhadr\u00e1 for his\nconsort he long lived in happiness with those wives of his, who were\ncontent, having abandoned jealousy. Thus resolute men when fortune\nfavours them, find their own valour a great and successful stupefying\ncharm that forcibly draws towards them prosperity.\n\nWhen they heard from the mouth of the king of Vatsa this varied tale\n[277] full of marvellous incident, all his ministers sitting by his\nside and his two wives experienced excessive delight.\n\n\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XIX.\n\n\nThen Yaugandhar\u00e1yana said to the king of Vatsa; \"King, it is known\nthat you possess the favour of destiny, as well as courage; and I\nalso have taken some trouble about the right course of policy to\nbe pursued in this matter: therefore carry out as soon as possible\nyour plan of conquering the regions.\" When his chief minister had\nsaid this to him, the king of Vatsa answered,--\"Admitting that this\nis true, nevertheless the accomplishment of auspicious undertakings\nis always attended with difficulties, accordingly I will with this\nobject propitiate Siva by austerities, for without his favour, how\ncan I obtain what I desire?\" When they heard that, his ministers\napproved of his performing austerities, as the chiefs of the monkeys\ndid in the case of R\u00e1ma, when he was intent upon building a bridge\nover the ocean. And after the king had fasted for three nights,\nengaged in austerities with the queens and the ministers, Siva said\nto him in a dream--\"I am satisfied with thee, therefore rise up,\nthou shalt obtain an unimpeded triumph, and shalt soon have a son\nwho shall be king of all the Vidy\u00e1dharas.\" Then the king woke up,\nwith all his fatigue removed by the favour of Siva, like the new moon\nincreased by the rays of the sun. And in the morning he delighted his\nministers by telling them that dream, and the two queens, tender as\nflowers, who were worn out by the fasting they had endured to fulfil\nthe vow. And they were refreshed by the description of his dream,\nwell worthy of being drunk in with the ears, and its effect was like\nthat of medicine, [278] for it restored their strength. The king\nobtained by his austerities a power equal to that of his ancestors,\nand his wives obtained the saintly renown of matrons devoted to their\nhusband. But on the morrow when the feast at the end of the fast\nwas celebrated, and the citizens were beside themselves with joy,\nYaugandhar\u00e1yana thus addressed the king--\"You are fortunate, O king,\nin that the holy god Siva is so well disposed towards you, so proceed\nnow to conquer your enemies, and then enjoy the prosperity won by\nyour arm. For when prosperity is acquired by a king's own virtues,\nit remains fixed in his family, for blessings acquired by the virtues\nof the owners are never lost. And for this reason it was that that\ntreasure long buried in the ground, which had been accumulated by\nyour ancestors and then lost, was recovered by you. Moreover with\nreference to this matter hear the following tale:\"\n\n\n\nStory of Devad\u00e1sa.\n\nLong ago there was in the city of P\u00e1taliputra a certain merchant's son,\nsprung from a rich family, and his name was Devad\u00e1sa. And he married\na wife from the city of Paundravardhana, the daughter of some rich\nmerchant. When his father died, Devad\u00e1sa became in course of time\naddicted to vice, and lost all his wealth at play. And then his wife's\nfather came and took away to his own house in Paundravardhana his\ndaughter, who was distressed by poverty and the other hardships of her\nlot. Gradually the husband began to be afflicted by his misfortunes,\nand wishing to be set up in his business, he came to Paundravardhana to\nask his father-in-law to lend him the capital which he required. And\nhaving arrived in the evening at the city of Paundravardhana, seeing\nthat he was begrimed with dust, and in tattered garments, he thought\nto himself, \"How can I enter my father-in-law's house in this state? In\ntruth for a proud man death is preferable to exhibiting poverty before\none's relations.\" Thus reflecting, he went into the market-place,\nand remained outside a certain shop during the night, crouching\nwith contracted body, like the lotus which is folded at night. And\nimmediately he saw a certain young merchant open the door of that shop\nand enter it. And a moment after he saw a woman come with noiseless\nstep to that same place, and rapidly enter. And while he fixed his\neyes on the interior of the shop in which a light was burning, he\nrecognized in that woman his own wife. Then Devad\u00e1sa seeing that wife\nof his repairing to another man, and bolting the door, being smitten\nwith the thunderbolt of grief, thought to himself; \"A man deprived of\nwealth loses even his own body, how then can he hope to retain the\naffections of a woman? For women have fickleness implanted in their\nnature by an invariable law, like the flashes of lightning. So here I\nhave an instance of the misfortunes which befall men who fall into the\nsea of vice, and of the behaviour of an independent woman who lives\nin her father's house.\" Thus he reflected as he stood outside, and\nhe seemed to himself to hear his wife confidentially conversing with\nher lover. So he applied his ear to the door, and that wicked woman\nwas at the moment saying in secret to the merchant, her paramour;\n\"Listen; as I am so fond of you, I will to-day tell you a secret;\nmy husband long ago had a great-grandfather named V\u00edravarman; in the\ncourtyard of his house he secretly buried in the ground four jars of\ngold, one jar in each of the four corners. And he then informed one\nof his wives of that fact, and his wife at the time of her death\ntold her daughter-in-law, she told it to her daughter-in-law who\nwas my mother-in-law, and my mother-in-law told it to me. So this\nis an oral tradition in my husband's family, descending through\nthe mothers-in-law. But I did not tell it to my husband though he\nis poor, for he is odious to me as being addicted to gambling, but\nyou are above all dear to me. So go to my husband's town and buy the\nhouse from him with money, and after you have obtained that gold,\ncome here and live happily with me.\" When the merchant, her paramour,\nheard this from that treacherous woman, he was much pleased with her,\nthinking that he had obtained a treasure without any trouble. Devad\u00e1sa\nfor his part, who was outside, bore henceforth the hope of wealth,\nso to speak, riveted in his heart with those piercing words of his\nwicked wife. So he went thence quickly to the city of P\u00e1taliputra,\nand after reaching his house, he took that treasure and appropriated\nit. Then that merchant, who was in secret the paramour of his wife,\narrived in that country, on pretence of trading, but in reality eager\nto obtain the treasure. So he bought that house from Devad\u00e1sa, who made\nit over to him for a large sum of money. Then Devad\u00e1sa set up another\nhome, and cunningly brought back that wife of his from the house of\nhis father-in-law. When this had been done, that wicked merchant, who\nwas the lover of his wife, not having obtained the treasure, came and\nsaid to him; \"This house of yours is old, and I do not like it. So give\nme back my money, and take back your own house.\" Thus he demanded,\nand Devad\u00e1sa refused, and being engaged in a violent altercation,\nthey both went before the king. In his presence Devad\u00e1sa poured forth\nthe whole story of his wife, painful to him as venom concealed in his\nbreast. Then the king had his wife summoned, and after ascertaining\nthe truth of the case, he punished that adulterous merchant with the\nloss of all his property; Devad\u00e1sa for his part cut off the nose of\nthat wicked wife, and married another, and then lived happily in his\nnative city on the treasure he had obtained.\n\n\"Thus treasure obtained by virtuous methods is continued to a man's\nposterity, but treasure of another kind is as easily melted away as\na flake of snow when the rain begins to fall. Therefore a man should\nendeavour to obtain wealth by lawful methods, but a king especially,\nsince wealth is the root of the tree of empire. So honour all your\nministers according to custom in order that you may obtain success,\nand then accomplish the conquest of the regions, so as to gain opulence\nin addition to virtue. For out of regard to the fact that you are\nallied by marriage with your two powerful fathers-in-law, few kings\nwill oppose you, most will join you. However, this king of Benares\nnamed Brahmadatta is always your enemy, therefore conquer him first;\nwhen he is conquered, conquer the eastern quarter, and gradually all\nthe quarters, and exalt the glory of the race of P\u00e1ndu gleaming white\nlike a lotus.\" When his chief minister said this to him, the king\nof Vatsa consented, eager for conquest, and ordered his subjects to\nprepare for the expedition; and he gave the sovereignty of the country\nof Videha to his brother-in-law Gop\u00e1laka, by way of reward for his\nassistance, thereby shewing his knowledge of policy; and he gave\nto Sinhavarman the brother of Padm\u00e1vat\u00ed, who came to his assistance\nwith his forces, the land of Chedi, treating him with great respect;\nand the monarch summoned Pulindaka the friendly king of the Bhillas,\n[279] who filled the quarters with his hordes, as the rainy season\nfills them with clouds; and while the preparation for the expedition\nwas going on in the great king's territories, a strange anxiety was\nproduced in the heart of his enemies; but Yaugandhar\u00e1yana first sent\nspies to Benares to find out the proceedings of king Brahmadatta; then\non an auspicious day, being cheered with omens portending victory,\nthe king of Vatsa first marched against Brahmadatta in the Eastern\nquarter, having mounted [280] a tall victorious elephant, with a\nlofty umbrella on its back, as a furious lion ascends a mountain\nwith one tree in full bloom on it. And his expedition was facilitated\n[281] by the autumn which arrived as a harbinger of good fortune, and\nshewed him an easy path, across rivers flowing with diminished volume,\nand he filled the face of the land with his shouting forces, so as to\nproduce the appearance of a sudden rainy season without clouds; and\nthen the cardinal points resounding with the echoes of the roaring of\nhis host, seemed to be telling one another their fears of his coming,\nand his horses, collecting the brightness of the sun on their golden\ntrappings, moved along followed, as it were, by the fire pleased with\nthe purification of his army. [282]\n\nAnd his elephants with their ears like white chowries, and with\nstreams of ichor flowing from their temples reddened by being mixed\nwith vermilion, appeared, as he marched along, like the sons of the\nmountains, streaked with white clouds of autumn, and pouring down\nstreams of water coloured with red mineral, sent by the parent hills,\nin their fear, to join his expedition. And the dust from the earth\nconcealed the brightness of the sun, as if thinking that the king\ncould not endure the effulgent splendour of rivals. And the two queens\nfollowed the king step by step on the way, like the goddess of Fame,\nand the Fortune of Victory, attracted by his politic virtues. [283]\nThe silk of his host's banners, tossed to and fro in the wind,\nseemed to say to his enemies,--\"Bend in submission, or flee.\" Thus\nhe marched, beholding the districts full of blown white lotuses,\nlike the uplifted hoods of the serpent Sesha [284] terrified with\nfear of the destruction of the world. In the meanwhile those spies,\ncommissioned by Yaugandhar\u00e1yana, assuming the vows of scull-bearing\nworshippers of Siva, reached the city of Benares. And one of them,\nwho was acquainted with the art of juggling, exhibiting his skill,\nassumed the part of teacher, and the others passed themselves\noff as his pupils. And they celebrated that pretended teacher, who\nsubsisted on alms, from place to place, saying, \"This master of ours\nis acquainted with past, present, and future.\" Whatever that sage\npredicted, in the way of fires and so on, to those who came to consult\nhim about the future, his pupils took care to bring about secretly;\nso he became famous. He gained complete ascendancy over the mind of\na certain R\u00e1jp\u00fat courtier there, a favourite of the king's, who was\nwon over by this mean skill of the teacher's. And when the war with\nthe king of Vatsa came on, the king Brahmadatta began to consult\nhim by the agency of the R\u00e1jp\u00fat, so that he learnt the secrets of\nthe government. Then the minister of Brahmadatta, Yogakarandaka,\nlaid snares in the path of the king of Vatsa as he advanced. He\ntainted, by means of poison and other deleterious substances, the\ntrees, flowering creepers, water and grass all along the line of\nmarch. And he sent poison-damsels [285] as dancing girls among the\nenemy's host, and he also despatched nocturnal assassins into their\nmidst. But that spy, who had assumed the character of a prophet,\nfound all this out, and then quickly informed Yaugandhar\u00e1yana of\nit by means of his companions. Yaugandhar\u00e1yana for his part, when\nhe found it out, purified at every step along the line of march the\npoisoned grass, water, and so on, by means of corrective antidotes,\nand forbade in the camp the society of strange women, and with the\nhelp of Rumanvat he captured and put to death those assassins. When he\nheard of that, Brahmadatta having found all his stratagems fail, came\nto the conclusion that the king of Vatsa, who filled with his forces\nthe whole country, was hard to overcome. After deliberating and sending\nan ambassador, he came in person to the king of Vatsa who was encamped\nnear, placing his clasped hands upon his head in token of submission.\n\nThe king of Vatsa for his part, when the king of Benares came to\nhim, bringing a present, received him with respect and kindness,\nfor heroes love submission. He being thus subdued, that mighty king\nwent on pacifying the East, making the yielding bend, but extirpating\nthe obstinate, as the wind treats the trees, until he reached the\nEastern ocean, rolling with quivering waves, as it were, trembling with\nterror on account of the Ganges having been conquered. On its extreme\nshore he set up a pillar of victory, [286] looking like the king\nof the serpents emerging from the world below to crave immunity for\nP\u00e1t\u00e1la. Then the people of Kalinga [287] submitted and paid tribute,\nand acted as the king's guides, so that the renown of that renowned\none ascended the mountain of Mahendra. Having conquered a forest\nof kings by means of his elephants, which seemed like the peaks\nof the Vindhya come to him terrified at the conquest of Mahendra,\nhe went to the southern quarter. There he made his enemies cease\ntheir threatening murmurs and take to the mountains, strengthless\n[288] and pale, treating them as the season of autumn treats the\nclouds. The K\u00e1ver\u00ed being crossed by him in his victorious onset,\nand the glory of the king of the Chola [289] race being surpassed,\nwere befouled at the same time. He no longer allowed the Muralas\n[290] to exalt their heads, for they were completely beaten down by\ntributes imposed on them. Though his elephants drank the waters of\nthe God\u00e1var\u00ed divided into seven streams, they seemed to discharge\nthem again seven-fold in the form of ichor. Then the king crossed\nthe Rev\u00e1 and reached Ujjayin\u00ed, and entered the city, being made by\nking Chandamah\u00e1sena to precede him. And there he became the target of\nthe amorous sidelong glances of the ladies of M\u00e1lava, who shine with\ntwofold beauty by loosening their braided hair and wearing garlands,\nand he remained there in great comfort, hospitably entertained by his\nfather-in-law, so that he even forgot the long-regretted enjoyments\nof his native land. And V\u00e1savadatt\u00e1 was continually at her parents'\nside, remembering her childhood, seeming despondent even in her\nhappiness. The king Chandamah\u00e1sena was as much delighted at meeting\nPadm\u00e1vat\u00ed, as he was at meeting again his own daughter. But after he\nhad rested some days, the delighted king of Vatsa, reinforced by the\ntroops of his father-in-law, marched towards the western region; his\ncurved sword [291] was surely the smoke of the fire of his valour,\nsince it dimmed with gushing tears the eyes of the women of L\u00e1ta;\nthe mountain of Mandara, when its woods were broken through by his\nelephants, seemed to tremble lest he should root it up to churn the\nsea. [292] Surely he was a splendid luminary excelling the sun and\nother orbs, since in his victorious career he enjoyed a glorious rising\neven in the western quarter. Then he went to Alak\u00e1, distinguished by\nthe presence of Kuvera, displaying its beauties before him, that is\nto say, to the quarter made lovely by the smile of Kail\u00e1sa, and having\nsubdued the king of Sindh, at the head of his cavalry he destroyed the\nMlechchhas as R\u00e1ma destroyed the R\u00e1kshasas at the head of the army of\nmonkeys; the cavalry squadrons of the Turushkas [293] were broken on\nthe masses of his elephants, as the waves of the agitated sea on the\nwoods that line the sea-shore. The august hero received the tribute of\nhis foes, and cut off the head of the wicked king of the P\u00e1ras\u00edkas\n[294] as Vishnu did that of R\u00e1hu. [295] His glory, after he had\ninflicted a defeat on the H\u00fanas [296], made the four quarters resound,\nand poured down the Him\u00e1laya like a second Ganges. When the hosts\nof the monarch, whose enemies were still from fear, were shouting,\na hostile answer was heard only in the hollows of the rocks. It is\nnot strange that then the king of K\u00e1mar\u00fapa, [297] bending before\nhim with head deprived of the umbrella, was without shade and also\nwithout brightness. Then that sovereign returned, followed by elephants\npresented by the king of K\u00e1mar\u00fapa, resembling moving rocks made over\nto him by the mountains by way of tribute. Having thus conquered\nthe earth, the king of Vatsa with his attendants reached the city of\nthe king of Magadha the father of Padm\u00e1vat\u00ed. But the king of Magadha,\nwhen he arrived with the queens, was as joyous as the god of love when\nthe moon illuminates the night. V\u00e1savadatt\u00e1, who had lived with him\nbefore without being recognised, was now made known to him, and he\nconsidered her deserving of the highest regard.\n\nThen that victorious king of Vatsa, having been honoured by the king\nof Magadha with his whole city, followed by the minds of all the people\nwhich pursued him out of affection, having swallowed the surface of the\nearth with his mighty army, returned to L\u00e1v\u00e1naka in his own dominions.\n\n\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XX.\n\n\nThen the king of Vatsa, while encamped in L\u00e1v\u00e1naka to rest his army,\nsaid in secret to Yaugandhar\u00e1yana, \"Through your sagacity I have\nconquered all the kings upon the earth, and they being won over\nby politic devices will not conspire against me. But this king of\nBenares, Brahmadatta, is an ill-conditioned fellow, and he alone,\nI think, will plot against me; what confidence can be reposed in the\nwicked-minded?\" Then Yaugandhar\u00e1yana, being spoken to in this strain\nby the king, answered, \"O king, Brahmadatta will not plot against\nyou again, for when he was conquered and submitted, you shewed him\ngreat consideration; and what sensible man will injure one who treats\nhim well? Whoever does, will find that it turns out unfortunately\nfor himself, and on this point, listen to what I am going to say;\nI will tell you a tale.\"\n\n\n\nStory of Phalabh\u00fati.\n\nThere was once on a time in the land of Padma an excellent Br\u00e1hman\nof high renown, named Agnidatta, who lived on a grant of land given\nby the king. He had born to him two sons, the elder named Somadatta,\nand the second Vaisv\u00e1naradatta. The elder of them was of fine person,\nbut ignorant, and ill-conducted, but the second was sagacious,\nwell-conducted, and fond of study. And those two after they were\nmarried, and their father had died, divided that royal grant and\nthe rest of his possessions between them, each taking half; and the\nyounger of the two was honoured by the king, but the elder Somadatta,\nwho was of unsteady character, remained a husbandman. One day a\nBr\u00e1hman, who had been a friend of his father's, seeing him engaged\nin conversation with some S\u00fadras, thus addressed him, \"Though you\nare the son of Agnidatta, you behave like a S\u00fadra, you blockhead,\nand you are not ashamed, though you see your own brother in favour\nwith the king.\" Somadatta, when he heard that, flew into a passion,\nand forgetting the respect due to the old man, ran upon him, and\ngave him a kick. Then the Br\u00e1hman, enraged on account of the kick,\nimmediately called on some other Br\u00e1hmans to bear witness to it,\nand went and complained to the king. The king sent out soldiers to\ntake Somadatta prisoner, but they, when they went out, were slain\nby his friends, who had taken up arms. Then the king sent out a\nsecond force, and captured Somadatta, and blinded by wrath ordered\nhim to be impaled. Then that Br\u00e1hman, as he was being lifted on to\nthe stake, suddenly fell to the ground, as if he were flung down\nby somebody. And those executioners, when preparing to lift him on\nagain, became blind, for the fates protect one who is destined to\nbe prosperous. The king, as soon as he heard of the occurrence, was\npleased, and being entreated by the younger brother, spared the life\nof Somadatta; then Somadatta, having escaped death, desired to go to\nanother land with his wife on account of the insulting treatment of the\nking, and when his relations in a body disapproved of his departure,\nhe determined to live without the half of the king's grant, which\nhe resigned; then, finding no other means of support, he desired to\npractise husbandry, and went to the forest on a lucky day to find a\npiece of ground suitable for it. There he found a promising piece of\nground, from which it seemed likely that an abundant crop could be\nproduced, and in the middle of it he saw an Asvattha tree of great\nsize. Desiring ground fit for cultivation, and seeing that tree to\nbe cool like the rainy season, as it kept off the rays of the sun\nwith its auspicious thick shade, he was much delighted. He said, \"I\nam a faithful votary of that being, whoever he may be, that presides\nover this tree,\" and walking round the tree so as to keep it on his\nright, he bowed before it. [298] Then he yoked a pair of bullocks,\nand recited a prayer for success, and after making an oblation to\nthat tree, he began to plough there. And he remained under that tree\nnight and day, and his wife always brought him his meals there. And\nin course of time, when the corn was ripe that piece of ground was, as\nfate would have it, unexpectedly plundered by the troops of a hostile\nkingdom. Then the hostile force having departed, the courageous man,\nthough his corn was destroyed, comforted his weeping wife, gave her\nthe little that remained, and after making an offering as before,\nremained in the same place, under the same tree. For that is the\ncharacter of resolute men, that their perseverance is increased\nby misfortune. Then one night, when he was sleepless from anxiety\nand alone, a voice came out from that Asvattha tree, \"O Somadatta,\nI am pleased with thee, therefore go to the kingdom of a king named\n\u00c1dityaprabha in the land of Sr\u00edkantha; continually repeat at the door\nof that king, (after reciting the form of words used at the evening\noblation to Agni,) the following sentence--'I am Phalabh\u00fati by name,\na Br\u00e1hman, hear what I say: he who does good will obtain good, and he\nwho does evil, will obtain evil;'--by repeating this there thou shalt\nattain great prosperity; and now learn from me the form of words used\nat the evening oblation to Agni; I am a Yaksha.\" Having said this,\nand having immediately taught him by his power the form of words used\nin the evening oblation, the voice in the tree ceased. And the next\nmorning the wise Somadatta set out with his wife, having received the\nname of Phalabh\u00fati by imposition of the Yaksha, and after crossing\nvarious forests uneven and labyrinthine as his own calamities, [299]\nhe reached the land of Sr\u00edkantha. There he recited at the king's door\nthe form of words used at the evening oblation, and then he announced,\nas he had been directed, his name as Phalabh\u00fati, and uttered the\nfollowing speech which excited the curiosity of the people, \"The doer\nof good will obtain good, but the doer of evil, evil.\" And after he had\nsaid this frequently, the king \u00c1dityaprabha, being full of curiosity,\ncaused Phalabh\u00fati to be brought into the palace, and he entered, and\nover and over again repeated that same speech in the presence of the\nking. That made the king and all his courtiers laugh. And the king and\nhis chiefs gave him garments and ornaments, and also villages, for\nthe amusement of great men is not without fruit; and so Phalabh\u00fati,\nhaving been originally poor, immediately obtained by the favour of\nthe Guhyaka [300] wealth bestowed by the king; and by continually\nreciting the words mentioned above, he became a special favourite\nof the monarch for the regal mind loves diversion. And gradually\nhe attained to a position of love and respect in the palace, in\nthe kingdom, and in the female apartments, as being beloved by the\nking. One day that king \u00c1dityaprabha returned from hunting in the\nforest, and quickly entered his harem; his suspicions were aroused by\nthe confusion of the warders, and when he entered, he saw the queen\nnamed Kuvalay\u00e1val\u00ed engaged in worshipping the gods, stark naked,\n[301] with her hair standing on end, and her eyes half-closed, with\na large patch of red lead upon her forehead, with her lips trembling\nin muttering charms, in the midst of a great circle [302] strewed with\nvarious coloured powders, after offering a horrible oblation of blood,\nspirits, and human flesh. She for her part, when the king entered,\nin her confusion seized her garments, and when questioned by him\nimmediately answered, after craving pardon for what she had done,\n\"I have gone through this ceremony in order that you might obtain\nprosperity, and now, my lord, listen to the way in which I learnt\nthese rites, and the secret of my magic skill.\"\n\n\n\nStory of Kuvalay\u00e1val\u00ed and the witch K\u00e1lar\u00e1tri.\n\nLong ago, when I was living in my father's house, I was thus addressed,\nwhile enjoying myself in the garden during the spring festival, by my\nfriends who met me there; \"There is in this pleasure-garden an image\nof Ganesa, the god of gods, in the middle of an arbour made of trees,\nand that image grants boons, and its power has been tested. Approach\nwith devout faith that granter of petitions, and worship him, in order\nthat you may soon obtain without difficulty a suitable husband.\" When\nI heard that, I asked my friends in my ignorance; \"What! do maidens\nobtain husbands by worshipping Ganesa?\" Then they answered me; \"Why\ndo you ask such a question? Without worshipping him no one obtains\nany success in this world; and in proof of it we will give you an\ninstance of his power, listen.\" Saying this, my friends told me the\nfollowing tale:\n\n\n\nStory of the birth of K\u00e1rtikeya.\n\nLong ago, when Indra oppressed by T\u00e1raka was desirous or obtaining a\nson from Siva to act as general of the gods, and the god of love had\nbeen consumed, [303] Gaur\u00ed by performing austerities sought and gained\nas a husband the three-eyed god, who was engaged in a very long and\nterrible course of mortification. Then she desired the obtaining of\na son, and the return to life of the god of love, but she did not\nremember to worship Ganesa in order to gain her end. So, when his\nbeloved asked that her desire should be granted, Siva said to her,\n\"My dear goddess, the god of love was born long ago from the mind of\nBrahm\u00e1, and no sooner was he born than he said in his insolence, 'Whom\nshall I make mad? (kan darpay\u00e1mi).' So Brahm\u00e1 called him Kandarpa, and\nsaid to him, 'Since thou art very confident, my son, avoid attacking\nSiva only, lest thou receive death from him.' Though the Creator gave\nhim this warning, the ill-disposed god came to trouble my austerities,\ntherefore he was burnt up by me, and he cannot be created again\nwith his body. [304] But I will create by my power a son from you,\nfor I do not require the might of love in order to have offspring as\nmortals do.\" While the god, whose ensign is a bull, [305] was saying\nthis to P\u00e1rvat\u00ed, Brahm\u00e1 accompanied by Indra appeared before him;\nand when he had been praised by them, and entreated to bring about\nthe destruction of the Asura T\u00e1raka, Siva consented to beget on the\ngoddess a son of his body. And, at their entreaty, he consented that\nthe god of love should be born without body in the minds of animate\ncreatures, to prevent the destruction of created beings. And he gave\npermission to love to influence his own mind; pleased with that,\nthe Creator went away and P\u00e1rvat\u00ed was delighted. But when, after the\nlapse of hundreds of years, there appeared no hope of P\u00e1rvat\u00ed having\nany offspring, the god by the order of Brahm\u00e1 called to mind Agni;\nAgni for his part, the moment they called him to mind, thinking that\nthe foe of the god of love was irresistible, and afraid to interfere,\nfled from the gods and entered the water; but the frogs being burned\nby his heat told the gods, who were searching for him, that he was\nin the water; then Agni by his curse immediately made the speech of\nthe frogs thenceforth inarticulate, and again disappearing fled to a\nplace of refuge. There the gods found him, concealed in the trunk of\na tree, in the form of a snail, for he was betrayed by the elephants\nand parrots, and he appeared to them. And after making by a curse the\ntongues of the parrots and the elephants incapable of clear utterance,\nhe promised to do what the gods requested, having been praised by\nthem. So he went to Siva, and after inclining humbly before him,\nthrough fear of being cursed, he informed him of the commission\nthe gods had given him. Siva thereupon deposited the embryo in the\nfire. Then the goddess distracted with anger and grief, said, \"I\nhave not obtained a son from you after all,\" and Siva said to her;\n\"An obstacle has arisen in this matter, because you neglected to\nworship Ganesa, the lord of obstacles; therefore adore him now in\norder that a child may be born to us of the fire.\" When thus addressed\nby Siva, the goddess worshipped Ganesa, and the fire became pregnant\nwith that germ of Siva. Then, bearing that embryo of Siva, the fire\nshone even in the day as if the sun had entered into it. And then\nit discharged into the Ganges the germ difficult to bear, and the\nGanges, by the order of Siva, placed it in a sacrificial cavity on\nmount Meru. [306] There that germ was watched by the Ganas, Siva's\nattendants, and after a thousand years had developed it, it became a\nboy with six faces. Then, drinking milk with his six mouths from the\nbreasts of the six Krittik\u00e1s [307] appointed by Gaur\u00ed to nurse him,\nthe boy grew big in a few days. In the meanwhile, the king of the\ngods, overcome by the Asura T\u00e1raka, fled to the difficult peaks of\nmount Meru, abandoning the field of battle. And the gods together\nwith the Rishis went to the six-mouthed K\u00e1rtikeya for protection,\nand he, defending the gods, remained surrounded by them. When Indra\nheard that, he was troubled, considering that his kingdom was taken\nfrom him, and being jealous he went and made war upon K\u00e1rtikeya. But\nfrom the body of K\u00e1rtikeya, when struck by the thunderbolt of Indra,\nthere sprang two sons called S\u00e1kha and Vis\u00e1kha, both of incomparable\nmight. Then Siva came to his offspring K\u00e1rtikeya, who exceeded Indra\nin might, and forbade him and his two sons to fight, and rebuked him\nin the following words: \"Thou wast born in order that thou mightest\nslay T\u00e1raka and protect the realm of Indra, therefore do thy own\nduty.\" Then Indra was delighted and immediately bowed before him,\nand commenced the ceremony of consecrating by ablutions K\u00e1rtikeya\nas general of his forces. But when he himself lifted the pitcher\nfor that purpose, his arm became stiff, wherefore he was despondent,\nbut Siva said to him; \"Thou didst not worship the elephant-faced god,\nwhen thou desiredst a general; it was for this reason that thou hast\nmet with this obstacle, therefore adore him now.\" Indra, when he\nheard that, did so, and his arm was set free, and he duly performed\nthe joyful ceremony of consecrating the general. And not long after,\nthe general slew the Asura T\u00e1raka, and the gods rejoiced at having\naccomplished their object, and Gaur\u00ed at having obtained a son. So,\nprincess, you see even the gods are not successful without honouring\nGanesa, therefore adore him when you desire a blessing.\n\nAfter hearing this from my companions I went, my husband, and\nworshipped an image of Ganesa, that stood in a lonely part of the\ngarden, and after I had finished the worship, I suddenly saw that those\ncompanions of mine had flown up by their own power and were disporting\nthemselves in the fields of the air; when I saw that, out of curiosity\nI called them and made them come down from the heaven, and when I\nasked them about the nature of their magic power, they immediately\ngave me this answer; \"These are the magic powers of witches' spells,\nand they are due to the eating of human flesh, and our teacher in this\nis a Br\u00e1hman woman known by the name of K\u00e1lar\u00e1tri.\" When my companions\nsaid this to me, I being desirous of acquiring the power of a woman\nthat can fly in the air, but afraid of eating human flesh, was for\na time in a state of hesitation; then eager to possess that power, I\nsaid to those friends of mine, \"Cause me also to be instructed in this\nscience.\" And immediately they went and brought, in accordance with\nmy request, K\u00e1lar\u00e1tri, who was of repulsive appearance. Her eyebrows\nmet, [308] she had dull eyes, a depressed flat nose, large cheeks,\nwidely parted lips, projecting teeth, a long neck, pendulous breasts,\na large belly, and broad expanded feet. She appeared as if the creator\nhad made her as a specimen of his skill in producing ugliness. When\nI fell at her feet, after bathing and worshipping Ganesa, she made\nme take off my clothes and perform, standing in a circle, a horrible\nceremony in honour of Siva in his terrific form, and after she had\nsprinkled me with water, she gave me various spells known to her,\nand human flesh to eat that had been offered in sacrifice to the gods;\nso, after I had eaten man's flesh and had received the various spells,\nI immediately flew up, naked as I was, into the heaven with my friends,\nand after I had amused myself, I descended from the heaven by command\nof my teacher, and I, the princess, went to my own apartments. Thus\neven in my girlhood I became one of the society of witches, and in\nour meetings we devoured the bodies of many men.\n\n\n\nStory of Sundaraka.\n\nBut listen, king, to a story which is a digression from my main\ntale. That K\u00e1lar\u00e1tri had for husband a Br\u00e1hman of the name of\nVishnusv\u00e1min, and he, being an instructor in that country, taught\nmany pupils who came from different lands, as he was skilful in the\nexposition of the Vedas. And among his pupils he had one young man\nof the name of Sundaraka, the beauty of whose person was set off by\nhis excellent character; one day the teacher's wife K\u00e1lar\u00e1tri being\nlove-sick secretly courted him, her husband having gone away to some\nplace or other. Truly Love makes great sport with ugly people as his\nlaughing-stocks, in that she, not considering her own appearance,\nfell in love with Sundaraka. But he, though tempted, detested with\nhis whole soul the crime; however women may misbehave, the mind of the\ngood is not to be shaken. Then, he having departed, K\u00e1lar\u00e1tri in a rage\ntore her own body with bites and scratches, and she remained weeping,\n[309] with dress and locks disordered, until the teacher Vishnusv\u00e1min\nentered the house. And when he had entered, she said to him,--\"Look,\nmy Lord, to this state has Sundaraka reduced me, endeavouring to\ngain possession of me by force.\" As soon as the teacher heard that,\nhe was inflamed with anger, for confidence in women robs even wise\nmen of their power of reflection; and when Sundaraka returned home at\nnight, he ran upon him, and he and his pupils kicked him, and struck\nhim with fists, and sticks; moreover when he was senseless with the\nblows, he ordered his pupils to fling him out in the road by night,\nwithout regard to his safety, and they did so. Then Sundaraka was\ngradually restored to consciousness by the cool night breeze, and\nseeing himself thus outraged he reflected, \"Alas! the instigation of\na woman troubles the minds even of those men whose souls are not under\nthe dominion of passion, as a storm disturbs the repose of lakes which\nare not reached by dust. [310] This is why that teacher of mine in the\nexcess of his anger, though old and wise, was so inconsiderate as to\ntreat me so cruelly. But the fact is, lust and wrath are appointed in\nthe dispensation of fate, from the very birth even of wise Br\u00e1hmans,\nto be the two bolts on the door of their salvation. [311] For were\nnot the sages long ago angry with Siva in the devad\u00e1ru-wood, being\nafraid that their wives would go astray? And they did not know that he\nwas a god, as he had assumed the appearance of a Buddhist mendicant,\nwith the intention of shewing Um\u00e1 that even Rishis do not possess\nself-restraint. But after they had cursed him, they discovered that\nhe was the ruling god, that shakes the three worlds, and they fled to\nhim for protection. So it appears that even hermits injure others, when\nbeguiled by the six faults that are enemies of man, [312] lust, wrath,\nand their crew, much more so Br\u00e1hmans learned in the Vedas.\" Thinking\nthus, Sundaraka from fear of robbers during the night, climbed up and\ntook shelter in a neighbouring cow-house. And while he was crouching\nunobserved in a corner of that cow-house, K\u00e1lar\u00e1tri came into it with a\ndrawn sword in her hand, [313] terrible from the hissing she uttered,\nwith wind and flames issuing from her mouth and eyes, accompanied by\na crowd of witches. Then the terrified Sundaraka, beholding K\u00e1lar\u00e1tri\narriving in such a guise, called to mind the spells that drive away\nR\u00e1kshasas, and bewildered by these spells K\u00e1lar\u00e1tri did not see him\ncrouching secretly in a corner, with his limbs drawn together from\nfear. Then K\u00e1lar\u00e1tri with her friends recited the spells that enable\nwitches to fly, and they flew up into the air, cow-house and all.\n\nAnd Sundaraka heard the spell and remembered it; [314] but K\u00e1lar\u00e1tri\nwith the cow-house quickly flew through the air to Ujjayin\u00ed: there\nshe made it descend by a spell in a garden of herbs, and went and\nsported in the cemetery among the witches: and immediately Sundaraka\nbeing hungry went down into the garden of herbs, and made a meal\non some roots which he dug up, and after he had allayed the pangs\nof hunger, and returned as before to the cow-house, K\u00e1lar\u00e1tri came\nback in the middle of the night from her meeting. Then she got up\ninto the cow-house, and, just as before, she flew through the air\nwith her pupils by the power of her magic, and returned home in the\nnight. And after she had replaced the cow-house, which she made use\nof as a vehicle, in its original situation, and had dismissed those\nfollowers of hers, she entered her sleeping apartment. And Sundaraka,\nhaving thus passed through that night, astonished at the troubles\nhe had undergone, in the morning left the cow-house and went to\nhis friends; there he related what had happened to him, and, though\ndesirous of going to some other country, he was comforted by those\nfriends and took up his abode among them, and leaving the dwelling of\nhis teacher, and taking his meals in the almshouse for Br\u00e1hmans, he\nlived there enjoying himself at will in the society of his friends. One\nday K\u00e1lar\u00e1tri, having gone out to buy some necessaries for her house,\nsaw Sundaraka in the market. And being once more love-sick, she went\nup to him and said to him a second time--\"Sundaraka, shew me affection\neven now, for my life depends on you.\" When she said this to him, the\nvirtuous Sundaraka said to her, \"Do not speak thus, it is not right;\nyou are my mother, as being the wife of my teacher.\" Then K\u00e1lar\u00e1tri\nsaid; \"If you know what is right, then grant me my life, for what\nrighteousness is greater than the saving of life?\" Then Sundaraka\nsaid--\"Mother, do not entertain this wish, for what righteousness can\nthere be in approaching the bed of my preceptor.\" Thus repulsed by\nhim, and threatening him in her wrath, she went home, after tearing\nher upper garment with her own hand, and shewing the garment to her\nhusband, she said to him, \"Look, Sundaraka ran upon me, and tore this\ngarment of mine in this fashion;\" so her husband went in his anger\nand stopped Sundaraka's supply of food at the almshouse, by saying\nthat he was a felon who deserved death. Then Sundaraka in disgust,\nbeing desirous of leaving that country, and knowing the spell for\nflying up into the air which he had learnt in the cow-house, but\nbeing conscious that he had forgotten, after hearing it, the spell for\ndescending from the sky, which he had been taught there also, again\nwent in the night to that deserted cow-house, and while he was there,\nK\u00e1lar\u00e1tri came as before, and flying up in the cow-house in the same\nway as on the former occasion, travelled through the air to Ujjayin\u00ed,\nand having made the cow-house descend by a spell in the garden of\nherbs, went again to the cemetery to perform her nightly ceremonies.\n\nAnd Sundaraka heard that spell again, but failed again to retain it;\nfor how can magic practices be thoroughly learnt without explanation\nby a teacher? Then he ate some roots there, and put some others in\nthe cow-house to take away with him, and remained there as before;\nthen K\u00e1lar\u00e1tri came, and climbing up into the cow-house, flew through\nthe air by night, and stopping the vehicle, entered her house. In the\nmorning Sundaraka also left that house, and taking the roots with him\nhe went to the market in order to procure money with which to purchase\nfood. And while he was selling them there, some servants of the king's,\nwho were natives of M\u00e1lava, took them away without paying for them,\nseeing that they were the produce of their own country. Then he began\nto remonstrate angrily, so they manacled him, and took him before the\nking on a charge of throwing stones at them, and his friends followed\nhim. Those villains said to the king--\"This man, when we asked him\nhow he managed continually to bring roots from M\u00e1lava and sell them\nin Ujjayin\u00ed, would not give us any answer, on the contrary he threw\nstones at us.\"\n\nWhen the king heard this, he asked him about that marvel, [315] then\nhis friends said--\"If he is placed on the palace with us, he will\nexplain the whole wonder, but not otherwise.\" The king consented,\nand Sundaraka was placed on the palace, whereupon by the help of\nthe spell he suddenly flew up into the heaven with the palace. And\ntravelling on it with his friends, he gradually reached Pray\u00e1ga,\n[316] and being now weary he saw a certain king bathing there,\nand after stopping the palace there, he plunged from the heaven\ninto the Ganges, and, beheld with wonder by all, he approached that\nking. The king inclining before him, said to him, \"Who art thou, and\nwhy hast thou descended from heaven?\" Sundaraka answered, \"I am an\nattendant of the god Siva, named Murajaka, and by his command I have\ncome to thee desiring human pleasures.\" When the king heard this,\nhe supposed it was true, and gave him a city, rich in corn, filled\nwith jewels, with women and all the insignia of rank. Then Sundaraka\nentered that city and flew up into the heaven with his followers,\nand for a long time roamed about at will, free from poverty. Lying\non a golden bed, and fanned with chowries by beautiful women, he\nenjoyed happiness like that of Indra. Then once on a time a Siddha,\nthat roamed in the air, with whom he had struck up a friendship,\ngave him a spell for descending from the air, and Sundaraka, having\nbecome possessed of this spell enabling him to come down to earth,\ndescended from the sky-path in his own city of K\u00e1nyakubja. Then the\nking hearing that he had come down from heaven, possessed of full\nprosperity, with a city, went in person to meet him out of curiosity,\nand Sundaraka, when recognized and questioned, knowing what to say on\nall occasions, informed the king of all his own adventures brought\nabout by K\u00e1lar\u00e1tri. Then the king sent for K\u00e1lar\u00e1tri and questioned\nher, and she fearlessly confessed her improper conduct, and the king\nwas angry and made up his mind to cut off her ears, but she, when\nseized, disappeared before the eyes of all the spectators. Then the\nking forbade her to live in his kingdom, and Sundaraka having been\nhonourably treated by him returned to the air.\n\nHaving said this to her husband the king \u00c1dityaprabha, the queen\nKuvalay\u00e1val\u00ed went on to say; \"King, such magic powers, produced by the\nspells of witches, do exist, and this thing happened in my father's\nkingdom, and it is famous in the world, and, as I told you at first,\nI am a pupil of K\u00e1lar\u00e1tri's, but because I am devoted to my husband,\nI possess greater power even than she did. And to-day you saw me\njust at the time when I had performed ceremonies to ensure your\nwelfare, and was endeavouring to attract by a spell a man to offer\nas a victim. So do you enter now into our practice, and set your\nfoot on the head of all kings, conquering them by magic power. When\nhe heard this proposal, the king at first rejected it, saying, \"What\npropriety is there in a king's connecting himself with the eating of\nhuman flesh, the practice of witches?\" But when the queen was bent on\ncommitting suicide, he consented, for how can men who are attracted\nby the objects of passion remain in the good path? Then she made him\nenter into the circle previously consecrated, and said to the king,\nafter he had taken an oath; \"I attempted to draw hither as a victim\nthat Br\u00e1hman named Phalabh\u00fati, who is so intimate with you, but the\ndrawing him hither is a difficult task, so it is the best way to\ninitiate some cook in our rites, that he may himself slay him and\ncook him. And you must not feel any compunction about it, because\nby eating a sacrificial offering of his flesh, after the ceremonies\nare complete, the enchantment will be perfect, for he is a Br\u00e1hman\nof the highest caste.\" When his beloved said this to him, the king,\nthough afraid of the sin, a second time consented. Alas! terrible is\ncompliance with women! Then that royal couple had the cook summoned,\nwhose name was S\u00e1hasika, and after encouraging him, and initiating him,\nthey both said to him,--\"Whoever comes to you to-morrow morning and\nsays--'The king and queen will eat together to-day, so get some food\nready quickly,' him you must slay, and make for us secretly a savoury\ndish of his flesh.\" When the cook heard this, he consented, and went\nto his own house. And the next morning, when Phalabh\u00fati arrived, the\nking said to him, \"Go and tell the cook S\u00e1hasika in the kitchen, 'the\nking together with the queen will eat to-day a savoury mess, therefore\nprepare as soon as possible a splendid dish.'\" Phalabh\u00fati said, \"I\nwill do so\" and went out. When he was outside, the prince whose name\nwas Chandraprabha, came to him, and said--\"Have made for me this very\nday with this gold a pair of earrings, like those you had made before\nfor my noble father.\" When the prince said this, Phalabh\u00fati, in order\nto please him, went that moment, as he was commissioned, to get the\nearrings made, and the prince readily went with the king's message,\nwhich Phalabh\u00fati told him, alone to the kitchen; when he got there and\ntold the king's message, the cook S\u00e1hasika, true to his agreement,\nimmediately killed him with a knife, and made a dish of his flesh,\nwhich the king and queen, after performing their ceremonies, ate,\nnot knowing the truth; [317] and after spending that night in remorse,\nthe next morning the king saw Phalabh\u00fati arrive with the earrings in\nhis hand.\n\nSo, being bewildered, he questioned him about the earrings immediately;\nand when Phalabh\u00fati had told him his story, the king fell on the\nearth, and cried out; \"Alas my son!\" blaming the queen and himself,\nand when his ministers questioned him, he told them the whole story,\nand repeated what Phalabh\u00fati had said every day--\"'The doer of\ngood will obtain good, and the doer of evil, evil.' Often the harm\nthat one wishes to do to another, recoils on one's self, as a ball\nthrown against a wall rebounding frequently; thus we, wicked ones,\ndesiring to slay a Br\u00e1hman, have brought about our own son's death,\nand devoured his flesh.\" After the king had said this and informed\nhis ministers, who stood with their faces fixed on the earth, of the\nwhole transaction, and after he had anointed that very Phalabh\u00fati as\nking in his place, he made a distribution of alms and then, having\nno son, entered the fire with his wife to purify himself from guilt,\nthough already consumed by the fire of remorse: and Phalabh\u00fati, having\nobtained the royal dignity, ruled the earth; thus good or evil done\nby a man is made to return upon himself.\n\nHaving related the above tale in the presence of the king of Vatsa,\nYaugandhar\u00e1yana again said to that king; \"If Brahmadatta therefore\nwere to plot against you, O great king, who, after conquering him,\ntreated him kindly, he ought to be slain.\" When the chief minister\nhad said this to him, the king of Vatsa approved of it, and rising up\nwent to perform the duties of the day, and the day following he set out\nfrom L\u00e1v\u00e1naka to go to his own city Kaus\u00e1mb\u00ed, having accomplished his\nobjects in effecting the conquest of the regions; in course of time\nthe lord of earth accompanied by his retinue reached his own city,\nwhich seemed to be dancing with delight, imitating with banners\nuplifted the taper arms [318] of the dancing girl. So he entered\nthe city, producing, at every step, in the lotus-garden composed\nof the eyes of the women of the city, the effect of the rising of a\nbreeze. And the king entered his palace, sung by minstrels, praised\nby bards, and worshipped by kings. Then the monarch of Vatsa laid\nhis commands on the kings of every land, who bowed before him, and\ntriumphantly ascended that throne, the heirloom of his race, which\nhe had found long ago in the deposit of treasure. And the heaven was\nfilled with the combined high and deep echoes of the sound of the\ndrums, which accompanied the auspicious ceremonies on that occasion,\nlike simultaneous shouts of applause uttered by the guardians of the\nworld, each in his several quarter, being delighted with the prime\nminister of the king of Vatsa. Then the monarch, who was free from\navarice, distributed to the Br\u00e1hmans all kinds of wealth acquired by\nthe conquest of the world, and after great festivities, satisfied the\ndesires of the company of kings and of his own ministers. Then in\nthat city filled with the noise of drums resembling the thunder of\nthe clouds, while the king was raining benefits on the fields [319]\naccording to each man's desert, the people, expecting great fruit\nin the form of corn, kept high festival in every house. Having thus\nconquered the world, that victorious king devolved on Rumanvat and\nYaugandhar\u00e1yana the burden of his realm, and lived at ease there with\nV\u00e1savadatt\u00e1 and Padm\u00e1vat\u00ed. So he, being praised by excellent bards,\nseated between those two queens as if they were the goddesses of Fame\nand Fortune, enjoyed the rising of the moon white as his own glory,\nand continually drank wine as he had swallowed the might of his foes.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nBOOK IV.\n\n\nCHAPTER XXI.\n\n\nVictory to the conqueror of obstacles, [320] who marks with a line like\nthe parting of the hair, the principal mountains [321] by the mighty\nfanning of his ear-flaps, pointing out, as it were, a path of success!\n\n\nThen Udayana, the king of Vatsa, remaining in Kaus\u00e1mb\u00ed, enjoyed the\nconquered earth which was under one umbrella; and the happy monarch\ndevolved the care of his empire upon Yaugandhar\u00e1yana and Rumanvat, and\naddicted himself to pleasure only in the society of Vasantaka. Himself\nplaying on the lute, in the company of the queen V\u00e1savadatt\u00e1 and\nPadm\u00e1vat\u00ed, he was engaged in a perpetual concert. While the notes of\nhis lyre were married to the soft sweet song of the queens, the rapid\nmovement of his executing finger alone indicated the difference of\nthe sounds. And while the roof of the palace was white with moonlight\nas with his own glory, he drank wine in plenteous streams as he had\nswallowed the pride of his enemies [322]; beautiful women brought him,\nas he sat retired, in vessels of gold, wine flaming with rosy glow,\n[323] as it were the water of his appointment as ruler in the empire\nof love; he divided between the two queens the cordial liquor red,\ndelicious, and pellucid, in which danced the reflection of their faces;\nas he did his own heart, impassioned, enraptured and transparent,\nin which the same image was found; his eyes were never sated with\nresting on the faces of those queens, which had the eyebrows arched,\nand blushed with the rosy hue of love, though envy and anger were\nfar from them; the scene of his banquet, filled with many crystal\ngoblets of wine, gleamed like a lake of white lotuses tinged red with\nthe rising sun. And occasionally, accompanied by huntsmen, clad in\na vest dark green as the pal\u00e1sa tree, he ranged, bow and arrows in\nhand, the forest full of wild beasts, which was of the same colour\nas himself. He slew with arrows herds of wild boars besmeared with\nmud, as the sun disperses with its dense rays the masses of darkness;\nwhen he ran towards them, the antelopes fleeing in terror, seemed like\nthe sidelong glances of the quarters previously conquered [324] by him.\n\nAnd when he slew the buffaloes, the ground, red with blood, looked\nlike a bed of red lotuses, come to thank him humbly for delivering it\nfrom the goring of their horns. When the lions too were transfixed by\nhis javelins falling in their open mouths, and their lives issued\nfrom them with a suppressed roar, he was delighted. In that wood\nhe employed dogs in the ravines, and nets in the glades; this was\nthe method of his pursuit of the chase in which he relied only\nupon his own resources. While he was thus engaged in his pleasant\nenjoyments, one day the hermit N\u00e1rada came to him as he was in the\nhall of audience, diffusing a halo with the radiance of his body,\nlike the sun, the orb of heaven, descending therefrom out of love\nfor the Solar dynasty. The king welcomed him, inclining before him\nagain and again, and the sage stood a moment as if pleased, and said\nto that king, \"Listen, O king, I will tell you a story in few words;\nyou had an ancestor once, a king of the name of P\u00e1ndu; he like you\nhad two noble wives; one wife of the mighty prince was named Kunt\u00ed\nand the other M\u00e1dr\u00ed. That P\u00e1ndu conquered this sea-engirdled earth,\nand was very prosperous, and being addicted to the vice of hunting\nhe went one day to the forest. There he let fly an arrow and slew\na hermit of the name of Arindama, who was sporting with his wife in\nthe form of a deer. [325] That hermit abandoned that deer-form, and\nwith his breath struggling in his throat cursed that P\u00e1ndu, who in\nhis despair had flung away his bow; 'Since I have been slain while\nsporting at will by thee, inconsiderate one, thou also shalt die in\nthe embraces of thy wife.' Having been thus cursed, P\u00e1ndu, through\nfear of its effect, abandoned the desire of enjoyment, and accompanied\nby his wives lived in a tranquil grove of ascetic quietism. While he\nwas there, one day impelled by that curse, he suddenly approached his\nbeloved M\u00e1dr\u00ed, and died. So you may rest assured that the occupation\ncalled hunting is a madness of kings, for other kings have been done\nto death by it, even as the various deer they have slain. For how can\nhunting produce benign results, since the genius of hunting is like\na female R\u00e1kshasa, roaring horribly, intent on raw flesh, defiled\nwith dust, with upstanding hair and lances for teeth. Therefore give\nup that useless exertion, the sport of hunting; wild elephants and\ntheir slayers are exposed to the same risk of losing their lives. And\nyou, who are ordained for prosperity, are dear to me on account of my\nfriendship with your ancestors, so hear how you are to have a son who\nis to be a portion of the god of love. Long ago, when Rati worshipped\nSiva with praises in order to effect the restoration of K\u00e1ma's body,\nSiva being pleased told her this secret in few words; 'This Gaur\u00ed,\n[326] desiring a son, shall descend to earth with a part of herself,\nand after propitiating me, shall give birth to an incarnation of\nK\u00e1ma.' Accordingly, king, the goddess has been born in the form of\nthis V\u00e1savadatt\u00e1, daughter of Chandamah\u00e1sena, and she has become your\nqueen. So she, having propitiated Siva, shall give birth to a son who\nshall be a portion of K\u00e1ma, and shall become the emperor of all the\nVidy\u00e1dharas.\" By this speech the Rishi N\u00e1rada, whose words command\nrespect, gave back to the king the earth which he had offered him as\na present, and then disappeared. When he had departed, the king of\nVatsa in company with V\u00e1savadatt\u00e1, in whom had arisen the desire of\nobtaining a son, spent the day in thinking about it.\n\nThe next day the chief warder called Nityodita, came to the lord\nof Vatsa while he was in the hall of assembly, and said to him;\n\"A certain distressed Br\u00e1hman woman, accompanied by two children,\nis standing at the door, O king, desiring to see your Highness.\" When\nthe king heard this, he permitted her to enter, and so that Br\u00e1hman\nwoman entered, thin, pale, and begrimed, distressed by the tearing\nof her clothes and wounding of her self-respect, carrying in her\nbosom two children looking like Misery and Poverty. After she had\nmade the proper obeisance, she said to the king, \"I am a Br\u00e1hman\nwoman of good caste, reduced to such poverty; as fate would have it,\nI gave birth to these two boys at the same time, and I have no milk\nfor them, O king, without food. Therefore I have come in my misery\nand helplessness for protection to the king, who is kind to all who\nfly to him for protection; now, my lord the king must determine what\nmy lot is to be.\" When the king heard that, he was filled with pity,\nand said to the warder, \"Take this woman and commend her to the queen\nV\u00e1savadatt\u00e1.\" Then that woman was conducted into the presence of the\nqueen by that warder, as it were by her own good actions marching in\nfront of her. The queen, when she heard from that warder that the\nBr\u00e1hman woman who had come had been sent by the king, felt all the\nmore confidence in her. And when she saw that the woman, though poor,\nhad two children, she thought, \"This is exceedingly unfair dealing on\nthe part of the Creator! Alas! he grudges a son to me who am rich, and\nshews affection to one who is poor! I have not yet one son, but this\nwoman has these twins.\" Thus reflecting, the queen, who was herself\ndesiring a bath, gave orders to her servants to provide the Br\u00e1hman\nwoman with a bath and other restoratives. After she had been provided\nwith a bath, and had had clothes given her, and had been supplied by\nthem with agreeable food, that Br\u00e1hman woman was refreshed like the\nheated earth bedewed with rain. And as soon as she had been refreshed,\nthe queen V\u00e1savadatt\u00e1, in order to test her by conversation, artfully\nsaid to her, \"O Br\u00e1hman lady, tell us some tale,\" when she heard that,\nshe agreed and began to tell this story.\n\n\n\nStory of Devadatta.\n\nIn old time there was a certain petty monarch of the name of\nJayadatta and there was born to him a son, named Devadatta. And\nthat wise king wishing to marry his son who was grown up, thus\nreflected--\"The prosperity of kings is very unstable, being like a\nhet\u00e6ra to be enjoyed by force, but the prosperity of merchants is\nlike a woman of good family, it is steady and does not fly to another\nman. Therefore I will take a wife to my son from a merchant's family,\nin order that misfortune may not overtake his throne, though it is\nsurrounded with many relations.\" Having formed this resolve, that king\nsought for his son the daughter of a merchant in P\u00e1taliputra named\nVasudatta. Vasudatta, for his part, eager for such a distinguished\nalliance, gave that daughter of his to the prince, though he dwelt\nin a remote foreign land.\n\nAnd he loaded his son-in-law with wealth to such an extent that he\nno longer felt much respect for his father's magnificence. Then king\nJayadatta dwelt happily with that son of his who had obtained the\ndaughter of that rich merchant. Now one day the merchant Vasudatta\ncame, full of desire to see his daughter, to the palace of his\nconnexion by marriage, and took away his daughter to his own\nhome. Shortly after the king Jayadatta suddenly went to heaven,\nand that kingdom was seized by his relations who rose in rebellion;\nthrough fear of them his son Devadatta was secretly taken away by his\nmother during the night to another country. Then that mother distressed\nin soul said to the prince--\"Our feudal lord is the emperor who rules\nthe eastern region, repair to him, my son, he will procure you the\nkingdom.\" When his mother said this to him, the prince answered her;\n\"Who will respect me if I go there without attendants?\" When she\nheard that, his mother went on to say, \"Go to the house of your\nfather-in-law, and get money there and so procure followers, and then\nrepair to the emperor.\" Being urged in these words by his mother,\nthe prince, though full of shame, slowly plodded on and reached his\nfather-in-law's house in the evening, but he could not bear to enter\nat such an unseasonable hour, for he was afraid of shedding tears,\nbeing bereaved of his father, and having lost his worldly splendour,\nbesides shame withheld him. So he remained in the verandah of an alms\nhouse near, and at night he suddenly beheld a woman descending with\na rope from his father-in-law's house, and immediately he recognized\nher as his wife, for she was so resplendent with jewels that she\nlooked like a meteor fallen from the clouds, and he was much grieved\nthereat, but she, though she saw him, did not recognise him, as he\nwas emaciated and begrimed, and asked him who he was; when he heard\nthat, he answered, \"I am a traveller;\" then the merchant's daughter\nentered the alms-house, and the prince followed her secretly to watch\nher. There she advanced towards a certain man, and he towards her,\nand asking her why she had come so late, he bestowed several kicks\non her. [327] Then the passion of the wicked woman was doubled,\nand she appeased him and remained with him on the most affectionate\nterms. When he saw that, the discreet prince reflected; \"This is not\nthe time for me to shew anger, for I have other affairs in hand,\nand how could I employ against these two contemptible creatures,\nthis wife of mine and the man who has done me this wrong, this sword\nwhich is to be used against my foes? Or what quarrel have I with\nthis adulteress, for this is the work of malignant destiny, that\nshowers calamities upon me, shewing skill in the game of testing\nmy firmness? It is my marriage with a woman below me in rank that\nis in fault, not the woman herself; how can a female crow leave the\nmale crow to take pleasure in a cuckoo?\" Thus reflecting, he allowed\nthat wife of his to remain in the society of her paramour; for in the\nminds of heroes possessed with an ardent desire of victory, of what\nimportance is woman, valueless as a straw? But at the moment when\nhis wife ardently embraced her paramour, there fell from her ear an\nornament thickly studded with valuable jewels. And she did not observe\nthis, but at the end of her interview taking leave of her paramour,\nreturned hurriedly to her house as she came. And that unlawful lover\nalso departed somewhere or other. Then the prince saw that jewelled\nornament and took it up; it flashed with many jewel-gleams, dispelling\nthe gathering darkness of despondency, and seemed like a hand-lamp\nobtained by him to assist him in searching for his lost prosperity. The\nprince immediately perceived that it was very valuable, and went off,\nhaving obtained all he required, to K\u00e1nyakubja; there be pledged that\nornament for a hundred thousand gold pieces, and after buying horses\nand elephants went into the presence of the emperor. And with the\ntroops, which he gave him, he marched and slew his enemies in fight,\nand recovered his father's kingdom, and his mother applauded his\nsuccess. Then he redeemed from pawn that ornament, and sent it to his\nfather-in-law to reveal that unsuspected secret; his father-in-law,\nwhen he saw that ear-ring of his daughter's, which had come to him in\nsuch a way, was confounded and shewed it to her: she looked upon it,\nlost long ago like her own virtue, and when she heard that it had\nbeen sent by her husband, she was distracted and called to mind the\nwhole circumstance: \"This is the very ornament which I let fall in\nthe alms-house the night I saw that unknown traveller standing there;\nso that must undoubtedly have been my husband come to test my virtue,\nbut I did not recognize him, and he picked up this ornament.\" While\nthe merchant's daughter was going through this train of reflection,\nher heart, afflicted by the misfortune of her unchastity having been\ndiscovered, in its agony, broke. Then her father artfully questioned\na maid of hers who knew all her secrets, and found out the truth,\nand so ceased to mourn for his daughter; as for the prince, after\nhe recovered the kingdom, he obtained as wife the daughter of the\nemperor won by his virtues, and enjoyed the highest prosperity.\n\nSo you see that the hearts of women are hard as adamant in daring\nsin, but are soft as a flower when the tremor of fear falls upon\nthem. But there are some few women born in good families, that,\nhaving hearts virtuous [328] and of transparent purity, become like\npearls the ornaments of the earth. And the fortune of kings is ever\nbounding away like a doe, but the wise know how to bind it by the\ntether of firmness, as you see in my story; therefore those who\ndesire good fortune must not abandon their virtue even in calamity,\nand of this principle my present circumstances are an illustration,\nfor I preserved my character, O queen, even in this calamity, and that\nhas borne me fruit in the shape of the good fortune of beholding you.\n\nHaving heard this tale from the mouth of that Br\u00e1hman woman, the queen\nV\u00e1savadatt\u00e1, feeling respect for her, immediately thought,--\"Surely\nthis Br\u00e1hman woman must be of good family, for the indirect way\nin which she alluded to her own virtue and her boldness in speech\nprove that she is of gentle birth, and this is the reason why she\nshewed such tact in entering the king's court of justice,\"--having\ngone through these reflections, the queen again said to the Br\u00e1hman\nwoman: \"Whose wife are you, or what is the history of your life? Tell\nme.\" When she heard that, the Br\u00e1hman woman again began to speak--\n\n\n\nStory of Pingalik\u00e1.\n\nQueen, there was a certain Br\u00e1hman in the country or M\u00e1lava, named\nAgnidatta, the home of Fortune and of Learning, who willingly\nimpoverished himself to help suppliants, and in course of time\nthere were born to him two sons like himself; the eldest was called\nSankaradatta and the other S\u00e1ntikara; of these two, oh glorious one,\nS\u00e1ntikara suddenly left his father's house in quest of learning, while\nhe was still a boy, and went, I know not whither, and the other son\nhis elder brother married me, who am the daughter of Yajnadatta who\ncollected wealth for the sake of sacrifice only. In course of time the\nfather of my husband, who was named Agnidatta, being old, went to the\nnext world and his wife followed him, [329] and my husband left me,\nwhen I was pregnant, to go to holy places, and through sorrow for his\nloss abandoned the body in fire purified by the goddess Sarasvat\u00ed;\nand when that fact was told us by those who accompanied him in his\npilgrimage, I was not permitted to follow him by my relations, as\nI was pregnant. Then, while my grief was fresh, brigands suddenly\nswooped down on us and plundered my house and all the royal grant;\nimmediately I fled with three Br\u00e1hman women from that place, for fear\nthat I might be outraged, taking with me very few garments. And, as\nthe whole kingdom was ravaged, I went to a distant land accompanied\nby them, and remained there a month only supporting myself by menial\ndrudgery. And then hearing from people that the king of Vatsa was\nthe refuge of the helpless, I came here with the three Br\u00e1hman women,\nwith no other travelling provision than my virtue; and as soon as I\narrived I gave birth at the same time to two boys. Thus, though I have\nthe friendly assistance of these three Br\u00e1hman women, I have suffered\nbereavement, banishment, poverty, and now comes this birth of twins;\nAlas! Providence has opened to me the door of calamity. Accordingly,\nreflecting that I had no other means of maintaining these children,\nI laid aside shame, the ornament of women, and entering into the king's\ncourt I made a petition to him. Who is able to endure the sight of the\nmisery of youthful offspring? And in consequence of his order, I have\ncome into your august presence, and my calamities have turned back,\nas if ordered away from your door. This is my history: as for my name,\nit is Pingalik\u00e1, because from my childhood my eyes have been reddened\nby the smoke of the burnt-offerings. And that brother-in-law of mine\nS\u00e1ntikara dwells in a foreign land, but in what land he is now living,\nI have not as yet discovered.\n\nWhen the Br\u00e1hman woman had told her history in these words, the\nqueen came to the conclusion that she was a lady of high birth,\nand after reflecting, said this to her with an affectionate manner:\n\"There is dwelling here a foreign Br\u00e1hman of the name of S\u00e1ntikara,\nand he is our domestic chaplain; I am certain he will turn out to be\nyour brother-in-law.\" After saying this to the eager Br\u00e1hman lady,\nthe queen allowed that night to pass, and the next morning sent for\nS\u00e1ntikara and asked him about his descent. And when he had told her his\ndescent, she, ascertaining that the two accounts tallied completely,\nshewed him that Br\u00e1hman lady, and said to him--\"Here is your brother's\nwife.\" And when they recognised one another, and he had heard of\nthe death of his relations, he took the Br\u00e1hman lady the wife of his\nbrother to his own house. There he mourned exceedingly, as was natural,\nfor the death of his parents and his brother, and comforted the lady\nwho was accompanied by her two children; and the queen V\u00e1savadatt\u00e1\nsettled that the Br\u00e1hman lady's two young sons should be the domestic\nchaplains of her future son, and the queen also gave the eldest the\nname of S\u00e1ntisoma, and the next of Vaisv\u00e1nara, and she bestowed on\nthem much wealth. The people of this world are like a blind man,\nbeing led to the place of recompense by their own actions, going\nbefore them, [330] and their courage is merely an instrument. Then\nthose two children, and their mother and S\u00e1ntikara remained united\nthere, having obtained wealth.\n\nThen once upon a time, as days went on, the queen V\u00e1savadatt\u00e1 beheld\nfrom her palace a certain woman of the caste of potters coming with\nfive sons, bringing plates, and she said to the Br\u00e1hman lady Pingalik\u00e1,\nwho was at her side; \"Observe, my friend: this woman has five sons,\nand I have not even one as yet, to such an extent is such a one the\npossessor of merit, while such a one as myself is not.\" [331]\n\nThen Pingalik\u00e1 said, \"Queen, these numerous sons are people who\nhave committed many sins in a previous existence, and are born to\npoor people in order that they may suffer for them, but the son that\nshall be born to such a one as you, must have been in a former life\na very virtuous person. Therefore do not be impatient, you will soon\nobtain a son such as you deserve.\" Though Pingalik\u00e1 said this to her,\nV\u00e1savadatt\u00e1, being eager for the birth of a son, remained with her\nmind overpowered by anxiety about it. At that moment the king of\nVatsa came and perceiving what was in her heart said--\"Queen, N\u00e1rada\nsaid that you should obtain a son by propitiating Siva, therefore we\nmust continually propitiate Siva, that granter of boons.\" Upon that,\nthe queen quickly determined upon performing a vow, and when she had\ntaken a vow, the king and his ministers and the whole kingdom also\ntook a vow to propitiate Siva; and after the royal couple had fasted\nfor three nights, that Lord was so pleased that he himself appeared\nto them and commanded them in a dream,--\"Rise up; from you shall\nspring a son who shall be a portion of the god of love, and owing to\nmy favour shall be king of all the Vidy\u00e1dharas.\" When the god, whose\ncrest is the moon, had said this and disappeared, that couple woke\nup, and immediately felt unfeigned joy at having obtained their boon,\nand considered that they had gained their object. And in the morning\nthe king and queen rose up, and after delighting the subjects with\nthe taste of the nectarous story of their dream, kept high festival\nwith their relations and servants, and broke in this manner the fast\nof their vow. After some days had past, a certain man with matted\nlocks came and gave the queen V\u00e1savadatt\u00e1 a fruit in her dream. Then\nthe king of Vatsa rejoiced with the queen, who informed him of that\nclear dream, and he was congratulated by his ministers, and supposing\nthat the god of the moon-crest had given her a son under the form of\na fruit, he considered the fulfilment of his wish to be not far off.\n\n\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XXII.\n\n\nThen, in a short time, V\u00e1savadatt\u00e1 became pregnant with a child,\nglorious inasmuch as it was an incarnation of the god of Love,\nand it was a feast to the eyes of the king of Vatsa. She shone with\na face, the eyes of which rolled, and which was of palish hue, as\nif with the moon come to visit her out of affection for the god of\nLove conceived in her. When she was sitting down, the two images of\nher form, reflected in the sides of the jewelled couch, seemed like\nRati and Pr\u00edti come there out of regard for their husband. [332]\nHer ladies-in-waiting attended upon her like the Sciences that grant\ndesires, come in bodily form to shew their respect for the future king\nof the Vidy\u00e1dharas [333] conceived in her. At that time she had breasts\nwith points dark like a folded bud, resembling pitchers intended for\nthe inaugural sprinkling [334] of her unborn son. When she lay down\non a comfortable couch in the middle of the palace, which gleamed\nwith pavement composed of translucent, flashing, lustrous jewels,\nshe appeared as if she were being propitiated by the waters, that had\ncome there trembling, through fear of being conquered by her future\nson, with heaps of jewels on every side. Her image reflected from the\ngems in the middle of the chariot, appeared like the Fortune of the\nVidy\u00e1haras coming in the heaven to offer her adoration. And she felt\na longing for stories of great magicians provided with incantations by\nmeans of spells, introduced appropriately in conversation. Vidy\u00e1dhara\nladies, beginning melodious songs, waited upon her when in her dream\nshe rose high up in the sky, and when she woke up, she desired to\nenjoy in reality the amusement of sporting in the air, which would\ngive the pleasure of looking down upon the earth. And Yaugandhar\u00e1yana\ngratified that longing of the queen's by employing spells, machines,\njuggling, and such like contrivances. So she roamed through the air\nby means of those various contrivances, which furnished a wonderful\nspectacle to the upturned eyes of the citizens' wives. But once on a\ntime, when she was in her palace, there arose in her heart a desire to\nhear the glorious tales of the Vidy\u00e1dharas; then Yaugandhar\u00e1yana, being\nentreated by that queen, told her this tale while all were listening.\n\n\n\nStory of J\u00edm\u00fatav\u00e1hana.\n\nThere is a great mountain named Himavat, the father of the mother\nof the world, [335] who is not only the chief of hills, but the\nspiritual preceptor of Siva, and on that great mountain, the home\nof the Vidy\u00e1dharas, dwelt the lord of the Vidy\u00e1dharas, the king\nJ\u00edm\u00fataketu. And in his house there was a wishing-tree [336], which had\ncome down to him from his ancestors, called by a name which expressed\nits nature, The Giver of Desires. And one day the king J\u00edm\u00fataketu\napproached that wishing-tree in his garden, which was of divine\nnature, and supplicated it; \"We always obtain from you all we desire,\ntherefore give me, O god, who am now childless, a virtuous son.\" Then\nthe wishing-tree said,--\"King, there shall be born to thee a son who\nshall remember his past birth, who shall be a hero in giving, and\nkind to all creatures.\" When he heard that, the king was delighted,\nand bowed before that tree, and then he went and delighted his queen\nwith the news: accordingly in a short time a son was born to him,\nand his father called the son J\u00edm\u00fatav\u00e1hana. Then that J\u00edm\u00fatav\u00e1hana,\nwho was of great goodness, grew up step by step with the growth of his\ninnate compassion for all creatures. And in course of time, when he\nwas made Crown-Prince, he being full of compassion for the world said\nin secret to his father, who was pleased by his attentions--\"I know,\nO father, that in this world all things perish in an instant, but the\npure glory of the great alone endures till the end of a Kalpa. [337]\nIf it is acquired by benefiting others, what other wealth can be, like\nit, valued by high-minded men more than life. And as for prosperity,\nif it be not used to benefit others, it is like lightning which for a\nmoment pains the eye, and flickering disappears somewhere or other. So,\nif this wishing-tree, which we possess, and which grants all desires,\nis employed for the benefit of others, we shall have reaped from it all\nthe fruit it can give. So let me take such steps as that by its riches\nthe whole multitude of men in need may be rescued from poverty.\" This\npetition J\u00edm\u00fatav\u00e1hana made to his father, and having obtained his\npermission, he went and said to that wishing-tree, \"O god, thou always\ngivest us the desired fruit, therefore fulfil to-day this one wish of\nours. O my friend, relieve this whole world from its poverty, success\nto thee, thou art bestowed on the world that desires wealth!\" The\nwishing-tree being addressed in this style by that self-denying one,\nshowered much gold on the earth, and all the people rejoiced; what\nother compassionate incarnation of a Bodhisattva except the glorious\nJ\u00edm\u00fatav\u00e1hana would be able to dispose even of a wishing-tree in favour\nof the needy? For this reason every region of the earth [338] became\ndevoted to J\u00edm\u00fatav\u00e1hana, and his stainless fame was spread on high.\n\nThen the relations of J\u00edm\u00fataketu, seeing that his throne was firmly\nestablished by the glory of his son, were envious, and became hostile\nto him. And they thought it would be easy to conquer that place, which\npossessed the excellent wishing-tree that was employed for bestowing\ngifts, on account of its not being strong: then they assembled and\ndetermined on war, and thereupon the self-denying J\u00edm\u00fatav\u00e1hana said\nto his father,--\"As this body of ours is like a bubble in the water,\nfor the sake of what do we desire prosperity, which flickers like\na candle exposed to the wind? And what wise man desires to attain\nprosperity by the slaughter of others? Accordingly, my father, I\nought not to fight with my relations. But I must leave my kingdom\nand go to some forest or other; let these miserable wretches be,\nlet us not slay the members of our own family.\" When J\u00edm\u00fatav\u00e1hana had\nsaid this, his father J\u00edm\u00fataketu formed a resolution and said to him;\n\"I too must go, my son, for what desire for rule can I, who am old,\nhave, when you, though young, out of compassion abandon your realm\nas if it were so much grass?\" In these words his father expressed his\nacquiescence in the project of J\u00edm\u00fatav\u00e1hana, who then, with his father\nand his father's wife, went to the Malaya mountain. There he remained\nin a hermitage, the dwelling of the Siddhas, where the brooks were\nhidden by the sandal-wood trees, and devoted himself to taking care\nof his father. There he struck up a friendship with the self-denying\nson of Visv\u00e1vasu, the chief prince of the Siddhas, whose name was\nMitr\u00e1vasu. And once on a time the all-knowing J\u00edm\u00fatav\u00e1hana beheld in\na lonely place Mitr\u00e1vasu's maiden sister, who had been his beloved\nin a former birth. And the mutual gaze of those two young people was\nlike the catching in a frail net of the deer of the mind. [339]\n\nThen one day Mitr\u00e1vasu came up suddenly to J\u00edm\u00fatav\u00e1hana, who deserved\nthe respect of the three worlds, with a pleased expression, and said\nto him, \"I have a younger sister, the maiden called Malayavat\u00ed; I\ngive her to you, do not refuse to gratify my wish.\" When J\u00edm\u00fatav\u00e1hana\nheard that, he said to him, \"O prince, she was my wife in a former\nbirth, and in that life you became my friend, and were like a second\nheart to me. I am one who remembers the former state of existence, I\nrecollect all that happened in my previous birth.\" When he said this,\nMitr\u00e1vasu said to him, \"then tell me this story of your former birth,\nfor I feel curiosity about it.\" When he heard this from Mitr\u00e1vasu,\nthe benevolent J\u00edm\u00fatav\u00e1hana told him the tale of his former birth\nas follows:\n\n\n\nStory of J\u00edm\u00fatav\u00e1hana's adventures in a former birth.\n\nThus it is; formerly I was a sky-roaming Vidy\u00e1dhara, and once on\na time I was passing over a peak of the Him\u00e1laya. And then Siva,\nwho was below, sporting with Gaur\u00ed, being angry at my passing above\nhim, cursed me, saying, \"Descend into a mortal womb, and after\nobtaining a Vidy\u00e1dhar\u00ed for your wife, and appointing your son in\nyour place, you shall remember your former birth, and again be born\nas a Vidy\u00e1dhara.\" Having pronounced when this curse should end, Siva\nceased and disappeared; and soon after I was born upon earth in a\nfamily of merchants. And I grew up as the son of a rich merchant in a\ncity named Vallabh\u00ed, and my name was Vasudatta. And in course of time,\nwhen I became a young man, I had a retinue given me by my father, and\nwent by his orders to another land to traffic. As I was going along,\nrobbers fell upon me in a forest, and after taking all my property,\nled me in chains to a temple of Durg\u00e1 in their village, terrible with a\nlong waving banner of red silk like the tongue of Death eager to devour\nthe lives of animals. There they brought me into the presence of their\nchief named Pulindaka, who was engaged in worshipping the goddess,\nin order that I might serve as a victim. He, though he was a Savara,\n[340] the moment he saw me, felt his heart melt with pity for me;\nan apparently causeless affectionate movement of the heart is a sign\nof friendship in a former birth. Then that Savara king, having saved\nme from slaughter, was about to complete the rite by the sacrifice\nof himself, when a heavenly voice said to him--\"Do not act thus, I am\npleased with thee, crave a boon of me,\"--thereupon he was delighted,\nand said--\"O goddess, thou art pleased; what other blessing can I\nneed, nevertheless I ask so much--may I have friendship with this\nmerchant's son in another birth also.\" The voice said--\"So be it,\"\nand then ceased, and then that Savara gave me much wealth, and sent\nme back to my own home. And then, as I had returned from foreign\ntravel and from the jaws of death, my father, when he heard the whole\noccurrence, made a great feast in my honour. And in course of time\nI saw there that very same Savara chief, whom the king had ordered\nto be brought before him as a prisoner for plundering a caravan. I\ntold my father of it immediately, and making a petition to the king,\nI saved him from capital punishment by the payment of a hundred\nthousand gold-pieces. And having in this way repaid the benefit,\nwhich he conferred upon me by saving my life, I brought him to my\nhouse, and entertained him honourably for a long time with all loving\nattention. And then, after this hospitable entertainment, I dismissed\nhim, and he went to his own village fixing upon me a heart tender\nwith affection. Then, while he thought about a present for me that\nmight be worthy of my return for his previous kindness, he came to\nthe conclusion that the pearls and musk and treasures of that kind,\nwhich were at his disposal, were not valuable enough. Thereupon he\ntook his bow and went off to the Him\u00e1laya to shoot elephants, in\norder to obtain a surpassingly splendid necklace [341] for me. And\nwhile he was roaming about there, he reached a great lake with a\ntemple upon its shore, being welcomed by its lotuses, which were as\ndevoted to their friend [342] as he was to me. And suspecting that\nthe wild elephants would come there to drink water, he remained in\nconcealment with his bow, in order to kill them. In the meanwhile\nhe saw a young lady of wonderful beauty come riding upon a lion to\nworship Siva, whose temple stood on the shore of the lake; looking\nlike a second daughter of the king of the snowy mountains, devoted\nto the service of Siva while in her girlhood. And the Savara, when\nhe saw her, being overpowered with wonder, reflected--\"Who can this\nbe? If she is a mortal woman, why does she ride upon a lion? On the\nother hand, if she is divine, how can she be seen by such as me? So\nshe must certainly be the incarnate development of the merits of my\neyes in a former birth. If I could only marry my friend to her, then I\nshould have bestowed upon him a new and wonderful recompense. So I had\nbetter first approach her to question her.\" Thus reflecting, my friend\nthe Savara advanced to meet her. In the meanwhile she dismounted from\nthe lion, that lay down in the shade, and advancing began to pick the\nlotuses of the lake. And seeing the Savara, who was a stranger, coming\ntowards her and bowing, out of a hospitable feeling she gratified him\nwith a welcome. And she said to him--\"Who are you, and why have you\ncome to this inaccessible land?\" Thereupon the Savara answered her,\n\"I am a prince of the Savaras, who regard the feet of Bhav\u00e1n\u00ed as my\nonly refuge, and I am come to this wood to get pearls from the heads\nof elephants. But when I beheld you just now, O goddess, I called\nto mind my own friend that saved my life, the son of a merchant\nprince, the auspicious Vasudatta. For he, O fair one, is, like you,\nmatchless for beauty and youth, a very fount of nectar to the eyes\nof this world. Happy is that maiden in the world, whose braceleted\nhand is taken in this life by that treasure-house of friendship,\ngenerosity, compassion, and patience. And if this beautiful form\nof yours is not linked to such a man, then I cannot help grieving\nthat K\u00e1ma bears the bow in vain.\" By these words of the king of the\nhunters the mind of the maiden was suddenly carried away, as if by\nthe syllables of the god of Love's bewildering spell. And prompted by\nlove, she said to that Savara, \"Where is that friend of yours? Bring\nhim here and shew him to me.\" When he heard that, he said--\"I will\ndo so,\" and that moment the Savara took leave of her and set out on\nhis journey in high spirits, considering his object attained. And\nafter he had reached his village, he took with him pearls and musk,\na weight sufficient for hundreds of heavily-laden porters, and came to\nour house. There he was honoured by all the inmates, and entering it,\nhe offered to my father that present, which was worth much gold. And\nafter that day and that night had been spent in feasting, he related\nto me in private the story of his interview with the maiden from the\nvery commencement. And he said to me, who was all excitement, \"Come,\nlet us go there,\" and so the Savara carried me off at night just as\nhe pleased. And in the morning my father found that I had gone off\nsomewhere with the Savara prince, but feeling perfect confidence in\nhis affection, he remained master of his feelings. But I was conducted\nin course of time by that Savara, who travelled fast, to the Him\u00e1laya,\nand he tended me carefully throughout the journey.\n\nAnd one evening we reached that lake, and bathed, and we remained\nthat one night in the wood eating sweet fruits. That mountain wood,\nin which the creepers strewed the ground with flowers, and which was\ncharming with the hum of bees, full of balmy gales, and with beautiful\ngleaming herbs for lamps, was like the chamber of Rati to repose in\nduring the night for us two, who drank the water of the lake. Then,\nthe next day that maiden came there, and at every step my mind, full\nof strange longings, flew to meet her, and her arrival was heralded\nby this my right eye, throbbing as if through eagerness to behold\nher. [343] And that maid with lovely eyebrows was beheld by me, on\nthe back of a knotty-maned lion, like a digit of the moon resting in\nthe lap of an autumn cloud; and I cannot describe how my heart felt at\nthat time while I gazed on her, being full of tumultuous emotions of\nastonishment, longing, and fear; then that maiden dismounted from the\nlion, and gathered flowers, and after bathing in the lake, worshipped\nSiva who dwelt in the temple on its banks. [344] And when the worship\nwas ended, that Savara, my friend, advanced towards her and announcing\nhimself, bowed, and said to her who received him courteously; \"Goddess,\nI have brought that friend of mine as a suitable bridegroom for you:\nif you think proper, I will shew him to you this moment.\" When she\nheard that, she said, \"Shew him,\" and that Savara came and took me\nnear her and shewed me to her. She looked at me askance with an eye\nthat shed love, and being overcome by Cupid's taking possession of her\nsoul, said to that chieftain of the Savaras; \"This friend of yours\nis not a man, surely he is some god come here to deceive me to-day:\nhow could a mortal have such a handsome shape?\" When I heard that,\nI said myself to remove all doubt from her mind: \"Fair one, I am in\nvery truth a mortal, what is the use of employing fraud against one\nso honest as yourself, lady? For I am the son of a merchant named\nMah\u00e1dhana that dwells in Vallabh\u00ed, and I was gained by my father by\nthe blessing of Siva. For he, when performing austerities to please\nthe god of the moony crest, in order that he might obtain a son, was\nthus commanded by the god in a dream being pleased with him; 'Rise up,\nthere shall spring from thee a great-hearted son, and this is a great\nsecret, what is the use of setting it forth at length?' After hearing\nthis, he woke up, and in course of time I was born to him as a son,\nand I am known by the name of Vasudatta. And long ago, when I went to\na foreign land, I obtained this Savara chieftain for a chosen friend,\nwho shewed himself a true helper in misfortune. This is a brief\nstatement of the truth about me.\" When I had said this I ceased; and\nthat maiden, with her face cast down from modesty, said--\"It is so;\nto-day, I know, Siva being propitiated deigned to tell me in a dream,\nafter I had worshipped him,--'To-morrow morning thou shalt obtain\na husband:'--so you are my husband, and this friend of yours is\nmy brother.\" When she had delighted me by this nectar-like speech,\nshe ceased; and after I had deliberated with her, I determined to\ngo to my own house with my friend, in order that the marriage might\nbe solemnized in due form. Then that fair one summoned by a sign\nof her own that lion, on which she rode, and said to me, \"Mount it,\nmy husband,\" then I, by the advice of my friend, mounted the lion,\nand taking that beloved one in my arms, I set out thence for my home,\nhaving obtained all my objects, riding on the lion with my beloved,\nguided by that friend. And living on the flesh of the deer that he\nkilled with his arrows, we all reached in course of time the city of\nVallabh\u00ed. Then the people, seeing me coming along with my beloved,\nriding on a lion, being astonished, ran and told that fact quickly\nto my father. He too came to meet me in his joy, and when he saw\nme dismount from the lion and fall at his feet, he welcomed me with\nastonishment.\n\nAnd when he saw that incomparable beauty adore his feet, and\nperceived that she was a fit wife for me, he could not contain\nhimself for joy. So he entered the house, and after asking us about\nthe circumstances, he made a great feast, praising the friendship of\nthe Savara chieftain. And the next day, by the appointment of the\nastrologers, I married that excellent maiden, and all my friends\nand relations assembled to witness our wedding. And that lion, on\nwhich my wife had ridden, having witnessed the marriage, suddenly\nbefore the eyes of all, assumed the form of a man. Then all the\nby-standers were bewildered thinking--\"What can this mean?\" But he,\nassuming heavenly garments and ornaments, thus addressed me: \"I am a\nVidy\u00e1dhara named Chitr\u00e1ngada, and this maiden is my daughter Manovat\u00ed\nby name, dearer to me than life. I used to wander continually through\nthe forest with her in my arms, and one day I reached the Ganges,\non the banks of which are many ascetic groves. And as I was going\nalong in the middle of the river, for fear of disturbing the ascetics,\nmy garland by accident fell into its waters. Then the hermit N\u00e1rada,\nwho was under the water, suddenly rose up, and angry because the\ngarland had fallen upon his back, cursed me in the following words:\n'On account of this insolence, depart, wicked one, thou shalt become a\nlion, and repairing to the Him\u00e1laya, shalt carry this daughter upon thy\nback. And when thy daughter shall be taken in marriage by a mortal,\nthen after witnessing the ceremony, thou shalt be freed from this\ncurse.' After being cursed in these words by the hermit, I became a\nlion, and dwelt on the Him\u00e1laya carrying about this daughter of mine,\nwho is devoted to the worship of Siva. And you know well the sequel of\nthe story, how by the exertions of the Savara chieftain this highly\nauspicious event has been brought about. So I shall now depart;\ngood luck to you all! I have now reached the termination of that\ncurse.\" Having said this, that Vidy\u00e1dhara immediately flew up into\nthe sky. Then my father, overwhelmed with astonishment at the marvel,\ndelighted at the eligible connection, and finding that his friends\nand relations were overjoyed, made a great feast. And there was not\na single person who did not say with astonishment, reflecting again\nand again on that noble behaviour of the Savara chieftain--\"Who can\nimagine the actions of sincere friends, who are not even satisfied\nwhen they have bestowed on their sworn brothers the gift of life?\" The\nking of the land too, hearing of that occurrence, was exceedingly\npleased with the affection which the Savara prince had shown me,\nand finding he was pleased, my father gave him a present of jewels,\nand so induced him immediately to bestow on the Savara a vast forest\nterritory. Then I remained there in happiness, considering myself\nto have attained all that heart could wish, in having Manovat\u00ed for a\nwife, and the Savara prince for a friend. And that Savara chieftain\ngenerally lived in my house, finding that he took less pleasure in\ndwelling in his own country than he formerly did. And the time of\nus two friends, of him and me, was spent in continually conferring\nbenefits upon one another without our ever being satisfied. And not\nlong after I had a son born to me by Manovat\u00ed, who seemed like the\nheart-joy of the whole family in external visible form; and being\ncalled Hiranyadatta he gradually grew up, and after having been duly\ninstructed, he was married. Then my father having witnessed that,\nand considering that the object of his life had been accomplished,\nbeing old, went to the Ganges with his wife to leave the body. Then I\nwas afflicted by my father's death, but having been at last persuaded\nby my relations to control my feelings, I consented to uphold the\nburden of the family. And at that time on the one hand the sight of\nthe beautiful face of Manovat\u00ed, and on the other the society of the\nSavara prince delighted me. Accordingly those days of mine passed,\njoyous from the goodness of my son, charming from the excellence of\nmy wife, happy from the society of my friend.\n\nThen, in course of time, I became well-stricken in years, and old age\nseized me by the chin, as it were out of love giving me this wholesome\nreproach--\"Why are you remaining in the house so long as this, my\nson?\" Then disgust with the world was suddenly produced in my breast,\nand longing for the forest I appointed my son in my stead. And with my\nwife I went to the mountain of K\u00e1linjara, together with the king of\nthe Savaras, who abandoned his kingdom out of love to me. And when I\narrived there, I at once remembered that I had been a Vidy\u00e1dhara in a\nformer state of existence, and that the curse I had received from Siva\nhad come to an end. And I immediately told my wife Manovat\u00ed of that,\nand my friend the king of the Savaras, as I was desirous of leaving\nthis mortal body. I said--\"May I have this wife and this friend in a\nfuture birth, and may I remember this birth,\" and then I meditated\non Siva in my heart, and flung myself from that hill side, and so\nsuddenly quitted the body together with that wife and friend. And so\nI have been now born, as you see, in this Vidy\u00e1dhara family, under\nthe name of J\u00edm\u00fatav\u00e1hana, with a power of recollecting my former\nexistence. And you, that prince of the Savaras, have been also born\nagain by the favour of Siva, as Mitr\u00e1vasu the son of Visv\u00e1vasu the\nking of the Siddhas. And, my friend, that Vidy\u00e1dhara lady, my wife\nManovat\u00ed, has been again born as your sister Malayavat\u00ed by name. So\nyour sister is my former wife, and you were my friend in a former\nstate of existence, therefore it is quite proper that I should marry\nher. But first go and tell this to my parents, for if the matter is\nreferred to them, your desire will be successfully accomplished.\n\nWhen Mitr\u00e1vasu heard this from J\u00edm\u00fatav\u00e1hana, he was pleased, and\nhe went and told all that to the parents of J\u00edm\u00fatav\u00e1hana. And when\nthey received his proposal gladly, he was pleased, and went and\ntold that same matter to his own parents. And they were delighted\nat the accomplishment of their desire, and so the prince quickly\nprepared for the marriage of his sister. Then J\u00edm\u00fatav\u00e1hana, honoured\nby the king of the Siddhas, received according to usage the hand of\nMalayavat\u00ed. And there was a great festival, in which the heavenly\nminstrels bustled about, the dense crowd of the Siddhas assembled,\nand which was enlivened by bounding Vidy\u00e1dharas. Then J\u00edm\u00fatav\u00e1hana was\nmarried, and remained on that Malaya mountain with his wife in very\ngreat prosperity. And once on a time he went with his brother-in-law\nMitr\u00e1vasu to behold the woods on the shore of the sea. And there he\nsaw a young man come in an agitated state, sending away his mother,\nwho kept exclaiming \"Alas! my son!\" And another man, who seemed to be\na soldier, following him, conducted him to a broad and high slab of\nrock and left him there. J\u00edm\u00fatav\u00e1hana said to him: \"Who are you? What\nare you about to do, and why does your mother weep for you?\" Then\nthe man told him his story.\n\n\"Long ago Kadr\u00fa and Vinat\u00e1, the two wives of Kasyapa, had a dispute\nin the course of a conversation which they were carrying on. The\nformer said that the Sun's horses were black, the latter that they\nwere white, and they made an agreement that the one that was wrong\nshould become a slave to the other. [345] Then Kadr\u00fa, bent on winning,\nactually induced her sons, the snakes, to defile the horses of the\nSun by spitting venom over them; and shewing them to Vinat\u00e1 in that\ncondition, she conquered her by a trick and made her her slave:\nterrible is the spite of women against each other! When Garuda the\nson of Vinat\u00e1 heard of that, he came and tried to induce Kadr\u00fa by\nfair means to release Vinat\u00e1 from her slavery; then the snakes, the\nsons of Kadr\u00fa, reflecting, said this to him; 'O Garuda, the gods have\nbegan to churn the sea of milk, bring the nectar thence and give it\nto us as a substitute, and then take your mother away with you, for\nyou are the chief of heroes.' When Garuda heard that, he went to the\nsea of milk, and displayed his great might in order to obtain the\nnectar. Then the god Vishnu pleased with his might deigned to say\nto him, 'I am pleased with thee, choose some boon.' Then Garuda,\nangry because his mother was made a slave, asked as a boon from\nVishnu--'May the snakes become my food.' Vishnu consented, and when\nGaruda had obtained the nectar by his own valour, he was thus addressed\nby Indra who had heard the whole story: 'King of birds, you must take\nsteps to prevent the foolish snakes from consuming the nectar, and to\nenable me to take it away from them again.' When Garuda heard that,\nhe agreed to do it, and elated by the boon of Vishnu, he went to the\nsnakes with the vessel containing the nectar.\n\nAnd he said from a distance to those foolish snakes, who were terrified\non account of the boon granted to him, \"Here is the nectar brought\nby me, release my mother and take it; if you are afraid, I will\nput it for you on a bed of Darbha grass. When I have procured my\nmother's release, I will go; take the nectar thence.\" The snakes\nconsented, and then he put the vessel of nectar on a pure bed of\nKusa grass, [346] and they let his mother go. So Garuda departed,\nhaving thus released his mother from slavery; but while the snakes\nwere unsuspectingly taking the nectar, Indra suddenly swooped down,\nand bewildering them by his power, carried off the vessel of nectar\nfrom the bed of Kusa grass. Then the snakes in despair licked that\nbed of Darbha grass, thinking there might be a drop of spilt nectar\non it; the effect was that their tongues were split, and they became\ndouble-tongued for nothing. [347] What but ridicule can ever be the\nportion of the over-greedy? Then the snakes did not obtain the nectar\nof immortality, and their enemy Garuda, on the strength of Vishnu's\nboon, began to swoop down and devour them. And this he did again and\nagain. And while he was thus attacking them, the snakes [348] in P\u00e1t\u00e1la\nwere dead with fear, the females miscarried, and the whole serpent\nrace was well-nigh destroyed. And V\u00e1suki the king of the snakes,\nseeing him there every day, considered that the serpent world was\nruined at one blow: then, after reflecting, he preferred a petition\nto that Garuda of irresistible might, and made this agreement with\nhim--\"I will send you every day one snake to eat, O king of birds,\non the hill that rises out of the sand of the sea. But you must not\nact so foolishly as to enter P\u00e1t\u00e1la, for by the destruction of the\nserpent world your own object will be baffled.\" When V\u00e1suki said this\nto him, Garuda consented, and began to eat every day in this place\none snake sent by him: and in this way innumerable serpents have met\ntheir death here. But I am a snake called Sankach\u00fada, [349] and it\nis my turn to-day: for that reason I have to-day, by the command of\nthe king of the snakes, in order to furnish a meal to Garuda, come\nto this rock of execution, and to be lamented by my mother.\"\n\nWhen J\u00edm\u00fatav\u00e1hana heard this speech of Sankach\u00fada's, he was grieved,\nand felt sorrow in his heart and said to him, \"Alas! V\u00e1suki exercises\nhis kingly power in a very cowardly fashion, in that with his own\nhand he conducts his subjects to serve as food for his enemy. Why did\nhe not first offer himself to Garuda? To think of this effeminate\ncreature choosing to witness the destruction of his race! And how\ngreat a sin does Garuda, though the son of Kasyapa, commit! How great\nfolly do even great ones commit for the sake of the body only! So\nI will to-day deliver you alone from Garuda by surrendering my\nbody. Do not be despondent, my friend.\" When Sankach\u00fada heard this,\nhe out of his firm patience said to him,--\"This be far from thee,\nO great-hearted one, do not say so again. The destruction of a jewel\nfor the sake of a piece of glass is never becoming. And I will never\nincur the reproach of having disgraced my race.\" In these words the\ngood snake Sankach\u00fada tried to dissuade J\u00edm\u00fatav\u00e1hana, and thinking\nthat the time of Garuda's arrival would come in a moment, he went to\nworship in his last hour an image of Siva under the name of Gokarna,\nthat stood on the shore of the sea. And when he was gone, J\u00edm\u00fatav\u00e1hana,\nthat treasure-house of compassion, considered that he had gained an\nopportunity of offering himself up to save the snake's life. Thereupon\nhe quickly dismissed Mitr\u00e1vasu to his own house on the pretext of some\nbusiness, artfully pretending that he himself had forgotten it. And\nimmediately the earth near him trembled, being shaken by the wind of\nthe wings of the approaching Garuda, as if through astonishment at his\nvalour. That made J\u00edm\u00fatav\u00e1hana think that the enemy of the snakes was\napproaching, and full of compassion for others he ascended the stone of\nexecution. And in a moment Garuda swooped down, darkening the heaven\nwith his shadow, and carried off that great-hearted one, striking him\nwith his beak. He shed drops of blood, and his crest-jewel dropped off\ntorn out by Garuda, who took him away and began to eat him on the peak\nof the mountain. At that moment a rain of flowers fell from heaven,\nand Garuda was astonished when he saw it, wondering what it could mean.\n\nIn the meanwhile Sankach\u00fada came there, having worshipped Gokarna, and\nsaw the rock of execution sprinkled with many drops of blood; then he\nthought--\"Alas! surely that great-hearted one has offered himself for\nme, so I wonder where Garuda has taken him in this short time. I must\nsearch for him quickly, perhaps I may find him.\" Accordingly the good\nsnake went following up the track of the blood. And in the meanwhile\nGaruda, seeing that J\u00edm\u00fatav\u00e1hana was pleased, left off eating and\nthought with wonder: \"This must be some one else, other than I ought\nto have taken, for though I am eating him, he is not at all miserable,\non the contrary the resolute one rejoices.\" While Garuda was thinking\nthis, J\u00edm\u00fatav\u00e1hana, though in such a state, said to him in order to\nattain his object: \"O king of birds, in my body also there is flesh\nand blood; then why have you suddenly stopped eating, though your\nhunger is not appeased?\" When he heard that, that king of birds, being\noverpowered with astonishment, said to him--\"Noble one, you are not\na snake, tell me who you are.\" J\u00edm\u00fatav\u00e1hana was just answering him,\n\"I am a snake, [350] so eat me, complete what you have begun, for men\nof resolution never leave unfinished an undertaking they have begun,\"\nwhen Sankach\u00fada arrived and cried out from afar, \"Stop, stop, Garuda,\nhe is not a snake, I am the snake meant for you, so let him go,\nalas! how have you suddenly come to make this mistake?\" On hearing\nthat, the king of birds was excessively bewildered, and J\u00edm\u00fatav\u00e1hana\nwas grieved at not having accomplished his desire. Then Garuda,\nlearning, in the course of their conversation [351] with one another,\nthat he had begun to devour by mistake the king of the Vidy\u00e1dharas,\nwas much grieved. He began to reflect, \"Alas! in my cruelty I have\nincurred sin. In truth those who follow evil courses easily contract\nguilt. But this great-hearted one who has given his life for another,\nand despising [352] the world, which is altogether under the dominion\nof illusion, come to face me, deserves praise.\" Thinking thus,\nhe was about to enter the fire to purify himself from guilt, when\nJ\u00edm\u00fatav\u00e1hana said to him: \"King of birds, why do you despond? If you\nare really afraid of guilt, then you must determine never again to\neat these snakes: and you must repent of eating all those previously\ndevoured, for this is the only remedy available in this case, it\nwas idle for you ever to think of any other.\" Thus J\u00edm\u00fatav\u00e1hana,\nfull of compassion for creatures, said to Garuda, and he was pleased\nand accepted the advice of that king, as if he had been his spiritual\npreceptor, determining to do what he recommended; and he went to bring\nnectar from heaven to restore to life rapidly that wounded prince,\nand the other snakes, whose bones only remained. Then the goddess\nGaur\u00ed, pleased with J\u00edm\u00fatav\u00e1hana's wife's devotion to her, came in\nperson and rained nectar on him: by that his limbs were reproduced\nwith increased beauty, and the sound of the drums of the rejoicing\ngods was heard at the same time. Then, on his rising up safe and\nsound, Garuda brought the nectar of immortality [353] from heaven,\nand sprinkled it along the whole shore of the sea. That made all the\nsnakes there rise up alive, and then that forest along the shore of the\nsea, crowded with the numerous tribe of snakes, appeared like P\u00e1t\u00e1la\n[354] come to behold J\u00edm\u00fatav\u00e1hana, having lost its previous dread\nof Garuda. Then J\u00edm\u00fatav\u00e1hana's relations congratulated him, having\nseen that he was glorious with unwounded body and undying fame. And\nhis wife rejoiced with her relations, and his parents also. Who\nwould not joy at pain ending in happiness? And with his permission\nSankach\u00fada departed to Ras\u00e1tala, [355] and without it his glory, of\nits own accord, spread through the three worlds. Then, by virtue of the\nfavour of the daughter of the Him\u00e1laya all his relations, Matanga and\nothers, who were long hostile to him, came to Garuda, before whom the\ntroops of gods were inclining out of love, and timidly approaching the\nglory of the Vidy\u00e1dhara race, prostrated themselves at his feet. And\nbeing entreated by them, the benevolent J\u00edm\u00fatav\u00e1hana went from that\nMalaya mountain to his own home, the slope of the Him\u00e1laya. There,\naccompanied by his parents and Mitr\u00e1vasu and Malayavat\u00ed, the resolute\none long enjoyed the honour of emperor of the Vidy\u00e1dharas. Thus\na course of fortunate events always of its own accord follows the\nfootsteps of all those, whose exploits arouse the admiration of the\nthree worlds. When the queen V\u00e1savadatt\u00e1 heard this story from the\nmouth of Yaugandhar\u00e1yana, she rejoiced, as she was eager to hear of\nthe splendour of her unborn son. Then, in the society of her husband,\nshe spent that day in conversation about her son, who was to be the\nfuture king of the Vidy\u00e1dharas, which was suggested by that story, for\nshe placed unfailing reliance upon the promise of the favouring gods.\n\n\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XXIII.\n\n\nThen V\u00e1savadatt\u00e1 on the next day said to the king of Vatsa in private,\nwhile he was surrounded by his ministers;--\"My husband, ever since\nI have been pregnant with this child, the difficult duty of taking\ncare of it afflicts my heart; and last night, after thinking over\nit long, I fell asleep with difficulty, and I am persuaded I saw a\ncertain man come in my dream, glorious with a shape distinguished by\nmatted auburn locks and a trident-bearing hand; and he approaching me,\nsaid as if moved by compassion,--'My daughter, you need not feel at all\nanxious about the child with which you are pregnant, I will protect it,\nfor I gave it to you. And hear something more, which I will tell you\nto make you confide in me; a certain woman waits to make a petition\nto you to-morrow, she will come dragging her husband with her as a\nprisoner, reviling him, accompanied by five sons, begirt with many\nrelations: and she is a wicked woman who desires by the help of her\nrelations to get that husband of hers put to death, and all that\nshe will say will be false. And you, my daughter, must beforehand\ninform the king of Vatsa about this matter, in order that that good\nman may be freed from that wicked wife.' This command that august one\ngave and vanished, and I immediately woke up, and lo! the morning had\ncome.\" When the queen had said that, all spoke of the favour of Siva,\nand were astonished, their minds eagerly expecting the fulfilment\nof the dream; when lo! at that very moment the chief warder entered,\nand suddenly said to the king of Vatsa, who was compassionate to the\nafflicted, \"O king, a certain woman has come to make a representation,\naccompanied by her relations, bringing with her five sons, reviling\nher helpless husband.\" When the king heard that, being astonished at\nthe way it tallied with the queen's dream, he commanded the warder\nto bring her into his presence. And the queen V\u00e1savadatt\u00e1 felt the\ngreatest delight, having become certain that she would obtain a good\nson, on account of the truth of the dream. Then that woman entered by\nthe command of the warder, accompanied by her husband, looked at with\ncuriosity by all, who had their faces turned towards the door. Then,\nhaving entered, she assumed an expression of misery, and making a\nbow according to rule, she addressed the king in council accompanied\nby the queen: \"This man, though he is my husband, does not give to\nme, helpless woman that I am, food, raiment, and other necessaries,\nand yet I am free from blame with respect to him.\"\n\nWhen she had said this, her husband pleaded--\"King, this woman speaks\nfalsely, supported by her relations, for she wishes me to be put\nto death. For I have given her supplies beforehand to last till the\nend of the year, and other relations of hers, who are impartial, are\nprepared to witness the truth of this for me.\" When he had said this\nto the king, the king of his own accord answered: \"The trident-bearing\ngod himself has given evidence in this case, appearing to the queen\nin a dream. What need have we of more witnesses? This woman with her\nrelations must be punished.\" When the king had delivered this judgment,\nthe discreet Yaugandhar\u00e1yana said, \"Nevertheless, king, we must do\nwhat is right in accordance with the evidence of witnesses, otherwise\nthe people, not knowing of the dream, would in no wise believe in the\njustice of our proceedings.\" When the king heard that, he consented\nand had the witnesses summoned that moment, and they, being asked,\ndeposed that that woman was speaking falsely. Then the king banished\nher, as she was plotting against one well known to be a good husband,\nfrom his territory, with her relations and her sons. And with heart\nmelting from pity he discharged her good husband, after giving him\nmuch treasure sufficient for another marriage. And in connexion with\nthe whole affair the king remarked,--\"An evil wife, of wildly [356]\ncruel nature, tears her still living husband like a she-wolf, when he\nhas fallen into the pit of calamity; but an affectionate, noble, and\nmagnanimous wife averts sorrow as the shade [357] of the wayside-tree\naverts heat, and is acquired by a man's special merits.\" Then\nVasantaka, who was a clever story-teller, being at the king's side,\nsaid to him \u00e0 propos of this: \"Moreover, king, hatred and affection\nare commonly produced in living beings in this world owing to their\ncontinually recalling the impressions of a past state of existence,\nand in proof of this, hear the story which I am about to tell.\"\n\n\n\nStory of Sinhapar\u00e1krama.\n\nThere was a king in Benares named Vikramachanda, and he had a favourite\nfollower named Sinhapar\u00e1krama; who was wonderfully successful in all\nbattles and in all gambling contests. And he had a wife very deformed\nboth in body and mind, called by a name, which expressed her nature,\nKalahak\u00e1r\u00ed. [358] This brave man continually obtained much money\nboth from the king and from gambling, and, as soon as he got it,\nhe gave it all to his wife. But the shrewish woman, backed by her\nthree sons begotten by him, could not in spite of this remain one\nmoment without a quarrel. She continually worried him by yelling out\nthese words at him with her sons--\"You are always eating and drinking\naway from home, and you never give us anything.\" And though he was\nfor ever trying to propitiate her with meat, drink, and raiment,\nshe tortured him day and night like an interminable thirst. Then,\nat last, Sinhapar\u00e1krama vexed with indignation on that account,\nleft his house, and went on a pilgrimage to the goddess Durg\u00e1 that\ndwells in the Vindhya hills. While he was fasting, the goddess said\nto him in a dream: \"Rise up, my son, go to thy own city of Benares;\nthere is an enormous nyagrodha tree, by digging round its root thou\nwilt at once obtain a treasure. And in the treasure thou wilt find\na dish of emerald, bright as a sword-blade, looking like a piece of\nthe sky fallen down to earth; casting thy eyes on that, thou wilt\nsee, as it were, reflected inside, the previous existence of every\nindividual, in whatever case thou mayest wish to know it. By means of\nthat thou wilt learn the previous birth of thy wife and of thyself,\nand having learned the truth wilt dwell there in happiness free from\ngrief.\" Having thus been addressed by the goddess, Sinhapar\u00e1krama woke\nup and broke his fast, and went in the morning to Benares; and after\nhe had reached the city, he found at the root of the nyagrodha tree a\ntreasure, and in it he discovered a large emerald dish, and, eager to\nlearn the truth, he saw in that dish that in a previous birth his wife\nhad been a terrible she-bear, and himself a lion. And so recognising\nthat the hatred between himself and his wife was irremediable owing to\nthe influence of bitter enmity in a previous birth, he abandoned grief\nand bewilderment. Then Sinhapar\u00e1krama examined many maidens by means\nof the dish, and discovering that they had belonged to alien races in\na previous birth, he avoided them, but after he had discovered one,\nwho had been a lioness in a previous birth and so was a suitable\nmatch for him, he married her as his second wife, and her name was\nSinhasr\u00ed. And after assigning to that Kalahak\u00e1r\u00ed one village only as\nher portion, he lived, delighted with the acquisition of treasure,\nin the society of his new wife. Thus, O king, wives and others are\nfriendly or hostile to men in this world by virtue of impressions in\na previous state of existence.\n\nWhen the king of Vatsa had heard this wonderful story from Vasantaka,\nhe was exceedingly delighted and so was the queen V\u00e1savadatt\u00e1. And the\nking was never weary day or night of contemplating the moon-like face\nof the pregnant queen. And as days went on, there were born to all of\nhis ministers in due course sons with auspicious marks, who heralded\napproaching good fortune. First there was born to Yaugandhar\u00e1yana,\nthe chief minister, a son Marubh\u00fati by name. Then Rumanvat had a\nson called Harisikha, and to Vasantaka there was born a son named\nTapantaka. And to the head-warder called Nityodita, whose other title\nwas Ityaka, [359] there was born a son named Gomukha. And after they\nwere born a great feast took place, and during it a bodiless voice\nwas heard from heaven--\"These ministers shall crush the race of the\nenemies of the son of the king of Vatsa here, the future universal\nemperor. And as days went by, the time drew near for the birth of the\nchild, with which the queen V\u00e1savadatt\u00e1 was destined to present the\nking of Vatsa, and she repaired to the ornamented lying-in-chamber,\nwhich was prepared by matrons having sons, and the windows of which\nwere covered with arka and sam\u00ed plants. The room was hung with\nvarious weapons, rendered auspicious by being mixed with the gleam\nof jewel-lamps, shedding a blaze [360] able to protect the child;\nand secured by conjurers who went through innumerable charms and\nspells and other incantations, so that it became a fortress of the\nmatrons hard for calamity to storm, and there she brought forth in\ngood time a prince of lovely aspect, as the heaven brings forth the\nmoon from which stream pure nectarous rays. The child, when born,\nnot only irradiated that room, but the heart also of that mother\nfrom which the darkness of grief had departed; then, as the delight\nof the inmates of the harem was gradually extended, the king heard\nof the birth of a son from the people who were admitted to it; the\nreason he did not give his kingdom in his delight to the person, who\nannounced it, was, that he was afraid of committing an impropriety,\nnot that he was avaricious. And so the king, suddenly coming to the\nharem with longing mind, beheld his son, and his hope bore fruit\nafter a long delay. The child had a long red lower lip like a leaf,\nbeautiful flowing hair like wool, and his whole face was like the\nlotus, which the goddess of the Fortune of empire carries for her\ndelight. He was marked on his soft feet with umbrellas and chowries,\nas if the Fortunes of other kings had beforehand abandoned their\nbadges in his favour, out of fear. Then, while the king shed with\ntearful eye, that swelled with the pressure of the fulness of the\nweight of his joy, drops that seemed to be drops of paternal affection,\n[361] and the ministers with Yaugandhar\u00e1yana at their head rejoiced,\na voice was heard from heaven at that time to the following effect:\n\n\"King, this son that is born to thee is an incarnation of K\u00e1ma, [362]\nand know that his name is Narav\u00e1hanadatta; and he will soon become\nemperor of the kings of the Vidy\u00e1dharas, and maintain that position\nunwearied for a kalpa of the gods.\" [363] When so much had been said,\nthe voice stopped, and immediately a rain of flowers fell from heaven,\nand the sounds of the celestial drums went forth. Then the king,\nexcessively delighted, made a great feast, which was rendered all the\nmore solemn from the gods having begun it. The sound of cymbals floated\nin the air rising from temples, as if to tell all the Vidy\u00e1dharas of\nthe birth of their king: and red banners, flying in the wind on the\ntops of the palaces, seemed with their splendour to fling red dye to\none another. On earth beautiful women assembled and danced everywhere,\nas if they were the nymphs of heaven glad that the god of love had been\nborn with a body. [364] And the whole city appeared equally splendid\nwith new dresses and ornaments bestowed by the rejoicing king. For\nwhile that rich king rained riches upon his dependants, nothing but\nthe treasury was empty. And the ladies belonging to the families of\nthe neighbouring chieftains came in from all sides, with auspicious\nprayers, versed in the good custom, [365] accompanied by dancing\ngirls, bringing with them splendid presents, escorted by various\nexcellent guards, attended with the sound of musical instruments,\nlike all the cardinal points in bodily form. Every movement there\nwas of the nature of a dance, every word uttered was attended with\nfull vessels, [366] every action was of the nature of munificence,\nthe city resounded with musical instruments, the people were adorned\nwith red powder, and the earth was covered with bards,--all these\nthings were so in that city which was all full of festivity. Thus\nthe great feast was carried on with increasing magnificence for many\ndays, and did not come to an end before the wishes of the citizens\nwere fully satisfied. And as days went on, that infant prince grew\nlike the new moon, and his father bestowed on him with appropriate\nformalities the name of Narav\u00e1hanadatta, which had been previously\nassigned him by the heavenly voice. His father was delighted when\nhe saw him make his first two or three tottering steps, in which\ngleamed the sheen of his smooth fair toe-nails, and when he heard\nhim utter his first two or three indistinct words, shewing his teeth\nwhich looked like buds. Then the excellent ministers brought to the\ninfant prince their infant sons, who delighted the heart of the king,\nand commended them to him. First Yaugandhar\u00e1yana brought Marubh\u00fati,\nand then Rumanvat Harisikha, and then the head-warder named Ityaka\nbrought Gomukha, and Vasantaka his son named Tapantaka. And the\ndomestic chaplain S\u00e1ntikara presented the two twin sons of Pingalik\u00e1,\nhis nephews S\u00e1ntisoma and Vaisv\u00e1nara. And at that moment there fell\nfrom heaven a rain of flowers from the gods, which a shout of joy\nmade all the more auspicious, and the king rejoiced with the queens,\nhaving bestowed presents on that company of ministers' sons. And that\nprince Narav\u00e1hanadatta was always surrounded by those six ministers'\nsons devoted to him alone, who commanded respect even in their boyhood,\n[367] as if with the six political measures that are the cause of great\nprosperity. The days of the lord of Vatsa passed in great happiness,\nwhile he gazed affectionately on his son with his smiling lotus-like\nface, going from lap to lap of the kings whose minds were lovingly\nattached to him, and making in his mirth a charming indistinct\nplayful prattling.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nBOOK V.\n\n\nCHAPTER XXIV.\n\n\nMay Ganesa, painting the earth with mosaic by means of the particles\nof red lead flying from his trunk whirled round in his madness, [368]\nand so, as it were, burning up obstacles with the flames of his might,\nprotect you.\n\n\n\nThus the king of Vatsa and his queen remained engaged in bringing\nup their only son Narav\u00e1hanadatta, and once on a time the minister\nYaugandhar\u00e1yana, seeing the king anxious about taking care of him,\nsaid to him as he was alone,--\"King, you must never feel any anxiety\nnow about the prince Narav\u00e1hanadatta, for he has been created by\nthe adorable god Siva in your house as the future emperor over the\nkings of the Vidy\u00e1dharas; and by their divine power the kings of the\nVidy\u00e1dharas have found this out, and meaning mischief have become\ntroubled, unable in their hearts to endure it; and knowing this, the\ngod with the moon-crest has appointed a prince of the Ganas, [369]\nStambhaka by name, to protect him. And he remains here invisible,\nprotecting this son of yours, and N\u00e1rada coming swiftly informed\nme of this.\" While the minister was uttering these words, there\ndescended from the midst of the air a divine man wearing a diadem\nand a bracelet, and armed with a sword. He bowed, and then the king\nof Vatsa, after welcoming him, immediately asked him with curiosity:\n\"Who are you, and what is your errand here?\" He said, \"I was once\na mortal, but I have now become a king of the Vidy\u00e1dharas, named\nSaktivega and I have many enemies. I have found out by my power that\nyour son is destined to be our emperor, and I have come to see him, O\nking.\" When Saktivega, over-awed at the sight of his future emperor,\nhad said this, the king of Vatsa was pleased and again asked him\nin his astonishment, \"How can the rank of a Vidy\u00e1dhara be attained,\nand of what nature is it, and how did you obtain it? Tell me this,\nmy friend.\" When he heard this speech of the king's, that Vidy\u00e1dhara\nSaktivega courteously bowing, answered him thus, \"O king, resolute\nsouls having propitiated Siva either in this or in a former birth,\nobtain by his favour the rank of Vidy\u00e1dhara. And that rank, denoted\nby the insignia of supernatural knowledge, of sword, garland and so\non, is of various kinds, but listen! I will tell you how I obtained\nit. Having said this, Saktivega told the following story, relating\nto himself, in the presence of the queen V\u00e1savadatt\u00e1.\n\n\n\nStory of Saktivega king of the Vidy\u00e1dharas.\n\nThere lived long ago in a city called Vardham\u00e1na, [370] the ornament\nof the earth, a king the terror of his foes, called Paropak\u00e1rin. And\nthis exalted monarch possessed a queen of the name of Kanakaprabh\u00e1,\n[371] as the cloud holds the lightning, but she had not the fickleness\nof the lightning. And in course of time there was born to him by that\nqueen a daughter, who seemed to have been formed by the Creator to\ndash Lakshm\u00ed's pride in her beauty. And that moon of the eyes of the\nworld was gradually reared to womanhood by her father, who gave her the\nname of Kanakarekh\u00e1 suggested by her mother's name Kanakaprabh\u00e1. Once\non a time, when she had grown up, the king, her father, said to the\nqueen Kanakaprabh\u00e1, who came to him in secret: \"A grown up daughter\ncannot be kept in one's house, accordingly Kanakarekh\u00e1 troubles my\nheart with anxiety about a suitable marriage for her. For a maiden of\ngood family, who does not obtain a proper position, is like a song\nout of tune; when heard of by the ears even of one unconnected with\nher, she causes distress. But a daughter, who through folly is made\nover to one not suitable, is like learning imparted to one not fit to\nreceive it, and cannot tend to glory or merit but only to regret. So I\nam very anxious as to what king I must give this daughter of mine to,\nand who will be a fit match for her.\" When Kanakaprabh\u00e1 heard this,\nshe laughed and said,--\"You say this, but your daughter does not\nwish to be married; for to-day when she was playing with a doll and\nmaking believe it was a child, I said to her in fun, 'My daughter,\nwhen shall I see you married?' When she heard that, she answered\nme reproachfully: 'Do not say so, you must not marry me to any one;\nand my separation from you is not appointed, I do well enough as a\nmaiden, but if I am married, know that I shall be a corpse; there is\na certain reason for this.' As she has said this to me I have come\nto you, O king, in a state of distress; for, as she has refused to be\nmarried, what use is there in deliberating about a bridegroom?\" When\nthe king heard this from the queen, he was bewildered, and going\nto the private apartments of the princess he said to his daughter:\n\"When the maidens of the gods and Asuras practise austerities in\norder to obtain a husband, why, my daughter, do you refuse to take\none?' When the princess Kanakarekh\u00e1 heard this speech of her father's,\nshe fixed her eyes on the ground and said, Father, I do not desire to\nbe married at present, so what object has my father in it, and why does\nhe insist upon it?\" That king Paropak\u00e1rin, when his daughter addressed\nhim in that way, being the discreetest of men, thus answered her:\n\"How can sin be avoided unless a daughter is given in marriage? And\nindependence is not fit for a maiden who ought to be in dependence on\nrelations? For a daughter in truth is born for the sake of another\nand is kept for him. The house of her father is not a fit place for\nher except in childhood. For if a daughter reaches puberty unmarried,\nher relations go to hell, and she is an outcast, and her bridegroom is\ncalled the husband of an outcast.\" When her father said this to her,\nthe princess Kanakarekh\u00e1 immediately uttered a speech that was in her\nmind, \"Father, if this is so, then whatever Br\u00e1hman or Kshatriya has\nsucceeded in seeing the city called the Golden City, to him I must\nbe given, and he shall be my husband, and if none such is found,\nyou must not unjustly reproach me.\" When his daughter said that to\nhim, that king reflected: \"It is a good thing at any rate that she\nhas agreed to be married on a certain condition, and no doubt she\nis some goddess born in my house for a special reason, for else how\ncomes she to know so much though she is a child?\" Such were the king's\nreflections at that time: so he said to his daughter, \"I will do as you\nwish,\" and then he rose up and did his day's work. And on the next day,\nas he was sitting in the hall of audience, he said to his courtiers,\n\"Has any one among you seen the city called the Golden City? Whoever\nhas seen it, if he be a Br\u00e1hman or a Kshatriya, I will give him\nmy daughter Kanakarekh\u00e1, and make him crown-prince.\" And they all,\nlooking at one another's faces, said, \"We have not even heard of it,\nmuch less have we seen it.\" Then the king summoned the warder and\nsaid to him, \"Go and cause a proclamation to be circulated in the\nwhole of this town with the beating of drums, and find out if any\none has really seen that city.\" When the warder received this order,\nhe said, \"I will do so,\" and went out; and after he had gone out, he\nimmediately gave orders to the police, and caused a drum to be beaten\nall round the city, thus arousing curiosity to hear the proclamation,\nwhich ran as follows: \"Whatever Br\u00e1hman or Kshatriya youth has seen the\ncity called the Golden City, let him speak, and the king will give him\nhis daughter and the rank of crown-prince.\" Such was the astounding\nannouncement proclaimed all about the town after the drum had been\nbeaten. And the citizens said, after hearing that proclamation:\n\"What is this Golden City that is to-day proclaimed in our town,\nwhich has never been heard of or seen even by those among us who are\nold?\" But not a single one among them said, \"I have seen it.\"\n\nAnd in the meanwhile a Br\u00e1hman living in that town, Saktideva by\nname, the son of Baladeva, heard that proclamation; that youth,\nbeing addicted to vice, had been rapidly stripped of his wealth at the\ngaming-table, and he reflected, being excited by hearing of the giving\nin marriage of the king's daughter: \"As I have lost all my wealth by\ngambling, I cannot now enter the house of my father, nor even the house\nof a het\u00e6ra, so, as I have no resource, it is better for me to assert\nfalsely to those who are making the proclamation by beat of drum,\nthat I have seen that city. Who will discover that I know nothing\nabout it, for who has ever seen it? And in this way I may perhaps\nmarry the princess.\" Thus reflecting Saktideva went to the police, and\nsaid falsely, \"I have seen that city.\" They immediately said to him,\n\"Bravo! then come with us to the king's warder.\" So he went with them\nto the warder. And in the same way he falsely asserted to him that he\nhad seen that city, and he welcomed him kindly, and took him to the\nking. And without wavering he maintained the very same story in the\npresence of the king: what indeed is difficult for a blackleg to do\nwho is ruined by play? Then the king, in order to ascertain the truth,\nsent that Br\u00e1hman to his daughter Kanakarekh\u00e1, and when she heard of\nthe matter from the mouth of the warder, and the Br\u00e1hman came near,\nshe asked him: \"Have you seen that Golden City?\" Then he answered her,\n\"Yes, that city was seen by me when I was roaming through the earth\nin quest of knowledge.\" [372] She next asked him, \"By what road did\nyou go there, and what is it like?\" That Br\u00e1hman then went on to say:\n\"From this place I went to a town called Harapura, and from that I\nnext came to the city of Benares; and from Benares in a few days to the\ncity of Paundravardhana, thence I went to that city called the Golden\nCity, and I saw it, a place of enjoyment for those who act aright,\nlike the city of Indra, the glory of which is made for the delight\nof gods. [373] And having acquired learning there, I returned here\nafter some time; such is the path by which I went, and such is that\ncity.\" After that fraudulent Br\u00e1hman Saktideva had made up this story,\nthe princess said with a laugh;--\"Great Br\u00e1hman, you have indeed seen\nthat city, but tell me, tell me again by what path you went.\" When\nSaktideva heard that, he again displayed his effrontery, and then\nthe princess had him put out by her servants. And immediately after\nputting him out, she went to her father, and her father asked her:\n\"Did that Br\u00e1hman speak the truth?\"--And then the princess said to\nher father: \"Though you are a king you act without due consideration;\ndo you not know that rogues deceive honest people? For that Br\u00e1hman\nsimply wants to impose on me with a falsehood, but the liar has never\nseen the golden city. And all kinds of deceptions are practised on the\nearth by rogues; for listen to the story of Siva and M\u00e1dhava, which I\nwill tell you.\" Having said this, the princess told the following tale:\n\n\n\nStory of Siva and M\u00e1dhava.\n\nThere is an excellent city rightly named Ratnapura, [374] and in it\nthere were two rogues named Siva and M\u00e1dhava. Surrounding themselves\nwith many other rogues, they contrived for a long time to rob, by\nmaking use of trickery, all the rich men in the town. And one day\nthose two deliberated together and said--\"We have managed by this\ntime to plunder this town thoroughly; so let us now go and live in\nthe city of Ujjayin\u00ed; there we hear that there is a very rich man\nnamed Sankarasv\u00e1min, who is chaplain to the king. If we cheat him\nout of his money we may thereby enjoy the charms of the ladies of\nM\u00e1lava. He is spoken of by Br\u00e1hmans as a miser, because he withholds\n[375] half their usual fee with a frowning face, though he possesses\ntreasure enough to fill seven vessels; and that Br\u00e1hman has a pearl\nof a daughter spoken of as matchless, we will manage to get her too\nout of him along with the money.\" Having thus determined, and having\narranged beforehand what part each was to play, the two rogues Siva\nand M\u00e1dhava went out of that town. At last they reached Ujjayin\u00ed,\nand M\u00e1dhava, with his attendants, disguised as a R\u00e1jp\u00fat, remained\nin a certain village outside the town. But Siva, who was expert in\nevery kind of deception, having assumed perfectly the disguise of a\nreligious ascetic, first entered that town alone. There he took up\nhis quarters in a hut on the banks of the Sipr\u00e1, in which he placed,\nso that they could be seen, clay, darbha grass, a vessel for begging,\nand a deer-skin. And in the morning he anointed his body with thick\nclay, as if testing beforehand his destined smearing with the mud of\nthe hell Av\u00edchi. And plunging in the water of the river, he remained\na long time with his head downward, as if rehearsing beforehand his\nfuture descent to hell, the result of his evil actions. And when he\nrose up from his bath, he remained a long time looking up towards\nthe sun, as if shewing that he deserved to be impaled. Then he went\ninto the presence of the god and making rings of Kusa grass, [376]\nand muttering prayers, he remained sitting in the posture called\nPadm\u00e1sana, [377] with a hypocritical cunning face, and from time to\ntime he made an offering to Vishnu, having gathered white flowers,\neven as he took captive the simple hearts of the good by his villainy;\nand having made his offering he again pretended to betake himself to\nmuttering his prayers, and prolonged his meditations as if fixing his\nattention on wicked ways. And the next day, clothed in the skin of a\nblack antelope, he wandered about the city in quest of alms, like one\nof his own deceitful leers intended to beguile it, and observing a\nstrict silence he took three handfuls of rice from Br\u00e1hmans' houses,\nstill equipped with stick and deer-skin, and divided the food into\nthree parts like the three divisions of the day, and part he gave to\nthe crows, and part to his guest, and with the third part he filled\nhis maw; and he remained for a long time hypocritically telling his\nbeads, as if he were counting his sins at the same time, and muttering\nprayers; and in the night he remained alone in his hut, thinking over\nthe weak points of his fellow-men, even the smallest; and by thus\nperforming every day a difficult pretended penance he gained complete\nascendancy over the minds of the citizens in every quarter. And all\nthe people became devoted to him, and a report spread among them in\nevery direction that Siva was an exceedingly self-denying hermit.\n\nAnd in the meanwhile his accomplice, the other rogue M\u00e1dhava, having\nheard from his emissaries how he was getting on, entered that city;\nand taking up his abode there in a distant temple, he went to the\nbank of the Sipr\u00e1 to bathe, disguised as a R\u00e1jp\u00fat, and after bathing,\nas he was returning with his retinue, he saw Siva praying in front\nof the god, and with great veneration he fell at his feet, and said\nbefore all the people, \"There is no other such ascetic in the world,\nfor he has been often seen by me going round from one holy place to\nanother.\" But Siva, though he saw him, kept his neck immoveable out\nof cunning, and remained in the same position as before, and M\u00e1dhava\nreturned to his own lodging. And at night those two met together\nand ate and drank, and deliberated over the rest of their programme,\nwhat they must do next. And in the last watch of the night Siva went\nback leisurely to his hut. And in the morning M\u00e1dhava said to one\nof his gang, \"Take these two garments and give them as a present to\nthe domestic chaplain of the king here, who is called Sankarasv\u00e1min,\nand say to him respectfully: 'There is a R\u00e1jp\u00fat come from the Deccan\nof the name of M\u00e1dhava, who has been oppressed by his relations, and\nhe brings with him much inherited wealth; he is accompanied by some\nother R\u00e1jp\u00fats like himself, and he wishes to enter into the service of\nyour king here, and he has sent me to visit you, O treasure-house of\nglory.'\" The rogue, who was sent off by M\u00e1dhava with this message, went\nto the house of that chaplain with the present in his hand, and after\napproaching him, and giving him the present at a favourable moment, he\ndelivered to him in private M\u00e1dhava's message, as he had been ordered;\nhe, for his part, out of his greed for presents, believed it all,\nanticipating other favours in the future, for a bribe is the sovereign\nspecific for attracting the covetous. The rogue then came back, and\non the next day M\u00e1dhava, having obtained a favourable opportunity,\nwent in person to visit that chaplain, accompanied by attendants,\nwho hypocritically assumed the appearance of men desiring service,\n[378] passing themselves off as R\u00e1jp\u00fats, distinguished by the maces\nthey carried; he had himself announced by an attendant preceding\nhim, and thus he approached the family priest, who received him with\nwelcomes which expressed his delight at his arrival. Then M\u00e1dhava\nremained engaged in conversation with him for some time, and at last\nbeing dismissed by him, returned to his own house. On the next day he\nsent another couple of garments as a present, and again approached\nthat chaplain and said to him, \"I indeed wish to enter into service\nto please my retainers, for that reason I have repaired to you,\nbut I possess wealth.\" When the chaplain heard that, he hoped to get\nsomething out of him, and he promised M\u00e1dhava to procure for him what\nhe desired, and he immediately went and petitioned the king on this\naccount, and, out of respect for the chaplain, the king consented to do\nwhat he asked. And on the next day the family priest took M\u00e1dhava and\nhis retinue, and presented them to the king with all due respect. The\nking too, when he saw that M\u00e1dhava resembled a R\u00e1jp\u00fat in appearance,\nreceived him graciously and appointed him a salary. Then M\u00e1dhava\nremained there in attendance upon the king, and every night he met\nSiva to deliberate with him. And the chaplain entreated him to live\nwith him in his house, out of avarice, as he was intent on presents.\n\nThen M\u00e1dhava with his followers repaired to the house of the chaplain;\nthis settlement was the cause of the chaplain's ruin, as that of\nthe mouse in the trunk of the tree was the cause of its ruin. And he\ndeposited a safe in the strong room of the chaplain, after filling it\nwith ornaments made of false gems. And from time to time he opened the\nbox and by cunningly half-shewing some of the jewels, he captivated\nthe mind of the chaplain as that of a cow is captivated by grass. And\nwhen he had gained in this way the confidence of the chaplain, he made\nhis body emaciated by taking little food, and falsely pretended that\nhe was ill. And after a few days had passed, that prince of rogues\nsaid with weak voice to that chaplain, who was at his bedside;\n\"My condition is miserable in this body, so bring, good Br\u00e1hman,\nsome distinguished man of your caste, in order that I may bestow my\nwealth upon him for my happiness here and hereafter, for, life being\nunstable, what care can a wise man have for riches?\" That chaplain,\nwho was devoted to presents, when addressed in this way, said,\n\"I will do so,\" and M\u00e1dhava fell at his feet. Then whatever Br\u00e1hman\nthe chaplain brought, M\u00e1dhava refused to receive, pretending that\nhe wanted a more distinguished one. One of the rogues in attendance\nupon M\u00e1dhava, when he saw this, said--\"Probably an ordinary Br\u00e1hman\ndoes not please him. So it will be better now to find out whether\nthe strict ascetic on the banks of Sipr\u00e1 named Siva pleases him or\nnot?\" When M\u00e1dhava heard that, he said plaintively to that chaplain:\n\"Yes, be kind, and bring him, for there is no other Br\u00e1hman like him.\"\n\nThe chaplain, thus entreated, went near Siva, and beheld him\nimmoveable, pretending to be engaged in meditation. And then he walked\nround him, keeping him on his right hand, and sat down in front of\nhim: and immediately the rascal slowly opened his eyes. Then the\nfamily priest, bending before him, said with bowed head,--\"My Lord,\nif it will not make you angry, I will prefer a petition to you. There\nis dwelling here a very rich R\u00e1jp\u00fat from the Deccan, named M\u00e1dhava,\nand he, being ill, is desirous of giving away his whole property:\nif you consent, he will give you that treasure which glitters with\nmany ornaments made out of priceless gems.\" When Siva heard that, he\nslowly broke silence, and said,--\"O Br\u00e1hman, since I live on alms, and\nobserve perpetual chastity, of what use are riches to me?\" Then that\nchaplain went on to say to him, \"Do not say that, great Br\u00e1hman, do you\nnot know the due order of the periods in the life of a Br\u00e1hman? [379]\nBy marrying a wife, and performing in his house offerings to the Manes,\nsacrifices to the gods and hospitality to guests, he uses his property\nto obtain the three objects of life; [380] the stage of the householder\nis the most useful of all.\" Then Siva said, \"How can I take a wife,\nfor I will not marry a woman from any low family?\" When the covetous\nchaplain heard that, he thought that he would be able to enjoy his\nwealth at will, and, catching at the opportunity, he said to him:\n\"I have an unmarried daughter named Vinayasv\u00e1min\u00ed, and she is very\nbeautiful, I will bestow her in marriage on you. And I will keep for\nyou all the wealth which you receive as a donation from M\u00e1dhava, so\nenter on the duties of a householder.\" When Siva heard this, having\ngot the very thing he wanted, he said, \"Br\u00e1hman, if your heart is\nset on this, [381] I will do what you say. But I am an ascetic who\nknows nothing about gold and jewels: I shall act as you advise; do\nas you think best.\" When the chaplain heard that speech of Siva's,\nhe was delighted, and the fool said, \"Agreed\"--and conducted Siva\nto his house. And when he had introduced there that inauspicious\nguest named Siva, [382] he told M\u00e1dhava what he had done and was\napplauded by him. And immediately he gave Siva his daughter, who\nhad been carefully brought up, and in giving her he seemed to be\ngiving away his own prosperity lost by his folly. And on the third\nday after his marriage, he took him to M\u00e1dhava who was pretending to\nbe ill, to receive his present. And M\u00e1dhava rose up and fell at his\nfeet and said what was quite true, \"I adore thee whose asceticism is\nincomprehensible.\" [383] And in accordance with the prescribed form\nhe bestowed on Siva that box of ornaments made of many sham jewels,\nwhich was brought from the chaplain's treasury. Siva for his part,\nafter receiving it, gave it into the hand of the chaplain, saying,\n\"I know nothing about this, but you do.\" And that priest immediately\ntook it, saying, \"I undertook to do this long ago, why should you\ntrouble yourself about it?\" Then Siva gave them his blessing, and\nwent to his wife's private apartments, and the chaplain took the\nbox and put it in his strong room. M\u00e1dhava for his part gradually\ndesisted from feigning sickness, affecting to feel better the next\nday, and said that his disease had been cured by virtue of his great\ngift. And he praised the chaplain when he came near, saying to him,\n\"It was by your aiding me in an act of faith that I tided over this\ncalamity.\" And he openly struck up a friendship with Siva, asserting\nthat it was due to the might of Siva's holiness that his life had\nbeen saved. Siva, for his part, after some days said to the chaplain:\n\"How long am I to feast in your house in this style? Why do you not\ntake from me those jewels for some fixed sum of money? If they are\nvaluable, give me a fair price for them.\" When the priest heard that,\nthinking that the jewels were of incalculable value, he consented,\nand gave to Siva as purchase-money his whole living. And he made\nSiva sign a receipt for the sum with his own hand, and he himself\ntoo signed a receipt for the jewels, thinking that that treasure\nfar exceeded his own wealth in value. And they separated, taking one\nanother's receipts, and the chaplain lived in one place, while Siva\nkept house in another. And then Siva and M\u00e1dhava dwelt together and\nremained there leading a very pleasant life consuming the chaplain's\nwealth. And as time went on, that chaplain, being in need of cash,\nwent to the town to sell one of the ornaments in the bazar.\n\nThen the merchants, who were connoisseurs in jewels, said after\nexamining it, \"Ha! the man who made these sham jewels was a clever\nfellow, whoever he was. For this ornament is composed of pieces of\nglass and quartz coloured with various colours and fastened together\nwith brass, and there are no gems or gold in it.\" When the chaplain\nheard that, he went in his agitation and brought all the ornaments from\nhis house, and showed them to the merchants. When they saw them, they\nsaid that all of them were composed of sham jewels in the same way; but\nthe chaplain, when he heard that, was, so to speak, thunderstruck. And\nimmediately the fool went off and said to Siva, \"Take back your\nornaments and give me back my own wealth.\" But Siva answered him,\n\"How can I possibly have retained your wealth till now? Why it has\nall in course of time been consumed in my house.\" Then the chaplain\nand Siva fell into an altercation, and went, both of them, before\nthe king, at whose side M\u00e1dhava was standing. And the chaplain made\nthis representation to the king: \"Siva has consumed all my substance,\ntaking advantage of my not knowing that a great treasure, which he\ndeposited in my house, [384] was composed of skilfully coloured pieces\nof glass and quartz fastened together with brass.\" Then Siva said,\n\"King, from my childhood I have been a hermit, and I was persuaded by\nthat man's earnest petition to accept a donation, and when I took it,\nthough inexperienced in the ways of the world, I said to him, 'I am no\nconnoisseur in jewels and things of that kind, and I rely upon you,'\nand he consented saying, 'I will be your warrant in the matter.' And\nI accepted all the donation and deposited it in his hand. Then he\nbought the whole from me at his own price, and we hold from one another\nmutual receipts; and now it is in the king's power to grant me help in\nmy sorest need.\" Siva having thus finished his speech, M\u00e1dhava said,\n\"Do not say this, you are honourable, but what fault have I committed\nin the matter? I never received anything either from you or from Siva;\nI had some wealth inherited from my father, which I had long deposited\nelsewhere; then I brought that wealth and presented it to a Br\u00e1hman. If\nthe gold is not real gold, and the jewels are not real jewels, then let\nus suppose that I have reaped fruit from giving away brass, quartz,\nand glass. But the fact that I was persuaded with sincere heart that\nI was giving something, is clear from this, that I recovered from a\nvery dangerous illness.\" When M\u00e1dhava said this to him without any\nalteration in the expression of his face, the king laughed and all\nhis ministers, and they were highly delighted. And those present in\ncourt said, laughing in their sleeves, \"Neither M\u00e1dhava nor Siva has\ndone anything unfair.\" Thereupon that chaplain departed with downcast\ncountenance, having lost his wealth. For of what calamities is not the\nblinding of the mind with excessive greed the cause? And so those two\nrogues Siva and M\u00e1dhava long remained there, happy in having obtained\nthe favour of the delighted king.\n\n\"Thus do rogues spread the webs of their tongue with hundreds of\nintricate threads, like fishermen upon dry land, living by the net. So\nyou may be certain, my father, that this Br\u00e1hman is a case in point. By\nfalsely asserting that he has seen the City of Gold, he wishes to\ndeceive you, and to obtain me for a wife. So do not be in a hurry\nto get me married; I shall remain unmarried at present, and we will\nsee what will happen.\" When the king Paropak\u00e1rin heard this from his\ndaughter Kanakarekh\u00e1, he thus answered her: \"When a girl is grown up,\nit is not expedient that she should remain long unmarried, for wicked\npeople envious of good qualities, falsely impute sin. And people are\nparticularly fond of blackening the character of one distinguished;\nto illustrate this, listen to the story of Harasv\u00e1min which I am\nabout to tell you.\"\n\n\n\nStory of Harasv\u00e1min. [385]\n\nThere is a city on the banks of the Ganges named Kusumapura,\n[386] and in it there was an ascetic who visited holy places, named\nHarasv\u00e1min. He was a Br\u00e1hman living by begging; and constructing a hut\non the banks of the Ganges, he became, on account of his surprisingly\nrigid asceticism, the object of the people's respect. [387] And one day\na wicked man among the inhabitants, who could not tolerate his virtue,\nseeing him from a distance going out to beg, said, \"Do you know what\na hypocritical ascetic that is? It is he that has eaten up all the\nchildren in this town.\" When a second there who was like him, heard\nthis, he said, \"It is true, I also have heard people saying this.\" And\na third confirming it said, \"Such is the fact.\" The chain of villains'\nconversation binds reproach on the good. And in this way the report\nspread from ear to ear, and gained general credence in the city. And\nall the citizens kept their children by force in their houses, saying,\n\"Harasv\u00e1min carries off all the children and eats them.\" And then the\nBr\u00e1hmans in that town, afraid that their offspring would be destroyed,\nassembled and deliberated about his banishment from the city. And\nas they did not dare to tell him face to face, for fear he might\nperhaps eat them up in his rage, they sent messengers to him. And\nthose messengers went and said to him from a distance; \"The Br\u00e1hmans\ncommand you to depart from this city.\" Then in his astonishment he\nasked them \"Why?\" And they went on to say; \"You eat every child as\nsoon as you see it.\" When Harasv\u00e1min heard that, he went near those\nBr\u00e1hmans, in order to reassure them, and the people fled before him\nfor fear. And the Br\u00e1hmans, as soon as they saw him, were terrified\nand went up to the top of their monastery. People who are deluded by\nreports are not, as a rule, capable of discrimination. Then Harasv\u00e1min\nstanding below called all the Br\u00e1hmans who were above, one by one,\nby name, and said to them, \"What delusion is this, Br\u00e1hmans? Why do\nyou not ascertain with one another how many children I have eaten,\nand whose, and how many of each man's children.\" When they heard that,\nthe Br\u00e1hmans began to compare notes among themselves, and found that\nall of them had all their children left alive. And in course of time\nother citizens, appointed to investigate the matter, admitted that all\ntheir children were living. And merchants and Br\u00e1hmans and all said,\n\"Alas in our folly we have belied a holy man; the children of all\nof us are alive; so whose children can he have eaten?\" Harasv\u00e1min,\nbeing thus completely exonerated, prepared to leave that city, for his\nmind was seized with disgust at the slanderous report got up against\nhim by wicked men. For what pleasure can a wise man take in a wicked\nplace, the inhabitants of which are wanting in discrimination? Then\nthe Br\u00e1hmans and merchants, prostrating themselves at his feet,\nentreated him to stay there, and he at last, though with reluctance,\nconsented to do so.\n\n\"In this way evil men often impute crime falsely to good men,\nallowing their malicious garrulity full play on beholding their\nvirtuous behaviour. Much more, if they obtain a slight glimpse of\nany opportunity for attacking them, do they pour copious showers of\noil on the fire thus kindled. Therefore if you wish, my daughter,\nto draw the arrow from my heart, you must not, while this fresh youth\nof yours is developing, remain unmarried to please yourself, and so\nincur the ready reproach of evil men.\" Such was the advice which\nthe princess Kanakarekh\u00e1 frequently received from her father the\nking, but she, being firmly resolved, again and again answered him:\n\"Therefore quickly search for a Br\u00e1hman or Kshatriya who has seen\nthat City of Gold and give me to him, for this is the condition I\nhave named.\" When the king heard that, reflecting that his daughter,\nwho remembered her former birth, had completely made up her mind,\nand seeing no other way of obtaining for her the husband she desired,\nhe issued another order to the effect that henceforth the proclamation\nby beat of drum was to take place every day in the city, in order to\nfind out whether any of the newcomers had seen the Golden City. And\nonce more it was proclaimed in every quarter of the city every day,\nafter the drum had been beaten,--\"If any Br\u00e1hman or Kshatriya has\nseen the Golden City, let him speak; the king will give him his own\ndaughter, together with the rank of Crown-prince.\" But no one was\nfound who had obtained a sight of the Golden City.\n\n\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XXV.\n\n\nIn the meanwhile the young Br\u00e1hman Saktideva, in very low spirits,\nhaving been rejected with contempt by the princess he longed for,\nsaid to himself; \"To-day by asserting falsely that I had seen the\nGolden City, I certainly incurred contempt, but I did not obtain that\nprincess. So I must roam through the earth to find it, until I have\neither seen that city or lost my life. For of what use is my life,\nunless I can return having seen that city, and obtain the princess as\nthe prize of the achievement?\" Having thus taken a vow, that Br\u00e1hman\nset out from the city of Vardham\u00e1na, directing his course toward the\nsouthern quarter, and as he journeyed, he at last reached the great\nforest of the Vindhya range, and entered it, which was difficult and\nlong as his own undertaking. And that forest, so to speak, fanned,\nwith the soft leaves of its trees shaken by the wind, him, who\nwas heated by the multitudinous rays of the sun; and through grief\nat being overrun with many robbers, it made its cry heard day and\nnight in the shrill screams of animals which were being slain in it\nby lions and other noisome beasts. And it seemed, by the unchecked\nrays of heat flashed upward from its wild deserts, to endeavour\nto conquer the fierce brightness of the sun: in it, though there\nwas no accumulation of water, calamity was to be easily purchased:\n[388] and its space seemed ever to extend before the traveller as\nfast as he crossed it. In the course of many days he accomplished\na long journey through this forest, and beheld in it a great lake\nof cold pure water in a lonely spot: which seemed to lord it over\nall lakes, with its lotuses like lofty umbrellas, and its swans like\ngleaming white chowries. In the water of that lake he performed the\ncustomary ablutions, and on its northern shore he beheld a hermitage\nwith beautiful fruit-bearing trees: and he saw an old hermit named\nS\u00faryatapas sitting at the foot of an Asvattha tree, surrounded by\nascetics, adorned with a rosary, the beads of which by their number\nseemed to be the knots that marked the centuries of his life, [389]\nand which rested against the extremity of his ear that was white with\nage. And he approached that hermit with a bow, and the hermit welcomed\nhim with hospitable greetings. And the hermit, after entertaining\nhim with fruits and other delicacies, asked him, \"Whence have you\ncome, and whither are you going? Tell me, good sir.\" And Saktideva\ninclining respectfully, said to that hermit,--\"I have come, venerable\nsir, from the city of Vardham\u00e1na, and I have undertaken to go to the\nGolden City in accordance with a vow. But I do not know where that\ncity lies; tell me venerable sir, if you know.\" The hermit answered,\n\"My son, I have lived eight hundred years in this hermitage, and I have\nnever even heard of that city.\" Saktideva when he heard this from the\nhermit, was cast down, and said again--\"Then my wanderings through the\nearth will end by my dying here.\" Then that hermit, having gradually\nelicited the whole story said to him, \"If you are firmly resolved,\nthen do what I tell you. Three yojanas from here there is a country\nnamed K\u00e1mpilya, and in it is a mountain named Uttara, and on it there\nis a hermitage. There dwells my noble elder brother named D\u00edrghatapas;\n[390] go to him, he being old may perhaps know of that city.\" When\nSaktideva heard that, hope arose in his breast, and having spent the\nnight there he quickly set out in the morning from that place. And\nwearied with the laborious journey through difficult forest country,\nhe at last reached that region of K\u00e1mpilya and ascended that mountain\nUttara; and there he beheld that hermit D\u00edrghatapas in a hermitage,\nand he was delighted and approached him with a bow: and the hermit\nreceived him hospitably: and Saktideva said to him, \"I am on my way to\nthe City of Gold spoken of by the king's daughter: but I do not know,\nvenerable sir, where that city is. However I am bound to find it,\nso I have been sent to you by the sage S\u00faryatapas in order that I may\ndiscover where it lies.\" When he had said this, the hermit answered\nhim, \"Though I am so old, my son, I have never heard of that city\ntill to-day; I have made acquaintance with various travellers from\nforeign lands, and I have never heard any one speak of it; much less\nhave I seen it. But I am sure it must be in some distant foreign\nisland, and I can tell you an expedient to help you in this matter;\nthere is in the midst of the ocean an island named Utsthala, and in\nit there is a rich king of the Nish\u00e1das [391] named Satyavrata. He\ngoes to and fro among all the other islands, and he may have seen or\nheard of that city. Therefore first go to the city named Vitankapura\nsituated on the border of the sea. And from that place go with some\nmerchant in a ship to the island where that Nish\u00e1da dwells, in order\nthat you may attain your object.\" When Saktideva heard this from\nthe hermit, he immediately followed his advice, and taking leave\nof him set out from the hermitage. And after accomplishing many\nkos and crossing many lands, he reached the city of Vitankapura,\nthe ornament of the sea-shore. There he sought out a merchant named\nSamudradatta, who traded with the island of Utsthala, and struck up\na friendship with him. And he went on board his ship with him, and\nhaving food for the voyage fully supplied by his kindness, he set\nout on the ocean-path. Then, when they had but a short distance to\ntravel, there arose a black cloud with rumbling thunder, resembling a\nroaring R\u00e1kshasa, with flickering lightning to represent his lolling\ntongue. And a furious hurricane began to blow like Destiny herself,\nwhirling up light objects and hurling down heavy. [392] And from the\nsea, lashed by the wind, great waves rose aloft like the mountains\nequipped with wings, [393] indignant that their asylum had been\nattacked. And that vessel rose on high one moment, and the next moment\nplunged below, as if exhibiting how rich men are first elevated and\nthen cast down. And the next moment that ship, shrilly laden with\nthe cries of the merchants, burst and split asunder as if with the\nweight. And the ship being broken, that merchant its owner fell into\nthe sea, but floating through it on a plank he at last reached another\nvessel. But as Saktideva fell, a large fish, opening its mouth and\nneck, swallowed him without injuring any of his limbs. And as that\nfish was roaming at will in the midst of the sea, it happened to pass\nnear the island of Utsthala; and by chance some servants of that\nking of the fishermen Satyavrata, who were engaged in the pursuit\nof small fish, came there and caught it. And those fishermen, proud\nof their prize, immediately dragged it along to shew to their king,\nfor it was of enormous size. He too, out of curiosity, seeing that it\nwas of such extraordinary size, ordered his servants to cut it open;\nand when it was cut open, Saktideva came out alive from its belly,\nhaving endured a second wonderful imprisonment in the womb. [394]\nThen the fisher-king Satyavrata, when he saw that young man come\nout and bestow his blessing on him, was astonished, and asked him,\n\"Who are you, and how did this lot of dwelling in the belly of the\nfish befall you? What means this exceedingly strange fate that you\nhave suffered.\" When Saktideva heard this, he answered that king of\nthe fishermen: \"I am a Br\u00e1hman of the name of Saktideva from the city\nof Vardham\u00e1na; and I am bound to visit the City of Gold, and because\nI do not know where it is, I have for a long time wandered far over\nthe earth; then I gathered from a speech of D\u00edrghatapas' that it was\nprobably in an island, so I set out to find Satyavrata the king of\nthe fishermen, who lives in the island of Utsthala, in order to learn\nits whereabouts, but on the way I suffered shipwreck, and so having\nbeen whelmed in the sea and swallowed by a fish, I have been brought\nhere now.\" When Saktideva had said this, Satyavrata said to him: \"I\nam in truth Satyavrata, and this is the very island you were seeking;\nbut though I have seen many islands, I have never seen the city you\ndesire to find, but I have heard of it as situated in one of the\ndistant islands.\" Having said this, and perceiving that Saktideva was\ncast down, Satyavrata out of kindness for his guest went on to say:\n\"Br\u00e1hman, do not be despondent; remain here this night, and to-morrow\nmorning I will devise some expedient to enable you to attain your\nobject.\" The Br\u00e1hman was thus consoled by the king, and sent off to a\nmonastery of Br\u00e1hmans, where guests were readily entertained. There\nSaktideva was supplied with food by a Br\u00e1hman named Vishnudatta, an\ninmate of the monastery, and entered into conversation with him. And in\nthe course of that conversation, being questioned by him, he told him\nin a few words his country, his family, and his whole history. When\nVishnudatta heard that, he immediately embraced him, and said in a\nvoice indistinct from the syllables being choked with tears of joy:\n\"Bravo! you are the son of my maternal uncle and a fellow-countryman of\nmine. But I long ago in my childhood left that country to come here. So\nstop here awhile, and soon the stream of merchants and pilots that\ncome here from other islands will accomplish your wish.\" Having told\nhim his descent in these words, Vishnudatta waited upon Saktideva with\nall becoming attentions. And Saktideva, forgetting the toil of the\njourney, obtained delight, for the meeting a relation in a foreign\nland is like a fountain of nectar in the desert. And he considered\nthat the accomplishment of his object was near at hand, for good luck,\nbefalling one by the way indicates success in an undertaking. So he\nreclined at night sleepless upon his bed, with his mind fixed upon\nthe attainment of his desire, and Vishnudatta, who was by his side,\nin order to encourage and delight him at the same time, related to\nhim the following tale:\n\n\n\nStory of Asokadatta and Vijayadatta. [395]\n\nFormerly there was a great Br\u00e1hman named Govindasv\u00e1min, living on a\ngreat royal grant of land on the banks of the Yamun\u00e1. And in course of\ntime there were born to that virtuous Br\u00e1hman two sons like himself,\nAsokadatta and Vijayadatta. While they were living there, there arose a\nterrible famine in that land, and so Govindasv\u00e1min said to his wife;\n\"This land is ruined by famine, and I cannot bear to behold the misery\nof my friends and relations. For who gives anything to anybody? So\nlet us at any rate give away to our friends and relations what\nlittle food we possess and leave this country. And let us go with\nour family to Benares to live there.\" When he said this to his wife,\nshe consented, and he gave away his food, and set out from that place\nwith his wife, sons, and servants. For men of noble soul cannot bear\nto witness the miseries of their relatives. And on the road he beheld\na skull-bearing Saiva ascetic, white with ashes, and with matted hair,\nlike the god Siva himself with his half-moon. The Br\u00e1hman approached\nthat wise man with a bow, and out of love for his sons, asked him\nabout their destiny, whether it should be good or bad, and that Yog\u00ed\nanswered him: \"The future destiny of your sons is auspicious, but you\nshall be separated, Br\u00e1hman, from this younger one Vijayadatta, and\nfinally by the might of the second Asokadatta you shall be reunited\nto him.\" Govindasv\u00e1min, when that wise man said this to him, took\nleave of him and departed overpowered with joy, grief, and wonder;\nand after reaching Benares he spent the day there in a temple of\nDurg\u00e1 outside the town, engaged in worshipping the goddess and\nsuch like occupations. And in the evening he encamped outside that\ntemple under a tree, with his family, in the company of pilgrims who\nhad come from other countries. And at night, while all were asleep,\nwearied with their long journey, stretched out on strewn leaves, and,\nsuch other beds as travellers have to put up with, his younger son\nVijayadatta, who was awake, was suddenly seized with a cold ague-fit;\nthat ague quickly made him tremble, and caused his hair to stand on\nend, as if it had been the fear of his approaching separation from\nhis relations. And oppressed with the cold he woke up his father,\nand said to him: \"A terrible ague afflicts me here now, father, so\nbring fuel and light me a fire to keep off the cold, in no other way\ncan I obtain relief or get through the night.\" When Govindasv\u00e1min\nheard him say this, he was distressed at his suffering, and said\nto him; \"Whence can I procure fire now my son?\" Then his son said;\n\"Why surely we may see a fire burning near us on this side, and it\nis very large, so why should I not go there and warm my body? So take\nme by the hand, for I have a shivering fit, and lead me there.\" Thus\nentreated by his son the Br\u00e1hman went on to say: \"This is a cemetery,\n[396] and the fire is that of a funeral pyre, so how can you go to a\nplace terrible from the presence of goblins and other spirits, for you\nare only a child?\" When the brave Vijayadatta heard that speech of his\naffectionate father's, he laughed and said in his confidence, \"What can\nthe wretched goblins and other evil ones do to me? Am I a weakling? So\ntake me there without fear.\" When he said this so persistently, his\nfather led him there, and the boy warming his body approached the pyre,\nwhich seemed to bear on itself the presiding deity of the R\u00e1kshasas\nin visible form, with the smoke of the flames for dishevelled hair,\ndevouring the flesh of men. The boy at once encouraged his father\n[397] and asked him what the round thing was that he saw inside the\npyre. And his father standing at his side, answered him, \"This, my son,\nis the skull of a man which is burning in the pyre.\" Then the boy in\nhis recklessness struck the skull with a piece of wood lighted at the\ntop, and clove it. The brains spouted up from it and entered his mouth,\nlike the initiation into the practices of the R\u00e1kshasas, bestowed\nupon him by the funeral flame. And by tasting them that boy became\na R\u00e1kshasa, with hair standing on end, with sword that he had drawn\nfrom the flame, terrible with projecting tusks: so he seized the skull\nand drinking the brains from it, he licked it with tongue restlessly\nquivering like the flames of fire that clung to the bone. Then be flung\naside the skull, and lifting his sword he attempted to slay his own\nfather Govindasv\u00e1min. But at that moment a voice came out from the\ncemetery, \"Kap\u00e1lasphota, [398] thou god, thou oughtest not to slay\nthy father, come here.\" When the boy heard that, having obtained\nthe title of Kap\u00e1lasphota and become a R\u00e1kshasa, he let his father\nalone, and disappeared; and his father departed exclaiming aloud,\n\"Alas my son! Alas my virtuous son! Alas Vijayadatta!\" And he returned\nto the temple of Durg\u00e1; and in the morning he told his wife and his\neldest son Asokadatta what had taken place. Then that unfortunate man\ntogether with them suffered an attack of the fire of grief, terrible\nlike the falling of lightning from a cloud, so that the other people,\nwho were sojourning in Benares, and had come to visit the shrine of the\ngoddess, came up to him and sympathised heartily with his sorrow. In\nthe meanwhile a great merchant, who had come to worship the goddess,\nnamed Samudradatta, beheld Govindasv\u00e1min in that state. The good man\napproached him and comforted him, and immediately took him and his\nfamily home to his own house. And there he provided him with a bath\nand other luxuries, for this is the innate tendency of the great, to\nhave mercy upon the wretched. Govindasv\u00e1min also and his wife recovered\ntheir self-command, having heard [399] the speech of the great Saiva\nascetic, hoping to be re-united to their son. And thenceforth he lived\nin that city of Benares, in the house of that rich merchant, having\nbeen asked by him to do so. And there his other son Asokadatta grew\nup to be a young man, and after studying the sciences learnt boxing\nand wrestling. And gradually he attained such eminence in these arts,\nthat he was not surpassed by any champion on the earth. And once on a\ntime there was a great gathering of wrestlers at an idol procession,\nand a great and famous wrestler came from the Deccan. He conquered\nall the other wrestlers of the king of Benares, who was called\nPrat\u00e1pamukuta, before his eyes. Then the king had Asokadatta quickly\nsummoned from the house of that excellent merchant, and ordered him to\ncontend with that wrestler. That wrestler began the combat by catching\nthe arm of Asokadatta with his hand, but Asokadatta seized his arm,\nand hurled him to the ground. Then the field of combat, as it were,\npleased, applauded the victor with the resounding noise produced by the\nfall of that champion wrestler. And the king being gratified, loaded\nAsokadatta with jewels, and having seen his might, he made him his own\npersonal attendant. So he became a favourite of the king's, and in time\nattained great prosperity, for to one who possesses heroic qualities,\na king who appreciates merit is a perfect treasure-house. Once\non a time, that king went on the fourteenth day of the month away\nfrom his capital, to worship the god Siva in a splendid temple in a\ndistant town. After he had paid his devotions, he was returning by\nnight near the cemetery when he heard this utterance issue from it:\n\"O king, the chief magistrate out of private malice proclaimed that I\ndeserved death, and it is now the third day since I was impaled, and\neven now my life will not leave my body, though I am innocent, so I am\nexceedingly thirsty; O king, order water to be given me.\" When the king\nheard it, out of pity he said to his personal attendant Asokadatta,\n\"Send that man some water.\" Then Asokadatta said, \"Who would go there\nat night? So I had better go myself.\" Accordingly he took the water,\nand set off. After the king had proceeded on his way to his capital,\nthe hero entered that cemetery, the interior of which was difficult to\npenetrate, as it was filled with dense darkness within; in it there\nwere awful evening oblations offered with the human flesh scattered\nabout by the jackals; in places the cemetery was lighted up by the\nflaming beacons of the blazing funeral pyres, and in it the Vet\u00e1las\nmade terrible music with the clapping of their hands, so that it\nseemed as if it were the palace of black night. Then he cried aloud,\n\"Who asked the king for water?\" And he heard from one quarter an\nanswer, \"I asked for it.\" Following the voice he went to a funeral\npyre near, and beheld a man impaled on the top of a stake, and\nunderneath it he saw a woman that he had never seen before, weeping,\nadorned with beautiful ornaments, lovely in every limb; like the night\nadorned with the rays of the moon, now that the moon itself had set,\nits splendour having waned in the dark fortnight, come to worship\nthe funeral pyre. He asked the woman: \"Who are you, mother, and why\nare you standing weeping here?\" She answered him, \"I am the ill-fated\nwife of him who is here impaled, and I am waiting here with the firm\nintention of ascending the funeral pyre with him. And I am waiting some\ntime for his life to leave his body, for though it is the third day\nof his impalement, his breath does not depart. And he often asks for\nthat water which I have brought here, but I cannot reach his mouth,\nmy friend, as the stake is high.\" When he heard that speech of hers,\nthe mighty hero said to her: \"But here is water in my hand sent to\nhim by the king, so place your foot on my back and lift it to his\nmouth, for the mere touching of another man in sore need does not\ndisgrace a woman.\" When she heard that, she consented, and taking\nthe water she climbed up so as to plant her two feet on the back\nof Asokadatta, who bent down at the foot of the stake. Soon after,\nas drops of blood unexpectedly began to fall upon the earth and on\nhis back, the hero lifted up his face and looked. Then he saw that\nwoman cutting off slice after slice of that impaled man's flesh with\na knife, and eating it. [400]\n\nThen, perceiving that she was some horrible demon, [401] he dragged\nher down in a rage, and took hold of her by her foot with its\ntinkling anklets in order to dash her to pieces on the earth. She,\nfor her part, dragged away from him that foot, and by her deluding\npower quickly flew up into the heaven, and became invisible. And\nthe jewelled anklet, which had fallen from her foot, while she was\ndragging it away, remained in one of Asokadatta's hands. Then he,\nreflecting that she had disappeared after shewing herself mild at\nfirst, and evil-working in the middle, and at the end horror-striking\nby assuming a terrible form, like association with wicked men,--and\nseeing that heavenly anklet in his hand, was astonished, grieved and\ndelighted at the same time; and then he left that cemetery, taking\nthe anklet with him, and went to his own house, and in the morning,\nafter bathing, to the palace of the king.\n\nAnd when the king said--\"Did you give the water to the man who was\nimpaled,\" he said he had done so, and gave him that anklet; and when\nthe king of his own accord asked him where it came from, he told\nthat king his wonderful and terrible night-adventure. And then the\nking, perceiving that his courage was superior to that of all men,\nthough he was before pleased with his other excellent qualities,\nwas now more exceedingly delighted; and he took that anklet in his\njoy and gave it with his own hand to the queen, and described to\nher the way in which he had obtained it. And she, hearing the story\nand beholding that heavenly jewelled anklet, rejoiced in her heart\nand was continually engaged in extolling Asokadatta. Then the king\nsaid to her: \"Queen, in birth, in learning, in truthfulness and\nbeauty Asokadatta is great among the great; and I think it would be\na good thing if he were to become the husband of our lovely daughter\nMadanalekh\u00e1; in a bridegroom these qualities are to be looked for,\nnot fortune that vanishes in a moment, so I will give my daughter to\nthis excellent hero.\" When she heard that speech of her husband's,\nthat queen approving the proposal said, \"It is quite fitting, for the\nyouth will be an appropriate match for her, and her heart has been\ncaptivated by him, for she saw him in a spring-garden, and for some\ndays her mind has been in a state of vacancy and she neither hears\nnor sees; I heard of it from her confidante, and, after spending an\nanxious night, towards morning I fell asleep, and I remember I was\nthus addressed by some heavenly woman in a dream, 'My child, thou must\nnot give this thy daughter Madanalekh\u00e1 to any one but Asokadatta,\nfor she is his wife acquired by him in a former birth.' And when I\nheard it, I woke up, and in the morning I went myself on the strength\nof the dream and consoled my daughter. And now, my husband has of\nhis own accord proposed the marriage to me. Let her therefore be\nunited to him, as a spring-creeper to its stalk.\" When the king's\nbeloved wife said this to him, he was pleased, and he made festal\nrejoicings, and summoning Asokadatta gave that daughter to him. And\nthe union of those two, the daughter of the king, and the son of the\ngreat Br\u00e1hman, was such that each enhanced the other's glory, like\nthe union of prosperity and modesty. And once upon a time the queen\nsaid to the king, with reference to the anklet brought by Asokadatta:\n\"My husband, this anklet by itself does not look well, so let another\nbe made like it.\" When the king heard that, he gave an order to the\ngoldsmiths and other craftsmen of the kind, to make a second anklet\nlike that. But they, after examining it said;--\"It is impossible,\nO king, to make another like it, for the work is heavenly, not\nhuman. There are not many jewels of this kind upon the earth, so let\nanother be sought for where this was obtained.\" When the king and the\nqueen heard this, they were despondent, and Asokadatta who was there,\non seeing that, immediately said, \"I myself will bring you a fellow\nto that anklet.\" And having made this promise he could not give up\nthe project on which he was resolved, although the king, terrified\nat his temerity, endeavoured to dissuade him out of affection. And\ntaking the anklet he went again on the fourteenth night of the black\nfortnight to the cemetery where he had first obtained it; and after\nhe had entered that cemetery which was full of R\u00e1kshasas as it was\nof trees, besmirched with the copious smoke of the funeral pyres, and\nwith men hanging from their trunks [402] which were weighed down and\nsurrounded with nooses, he did not at first see that woman that he had\nseen before, but he thought of an admirable device for obtaining that\nbracelet, which was nothing else than the selling of human flesh. [403]\nSo he pulled down a corpse from the noose by which it was suspended on\nthe tree, and he wandered about in the cemetery, crying aloud--\"Human\nflesh for sale, buy, buy!\" And immediately a woman called to him from\na distance, saying, \"Courageous man, bring the human flesh and come\nalong with me.\" When he heard that, he advanced following that woman,\nand beheld at no great distance under a tree a lady of heavenly\nappearance, surrounded with women, sitting on a throne, glittering\nwith jewelled ornaments, whom he would never have expected to find in\nsuch a place, any more than to find a lotus in a desert. And having\nbeen led up by that woman, he approached the lady seated as has been\ndescribed, and said, \"Here I am, I sell human flesh, buy, buy!\" And\nthen the lady of heavenly appearance said to him, \"Courageous hero,\nfor what price will you sell the flesh?\" Then the hero, with the\ncorpse hanging over his shoulder and back, said to her, shewing her\nat the same time that single jewelled anklet which was in his hand,\n\"I will give this flesh to whoever will give me a second anklet like\nthis one; if you have got a second like it, take the flesh.\" When\nshe heard that, she said to him, \"I have a second like it, for this\nvery single anklet was taken by you from me. I am that very woman\nwho was seen by you near the impaled man, but you do not recognise\nme now, because I have assumed another shape. So what is the use of\nflesh? If you do what I tell you, I will give you my second anklet,\nwhich matches the one in your hand.\" When she said this to the hero,\nhe consented and said, \"I will immediately do whatever you say.\" Then\nshe told him her whole desire from the beginning: \"There is, good sir,\na city named Trighanta on a peak of the Him\u00e1layas. In it there lived\na heroic prince of the R\u00e1kshasas named Lambajihva. I am his wife,\nVidyuchchhikh\u00e1 by name, and I can change my form at will. And as fate\nwould have it, that husband of mine, after the birth of my daughter,\nwas slain in battle fighting in front of the king Kap\u00e1lasphota;\nthen that king being pleased gave me his own city, and I have lived\nwith my daughter in great comfort on its proceeds up to the present\ntime. And that daughter of mine has by this time grown up to fresh\nwomanhood, and I have great anxiety in my mind as to how to obtain for\nher a brave husband. Then being here on the fourteenth night of the\nlunar fortnight, and seeing you coming along this way with the king,\nI thought--'This good-looking youth is a hero and a fit match for\nmy daughter. So why should I not devise some stratagem for obtaining\nhim?' Thus I determined, and imitating the voice of an impaled person,\nI asked for water, and brought you into the middle of that cemetery\nby a trick. And there I exhibited my delusive power in assuming a\nfalse shape and other characteristics, and saying what was false\nI imposed upon you there, though only for a moment. And I artfully\nleft one of my anklets there to attract you again, like a binding\nchain to draw you, and then I came away. And to-day I have obtained\nyou by that very expedient, so come to my house; marry my daughter\nand receive the other anklet.\" When the R\u00e1kshas\u00ed said this to him,\nthe hero consented, and by means of her magic power he went with her\nthrough the air to her city. And he saw that city built of gold on\na peak of the Him\u00e1layas, like the orb of the sun fixed in one spot,\nbeing weary with the toil of wandering through the heavens. There\nhe married that daughter of the prince of the R\u00e1kshasas, by name\nVidyutprabh\u00e1, like the success of his own daring incarnate in bodily\nform. And Asokadatta dwelt with that loved one some time in that city,\nenjoying great comfort by means of his mother-in-law's wealth. Then\nhe said to his mother-in-law, \"Give me that anklet, for I must now\ngo to the city of Benares, for I myself long ago promised the king\nthat I would bring a second anklet, that would vie with the first one\nso distinguished for its unparalleled beauty.\" The mother-in-law,\nhaving been thus entreated by her son-in-law, gave him that second\nanklet of hers, and in addition a golden lotus. [404]\n\nThen he left that city with the anklet and the lotus, after promising\nto return, and his mother-in-law by the power of her magic knowledge\ncarried him once more through the air to the cemetery. And then she\nstopped under the tree and said to him, \"I always come here on the\nfourteenth night of the black fortnight, and whenever you come here on\nthat [405] night, you will find me here under the banyan-tree.\" When\nAsokadatta heard this, he agreed to come there on that night, and\ntook leave of that R\u00e1kshas\u00ed, and went first to his father's house. And\njust as he was gladdening by his unexpected arrival his parents, who\nwere grieved by such an absence of his, which doubled their grief for\ntheir separation from their younger son, the king his father-in-law,\nwho had heard of his arrival, came in. The king indulged in a long\noutburst of joy, embracing him who bent before him, with limbs the\nhairs of which stood on end like thorns, as if terrified at touching\none so daring. [406] Then Asokadatta entered with him the palace of\nthe king, like joy incarnate in bodily form, and he gave to the king\nthose two anklets matched together, which so to speak praised his\nvalour with their tinkling, and he bestowed on that king the beautiful\ngolden lotus, as it were the lotus, with which the presiding Fortune\nof the R\u00e1kshasas' treasure plays, torn, from her hand; then being\nquestioned out of curiosity by the king and queen he told the story\nof his exploits, which poured nectar into their ears. The king then\nexclaimed--\"Is glittering glory, which astonishes the mind by the\ndescription of wonderful exploits, ever obtained without a man's\nbringing himself to display boldness?\" Thus the king spake on that\noccasion, and he and the queen, who had obtained the pair of anklets,\nconsidered their object in life attained, now that they had such a\nson-in-law. And then that palace, resounding with festal instruments,\nappeared as if it were chanting the virtues of Asokadatta. And on\nthe next day the king dedicated the golden lotus in a temple made\nby himself, placing it upon a beautiful silver vessel; and the two\ntogether, the vessel and the lotus, gleamed white and red like the\nglory of the king and the might [407] of Asokadatta. And beholding them\nthus, the king, a devout worshipper of Siva, with eyes expanded with\njoy, spoke inspired with the rapture of adoration, \"Ah! this lofty\nvessel appears, with this lotus upon it, like Siva white with ashes,\nwith his auburn matted locks. If I had a second golden lotus like\nit, I would place it in this second silver vessel.\" When Asokadatta\nheard this speech of the king's, he said, \"I, king, will bring you\na second golden lotus;\" when the king heard that, he answered him,\n\"I have no need of another lotus, a truce to your temerity!\" Then as\ndays went on, Asokadatta being desirous of bringing a golden lotus,\nthe fourteenth day of the black fortnight returned; and that evening\nthe sun, the golden lotus of the sky-lake, went to the mountain of\nsetting, as if out of fear, knowing his desire for a golden lotus;\nand when the shades of night, brown as smoke, began immediately to\nspread everywhere like R\u00e1kshasas, proud of having swallowed the red\nclouds of evening as if they were raw flesh, and the mouth of night,\nlike that of an awful female goblin, began to yawn, shining and\nterrible as tam\u00e1la, full of flickering flames, [408] Asokadatta of\nhis own accord left the palace where the princess was asleep, and\nagain went to that cemetery. There he beheld at the foot of that\nbanyan-tree his mother-in-law the R\u00e1kshas\u00ed, who had again come,\nand who received him with a courteous welcome, and with her the\nyouth went again to her home, the peak of the Him\u00e1layas, where his\nwife was anxiously awaiting him. And after he had remained some time\nwith his wife, he said to his mother-in-law, \"Give me a second golden\nlotus from somewhere or other.\" When she heard that, she said to him,\n\"Whence can I procure another golden lotus? But there is a lake here\nbelonging to our king Kap\u00e1lasphota, where golden lotuses of this\nkind grow on all sides. From that lake he gave that one lotus to my\nhusband as a token of affection.\" When she said this, he answered\nher, \"Then take me to that lake, in order that I may myself take a\ngolden lotus from it.\" She then attempted to dissuade him saying,\n\"It is impossible; for the lake is guarded by terrible R\u00e1kshasas;\"\nbut nevertheless he would not desist from his importunity. Then at last\nhis mother-in-law was with much difficulty induced to take him there,\nand he beheld from afar that heavenly lake on the plateau of a lofty\nmountain, covered with dense and tall-stalked lotuses of gleaming gold,\nas if from continually facing the sun's rays they had drunk them in,\nand so become interpenetrated with them.\n\nSo he went there and began to gather the lotuses, and while he was\nthus engaged, the terrible R\u00e1kshasas, who guarded it, endeavoured to\nprevent him from doing so. And being armed he killed some of them,\nbut the others fled and told their king Kap\u00e1lasphota, [409] and when\nthat king of the R\u00e1kshasas heard of it, he was enraged and came there\nhimself, and saw Asokadatta with the lotuses he had carried off. And in\nhis astonishment he exclaimed as he recognised his brother: \"What! is\nthis my brother Asokadatta come here?\" Then he flung away his weapon,\nand with his eyes washed with tears of joy, he quickly ran and fell at\nhis feet, and said to him: \"I am Vijayadatta, your younger brother,\nwe are both the sons of that excellent Br\u00e1hman Govindasv\u00e1min. And by\nthe appointment of destiny, I became a R\u00e1kshasa such as you see, and\nhave continued such for this long time, and I am called Kap\u00e1lasphota\nfrom my cleaving the skull on the funeral pyre.\n\n\"But now from seeing you I have remembered my former Br\u00e1hman nature,\nand that R\u00e1kshasa nature of mine, that clouded my mind with delusion,\nhas left me.\" When Vijayadatta said this, Asokadatta embraced him,\nand so to speak, washed with copious tears of joy his body defiled by\nthe R\u00e1kshasa nature. And while he was thus engaged, there descended\nfrom heaven by divine command the spiritual guide of the Vidy\u00e1dharas,\nnamed Kausika. And he approaching these two brothers, said, \"You\nand your family are all Vidy\u00e1dharas, who have been reduced to this\nstate by a curse, and now the curse of all of you has terminated. So\nreceive these sciences, which belong to you, and which you must share\nwith your relations. And return to your own proper dwelling taking\nwith you your relations.\" Having said this, the spiritual guide,\nafter bestowing the sciences on them, ascended to heaven.\n\nAnd they, having become Vidy\u00e1dharas, awoke from their long dream,\nand went through the air to that peak of the Him\u00e1layas, taking with\nthem the golden lotuses, and there Asokadatta repaired to his wife\nthe daughter of the king of the R\u00e1kshasas, and then her curse came\nto an end, and she became a Vidy\u00e1dhar\u00ed. And those two brothers went\nin a moment with that fair-eyed one to Benares, travelling through\nthe air. And there they visited their parents, who were scorched with\nthe fire of separation, and refreshed them by pouring upon them the\nrevivifying nectar of their own appearance. And those two, who, without\nchanging the body, had gone through such wonderful transformations,\nproduced joy not only in their parents, but in the people at large. And\nwhen Vijayadatta's father, after so long a separation, folded him\nin a close embrace, he filled full not only his arms, but also his\ndesire. Then the king Prat\u00e1pamukuta, the father-in-law of Asokadatta,\nhearing of it, came there in high delight; and Asokadatta, being\nkindly received by the king, entered with his relations the king's\npalace, in which his beloved was anxiously awaiting him, and which\nwas in a state of festal rejoicing. And he gave many golden lotuses\nto that king, and the king was delighted at getting more than he had\nasked for. Then Vijayadatta's father Govindasv\u00e1min, full of wonder\nand curiosity, said to him in the presence of all: \"Tell me, my son,\nwhat sort of adventures you had, after you had become a R\u00e1kshasa in the\ncemetery during the night.\" Then Vijayadatta said to him--\"My father,\nwhen in my reckless frivolity I had cloven the burning skull on the\nfuneral pyre, as fate would have it, I immediately, as you saw, became\na R\u00e1kshasa by its brains having entered my mouth, being bewildered\nwith delusion. Then I was summoned by the other R\u00e1kshasas, who gave\nme the name of Kap\u00e1lasphota, and I joined them. And then I was led\nby them to their sovereign the king of the R\u00e1kshasas, and he, when he\nsaw me, was pleased with me and appointed me commander-in-chief. And\nonce on a time that king of the R\u00e1kshasas went in his infatuation to\nattack the Gandharvas, and was there slain in battle by his foes. And\nthen his subjects accepted my rule, so I dwelt in his city and ruled\nthose R\u00e1kshasas, and while I was there, I suddenly beheld that elder\nbrother of mine Asokadatta, who had come for golden lotuses, and the\nsight of him put a stop to that R\u00e1kshasa nature in me. What follows,\nhow we were released from the power of the curse, and thereby recovered\nour sciences, [410] all this my elder brother will relate to you.\" When\nVijayadatta had told this story, Asokadatta began to tell his from the\nbeginning: \"Long ago we were Vidy\u00e1dharas, and from the heaven we beheld\nthe daughters of the hermits bathing in the Ganges near the hermitage\nof G\u00e1lava, [411] and then we fell suddenly in love with them, and\nthey returned our affection; all this took place in secret, but their\nrelations, who possessed heavenly insight, found it out and cursed\nus in their anger: 'May you two wicked ones be born both of you to a\nmortal woman, and then you shall be separated in a marvellous manner,\nbut when the second of you shall behold the first arrived in a distant\nland, inaccessible to man, and shall recognise him, then you shall\nhave your magic knowledge restored to you by the spiritual preceptor\nof the Vidy\u00e1dharas, and you shall again become Vidy\u00e1dharas, released\nfrom the curse and re-united to your friends.' Having been cursed in\nthis way by those hermits, we were both born here in this land, and\nyou know the whole story of our separation, and now by going to the\ncity of the king of the R\u00e1kshasas, by virtue of my mother-in-law's\nmagic power, to fetch the golden lotuses, I have found this younger\nbrother of mine. And in that very place we obtained the sciences from\nour preceptor Prajnaptikausika, and suddenly becoming Vidy\u00e1dharas\nwe have quickly arrived here.\" Thus Asokadatta spoke, and then that\nhero of various adventures, delighted at having escaped the darkness\nof the curse, bestowed on his parents and his beloved, the daughter\nof the king, his own wonderful sciences of many kinds, so that their\nminds were suddenly awakened, and they became Vidy\u00e1dharas. Then the\nhappy hero took leave of the king, and with his brother, his parents,\nand his two wives, flew up, and quickly reached through the air the\npalace of his emperor. There he beheld him, and received his orders,\nand so did his brother, and he bore henceforth the name of Asokavega,\nand his brother of Vijayavega. And both the brothers, having become\nnoble Vidy\u00e1dhara youths, went, accompanied by their relations,\nto the splendid mountain named Govindak\u00fata, which now became their\nhome. And Prat\u00e1pamukuta the king of Benares, overpowered by wonder,\nplaced one of the golden lotuses in the second vessel in his temple,\nand offered to Siva the other golden lotuses presented by Asokadatta,\nand delighted with the honour of his connexion, considered his family\nhighly fortunate.\n\n\"Thus divine persons become incarnate for some reason, and are born\nin this world of men, and possessing their native virtue and courage,\nattain successes which it is hard to win. So I am persuaded that you, O\nsea of courage, are some portion of a divinity, and will attain success\nas you desire; daring in achievements hard to accomplish even by the\ngreat, generally indicates a surpassingly excellent nature. Moreover\nthe princess Kanakarekh\u00e1, whom you love, must surely be a heavenly\nbeing, otherwise being a mere child how could she desire a husband\nthat has seen the Golden City?\" Having heard in secret this long and\ninteresting story from Vishnudatta, Saktideva desiring in his heart to\nbehold the Golden City, and supporting himself with resolute patience,\nmanaged to get through the night.\n\n\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XXVI.\n\n\nThe next morning, while Saktideva was dwelling in the monastery in\nthe island of Utsthala, Satyavrata, the king of the fishermen, came to\nhim, and said to him in accordance with the promise which he had made\nbefore, \"Br\u00e1hman, I have thought of a device for accomplishing your\nwish; there is a fair isle in the middle of the sea named Ratnak\u00fata,\nand in it there is a temple of the adorable Vishnu founded by the\nOcean, and on the twelfth day of the white fortnight of \u00c1sh\u00e1dha there\nis a festival there with a procession, and people come there diligently\nfrom all the islands to offer worship. It is possible that some one\nthere might know about the Golden City, so come let us go there,\nfor that day is near.\" When Satyavrata made this proposal, Saktideva\nconsented gladly, and took with him the provisions for the journey\nfurnished by Vishnudatta. Then he went on board the ship brought by\nSatyavrata, and quickly set out with him on the ocean-path, and as\nhe was going with Satyavrata on the home of marvels [412] in which\nthe monsters resembled islands, he asked the king, who was steering\nthe ship, \"What is this enormous object which is seen in the sea far\noff in this direction, looking like a huge mountain equipped with\nwings rising at will out of the sea?\" Then Satyavrata said: \"Br\u00e1hman,\nthis is a banyan-tree, [413] underneath it they say that there is\na gigantic whirlpool, the mouth of the submarine fire. And we must\ntake care in passing this way to avoid that spot, for those who once\nenter that whirlpool never return again.\" While Satyavrata was thus\nspeaking, the ship began to be carried in that very direction by the\nforce of the wind; [414] when Satyavrata saw this, he again said to\nSaktideva: \"Br\u00e1hman, it is clear that the time of our destruction\nhas now arrived, for see, this ship suddenly drifts [415] in that\ndirection. And now I cannot anyhow prevent it, so we are certain\nto be cast into that deep whirlpool, as into the mouth of death,\nby the sea which draws us on as if it were mighty fate, the result\nof our deeds. And it grieves me not for myself, for whose body is\ncontinuing? But it grieves me to think that your desire has not been\naccomplished in spite of all your toils, so while I keep back this\nship for a moment, quickly climb on to the boughs of this banyan-tree,\nperhaps some expedient may present itself for saving the life of one\nof such noble form, for who can calculate the caprices of fate or\nthe waves of the sea?\" While the heroic Satyavrata was saying this,\nthe ship drew near the tree; at that moment Saktideva made a leap\nin his terror, and caught a broad branch of that marine banyan-tree,\n[416] but Satyavrata's body and ship, which he offered for another,\nwere swept down into the whirlpool, and he entered the mouth of the\nsubmarine fire. But Saktideva, though he had escaped to the bough of\nthat tree, which filled the regions with its branches, was full of\ndespair and reflected--\"I have not beheld that Golden City, and I am\nperishing in an uninhabited place, moreover I have also brought about\nthe death of that king of the fishermen. Or rather who can resist the\nawful goddess of Destiny, that ever places her foot upon the heads of\nall men?\" [417] While the Br\u00e1hman youth was thus revolving thoughts\nsuited to the occasion on the trunk of the tree, the day came to an\nend. And in the evening he saw many enormous birds, of the nature of\nvultures, coming into that banyan-tree from all quarters, filling the\nsides of heaven with their cries, and the waves of the sea, that was\nlashed by the wind of their broad wings, appeared as if running to\nmeet them out of affection produced by long acquaintance.\n\nThen he, concealed by the dense leaves, overheard the conversation of\nthose birds perched on the branches, which was carried on in human\nlanguage. One described some distant island, another a mountain,\nanother a distant region as the place where he had gone to roam\nduring the day, but an old bird among them said, \"I went to-day to\nthe Golden City to disport myself, and to-morrow morning I shall go\nthere again to feed at my ease, for what is the use of my taking a\nlong and fatiguing journey?\" Saktideva's sorrow was removed by that\nspeech of the bird's, which resembled a sudden shower of nectar, and\nhe thought to himself, \"Bravo! that city does exist, and now I have an\ninstrument for reaching it, this gigantic bird given me as a means of\nconveyance.\" Thinking thus, Saktideva slowly advanced and hid himself\namong the back-feathers of that bird while it was asleep, and next\nmorning, when the other birds went off in different directions, that\nvulture exhibiting a strange partiality to the Br\u00e1hman like destiny,\n[418] carrying Saktideva unseen on his back where he had climbed up,\nwent immediately to the Golden City to feed again. [419] Then the bird\nalighted in a garden, and Saktideva got down from its back unobserved\nand left it, but while he was roaming about there, he saw two women\nengaged in gathering flowers; he approached them slowly, who were\nastonished at his appearance, and he asked them, \"What place is this,\ngood ladies, and who are you?\" And they said to him: \"Friend, this\nis a city called the Golden City, a seat of the Vidy\u00e1dharas, and in\nit there dwells a Vidy\u00e1dhar\u00ed, named Chandraprabh\u00e1, and know that we\nare the gardeners in her garden, and we are gathering these flowers\nfor her.\" Then the Br\u00e1hman said; \"Obtain for me an interview with\nyour mistress here.\" When they heard this, they consented, and the\ntwo women conducted the young man to the palace in their city. When\nhe reached it, he saw that it was glittering with pillars of precious\nstones, and had walls of gold, [420] as it were the very rendezvous of\nprosperity. And all the attendants, when they saw him arrived there,\nwent and told Chandraprabh\u00e1 the marvellous tidings of the arrival of\na mortal; then she gave a command to the warder, and immediately had\nthe Br\u00e1hman brought into the palace and conducted into her presence;\nwhen he entered, he beheld her there giving a feast to his eyes,\nlike the Creator's ability to create marvels, represented in bodily\nform. And she rose from her jewelled couch, while he was still far off,\nand honoured him with a welcome herself, overpowered by beholding\nhim. And when he had taken a seat, she asked him, \"Auspicious sir,\nwho are you, that have come here in such guise, and how did you\nreach this land inaccessible to men?\" When Chandraprabh\u00e1 in her\ncuriosity asked him this question, Saktideva told her his country\nand his birth and his name, and he related to her how he had come in\norder to obtain the princess Kanakarekh\u00e1 as the reward of beholding\nthe Golden City. When Chandraprabh\u00e1 heard that, she thought a little\nand heaved a deep sigh, and said to Saktideva in private; \"Listen,\nI am now about to tell you something, fortunate sir. There is in this\nland a king of the Vidy\u00e1dharas named Sasikhanda, and we four daughters\nwere born to him in due course; I am the eldest Chandraprabh\u00e1, and\nthe next is Chandrarekh\u00e1, and the third is Sasirekh\u00e1 and the fourth\nSasiprabh\u00e1. We gradually grew up to womanhood in our father's house,\nand once upon a time those three sisters of mine went together to the\nshore of the Ganges to bathe, while I was detained at home by illness;\nthen they began to play in the water, and in the insolence of youth\nthey sprinkled with water a hermit named Agryatapas, while he was\nin the stream. That hermit in his wrath cursed those girls, who had\ncarried their merriment too far, saying:--\"You wicked maidens, be born\nall of you in the world of mortals.\" When our father heard that, he\nwent and pacified the great hermit, and the hermit told how the curse\nof each of them severally should end, and appointed to each of them\nin her mortal condition the power of remembering her former existence,\nsupplemented with divine insight. Then, they having left their bodies\nand gone to the world of men, my father bestowed on me this city,\nand in his grief went to the forest, but while I was dwelling here,\nthe goddess Durg\u00e1 informed me in a dream that a mortal should become my\nhusband. For this reason, though my father has recommended to me many\nVidy\u00e1dhara suitors, I have rejected them all and remained unmarried\nup to this day. But now I am subdued by your wonderful arrival and\nby your handsome form, and I give myself to you; so I will go on\nthe approaching fourteenth day of the lunar fortnight to the great\nmountain called Rishabha to entreat my father for your sake, for\nall the most excellent Vidy\u00e1dharas assemble there from all quarters\non that day to worship the god Siva, and my father comes there too,\nand after I have obtained his permission, I will return here quickly;\nthen marry me. Now rise up.\"\n\nHaving said this, Chandraprabh\u00e1 supplied Saktideva with various kinds\nof luxuries suited to Vidy\u00e1dharas, and while he remained there,\nhe was as much refreshed, as one heated by a forest conflagration\nwould be by bathing in a lake of nectar. And when the fourteenth day\nhad arrived, Chandraprabh\u00e1 said to him: \"To-day I go to entreat my\nfather's permission to marry you, and all my attendants will go with\nme. But you must not be grieved at being left alone for two days,\nmoreover, while you remain alone in this palace, you must by no means\nascend the middle terrace.\" When Chandraprabh\u00e1 had said this to that\nyoung Br\u00e1hman, she set out on her journey leaving her heart with him,\nand escorted on her way by his. And Saktideva, remaining there alone,\nwandered from one magnificent part of the palace to another, to delight\nhis mind; and then he felt a curiosity to know why that daughter of the\nVidy\u00e1dhara had forbidden him to ascend the roof of the palace, and so\nhe ascended that middle terrace of the palace, for men are generally\ninclined to do that which is forbidden: and when he had ascended it, he\nsaw three concealed pavilions, and he entered one of them, the door of\nwhich was open, and when he had entered it he saw a certain woman lying\non a magnificently jewelled sofa, on which there was a mattress placed,\nwhose body was hidden by a sheet. But when he lifted up the sheet and\nlooked, he beheld lying dead in that guise that beautiful maiden, the\ndaughter of king Paropak\u00e1rin; and when he saw her there, he thought,\n\"What is this great wonder? Is she sleeping a sleep from which there\nis no awaking, or is it a complete delusion on my part? That woman,\nfor whose sake I have travelled to this foreign land, is lying here\nwithout breath, though she is alive in my own country, and she still\nretains her beauty unimpaired, so I may be certain that this is all\na magic show, which the Creator for some reason or other exhibits\nto beguile me.\" Thinking thus, he proceeded to enter in succession\nthose other two pavilions, and he beheld within them in the same\nway two other maidens; then he went in his astonishment out of the\npalace, and sitting down he remained looking at a very beautiful\nlake below it, and on its bank he beheld a horse with a jewelled\nsaddle; so he descended immediately from where he was, and out of\ncuriosity approached its side; and seeing that it had no rider on it,\nhe tried to mount it, and that horse struck him with its heel and\nflung him into the lake. And after he had sunk beneath the surface\nof the lake, he quickly rose up to his astonishment from the middle\nof a garden-lake in his own city of Vardham\u00e1na; and he saw himself\nsuddenly standing in the water of a lake in his own native city, like\nthe kumuda plants, miserable without the light of the moon. [421] He\nreflected \"How different is this city of Vardham\u00e1na from that city\nof the Vidy\u00e1dharas! Alas! what is this great display of marvellous\ndelusion? Alas! I, ill-fated wretch, am wonderfully deceived by some\nstrange power; or rather, who on this earth knows what is the nature\nof destiny?\" Thus reflecting Saktideva rose from the midst of the lake,\nand went in a state of wonder to his own father's house. There he made\na false representation, giving as an excuse for his absence that he\nhad been himself going about with a drum, and being gladly welcomed\nby his father he remained with his delighted relations; and on the\nsecond day he went outside his house, and heard again these words\nbeing proclaimed in the city by beat of drum,--\"Let whoever, being\na Br\u00e1hman or a Kshatriya, has really seen the Golden City, say so:\nthe king will give him his daughter, and make him crown-prince.\" Then\nSaktideva hearing that, having successfully accomplished the task,\nagain went and said to those who were proclaiming this by beat of\ndrum,--\"I have seen that city.\" And they took him before that king, and\nthe king recognising him, supposed that he was again saying what was\nuntrue, as he had done before. But he said--\"If I say what is false,\nand if I have not really seen that city, I desire now to be punished\nwith death; let the princess herself examine me.\" When he said this,\nthe king went and had his daughter summoned by his servants. She,\nwhen she saw that Br\u00e1hman, whom she had seen before, again said to\nthe king; \"My father, he will tell us some falsehood again.\" Then\nSaktideva said to her,--\"Princess, whether I speak truly or falsely,\nbe pleased to explain this point which excites my curiosity. How is\nit that I saw you lying dead on a sofa in the golden city, and yet\nsee you here alive?\" When the princess Kanakarekh\u00e1 had been asked\nthis question by Saktideva, and furnished with this token of his\ntruth, she said in the presence of her father: \"It is true that this\ngreat-hearted one has seen that city, and in a short time he will be\nmy husband, when I return to dwell there. And there he will marry\nmy other three sisters; and he will govern as king the Vidy\u00e1dharas\nin that city. But I must to-day enter my own body and that city, for\nI have been born here in your house owing to the curse of a hermit,\nwho moreover appointed that my curse should end in the following way,\n'When you shall be wearing a human form, and a man, having beheld your\nbody in the Golden City, shall reveal the truth, then you shall be\nfreed from your curse, and that man shall become your husband.' And\nthough I am in a human body I remember my origin, and I possess\nsupernatural knowledge, so I will now depart to my own Vidy\u00e1dhara\nhome, to a happy fortune.\" Saying this the princess left her body,\nand vanished, and a confused cry arose in the palace. And Saktideva,\nwho had now lost both the maidens, thinking over the two beloved ones\nwhom he had gained by various difficult toils, and who yet were not\ngained, and not only grieved but blaming himself, with his desires not\naccomplished, left the king's palace and in a moment went through the\nfollowing train of thought: \"Kanakarekh\u00e1 said that I should attain\nmy desire; so why do I despond, for success depends upon courage? I\nwill again go to the Golden City by the same path, and destiny will\nwithout doubt again provide me with a means of getting there.\" Thus\nreflecting Saktideva set out from that city, for resolute men who\nhave once undertaken a project do not turn back without accomplishing\ntheir object. And journeying on, he again reached after a long time\nthat city named Vitankapura, situated on the shore of the sea. And\nthere he saw the merchant coming to meet him, with whom he originally\nwent to sea, and whose ship was wrecked there. He thought, \"Can this\nbe Samudradatta, and how can he have escaped after falling into the\nsea? But how can it be otherwise? I myself am a strange illustration\nof its possibility.\" While he approached the merchant thinking thus,\nthe merchant recognised him, and embraced him in his delight, and he\ntook him to his own house and after entertaining him, asked him--\"When\nthe ship foundered, how did you escape from the sea?\" Saktideva then\ntold him his whole history, how, after being swallowed by a fish,\nhe first reached the island of Utsthala, and then he asked the good\nmerchant in his turn: \"Tell me also how you escaped from the sea.\" Then\nthe merchant said, \"After I fell into the sea that time, I remained\nfloating for three days supported on a plank. Then a ship suddenly came\nthat way, and I, crying out, was descried by those in her, and taken on\nboard her. And when I got on board, I saw my own father who had gone\nto a distant island long before, and was now returning after a long\nabsence. My father, when he saw me, recognised me, and embracing me\nasked my story with tears, and I told it him as follows--'My father,\nyou had been away for a long time and had not returned, and so I set\nabout trading myself, thinking it was my proper employment; then on\nmy way to a distant island my ship was wrecked, and I was plunged\nin the sea, and you have found me and rescued me.' When I had said\nthis to him, my father asked me reproachfully--'Why do you run such\nrisks? For I possess wealth, my son, and I am engaged in acquiring\nit, see, I have brought you back this ship full of gold.' Thus spoke\nmy father to me, and comforting me took me home in that very ship\nto my own dwelling in Vitankapura.\" When Saktideva had heard this\naccount from the merchant, and had rested that night, he said to him\non the next day--\"Great merchant, I must once more go to the island\nof Utsthala, so tell me how I can get there now.\" The merchant said\nto him--\"Some agents of mine are preparing to go there to-day, so\ngo on board the ship, and set out with them.\" Thereupon the Br\u00e1hman\nset out with the merchant's agents to go to that island of Utsthala,\nand by chance the sons of the king of the fishermen saw him there,\nand when they were near him, they recognised him and said,--\"Br\u00e1hman,\nyou went with our father to search here and there for the Golden\nCity, and how is it that you have come back here to-day alone?\" Then\nSaktideva said, \"Your father, when out at sea, fell into the mouth\nof the submarine fire, his ship having been dragged down by the\ncurrent.\" When those sons of the fisher-king heard that, they were\nangry and said to their servants--\"Bind this wicked man, for he has\nmurdered our father. Otherwise how could it have happened that, when\ntwo men were in the same ship, one should have fallen into the mouth\nof the submarine fire, and the other escaped it. So we must to-morrow\nmorning sacrifice our father's murderer in front of the goddess Durg\u00e1,\ntreating him as a victim.\" Having said this to their servants, those\nsons of the fisher-king bound Saktideva, and took him off to the awful\ntemple of Durg\u00e1, the belly of which was enlarged, as if it continually\nswallowed many lives, and which was like the mouth of death devouring\ntam\u00e1la with projecting teeth. There Saktideva remained bound during\nthe night in fear for his life, and he thus prayed to the goddess\nDurg\u00e1,--\"Adorable one, granter of boons, thou didst deliver the world\nwith thy form which was like the orb of the rising sun, appearing as\nif it had drunk its fill of the blood gushing freely from the throat\nof the giant Ruru; [422] therefore deliver me, thy constant votary,\nwho have come a long distance out of desire to obtain my beloved,\nbut am now fallen without cause into the power of my enemies.\" Thus\nhe prayed to the goddess, and with difficulty went off to sleep,\nand in the night he saw a woman come out of the inner cell of the\ntemple; that woman of heavenly beauty came up to him, and said with a\ncompassionate manner, \"Do not fear, Saktideva, no harm shall happen\nto you. The sons of that fisher-king have a sister named Vindumat\u00ed,\nthat maiden shall see you in the morning and claim you for a husband,\nand you must agree to that, she will bring about your deliverance:\nand she is not of the fisher-caste: for she is a celestial female\ndegraded in consequence of a curse.\" When he heard this, he woke up,\nand in the morning that fisher-maiden came to the temple, a shower of\nnectar to his eyes. And announcing herself, she came up to him and\nsaid in her eagerness, \"I will have you released from this prison,\ntherefore do what I desire. For I have refused all these suitors\napproved of by my brothers, but the moment I saw you, love arose in\nmy soul, therefore marry me.\" When Vindumat\u00ed, the daughter of the\nfisher-king, said this to him, Saktideva remembering his dream,\naccepted her proposal gladly; she procured his release, and he\nmarried that fair one, whose wish was gratified by her brothers\nreceiving the command to do so from Durg\u00e1 in a dream. And he lived\nthere with that heavenly creature that had assumed a human form,\nobtained solely by his merits in a former life, as if with happy\nsuccess. And one day, as he was standing upon the roof of his palace,\nhe saw a Chand\u00e1la coming along with a load of cow's flesh, and he\nsaid to his beloved--\"Look, slender one! how can this evildoer eat\nthe flesh of cows, those animals that are the object of veneration to\nthe three worlds?\" Then Vindumat\u00ed, hearing that, said to her husband;\n\"The wickedness of this act is inconceivable, what can we say in\npalliation of it. I have been born in this race of fishermen for a\nvery small offence owing to the might of cows, but what can atone for\nthis man's sin?\" When she said this, Saktideva said to her;--\"That\nis wonderful: tell me, my beloved, who you are, and how you came\nto be born in a family of fishermen.\" When he asked this with much\nimportunity, she said to him, \"I will tell you, though it is a secret,\nif you promise to do what I ask you.\" He affirmed with an oath;\n\"Yes, I will do what you ask me.\"\n\nShe then told him first what she desired him to do; \"In this island you\nwill soon marry another wife, and she, my husband, will soon became\npregnant, and in the eighth month of her pregnancy you must cut her\nopen and take out the child, and you must feel no compunction about\nit.\" Thus she said, and he was astonished, exclaiming, \"What can this\nmean?\" and he was full of horror, but that daughter of the fisher-king\nwent on to say, \"This request of mine you must perform for a certain\nreason; now hear who I am, and how I came to be born in a family of\nfishermen. Long ago in a former birth I was a certain Vidy\u00e1dhar\u00ed, and\nnow I have fallen into the world of men in consequence of a curse. For\nwhen I was a Vidy\u00e1dhar\u00ed, I bit asunder some strings with my teeth\nand fastened them to lyres, and it is owing to that that I have been\nborn here in the house of a fisherman. So, if such a degradation is\nbrought about by touching the mouth with the dry sinew of a cow, much\nmore terrible must be the result of eating cow's flesh!\" While she was\nsaying this, one of her brothers rushed in in a state of perturbation,\nand said to Saktideva, \"Rise up, an enormous boar has appeared from\nsomewhere or other, and after slaying innumerable persons is coming\nthis way in its pride, towards us.\" When Saktideva heard that, he\ndescended from his palace, and mounting a horse, spear in hand,\n[423] he galloped to meet the boar, and struck it the moment he\nsaw it, but when the hero attacked him the boar fled, and managed,\nthough wounded, to enter a cavern: and Saktideva entered there in\npursuit of him, and immediately beheld a great garden-shrubbery with\na house. And when he was there, he beheld a maiden of very wonderful\nbeauty, coming in a state of agitation to meet him, as if it were\nthe goddess of the wood advancing to receive him out of love.\n\nAnd he asked her,--\"Auspicious lady, who are you, and why are you\nperturbed?\"--Hearing that, the lovely one thus answered him; \"There is\na king of the name of Chandavikrama, lord of the southern region. I\nam his daughter, auspicious sir, a maiden named Vindurekh\u00e1. But a\nwicked Daitya, with flaming eyes, carried me off by treachery from my\nfather's house to-day, and brought me here. And he, desiring flesh,\nassumed the form of a boar, and sallied out, but while he was still\nhungry, he was pierced with a spear to-day by some hero; and as soon\nas he was pierced, he came in here and died. And I rushed out and\nescaped without being outraged by him.\" Then Saktideva said to her,\n\"Then why all this perturbation? For I slew that boar with a spear,\nprincess.\" Then she said, \"Tell me who you are,\" and he answered her\n\"I am a Br\u00e1hman named Saktideva.\" Then she said to him, \"You must\naccordingly become my husband,\" and the hero consenting went out\nof the cavern with her. And when he arrived at home, he told it to\nhis wife Vindumat\u00ed, and with her consent he married that princess\nVindurekh\u00e1. So, while Saktideva was living there with his two wives,\none of his wives Vindurekh\u00e1 became pregnant; and in the eighth\nmonth of her pregnancy, the first wife Vindumat\u00ed came up to him of\nher own accord and said to him, \"Hero, remember what you promised\nme; this is the eighth month of the pregnancy of your second wife:\nso go and cut her open and bring the child here, for you cannot act\ncontrary to your own word of honour.\" When she said this to Saktideva,\nhe was bewildered by affection and compassion; but being bound by\nhis promise he remained for a short time unable to give an answer;\nat last he departed in a state of agitation and went to Vindurekh\u00e1;\nand she seeing him come with troubled air, said to him, \"Husband, why\nare you despondent to-day? Surely I know; you have been commissioned\nby Vindumat\u00ed to take out the child with which I am pregnant; and\nthat you must certainly do, for there is a certain object in view,\nand there is no cruelty in it, so do not feel compunction; in proof\nof it, hear the following story of Devadatta.\"\n\n\n\nStory of Devadatta.\n\nLong ago there lived in the city of Kambuka a Br\u00e1hman named Haridatta;\nand the son of that auspicious man, who was named Devadatta, though\nhe studied in his boyhood, was, as a young man, exclusively addicted\nto the vice of gaming. As he had lost his clothes and everything\nby gambling, he was not able to return to his father's house, so he\nentered once on a time an empty temple. And there he saw alone a great\nascetic, named J\u00e1lap\u00e1da, who had attained many objects by magic, and\nhe was muttering spells in a corner. So he went up to him slowly and\nbowed before him, and the ascetic, abandoning his habit of not speaking\nto any one, greeted him with a welcome; and after he had remained there\na moment, the ascetic, seeing his trouble, asked him the cause, and he\ntold him of his affliction produced by the loss of his wealth, which\nhad been dissipated in gambling. Then the ascetic said to Devadatta;\n\"My child, there is not wealth enough in the whole world to satisfy\ngamblers; but if you desire to escape from your calamity, do what\nI tell you, for I have made preparations to attain the rank of a\nVidy\u00e1dhara; so help me to accomplish this, O man of fortunate destiny,\n[424] you have only to obey my orders and then your calamities will\nbe at an end.\" When the ascetic said this to him, Devadatta promised\nto obey him, and immediately took up his residence with him. And the\nnext day the ascetic went into a corner of the cemetery and performed\nworship by night under a banyan-tree, and offered rice boiled in\nmilk, and flung portions of the oblation towards the four cardinal\npoints, after worshipping them, and said to the Br\u00e1hman who was in\nattendance on him; \"You must worship here in this style every day,\nand say 'Vidyutprabh\u00e1, accept this worship.' And then I am certain\nthat we shall both attain our ends;\" having said this the ascetic went\nwith him to his own house. Then Devadatta, consenting, went every day\nand duly performed worship at the foot of that tree, according to his\ninstructions. And one day, at the end of his worship, the tree suddenly\nclave open, and a heavenly nymph came out of it before his eyes,\nand said, \"My good sir, my mistress summons you to come to her.\" And\nthen she introduced him into the middle of that tree. When he entered\nit, he beheld a heavenly palace made of jewels, and a beautiful lady\nwithin it reclining upon a sofa. And he immediately thought--\"This\nmay be the success of our enterprise incarnate in bodily form,\"\nbut while he was thinking thus, that beautiful lady, receiving him\ngraciously, rose with limbs on which the ornaments rang as if to\nwelcome him, and seated him on her own sofa. And she said to him,\n\"Illustrious sir, I am the maiden daughter of a king of the Yakshas,\nnamed Ratnavarsha, and I am known by the name of Vidyutprabh\u00e1; and\nthis great ascetic J\u00e1lap\u00e1da was endeavouring to gain my favour, to\nhim I will give the attainment of his ends, but you are the lord of\nmy life. So, as you see my affection, marry me.\" When she said this,\nDevadatta consented, and did so. And he remained there some time,\nbut when she became pregnant, he went to the great ascetic with the\nintention of returning, and in a state of terror he told him all that\nhad happened, and the ascetic, desiring his own success, said to him,\n\"My good sir, you have acted quite rightly, but go and cut open that\nYaksh\u00ed and taking out the embryo, bring it quickly here.\" The ascetic\nsaid this to him, and then reminded him of his previous promise,\nand being dismissed by him, the Br\u00e1hman returned to his beloved, and\nwhile he stood there despondent with reflecting on what he had to do,\nthe Yaksh\u00ed Vidyutprabh\u00e1 of her own accord said to him;--\"My husband,\nwhy are you cast down? I know, J\u00e1lap\u00e1da has ordered you to cut me open,\nso cut me open and take out this child, and if you refuse, I will do\nit myself, for there is an object in it.\" Though she said this to him,\nthe Br\u00e1hman could not bring himself to do it, then she cut herself\nopen and took out the child, and flung it down before him and said,\n\"Take this, which will enable him who consumes it, to obtain the rank\nof a Vidy\u00e1dhara. But I, though properly a Vidy\u00e1dhar\u00ed, have been born as\na Yaksh\u00ed owing to a curse, and this is the appointed end of my curse,\nstrange as it is, for I remember my former existence. Now I depart\nto my proper home, but we two shall meet again in that place.\" Saying\nthis Vidyutprabh\u00e1 vanished from his eyes. And Devadatta took the child\nwith sorrowful mind, and went to that ascetic J\u00e1lap\u00e1da, and gave it\nto him, as that which would ensure the success of his incantations,\nfor good men do not even in calamity give way to selfishness. The great\nascetic divided the child's flesh, and sent Devadatta to the wood to\nworship Durg\u00e1 in her terrific form. And when the Br\u00e1hman came back\nafter presenting an oblation, he saw that the ascetic had made away\nwith all the flesh. And while he said--\"What, have you consumed it\nall?\" the treacherous J\u00e1lap\u00e1da, having become a Vidy\u00e1dhara, ascended\nto heaven. When he had flown up, with sword blue as the sky, adorned\nwith necklace and bracelet, Devadatta reflected, \"Alas! how I have\nbeen deceived by this evil-minded one! Or rather on whom does not\nexcessive compliance entail misfortune? So how can I revenge myself\non him for this ill turn, and how can I reach him who has become\na Vidy\u00e1dhara? Well! I have no other resource in this matter except\npropitiating a Vet\u00e1la.\" [425] After he had made up his mind to do this,\nhe went at night to the cemetery. There he summoned at the foot of\na tree a Vet\u00e1la into the body of a man, and after worshipping him,\nhe made an oblation of human flesh to him. And as that Vet\u00e1la was not\nsatisfied, and would not wait for him to bring more, he prepared to cut\noff his own flesh in order to gratify him. And immediately that Vet\u00e1la\nsaid to that brave man;--\"I am pleased with this courage of yours,\ndo not act recklessly. So, my good sir, what desire have you for me to\naccomplish for you?\" When the Vet\u00e1la said this, the hero answered him;\n\"Take me to the dwelling-place of the Vidy\u00e1dharas, where is the ascetic\nJ\u00e1lap\u00e1da, who deceives those that repose confidence in him, in order\nthat I may punish him.\" The Vet\u00e1la consented, and placing him on his\nshoulder, carried him through the air in a moment to the dwelling of\nthe Vidy\u00e1dharas; and there he saw J\u00e1lap\u00e1da in a palace, seated on\na jewelled throne, elated at being a king among the Vidy\u00e1dharas,\nendeavouring by various speeches to induce that Vidyutprabh\u00e1,\n[426] who had obtained the rank of a Vidy\u00e1dhar\u00ed, to marry him in\nspite of her reluctance. And the moment that the young man saw him,\nhe attacked him with the help of the Vet\u00e1la, being to the eyes of the\ndelighted Vidyutprabh\u00e1, what the moon, the repository of nectar, is to\nthe partridges. [427] And J\u00e1lap\u00e1da beholding him suddenly arrived in\nthis way, dropped his sword in his fright, and fell from his throne\non the floor. But Devadatta, though he had obtained his sword, did\nnot slay him, for the great-hearted feel pity even for their enemies\nwhen they are terrified.\n\nAnd when the Vet\u00e1la wanted to kill him, he dissuaded him, and said,\n\"Of what use will it be to us to kill this miserable heretic? So\ntake him and place him in his own house on earth, it is better that\nthis wicked skull-bearing ascetic should remain there.\" At the very\nmoment that Devadatta was saying this, the goddess Durg\u00e1 descended\nfrom heaven and appeared to him, and said to him who bent before her,\n\"My son, I am satisfied with thee now, on account of this incomparable\ncourage of thine; so I give thee on the spot the rank of king of the\nVidy\u00e1dharas.\" Having said this, she bestowed the magic sciences [428]\non him, and immediately disappeared. And the Vet\u00e1la immediately took\nJ\u00e1lap\u00e1da, whose splendour fell from him, and placed him on earth;\n(wickedness does not long ensure success;) and Devadatta accompanied\nby Vidyutprabh\u00e1, having obtained that sovereignty of the Vidy\u00e1dharas,\nflourished in his kingdom.\n\nHaving told this story to her husband Saktideva, the softly-speaking\nVindurekh\u00e1 again said to him with eagerness; \"Such necessities\ndo arise, so cut out this child of mine as Vindumat\u00ed told you,\nwithout remorse.\" When Vindurekh\u00e1 said this, Saktideva was afraid\nof doing wrong, but a voice sounded from heaven at this juncture,\n\"O Saktideva, take out this child without fear, and seize it by the\nneck with your hand, then it will turn into a sword.\" Having heard this\ndivine voice, he cut her open; and quickly taking out the child, he\nseized it by the throat with his hand; and no sooner did he seize it,\nthan it became a sword in his hand; like the long hair of Good Fortune\nseized by him with an abiding grasp. Then that Br\u00e1hman quickly became\na Vidy\u00e1dhara, and Vindurekh\u00e1 that moment disappeared. And when he saw\nthat, he went, as he was, to his second wife Vindumat\u00ed, and told her\nthe whole story. She said to him, \"My lord, we are three sisters,\nthe daughter of a king of the Vidy\u00e1dharas, who have been banished\nfrom Kanakapur\u00ed in consequence of a curse. The first was Kanakarekh\u00e1,\nthe termination of whose curse you beheld in the city of Vardham\u00e1na;\nand she has gone to that city of hers, her proper home. For such\nwas the strange end of her curse, according to the dispensation of\nfate, and I am the third sister, and now my curse is at an end. And\nthis very day I must go to that city of mine, my beloved, for there\nour Vidy\u00e1dhara bodies remain. And my elder sister, Chandraprabh\u00e1,\nis dwelling there; so you also must come there quickly by virtue\nof the magic power of your sword. And you shall rule in that city,\nafter obtaining all four of us as wives, bestowed upon you by our\nfather who has retired to the forest, and others in addition to us.\"\n\nThus Vindumat\u00ed declared the truth about herself, and Saktideva\nconsenting, went again to the City of Gold, this time through the\nair, together with that Vindumat\u00ed. And when he arrived, he again saw\nthose three darlings of his bending before him, Kanakarekh\u00e1 and the\nothers, after entering with their souls, as was fitting, those heavenly\nfemale bodies, which he saw on a former occasion extended lifeless on\nthe couches in those three pavilions. And he saw that fourth sister\nthere, Chandraprabh\u00e1, who had performed auspicious ceremonies, and was\ndrinking in his form with an eye rendered eager by seeing him after\nso long an absence. His arrival was joyfully hailed by the servants,\nwho were occupied in their several duties, as well as by the ladies,\nand when he entered the private apartments, that Chandraprabh\u00e1 said\nto him--\"Noble sir, here is that princess Kanakarekh\u00e1, who was seen\nby you in the city of Vardham\u00e1na, my sister called Chandrarekh\u00e1. And\nhere is that daughter of the fisher king, Vindumat\u00ed, whom you first\nmarried in the island of Utsthala, my sister Sasirekh\u00e1. And here\nis my youngest sister Sasiprabh\u00e1, the princess who after that was\nbrought there by the D\u00e1nava, and then became your wife. So now come,\nsuccessful hero, with us into the presence of our father, and quickly\nmarry us all, when bestowed upon you by him.\"\n\nWhen Chandraprabh\u00e1 had swiftly and boldly uttered this decree of Cupid,\nSaktideva went with those four to the recesses of the wood to meet\ntheir father, and their father, the king of the Vidy\u00e1dharas, having\nbeen informed of the facts by all his daughters who bowed at his feet,\nand also moved by a divine voice, with delighted soul gave them all at\nonce to Saktideva. Immediately after that, he bestowed on Saktideva\nhis opulent realm in the City of Gold, and all his magic sciences,\nand he gave the successful hero his name, by which he was henceforth\nknown among his Vidy\u00e1dharas. And he said to him; \"No one else shall\nconquer thee, but from the mighty lord of Vatsa there shall spring a\nuniversal emperor, who shall reign among you here under the title of\nNarav\u00e1hanadatta and be thy superior, to him alone wilt thou have to\nsubmit.\" With these words the mighty lord of the Vidy\u00e1dharas, named\nSasikhandapada, dismissed his son-in-law from the wood where he was\npractising asceticism, after entertaining him kindly, that he might go\nwith his wives to his own capital. Then that Saktivega, having become\na king, entered the City of Gold, that glory of the Vidy\u00e1dhara world,\nproceeding thither with his wives. Living in that city, the palaces\nof which gleamed with fabric of gold, which seemed on account of its\ngreat height to be the condensed rays of the sun falling in brightness,\nhe enjoyed exceeding happiness with those fair-eyed wives, in charming\ngardens, the lakes of which had steps made out of jewels.\n\nHaving thus related his wonderful history, the eloquent Saktivega\nwent on to say to the king of Vatsa, \"Know me, O lord of Vatsa,\nornament of the lunar race, to be that very Saktideva come here,\nfull of desire to behold the two feet of your son who is just born,\nand is destined to be our new emperor. Thus I have obtained, though\noriginally a man, the rank of sovereign among the Vidy\u00e1dharas by the\nfavour of Siva: and now, O king, I return to my own home; I have seen\nour future lord; may you enjoy unfailing felicity.\"\n\nAfter finishing his tale, Saktivega said this with clasped hands,\nand receiving permission to depart, immediately flew up into the sky\nlike the moon in brightness, and then the king of Vatsa in the company\nof his wives, surrounded by his ministers, and with his young son,\nenjoyed, in his own capital a state of indescribable felicity.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nBOOK VI.\n\n\nCHAPTER XXVII.\n\n\nMay the god with the face of an elephant, [429] who appears, with\nhis head bowed down and then raised, to be continually threatening\nthe hosts of obstacles, protect you.\n\nI adore the god of Love, pierced with the showers of whose arrows even\nthe body of Siva seems to bristle with dense thorns, when embraced\nby Um\u00e1.\n\nNow hear the heavenly adventures which Narav\u00e1hanadatta, speaking of\nhimself in the third person, told from the very beginning, after\nhe had obtained the sovereignty of the Vidy\u00e1dharas, and had been\nquestioned about the story of his life on some occasion or other by\nthe seven Rishis and their wives.\n\nThen that Narav\u00e1hanadatta being carefully brought up by his father,\npassed his eighth year. The prince lived at that time with the sons\nof the ministers, being instructed in sciences, and sporting in\ngardens. And the queen V\u00e1savadatt\u00e1 and Padm\u00e1vat\u00ed also on account of\ntheir exceeding affection were devoted to him day and night. He was\ndistinguished by a body which was sprung from a noble stock, and bent\nunder the weight of his growing virtues, and gradually filled out,\nas also by a bow which was made of a good bamboo, which bent as the\nstring rose, and slowly arched itself into a crescent. [430] And his\nfather the king of Vatsa spent his time in wishes for his marriage\nand other happiness, delightful because so soon to bear fruit. Now\nhear what happened at this point of the story.\n\n\n\nStory of the merchant's son in Takshasil\u00e1.\n\nThere was once a city named Takshasil\u00e1 [431] on the banks of the\nVitast\u00e1, the reflection of whose long line of palaces gleamed in\nthe waters of the river, as if it were the capital of the lower\nregions come to gaze at its splendour. In it there dwelt a king named\nKalingadatta, a distinguished Buddhist, all whose subjects were devoted\nto the great Buddha the bridegroom of T\u00e1r\u00e1. [432] His city shone with\nsplendid Buddhist temples densely crowded together, as if with the\nhorns of pride elevated because it had no rival upon earth. He not\nonly cherished his subjects like a father, but also himself taught\nthem knowledge like a spiritual guide. Moreover there was in that\ncity a certain rich Buddhist merchant called Vitastadatta, who was\nexclusively devoted to the honouring of Buddhist mendicants. And he\nhad a son, a young man named Ratnadatta. And he was always expressing\nhis detestation of his father, calling him an impious man. And when\nhis father said to him, \"Son, why do you blame me?\"--the merchant's\nson answered with bitter scorn, \"My father, you abandon the religion\nof the three Vedas and cultivate irreligion. For you neglect the\nBr\u00e1hmans and are always honouring Sramanas. [433] What have you to\ndo with that Buddhist discipline, which all kinds of low-caste men\nresort to, to gratify their desire to have a convent to dwell in,\nreleased from bathing and other strict ordinances, loving to feed\nwhenever it is convenient, [434] rejecting the Br\u00e1hmanical lock and\nother prescribed methods of doing the hair, quite at ease with only a\nrag round their loins?\" When the merchant heard that he said--\"Religion\nis not confined to one form; a transcendent religion is a different\nthing from a religion that embraces the whole world. People say that\nBr\u00e1hmanism too consists in avoiding passion and other sins, in truth,\nand compassion to creatures, not in quarrelling causelessly with\none's relations. [435] Moreover you ought not to blame generally\nthat school which I follow, which extends security to all creatures,\non account of the fault of an individual. Nobody questions the\npropriety of conferring benefits, and my beneficence consists\nsimply in giving security to creatures. So, if I take exceeding\npleasure in this system, the principal characteristic of which is\nabstinence from injuring any creature, and which brings liberation,\nwherein am I irreligious in doing so?\" When his father said this\nto him, that merchant's son obstinately refused to admit it, and\nonly blamed his father all the more. Then his father, in disgust,\nwent and reported the whole matter to the king Kalingadatta, who\nsuperintended the religion of his people. The king, for his part,\nsummoned on some pretext the merchant's son into his judgement-hall,\nand feigning an anger he did not feel, said to the executioner,\n\"I have heard that this merchant's son is wicked and addicted to\nhorrible crimes, so slay him without mercy as a corrupter of the\nrealm.\" When the king had said this, the father interceded, and then\nthe king appointed that the execution should be put off for two months,\nin order that he might learn virtue, and entrusted the merchant's son\nto the custody of his father, to be brought again into his presence at\nthe end of that time. The merchant's son, when he had been taken home\nto his father's house, was distracted with fear, and kept thinking,\n\"What crime can I have committed against the king?\" and pondering\nover his causeless execution which was to take place at the end of two\nmonths; and so he could get no sleep day or night, and was exhausted\nby taking less than his usual food at all times. Then, the reprieve\nof two months having expired, that merchant's son was again taken,\nthin and pale, into the presence of the king. And the king seeing\nhim in such a depressed state said to him--\"Why have you become so\nthin? Did I order you not to eat?\" When the merchant's son heard that,\nhe said to the king--\"I forgot myself for fear, much more my food. Ever\nsince I heard your majesty order my execution, I have been thinking\nevery day of death slowly advancing.\" When the merchant's son said\nthis, the king said to him, \"I have by an artifice made you teach\nyourself what the fear of death is. [436] Such must be the fear which\nevery living creature entertains of death, and tell me what higher\npiety can there be than the benefit of preserving creatures from\nthat? So I shewed you this in order that you might acquire religion\nand the desire of salvation, [437] for a wise man being afraid of\ndeath strives to attain salvation. Therefore you must not blame your\nfather who follows this religion.\" When the merchant's son heard this,\nhe bowed and said to the king--\"Your majesty has made me a blessed man\nby teaching me religion, and now a desire for salvation has arisen in\nme, teach me that also, my lord.\" When the king heard that, as it was\na feast in the city, he gave a vessel full of oil into the hand of the\nmerchant's son and said to him, \"Take this vessel in your hand and walk\nall round this city, and you must avoid spilling a single drop of it,\nmy son; if you spill one drop of it, these men will immediately cut\nyou down.\" [438] Having said this, the king dismissed the merchant's\nson to walk round the city, ordering men with drawn swords to follow\nhim. The merchant's son, in his fear, took care to avoid spilling a\ndrop of oil, and having perambulated that city with much difficulty,\nreturned into the presence of the king. The king, when he saw that\nhe had brought the oil without spilling it, said to him: \"Did you\nsee any one to-day, as you went along in your perambulation of the\ncity?\" When the merchant's son heard that, he clasped his hands,\nand said to the king--\"In truth, my lord, I neither saw nor heard\nany thing, for at the time when I was perambulating the city I had\nmy undivided attention fixed on avoiding spilling a drop of oil, lest\nthe swords should descend upon me.\" When the merchant's son said this,\nthe king said to him; \"Because your whole soul was intent on looking\nat the oil, you saw nothing. So practise religious contemplation with\nthe same undivided attention. For a man, who with intent concentration\naverts his attention from all outward operations, has intuition of the\ntruth, and after that intuition he is not entangled again in the meshes\nof works. Thus I have given you in a compendious form instruction in\nthe doctrine of salvation.\" Thus the king spoke and dismissed him,\nand the merchant's son fell at his feet and went home rejoicing to his\nfather's house, having attained all his objects. This Kalingadatta,\nwho superintended in this way the religion of his subjects, had a wife\nnamed T\u00e1r\u00e1datt\u00e1, of equal birth with the king, who being politic and\nwell-conducted, was such an ornament to the king as language is to\na poet, who delights in numerous illustrations. She was meritorious\nfor her bright qualities and was inseparable from that beloved king,\nbeing to him what the moonlight is to the moon, the receptacle of\nnectar. The king lived happily there with that queen, and passed his\ndays like Indra with Sach\u00ed in heaven.\n\n\n\nStory of the Apsaras Surabhidatt\u00e1.\n\nAt this point of my tale Indra, for some cause or other, had a\ngreat feast in heaven. All the Apsarases assembled there to dance,\nexcept one beautiful Apsaras named Surabhidatt\u00e1, who was not to be\nseen there. Then Indra by his divine power of insight perceived her\nassociating in secret with a certain Vidy\u00e1dhara in Nandana. When Indra\nsaw it, wrath arose in his bosom, and he thought--\"Ah! these two,\nblinded with love, are both wicked: the Apsaras, because forgetting\nus she acts in a wilful manner, the Vidy\u00e1dhara, because he enters the\ndomain of the gods and commits improprieties. Or rather, what fault\nis that miserable Vidy\u00e1dhara guilty of? For she has enticed him here,\nensnaring him with her beauty. A lovely one will sweep away with the\nsea of her beauty, flowing between the lofty banks of her breasts,\neven one who can restrain his passions. Was not even Siva disturbed\nlong ago when he beheld Tilottam\u00e1, whom the Creator made by taking an\natom from all the noblest beings? [439] And did not Visv\u00e1mitra leave\nhis asceticism when he beheld Menak\u00e1? And did not Yay\u00e1ti come to old\nage for love of Sarmisht\u00e1? So this young Vidy\u00e1dhara has committed no\ncrime in allowing himself to be allured by an Apsaras with her beauty,\nwhich is able to bewilder the three worlds. [440] But this heavenly\nnymph is in fault, wicked creature, void of virtue, who has deserted\nthe gods, and introduced this fellow into Nandana.\" Thus reflecting,\nthe lover of Ahaly\u00e1 [441] spared the Vidy\u00e1dhara youth, but cursed\nthat Apsaras in the following words: \"Wicked one, take upon thyself\na mortal nature, but after thou hast obtained a daughter not sprung\nfrom the womb, and hast accomplished the object of the gods, thou\nshalt return to this heaven.\"\n\nIn the meanwhile T\u00e1r\u00e1datt\u00e1, the consort of that king in the city\nof Takshasil\u00e1, reached the period favourable for procreation. And\nSurabhidatt\u00e1, the Apsaras who had been degraded from heaven by the\ncurse of Indra, was conceived in her, giving beauty to her whole\nbody. Then T\u00e1r\u00e1datt\u00e1 beheld in a dream a flame descending from\nheaven and entering into her womb; and in the morning she described\nwith astonishment her dream to her husband, the king Kalingadatta;\nand he being pleased said to her,--\"Queen, heavenly beings owing to\na curse fall into human births, so I am persuaded that this is some\ndivine being conceived in you. For beings, bound by various works,\ngood and evil, are ever revolving in the state of mundane existence\nin these three worlds, to receive fruits blessed and miserable.\" When\nthe queen was thus addressed by the king, she took the opportunity of\nsaying to him; \"It is true, actions, good and bad, have a wonderful\npower, producing the perception of joy and sorrow, [442] and in proof\nof it I will tell you this illustration, listen to me.\"\n\n\n\nStory of king Dharmadatta and his wife N\u00e1gasr\u00ed.\n\nThere once lived a king named Dharmadatta, the lord of Kosala; he had\na queen named N\u00e1gasr\u00ed, who was devoted to her husband and was called\nArundhat\u00ed on the earth, as, like her, she was the chief of virtuous\nwomen. And in course of time, O slayer of your enemies, I was born\nas the daughter of that king by that queen; then, while I was a mere\nchild, that mother of mine suddenly remembered her former birth and\nsaid to her husband; \"O king, I have suddenly to-day remembered my\nformer birth; it is disagreeable to me not to tell it, but if I do\ntell it, it will cause my death, because they say that, if a person\nsuddenly remembers his or her former birth and tells it, it surely\nbrings death. Therefore, king, I feel excessively despondent.\" When\nhis queen said this to him, the king answered her; \"My beloved, I, like\nyou, have suddenly remembered my former birth; therefore tell me yours,\nand I will tell you mine, let what will be, be; for who can alter the\ndecree of fate.\" When thus urged by her husband, the queen said to him,\n\"If you press the matter, king, then I will tell you, listen.\n\n\"In my former birth I was a well-conducted female slave in this very\nland, in the house of a certain Br\u00e1hman named M\u00e1dhava. And in that\nbirth I had a husband named Devad\u00e1sa, an excellent hired servant in\nthe house of a certain merchant. And so we two dwelled there, having\nbuilt a house that suited us, living on the cooked rice brought from\nthe houses of our respective masters. A water vessel and a pitcher,\na broom and a brazier, and I and my husband, formed three couples. We\nlived happy and contented in our house into which the demon of\nquarrelling never entered, eating the little food that remained over\nafter we had made offerings to the gods, the manes and guests.\n\n\"And any clothes which either of us had over, we gave to some poor\nperson or other. Then there arose a grievous famine in our country,\nand owing to that the allowance of food, which we had to receive every\nday, began to come to us in small quantities. Then our bodies became\nattenuated by hunger, and we began to despond in mind, when once on a\ntime at meal-time there arrived a weary Br\u00e1hman guest. To him we both\ngave all our own food, as much as we had, though we were in danger of\nour lives. When the Br\u00e1hman had eaten and departed, my husband's breath\nleft him, as if angry that he respected a guest more than it. And then\nI heaped up in honour of my husband a suitable pyre, and ascended it,\nand so laid down the load of my own calamity. Then I was born in a\nroyal family, and I became your queen, for the tree of good deeds\nproduces to the righteous inconceivably glorious fruit.\" When his\nqueen said this to him, the king Dharmadatta said--\"Come, my beloved,\nI am that husband of thine in a former birth; I was that very Devad\u00e1sa\nthe merchant's servant, for I have remembered this moment this former\nexistence of mine.\" Having said this, and mentioned the tokens of\nhis own identity, the king, despondent and yet glad, suddenly went\nwith his queen to heaven.\n\n\"In this way my parents went to another world, and my mother's sister\nbrought me to her own house to rear me, and while I was unmarried,\nthere came there a certain Br\u00e1hman guest, and my mother's sister\nordered me to wait on him. And I diligently strove to please him\nas Kunt\u00ed to please Durv\u00e1sas, and owing to a boon conferred by him,\nI obtained you, a virtuous husband. Thus good fortune is the result\nof virtue, owing to which my parents were both born at the same time\nin royal families, and also remembered their former birth.\" Having\nheard this speech of the queen T\u00e1r\u00e1datt\u00e1, the king Kalingadatta,\nwho was exclusively devoted to righteousness, answered her, \"It is\ntrue, a trifling act of righteousness duly performed will bring much\nfruit, and in proof of this, O queen, hear the ancient tale of the\nseven Br\u00e1hmans.\"\n\n\n\nStory of the seven Br\u00e1hmans who devoured a cow in time of famine. [443]\n\nLong ago, in a city called Kundina, a certain Br\u00e1hman teacher\nhad for pupils seven sons of Br\u00e1hmans. Then that teacher, under\npressure of famine, sent those pupils to ask his father-in-law,\nwho was rich in cows, to give him one. And those pupils of his went,\nwith their bellies pinched by hunger, to his father-in-law, who dwelt\nin another land, and asked him, as their teacher had ordered them,\nfor a cow. He gave them one cow to support them, but the miserly\nfellow did not give them food, though they were hungry. Then they\ntook the cow, and as they were returning and had accomplished half\nthe journey, being excessively pained by hunger, they fell exhausted\non the earth. They said--\"Our teacher's house is far off, and we\nare afflicted by calamity far from home, and food is hard to obtain\neverywhere, so it is all over with our lives. And in the same way\nthis cow is certain to die in this wilderness without water, wood,\nor human beings, and our teacher will not derive even the smallest\nadvantage from it. So let us support our lives with its flesh, and\nquickly restore our teacher and his family with what remains over:\nfor it is a time of sore distress.\" Having thus deliberated, those\nseven students treated that cow as a victim, and sacrificed it on the\nspot according to the system prescribed in the sacred treatises. After\nsacrificing to the gods and manes, and eating its flesh according to\nthe prescribed method, they went and took what remained of it to their\nteacher. They bowed before him, and told him all that they had done,\nto the letter, and he was pleased with them, because they told the\ntruth, though they had committed a fault. And after seven days they\ndied of famine, but because they told the truth on that occasion,\nthey were born again with the power of remembering their former birth.\n\n\"Thus even a small germ of merit, watered with the water of holy\naspiration, bears fruit to men in general, as a seed to cultivators,\nbut the same corrupted by the water of impure aspiration bears fruit in\nthe form of misfortune, and \u00e0 propos of this I will tell you another\ntale, listen!\"\n\n\n\nStory of the two ascetics, one a Br\u00e1hman the other a Chand\u00e1la.\n\nOnce on a time two men remained for the same length of time fasting\non the banks of the Ganges, one a Br\u00e1hman and the other a Chand\u00e1la. Of\nthose two, the Br\u00e1hman being overpowered with hunger, and seeing some\nNish\u00e1das [444] come that way bringing fish and eating them, thus\nreflected in his folly--\"O happy in the world are these fishermen,\nsons of female slaves though they be, for they eat to their fill\nof the fresh meat of fish!\" But the other, who was a Chand\u00e1la,\nthought, the moment he saw those fishermen, \"Out on these destroyers\nof life, and devourers of raw flesh! So why should I stand here and\nbehold their faces?\" Saying this to himself, he closed his eyes and\nremained buried in his own thoughts. And in course of time those\ntwo, the Br\u00e1hman and the Chand\u00e1la, died of starvation; the Br\u00e1hman\nwas eaten by dogs on the bank, the Chand\u00e1la rotted in the water\nof the Ganges. So that Br\u00e1hman, not having disciplined his spirit,\nwas born in the family of a fisherman, but owing to the virtue of the\nholy place, he remembered his former existence. As for that Chand\u00e1la,\nwho possessed self-control, and whose mind was not marred by passion,\nhe was born as a king in a palace on that very bank of the Ganges,\nand recollected his former birth. And of those two, who were born\nwith a remembrance of their former existence, the one suffered misery\nbeing a fisherman, the other being a king enjoyed happiness.\n\n\"Such is the root of the tree of virtue; according to the purity\nor impurity of a man's heart is without doubt the fruit which he\nreceives.\" Having said this to the queen T\u00e1r\u00e1datt\u00e1, king Kalingadatta\nagain said to her in the course of conversation,--\"Moreover actions\nwhich are really distinguished by great courage produce fruit, since\nprosperity follows on courage; and to illustrate this I will tell\nthe following wonderful tale. Listen!\"\n\n\n\nStory of king Vikramasinha and the two Br\u00e1hmans.\n\nThere is in Avanti a city named Ujjayin\u00ed, famous in the world,\nwhich is the dwelling-place of Siva, [445] and which gleams with\nits white palaces as if with the peaks of Kail\u00e1sa, come thither in\nthe ardour of their devotion to the god. This vast city, profound\nas the sea, having a splendid emperor for its water, had hundreds of\narmies entering it, as hundreds of rivers flow into the sea, and was\nthe refuge of allied kings, as the sea is of mountains that retain\ntheir wings. [446] In that city there was a king who had the name of\nVikramasinha, [447] a name that thoroughly expressed his character,\nfor his enemies were like deer and never met him in fight. And he,\nbecause he could never find any enemy to face him, became disgusted\nwith weapons and the might of his arm, and was inwardly grieved as\nhe never obtained the joy of battle. Then his minister Amaragupta,\nwho discovered his longing, said to him incidentally in the course\nof conversation--\"King, it is not hard for kings to incur guilt,\nif through pride in their strong arms, and confidence in their skill\nin the use of weapons, they even long for enemies; in this way B\u00e1na\nin old time, through pride in his thousand arms, propitiated Siva and\nasked for an enemy that was a match for him in fight, until at last his\nprayer was actually granted, and Vishnu became his enemy, and cut off\nhis innumerable arms in battle. So you must not shew dissatisfaction\nbecause you do not obtain an opportunity of fighting, and a terrible\nenemy must never be desired. If you want to shew here your skill in\nweapons and your strength, shew it in the forest an appropriate field\nfor it, and in hunting. And since kings are not generally exposed to\nfatigue, hunting is approved to give them exercise and excitement, but\nwarlike expeditions are not recommended. Moreover the malignant wild\nanimals desire that the earth should be depopulated, for this reason\nthe king should slay them; on this ground too hunting is approved. But\nwild animals should not be too unremittingly pursued, for it was\nowing to the vice of exclusive devotion to hunting that former kings,\nP\u00e1ndu and others, met destruction.\" When the wise minister Amaragupta\nsaid this to him, the king Vikramasinha approved the advice saying--\"I\nwill do so.\" And the next day the king went out of the city to hunt,\nto a district beset with horses, footmen and dogs, and where all the\nquarters were filled with the pitching of various nets, and he made\nthe heaven resound with the shouts of joyous huntsmen. And as he was\ngoing out on the back of an elephant, he saw two men sitting together\nin private in an empty temple outside the walls. And the king, as\nhe beheld them from afar, supposed that they were only deliberating\ntogether over something at their leisure, and passed on to the forest\nwhere his hunting was to be. There he was delighted with the drawn\nswords, and with the old tigers, and the roaring of lions, and the\nscenery, and the elephants. He strewed that ground with pearls fallen\nfrom the nails of elephant-slaying lions whom he killed, resembling the\nseeds of his prowess. The deer leaping sideways, being oblique-goers,\n[448] went obliquely across his path; his straight-flying arrow easily\ntransfixing them first, reached afterwards the mark of delight. And\nafter the king had long enjoyed the sport of hunting, he returned,\nas his servants were weary, with slackened bowstring to the city\nof Ujjayin\u00ed. There he saw those two men, whom he had seen as he was\ngoing out, who had remained the whole time in the temple occupied in\nthe same way. He thought to himself--\"Who are these, and why do they\ndeliberate so long? Surely they must be spies, having a long talk\nover secrets.\" So he sent his warder, and had those men captured and\nbrought into his presence, and then thrown into prison. And the next\nday he had them brought into his judgement-hall, and asked them--\"Who\nare you and why did you deliberate together so long?\" When the king\nin person asked them this, they entreated him to spare their lives,\nand one of these young men began to say; \"Hear, O king, I will now\ntell the whole story as it happened.\n\n\"There lived a Br\u00e1hman, of the name of Karabhaka, in this very city\nof yours. I, whom you see here, am the son of that learned student\nof the Vedas, born by his propitiating the god of fire in order to\nobtain a heroic son. And, when my father went to heaven, and his wife\nfollowed him, [449] I being a mere boy, though I had learned the\nsciences, abandoned the course of life suited to my caste, because\nI was friendless. And I set myself to practise gaming and the use\nof arms; what boy does not become self-willed if he is not kept in\norder by some superior? And, having passed my childhood in this way,\nI acquired overweening confidence in my prowess, and went one day\nto the forest to practise archery. And while I was thus engaged,\na bride came out of the city in a covered palanquin, surrounded by\nmany attendants of the bridegroom. And suddenly an elephant, that had\nbroken its chain, came from some quarter or other at that very moment,\nand attacked that bride in its fury. And through fear of that elephant,\nall those cowardly attendants and her husband with them deserted the\nbride, and fled in all directions. When I saw that, I immediately said\nto myself in my excitement,--'What! have these miserable wretches left\nthis unfortunate woman alone? So I must defend this unprotected lady\nfrom this elephant. For what is the use of life or courage, unless\nemployed to succour the unfortunate?' Thus reflecting I raised a shout\nand ran towards that huge elephant; and the elephant, abandoning the\nwoman, charged down upon me. Then I, before the eyes of that terrified\nwoman, shouted and ran, and so drew off that elephant to a distance,\nat last I got hold of a bough of a tree thickly covered with leaves,\nwhich had been broken off, and covering myself with it, I went into the\nmiddle of the tree; and placing the bough in front of me, I escaped by\na dexterous oblique movement, while the elephant trampled the bough\nto pieces. Then I quickly went to that lady, who remained terrified\nthere, and asked her whether she had escaped without injury. She,\nwhen she saw me, said with afflicted and yet joyful manner; 'How\ncan I be said to be uninjured, now that I have been bestowed on this\ncoward, who has deserted me in such straits, and fled somewhere or\nother; but so far at any rate I am uninjured, that I again behold\nyou unharmed. So my husband is nothing to me; you henceforth are my\nhusband, by whom regardless of your life, I have been delivered from\nthe jaws of death. And here I see my husband coming with his servants,\nso follow us slowly; for when we get an opportunity, you and I will\nelope somewhere together.' When she said this, I consented. I ought to\nhave thought--'Though this woman is beautiful, and flings herself at my\nhead, yet she is the wife of another; what have I to do with her?' But\nthis is the course of calm self-restraint, not of ardent youth. And\nin a moment her husband came up and greeted her, and she proceeded\nto continue her journey with him and his servants. And I, without\nbeing detected, followed her through her long journey, being secretly\nsupplied with provisions for the journey by her, though I passed for\nsome one unconnected with her. And she, throughout the journey, falsely\nasserted that she suffered pain in her limbs, from a strain produced\nby falling in her terror at the elephant, and so avoided even touching\nher husband. A passionate woman, like a female snake, terrible from\nthe condensed venom she accumulates within, will never, if injured,\nneglect to wreak her vengeance. And in course of time we reached the\ncity of Lohanagara, where was the house of the husband of that woman,\nwho lived by trading. And we all remained during that day in a temple\noutside the walls. And there I met my friend this second Br\u00e1hman. And\nthough we had never met before, we felt a confidence in one another\nat first sight; the heart of creatures recognises friendships formed\nin a previous birth. Then I told him all my secret. When he heard it,\nhe said to me of his own accord; 'Keep the matter quiet, I know of a\ndevice by which you can attain the object for which you came here;\nI know here the sister of this lady's husband. She is ready to fly\nfrom this place with me, and take her wealth with her. So with her\nhelp I will accomplish your object for you.'\n\n\"When the Br\u00e1hman had said this to me, he departed, and secretly\ninformed the merchant's wife's sister-in-law of the whole matter. And\non the next day the sister-in-law, according to arrangement, came\nwith her brother's wife and introduced her into the temple. And while\nwe were there, she made my friend at that very time, which was the\nmiddle of the day, put on the dress of her brother's wife. And she\ntook him so disguised into the city, and went into the house in which\nher brother lived, after arranging what we were to do. But I left\nthe temple, and fleeing with the merchant's wife dressed as a man,\nreached at last this city of Ujjayin\u00ed. And her sister-in-law at night\nfled with my friend from that house, in which there had been a feast,\nand so the people were in a drunken sleep.\n\n\"And then he came with her by stealthy journeys to this city; so\nwe met here. In this way we two have obtained our two wives in the\nbloom of youth, the sister-in-law and her brother's wife, who bestowed\nthemselves on us out of affection. Consequently, king, we are afraid\nto dwell anywhere; for whose mind is at ease after performing deeds\nof reckless temerity? So the king saw us yesterday from a distance,\nwhile we were debating about a place to dwell in, and how we should\nsubsist. And your majesty, seeing us, had us brought and thrown into\nprison on the suspicion of being thieves, and to-day we have been\nquestioned about our history, and I have just told it; now it is for\nyour highness to dispose of us at pleasure.\" When one of them had\nsaid this, the king Vikramasinha said to those two Br\u00e1hmans,--\"I am\nsatisfied, do not be afraid, remain in this city, and I will give you\nabundance of wealth.\" When the king had said this, he gave them as\nmuch to live on as they wished, and they lived happily in his court\naccompanied by their wives.\n\n\"Thus prosperity dwells for men even in questionable deeds, if they\nare the outcome of great courage, and thus kings, being satisfied,\ntake pleasure in giving to discreet men who are rich in daring. And\nthus this whole created world with the gods and demons will always\nreap various fruits, corresponding exactly to their own stock of deeds\ngood or bad, performed in this or in a former birth. So rest assured,\nqueen, that the flame which was seen by you falling from heaven in your\ndream, and apparently entering your womb, is some creature of divine\norigin, that owing to some influence of its works has been conceived\nin you.\" The pregnant queen T\u00e1r\u00e1datt\u00e1, when she heard this from the\nmouth of her own husband Kalingadatta, was exceedingly delighted.\n\n\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XXVIII.\n\n\nThen the queen T\u00e1r\u00e1datt\u00e1, the consort of king Kalingadatta in\nTakshasil\u00e1, slowly became oppressed with the burden of her unborn\nchild. And she, now that her delivery was near, being pale of\ncountenance, with tremulous eyeballs, [450] resembled the East\nin which the pale streak of the young moon is about to rise. And\nthere was soon born from her a daughter excelling all others, like a\nspecimen of the Creator's power to produce all beauty. The lights kept\nburning to protect the child against evil spirits, blazing with oil,\n[451] were eclipsed by her beauty, and darkened, as if through grief\nthat a son of equal beauty had not been born instead. And her father\nKalingadatta, when he saw her born, beautiful though she was, was\nfilled with despondency at the disappointment of his hope to obtain\na son like her. Though he divined that she was of heavenly origin, he\nwas grieved because he longed for a son. For a son, being embodied joy,\nis far superior to a daughter, that is but a lump of grief. Then in his\naffliction, the king went out of his palace to divert his mind, and he\nentered a monastery full of many images of Buddha. In a certain part of\nthe monastery, he heard this speech being uttered by a begging hermit,\nwho was a religious preacher, as he sat in the midst of his hearers.\n\n\"They say that the bestowal of wealth in this world is great\nasceticism; a man who gives wealth is said to give life, for life\ndepends on wealth. And Buddha, with mind full of pity, offered up\nhimself for another, as if he were worthless straw, much more should\none offer up sordid pelf. And it was by such resolute asceticism,\nthat Buddha, having got rid of desire, and obtained heavenly insight,\nattained the rank of a Buddha. Therefore a wise man should do what\nis beneficial to other beings, by abstaining from selfish aspirations\neven so far as to sacrifice his own body, in order that he may obtain\nperfect insight.\"\n\n\n\nStory of the seven princesses.\n\nThus, long ago, there were born in succession to a certain king\nnamed Krita seven very beautiful princesses, and even while they\nwere still youthful they abandoned, in disgust with life, the house\nof their father, and went to the cemetery, and when they were asked\nwhy they did it, they said to their retinue--\"This world is unreal,\nand in it this body, and such delights as union with the beloved\nare the baseless fabric of a dream; only the good of others in this\nrevolving world is pronounced to be real; so let us with these bodies\nof ours do good to our fellow creatures, let us fling these bodies,\nwhile they are alive, to the eaters of raw flesh [452] in the cemetery;\nwhat is the use of them, lovely though they be?\"\n\n\n\nStory of the prince who tore out his own eye.\n\nFor there lived in old time a certain prince who was disgusted with\nthe world, and he, though young and handsome, adopted the life of a\nwandering hermit. Once on a time that beggar entered the house of a\ncertain merchant, and was beheld by his young wife with his eyes long\nas the leaf of a lotus. She, with heart captivated by the beauty of his\neyes said to him, \"How came such a handsome man as you to undertake\nsuch a severe vow as this? Happy is the woman who is gazed upon with\nthis eye of yours!\" When the begging hermit was thus addressed by the\nlady, he tore out one eye, and holding it in his hand, said, \"Mother,\nbehold this eye, such as it is; take the loathsome mass of flesh and\nblood, if it pleases you. [453] And the other is like it; say, what is\nthere attractive in these?\" When he said this to the merchant's wife,\nand she saw the eye, she was despondent, and said, \"Alas! I, unhappy\nwretch that I am, have done an evil deed, in that I have become the\ncause of the tearing out of your eye!\" When the beggar heard that,\nhe said,--\"Mother, do not be grieved, for you have done me a benefit;\nhear the following example, to prove the truth of what I say.\"\n\n\n\nStory of the ascetic who conquered anger.\n\nThere lived long ago, in a certain beautiful garden on the banks\nof the Ganges, a hermit animated by the desire of experiencing all\nasceticism. And while he was engaged in mortifying the flesh, it\nhappened that a certain king came there to amuse himself with the\nwomen of his harem. And after he had amused himself, he fell asleep\nunder the influence of his potations, and while he was in this state,\nhis queens left him out of thoughtlessness and roamed about in the\ngarden. And beholding in a corner of the garden that hermit engaged\nin meditation, they stood round him out of curiosity, wondering\nwhat on earth he could be. And as they remained there a long time,\nthat king woke up, and not seeing his wives at his side, wandered all\nround the garden. And then he saw the queens standing all round the\nhermit, and being enraged, he slashed the hermit with his sword out\nof jealousy. What crime will not sovereign power, jealousy, cruelty,\ndrunkenness, and indiscretion cause separately, much more deadly are\nthey when combined, like five fires. [454] Then the king departed,\nand though the hermit's limbs were gashed, he remained free from wrath;\nwhereupon a certain deity appeared and said to him,--\"Great-souled one,\nif you approve I will slay by my power that wicked man who did this to\nyou in a passion.\" When the hermit heard that, he said, \"O goddess,\nsay not so, for he is my helper in virtue, not a harmer of me. For\nby his favour I have attained the grace of patience; to whom could\nI have shown patience, O goddess, if he had not acted thus towards\nme? What anger does the wise man shew for the sake of this perishing\nbody? To shew patience equally with regard to what is agreeable and\ndisagreeable is to have attained the rank of Brahm\u00e1.\" When the hermit\nsaid this to the deity, she was pleased, and after healing the wounds\nin his limbs, she disappeared.\n\n\"In the same way as that king was considered a benefactor by the\nhermit, you, my mother, have increased my asceticism by causing\nme to tear out my eye.\" Thus spake the self-subduing hermit to the\nmerchant's wife, who bowed before him, and being regardless of his\nbody, lovely though it was, he passed on to perfection.\n\n\"Therefore, though our youth be very charming, why should we cling to\nthis perishable body? But the only thing which, in the eye of the wise\nman, it is good for, is to benefit one's fellow-creatures. So we will\nlay down our bodies to benefit living creatures in this cemetery, the\nnatural home of happiness.\" Having said this to their attendants, those\nseven princesses did so, and obtained therefrom the highest beatitude.\n\n\"Thus you see that the wise have no selfish affection even for their\nown bodies, much less for such worthless things [455] as son, wife,\nand servants.\"\n\nWhen the king Kalingadatta had heard these and other such things from\nthe religious teacher in the monastery, having spent the day there, he\nreturned to his palace. And when he was there, he was again afflicted\nwith grief on account of the birth of a daughter to him, and a certain\nBr\u00e1hman, who had grown old in his house, said to him--\"King, why do\nyou despond on account of the birth of a pearl of maidens? Daughters\nare better even than sons, and produce happiness in this world and the\nnext. Why do kings care so much about those sons that hanker after\ntheir kingdom, and eat up their fathers like crabs? But kings like\nKuntibhoja and others, by the virtues of daughters like Kunt\u00ed and\nothers, have escaped harm from sages like the terrible Durv\u00e1sas. And\nhow can one obtain from a son the same fruit in the next world, as\none obtains from the marriage of a daughter? Moreover I now proceed\nto tell the tale of Sulochan\u00e1, listen to it.\"\n\n\n\nStory of Sulochan\u00e1 and Sushena.\n\nThere was a young king named Sushena on the mountain of Chitrak\u00fata,\nwho was created like another god of love by the Creator to spite\nSiva. He made at the foot of that great mountain a heavenly garden,\nwhich was calculated to make the gods averse to dwelling in the garden\nof Nandana. And in the middle of it he made a lake with full-blown\nlotuses, like a new productive bed for the lotuses with which the\ngoddess of Fortune plays. This lake had steps leading down into\nit made of splendid gems, and the king used to linger on its bank\nwithout a bride, because there were no eligible matches for him. Once\non a time Rambh\u00e1, a fair one of heaven, came that way, wandering at\nwill through the air from the palace of Indra. She beheld the king\nroaming in that garden like an incarnation of the Spring in the midst\nof a garden of full-blown flowers. She said--\"Can this be the moon,\nthat has swooped down from heaven in pursuit of the goddess of Fortune\nfallen into a cluster of lotuses of the lake? But that cannot be, for\nthis hero's fortune in the shape of beauty never passes away. [456]\nSurely this must be the god of the flowery arrows come to the garden\nin quest of flowers. But where has Rati, his companion, gone?\" Thus\nRambh\u00e1 described him in her eagerness, and descending from heaven in\nhuman form, she approached that king. And when the king suddenly beheld\nher advancing towards him, he was astonished and reflected--\"Who can\nthis be of incredible beauty? She cannot surely be a human being,\nsince her feet do not touch the dust, and her eye does not wink,\ntherefore she must be some divine person. But I must not ask her who\nshe is, for she might fly from me. Divine beings, who visit men for\nsome cause or other, are generally impatient of having their secrets\nrevealed.\" While such thoughts were passing in the monarch's mind,\nshe began a conversation with him, which led in due course to his\nthrowing his arms round her neck then and there. And he sported\nlong there with this Apsaras, so that she forgot heaven; love is\nmore charming than one's native home. And the land of that king was\nfilled with heaps of gold, by means of the Yakshin\u00eds, friends of\nhers, who transformed themselves into trees, as the heaven is filled\nwith the peaks of Meru. And in course of time that excellent Apsaras\nbecame pregnant, and bore to king Sushena an incomparably beautiful\ndaughter, and no sooner had she given her birth, than she said to the\nking--\"O king, such has been my curse, and it is now at an end; for I\nam Rambh\u00e1, a heavenly nymph that fell in love with you on beholding\nyou: and as I have given birth to a child, I must immediately leave\nyou and depart. For such is the law that governs us heavenly beings;\ntherefore take care of this daughter; when she is married, we shall\nagain be united in heaven.\" When the Apsaras Rambh\u00e1 had said this,\nshe departed, sorely against her will, and through grief at it, the\nking was bent on abandoning life. But his ministers said to him, \"Did\nVisv\u00e1mitra, though despondent, abandon life when Menak\u00e1 had departed\nafter giving birth to Sakuntal\u00e1?\" When the king had been plied by\nthem with such arguments, he took the right view of the matter, and\nslowly recovered his self-command, taking to his heart the daughter\nwho was destined to be the cause of their re-union. And that daughter,\nlovely in all her limbs, her father, who was devoted to her, named\nSulochan\u00e1, on account of the exceeding beauty of her eyes.\n\nIn time she grew up to womanhood, and a young hermit, named Vatsa,\nthe descendant of Kasyapa, as he was roaming about at will, beheld\nher in a garden. He, though he was all compact of asceticism, the\nmoment he beheld that princess, felt the emotion of love, and he said\nto himself then and there; \"Oh! exceedingly wonderful is the beauty\nof this maiden! If I do not obtain her as a wife, what other fruit of\nmy asceticism can I obtain?\" While thinking thus, the young hermit was\nbeheld by Sulochan\u00e1, and he seemed to her all glorious with brightness,\nlike fire free from smoke. When she saw him with his rosary and water\nvessel, she fell in love also and thought--\"Who can this be that looks\nso self-restrained and yet so lovely?\" And coming towards him as if to\nselect him for her husband, she threw over his body the garland [457]\nof the blue lotuses of her eyes, and bowed before that hermit. And\nhe, with mind overpowered by the decree of Cupid, hard for gods and\nAsuras to evade, pronounced on her the following blessing--\"Obtain a\nhusband.\" Then the excellent hermit was thus addressed by that lady,\nwhose modesty was stolen away by love for his exceeding beauty,\nand who spoke with downcast face--\"If this is your desire, and if\nthis is not jesting talk, then, Br\u00e1hman, ask the king, my father,\nwho has power to dispose of me.\" Then the hermit, after hearing of\nher descent from her attendants, went and asked the king Sushena, her\nfather, for her hand. He, for his part, when he saw that the young\nhermit was eminent both in beauty and asceticism, entertained him,\nand said to him--\"Reverend sir, this daughter is mine by the nymph\nRambh\u00e1, and by my daughter's marriage I am to be re-united with\nher in heaven; so Rambh\u00e1 told me when she was returning to the sky;\nconsider, auspicious sir, how that is to be accomplished.\" When the\nhermit heard that, he thought for a moment--\"Did not the hermit Ruru,\nwhen Pramadvar\u00e1 the daughter of Menak\u00e1 was bitten by a snake, give\nher the half of his life, and make her his wife? Was not the Chand\u00e1la\nTrisanku carried to heaven by Visv\u00e1mitra? So why should not I do the\nsame by expending my asceticism upon it?\" Having thus reflected, the\nhermit said--\"There is no difficulty in it,\" and exclaimed--\"Hearken ye\ngods, may this king mount with his body to heaven to obtain possession\nof Rambh\u00e1 by virtue of part of my asceticism.\" Thus the hermit spoke\nin the hearing of the court, and a distinct answer was heard from\nheaven--\"So be it.\" Then the king gave his daughter Sulochan\u00e1 to the\nhermit Vatsa, the descendant of Kasyapa, and ascended to heaven. There\nhe obtained a divine nature, and lived happily with that Rambh\u00e1 of\ngod-like dignity, appointed his wife by Indra.\n\n\"Thus, O king, Sushena obtained all his ends by means of a\ndaughter. For such daughters become incarnate in the houses of such as\nyou. And this daughter is surely some heavenly nymph, fallen from her\nhigh estate owing to a curse, and born in your house, so do not grieve,\nmonarch, on account of her birth.\" When king Kalingadatta had heard\nthis tale from the Br\u00e1hman that had grown old in his house, he left\noff being distressed, and was comforted. And he gave to his dear young\ndaughter, who gave pleasure to his eyes, as if she had been a digit\nof the moon, the name of Kalingasen\u00e1. And the princess Kalingasen\u00e1\ngrew up in the house of her father amongst her companions. And she\nsported in the palaces, and in the palace-gardens, like a wave of\nthe sea of infancy that is full of the passion [458] for amusement.\n\nOnce on a time the daughter of the Asura Maya, named Somaprabh\u00e1, as she\nwas journeying through the sky, saw her on the roof of a palace engaged\nin play. And Somaprabh\u00e1, while in the sky, beheld her lovely enough\nto bewilder with her beauty the mind even of a hermit, and feeling\naffection for her, reflected--\"Who is this? Can she be the form of the\nmoon? If so, how is it that she gleams in the day? But if she is Rati,\nwhere is K\u00e1ma? Therefore I conclude that she is a mortal maiden.\n\n\"She must be some celestial nymph that has descended into a king's\npalace in consequence of a curse; and I am persuaded I was certainly a\nfriend of her's in a former life. For my mind's being full of exceeding\naffection for her, tells me so. Therefore it is fitting that I should\nagain select her as my chosen friend.\" Thus reflecting Somaprabh\u00e1\ndescended invisible from heaven, in order not to frighten that\nmaiden; and she assumed the appearance of a mortal maiden to inspire\nconfidence, and slowly approached that Kalingasen\u00e1. Then Kalingasen\u00e1,\non beholding her, reflected--\"Bravo! here is a princess of wonderful\nbeauty come to visit me of her own accord! she is a suitable friend for\nme.\" So she rose up politely and embraced that Somaprabh\u00e1. And making\nher take a seat, she asked her immediately her descent and name. And\nSomaprabh\u00e1 said to her; \"Be patient, I will tell you all.\" Then in the\ncourse of their conversation they swore friendship to each other with\nplighted hands. Then Somaprabh\u00e1, said--\"My friend, you are a king's\ndaughter, and it is hard to keep up friendship with the children of\nkings. For they fly into an immoderate passion on account of a small\nfault. Hear, with regard to this point, the story of the prince and\nthe merchant's son which I am about to tell you.\"\n\n\n\nStory of the prince and the merchant's son who saved his life. [459]\n\nIn the city of Pushkar\u00e1vat\u00ed there was a king named G\u00fadhasena, and to\nhim there was born one son. That prince was overbearing, and whatever\nhe did, right or wrong, his father acquiesced in, because he was an\nonly son. And once upon a time, as he was roaming about in a garden,\nhe saw the son of a merchant, named Brahmadatta, who resembled himself\nin wealth and beauty. And the moment he saw him, he selected him for\nhis special friend, and those two, the prince and the merchant's son,\nimmediately became like one another in all things. [460] And soon\nthey were not able to live without seeing one another, for intimacy\nin a former birth quickly knits friendship. The prince never tasted\nfood that was not first prepared for that merchant's son.\n\nOnce on a time the prince set out for Ahichchhatra in order to be\nmarried, having first decided on his friend's marriage. And, as he was\njourneying with his troops, in the society of that friend, mounted\non an elephant, he reached the bank of the Ikshuvat\u00ed, and encamped\nthere. There he had a wine-party, when the moon arose; and after he\nhad gone to bed, he began to tell a story at the solicitation of his\nnurse. When he had begun his story, being tired and intoxicated he\nwas overcome by sleep, and his nurse also, but the merchant's son\nkept awake out of love for him. And when the others were asleep, the\nmerchant's son, who was awake, heard in the air what seemed to be the\nvoices of women engaged in conversation. The first said--\"This wretch\nhas gone to sleep without telling his tale, therefore I pronounce this\ncurse on him. To-morrow morning he shall see a necklace, and if he\ntake hold of it, it shall cling to his neck, and that moment cause\nhis death.\" Then the first voice ceased, and the second went on:\n\"And if he escape that peril, he shall see a mango-tree, and if he\neat the fruit of it, he shall then and there lose his life.\" Having\nuttered this, that voice also ceased, and then the third said--\"If\nhe escape this also, then, if he enter a house to be married, it\nshall fall on him and slay him.\" Having said so much, that voice also\nceased, and the fourth said, \"If he escape this also, when he enters\nthat night into his private apartments, he shall sneeze a hundred\ntimes; and if some one there does not a hundred times say to him,\n'God bless you,' he shall fall into the grasp of death. And if the\nperson, who has heard all this, shall inform him of it in order\nto save his life, he also shall die,\" having said this, the voice\nceased. [461] And the merchant's son having heard all this, terrible\nas a thunderstroke, being agitated on account of his affection for\nthe prince, reflected--\"Beshrew this tale that was begun, and not\nfinished, for divinities have come invisible to hear it, and are\ncursing him out of disappointed curiosity. And if this prince dies,\nwhat good will my life do to me? So I must by some artifice deliver\nmy friend whom I value as my life. And I must not tell him what has\ntaken place, lest I too should suffer.\" Having thus reflected, the\nmerchant's son got through the night with difficulty.\n\nAnd in the morning the prince set out with him on his journey, and he\nsaw a necklace in front of him, and wished to lay hold of it. Then\nthe merchant's son said, \"Do not take the necklace, my friend, it\nis an illusion, else why do not these soldiers see it?\" When the\nprince heard that, he let the necklace alone, but going on further\nhe saw a mango-tree, and he felt a desire to eat its fruit. But he\nwas dissuaded by the merchant's son, as before. He felt much annoyed\nin his heart, and travelling on slowly he reached his father-in-law's\npalace. And he was about to enter a building there for the purpose of\nbeing married, but just as his friend had persuaded him not to do so,\nthe house fell down. So he escaped this danger by a hair's breadth,\nand then he felt some confidence in his friend's prescience. Then\nthe prince and his wife entered at night another building. But the\nmerchant's son slipped in there unobserved. And the prince, when he\nwent to bed, sneezed a hundred times, but the merchant's son underneath\nit said a hundred times--\"God bless you\"--and then the merchant's son,\nhaving accomplished his object, of his own accord left the house in\nhigh spirits. But the prince, who was with his wife, saw him going\nout, and through jealousy, forgetting his love for him, he flew into\na passion and said to the sentinels at his gate: \"This designing\nwretch has entered my private apartments when I wished to be alone,\nso keep him in durance for the present, and he shall be executed in\nthe morning.\" When the guards heard that, they put him under arrest,\nand he spent the night in confinement, but as he was being led off\nto execution in the morning, he said to them--\"First take me into\nthe presence of the prince, in order that I may tell him a certain\nreason, which I had for my conduct; and then put me to death.\" When\nhe said this to the guards, they went and informed the prince, and\non their information and the advice of his ministers, the prince\nordered him to be brought before him. When he was brought, he told\nthe prince the whole story, and he believed it to be true, for the\nfall of the house carried conviction to his mind. So the prince was\nsatisfied, and countermanded the order for his friend's execution,\nand he returned with him to his own city, a married man. And there\nhis friend the merchant's son married, and lived in happiness, his\nvirtues being praised by all men.\n\n\"Thus the children of kings break loose from restraint and slaying\ntheir guides, disregard benefits, like infuriated elephants. And\nwhat friendship can there be with those Vet\u00e1las, who take people's\nlives by way of a joke. Therefore, my princess, never abandon your\nfriendship with me.\"\n\nWhen Kalingasen\u00e1 heard this story in the palace from the mouth of\nSomaprabh\u00e1, she answered her affectionate friend,--\"Those of whom you\nspeak are considered Pis\u00e1chas, not the children of kings, and I will\ntell you a story of the evil importunity of Pis\u00e1chas, listen!\" [462]\n\n\n\nStory of the Br\u00e1hman and the Pis\u00e1cha.\n\nLong ago there was a Br\u00e1hman dwelling on a royal grant, which was\ncalled Yajnasthala. He once upon a time, being poor, went to the\nforest to bring home wood. There, a piece of wood being cleft with the\naxe, fell, as chance would have it, upon his leg, and piercing it,\nentered deep into it. And as the blood flowed from him, he fainted,\nand he was beheld in that condition by a man who recognised him, and\ntaking him up carried him home. There his distracted wife washed off\nthe blood, and consoling him, placed a plaster upon the wound. And\nthen his wound, though tended day by day, not only did not heal, but\nformed an ulcer. Then the man, afflicted with his ulcerated wound,\npoverty-stricken, and at the point of death, was thus advised in\nsecret by a Br\u00e1hman friend, who came to him; \"A friend of mine, named\nYajnadatta, was long very poor, but he gained the aid of a Pis\u00e1cha\nby a charm, and so, having obtained wealth, lived in happiness. And\nhe told me that charm, so do you gain, my friend, by means of it, the\naid of a Pis\u00e1cha; he will heal your wound.\" Having said this, he told\nhim the form of words and described to him the ceremony as follows:\n\"Rise up in the last watch of the night, and with dishevelled hair and\nnaked, and without rinsing your mouth, take two handfuls of rice as\nlarge as you can grasp with your two hands, and muttering the form\nof words go to a place where four roads meet, and there place the\ntwo handfuls of rice, and return in silence without looking behind\nyou. Do so always until that Pis\u00e1cha appears, and himself says to you,\n'I will put an end to your ailment.' Then receive his aid gladly,\nand he will remove your complaint.\"\n\nWhen his friend had said this to him, the Br\u00e1hman did as he had been\ndirected. Then the Pis\u00e1cha, being conciliated, brought heavenly herbs\nfrom a lofty peak of the Him\u00e1layas and healed his wound. And then\nhe became obstinately persistent, and said to the Br\u00e1hman, who was\ndelighted at being healed, \"Give me a second wound to cure, but if\nyou will not, I will do you an injury or destroy your body.\" When\nthe Br\u00e1hman heard that, he was terrified, and immediately said\nto him to get rid of him--\"I will give you another wound within\nseven days.\" Whereupon the Pis\u00e1cha left him, but the Br\u00e1hman felt\nhopeless about his life. But eventually he baffled the Pis\u00e1cha by\nthe help of his daughter, and having got over the disease, he lived\nin happiness. [463]\n\n\"Such are Pis\u00e1chas, and some young princes are just like them,\nand, though conciliated, produce misfortune, my friend, but they\ncan be guarded against by counsel. But princesses of good family\nhave never been heard to be such. So you must not expect any injury\nfrom associating with me.\" When Somaprabh\u00e1 heard from the mouth of\nKalingasen\u00e1 in due course this sweet, entertaining, and amusing tale,\nshe was delighted. And she said to her--\"My house is sixty yojanas\ndistant hence, and the day is passing away; I have remained long,\nso now I must depart, fair one.\" Then, as the lord of day was slowly\nsinking to the eastern mountain, she took leave of her friend who was\neager for a second interview, and in a moment flew up into the air,\nexciting the wonder of the spectators, and rapidly returned to her own\nhouse. And, after beholding that wonderful sight, Kalingasen\u00e1 entered\ninto her house with much perplexity, and reflected, \"I do not know,\nindeed, whether my friend is a Siddha female, or an Apsaras, or a\nVidy\u00e1dhar\u00ed. She is certainly a heavenly female that travels through\nthe upper air. And heavenly females associate with mortal ones led\nby excessive love. Did not Arundhat\u00ed live in friendship with the\ndaughter of king Prithu? Did not Prithu by means of her friendship\nbring Surabhi from heaven to earth. And did not he by consuming its\nmilk return to heaven though he had fallen from it. And were not\nthenceforth perfect cows born upon earth? So I am fortunate; it is by\ngood luck that I have obtained this heavenly creature as a friend;\nand when she comes to-morrow I will dexterously as her her descent\nand name.\" Thinking such thoughts in her heart, Kalingasen\u00e1 spent\nthat night there, and Somaprabh\u00e1 spent the night in her own house\nbeing eager to behold her again.\n\n\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XXIX.\n\n\nThen in the morning Somaprabh\u00e1 took with her a basket, in which\nshe had placed many excellent mechanical dolls of wood with magic\nproperties in order to amuse her friend, and travelling through the\nair she came again to Kalingasen\u00e1. And when Kalingasen\u00e1 saw her,\nshe was full of tears of joy, and rising up she threw her arms\nround her neck, and said to her, as she sat by her side--\"The dark\nnight of three watches has this time seemed to me to be of a hundred\nwatches without the sight of the full moon of your countenance. So,\nif you know, my friend, tell me of what kind may have been my union\nwith you in a former birth, of which this present friendship is\nthe result.\" When Somaprabh\u00e1 heard this, she said to that princess:\n\"Such knowledge I do not possess, for I do not remember my former\nbirth; and hermits are not acquainted with this, but if any know,\nthey are perfectly acquainted with the highest truth, and they are the\noriginal founders of the science by which it is attained.\" When she had\nspoken thus, Kalingasen\u00e1, being full of curiosity, again asked her in\nprivate in a voice tender from love and confidence, \"Tell me, friend,\nof what divine father you have adorned the race by your birth, since\nyou are completely virtuous like a beautifully-rounded pearl. [464]\nAnd what, auspicious one, is your name, that is nectar to the ears\nof the world. What is the object of this basket? And what thing is\nthere in it?\" On hearing this affectionate speech from Kalingasen\u00e1,\nSomaprabh\u00e1 began to tell the whole story in due course.\n\n\"There is a mighty Asura of the name of Maya, famous in the three\nworlds. And he, abandoning the condition of an Asura, fled to Siva\nas his protector. And Siva having promised him security, he built\nthe palace of Indra. But the Daityas were angry with him, affirming\nthat he had become a partizan of the gods. Through fear of them he\nmade in the Vindhya mountains a very wonderful magic subterranean\npalace, which the Asuras could not reach. My sister and I are the two\ndaughters of that Maya. My elder sister named Svayamprabh\u00e1 follows a\nvow of virginity, and lives as a maiden in my father's house. But I,\nthe younger daughter, named Somaprabh\u00e1, have been bestowed in marriage\non a son of Kuvera named Nadak\u00favara, and my father has taught me\ninnumerable magic artifices, and as for this basket, I have brought it\nhere to please you.\" Having said this, Somaprabh\u00e1 opened the basket\nand shewed to her some very interesting mechanical dolls constructed\nby her magic, made of wood. One of them, on a pin in it being touched,\n[465] went through the air at her orders and fetched a garland of\nflowers and quickly returned. Another in the same way brought water\nat will; [466] another danced, and another then conversed. With such\nvery wonderful contrivances Somaprabh\u00e1 amused Kalingasen\u00e1 for some\ntime, and then she put that magic basket in a place of security,\nand taking leave of her regretful friend, she went, being obedient to\nher husband, through the air to her own palace. But Kalingasen\u00e1 was\nso delighted that the sight of these wonders took away her appetite,\nand she remained averse to all food. And when her mother perceived\nthat, she feared she was ill; however a physician named \u00c1nanda having\nexamined the child, told her mother that there was nothing the matter\nwith her. He said, \"She has lost her appetite through delight at\nsomething, not from disease; for her countenance, which appears to\nbe laughing, with eyes wide open, indicates this.\" When she heard\nthis report from the physician, the girl's mother asked her the real\ncause of her joy; and the girl told her. Then her mother believed\nthat she was delighted with the society of an eligible friend, and\ncongratulated her, and made her take her proper food.\n\nThen the next day Somaprabh\u00e1 arrived, and having found out what had\ntaken place, she proceeded to say to Kalingasen\u00e1 in secret, \"I told\nmy husband, who possesses supernatural knowledge, that I had formed\na friendship with you, and obtained from him, when he knew the facts,\npermission to visit you every day. So you must now obtain permission\nfrom your parents, in order that you may amuse yourself with me at\nwill without fear.\" When she had said this, Kalingasen\u00e1 took her by\nthe hand, and immediately went to her father and mother, and there\nintroduced her friend to her father, king Kalingadatta, proclaiming\nher descent and name, and in the same way she introduced her to her\nmother T\u00e1r\u00e1datt\u00e1, and they, on beholding her, received her politely\nin accordance with their daughter's account of her. And both those\ntwo, pleased with her appearance, hospitably received that beautiful\nwife of the distinguished Asura out of love for their daughter, and\nsaid to her--\"Dear girl, we entrust this Kalingasen\u00e1 to your care,\nso amuse yourselves together as much as you please.\" And Kalingasen\u00e1\nand Somaprabh\u00e1 having gladly welcomed this speech of theirs, went\nout together. And they went, in order to amuse themselves, to a\ntemple of Buddha built by the king. And they took there that basket\nof magic toys. Then Somaprabh\u00e1 took a magic Yaksha, and sent it on\na commission from herself to bring the requisites for the worship of\nBuddha. That Yaksha went a long distance through the sky, and brought\na multitude of pearls, beautiful gems, and golden lotuses. Having\nperformed worship with these, Somaprabh\u00e1 exhibiting all kinds of\nwonders, displayed the various Buddhas with their abodes. When the\nking Kalingadatta heard of that, he came with the queen and beheld it,\nand then asked Somaprabh\u00e1 about the magic performance. Then Somaprabh\u00e1\nsaid, \"King, these contrivances of magic machines, and so on, were\ncreated in various ways by my father in old time. And even as this\nvast machine, called the world, consists of five elements, so do all\nthese machines: I will describe them one by one. That machine, in\nwhich earth predominates, shuts doors and things of the kind. Not even\nIndra would be able to open what had been shut with it. The shapes\nproduced by the water-machine appear to be alive. But the machine\nin which fire predominates, pours forth flames. And the wind-machine\nperforms actions, such as going and coming. And the machine produced\nfrom ether utters distinct language. All these I obtained from my\nfather, but the wheel-machine, which guards the water of immortality,\nmy father knows and no one else.\" While she was saying this, there\narose the sound of conchs being blown in the middle of the day, that\nseemed to confirm her words. Then she entreated the king to give her\nthe food that suited her, and taking Kalingasen\u00e1 as a companion, by\npermission of the king she set out through the air for her father's\nhouse in a magic chariot, to return to her elder sister. And quickly\nreaching that palace, which was situated in the Vindhya mountains,\nshe conducted her to her sister Svayamprabh\u00e1. There Kalingasen\u00e1 saw\nthat Svayamprabh\u00e1 with her head encircled with matted locks, with a\nlong rosary, a nun clothed in a white garment, smiling like P\u00e1rvat\u00ed,\nin whom love, the highest joy of earth, had undertaken a severe vow\nof mortification. And Svayamprabh\u00e1, when the princess, introduced by\nSomaprabh\u00e1, kneeled before her, received her hospitably and entertained\nher with a meal of fruits. And Somaprabh\u00e1 said to the princess: 'My\nfriend, by eating these fruits, you will escape old age which otherwise\nwould destroy this beauty, as the nipping cold does the lotus: and it\nwas with this object that I brought you here out of affection.' Then\nthat Kalingasen\u00e1 ate those fruits, and immediately her limbs seemed\nto be bathed in the water of life. And roaming about there to amuse\nherself, she saw the garden of the city, with tanks filled with golden\nlotuses, and trees bearing fruit as sweet as nectar: the garden was\nfull of birds of golden and variegated plumage, and seemed to have\npillars of bright gems; it conveyed the idea of walls where there\nwas no partition, and where there were partitions, of unobstructed\nspace. Where there was water, it presented the appearance of dry land,\nand where there was dry land, it bore the semblance of water. It\nresembled another and a wonderful world, created by the delusive\npower of the Asura Maya. It had been entered formerly by the monkeys\nsearching for S\u00edt\u00e1, which, after a long time, were allowed to come\nout by the favour of Svayamprabh\u00e1. So Svayamprabh\u00e1 bade her adieu,\nafter she had been astonished with a full sight of her wonderful\ncity, and had obtained immunity from old age; and Somaprabh\u00e1 making\nKalingasen\u00e1 ascend the chariot again, took her through the air to\nher own palace in Takshasil\u00e1. There Kalingasen\u00e1 told the whole story\nfaithfully to her parents, and they were exceedingly pleased.\n\nAnd while those two friends spent their days in this way, Somaprabh\u00e1\nonce upon a time said to Kalingasen\u00e1: \"As long as you are not married,\nI can continue to be your friend, but after your marriage, how could\nI enter the house of your husband? For a friend's husband ought never\nto be seen or recognised [467]; * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *\n\nAs for a mother-in-law she eats the flesh of a daughter-in-law as\na she-wolf does of a sheep. And \u00e0 propos of this, hear the story of\nK\u00edrtisen\u00e1 which I am about to tell you.\"\n\n\n\nStory of K\u00edrtisen\u00e1 and her cruel mother-in-law. [468]\n\nLong ago there lived in the city of P\u00e1taliputra a merchant named,\nnot without cause, Dhanap\u00e1lita, [469] for he was the richest of\nthe rich. And there was born to him a daughter, named K\u00edrtisen\u00e1,\nwho was incomparably beautiful, and dearer to him than life. And\nhe took his daughter to Magadha and married her to a rich merchant,\nnamed Devasena. And though Devasena was himself very virtuous, he had a\nwicked mother as mistress in his house, for his father was dead. She,\nwhen she saw that her daughter-in-law K\u00edrtisen\u00e1 was beloved by her\nhusband, being inflamed with anger, ill-treated her in her husband's\nabsence. But K\u00edrtisen\u00e1 was afraid to let her husband know it, for\nthe position of a bride in the power of a treacherous mother-in-law\nis a difficult one.\n\nOnce upon a time her husband Devasena, instigated by his relations,\nwas preparing to go to the city of Vallabh\u00ed for the sake of trade. Then\nthat K\u00edrtisen\u00e1 said to her husband,--\"I have not told you for this long\ntime what I am now going to say: your mother ill-treats me though you\nare here, but I do not know what she will do to me when you are in a\nforeign country.\" When Devasena heard that, he was perplexed, and being\nalarmed on account of his affection for his wife, he went and humbly\nsaid to his mother--\"K\u00edrtisen\u00e1 is committed to your care, mother, now\nthat I am going to a foreign land; you must not treat her unkindly, for\nshe is the daughter of a man of good family.\" When Devasena's mother\nheard that, she summoned K\u00edrtisen\u00e1, and elevating her eyes, said to\nhim then and there,--\"What have I done? ask her. This is the way in\nwhich she eggs you on, my son, trying to make mischief in the house,\nbut both of you are the same in my eyes.\" When the good merchant heard\nthat, he departed with his mind easy on her account. For who is not\ndeceived by the hypocritically affectionate speeches of a mother? But\nK\u00edrtisen\u00e1 stood there silent, smiling in bewilderment, and the next day\nthe merchant set out for Vallabh\u00ed. Then, when K\u00edrtisen\u00e1 began to suffer\ntorture at being separated from her husband, the merchant's mother\ngradually forbade the female slaves to attend on her. And making an\nagreement with a handmaid of her own, that worked in the house, she\ntook K\u00edrtisen\u00e1 inside and secretly stripped her. And saying to her,\n\"Wicked woman, you rob me of my son,\" she pulled her hair, and with the\nhelp of her servant, mangled her with kicks, bites, and scratches. And\nshe threw her into a cellar that was closed with a trap-door and\nstrongly fastened, after first taking out all the things that were\nin it previously. And the wretch put in it every day half a plate of\nrice, in the evening, for the girl who was in such a state. And she\nthought, \"I will say in a few days 'she died of herself during her\nhusband's absence in a distant land, take her corpse away.'\" [470]\nThus K\u00edrtisen\u00e1, who deserved all happiness, was thrown into a cellar\nby that cruel mother-in-law, and while there she reflected with tears,\n\"My husband is rich, I was born in a good family, I am fortunately\nendowed and virtuous, nevertheless I suffer such calamity, thanks\nto my mother-in-law. And this is why relations lament the birth of a\ndaughter, exposed to the terrors of mother-in-law, and sister-in-law,\nmarred with inauspiciousness of every kind.\" While thus lamenting,\nK\u00edrtisen\u00e1 suddenly found a small shovel in that cellar, like a\nthorn extracted from her heart by the Creator. So she dug a passage\nunderground with that iron instrument, until by good luck she rose up\nin her own private apartment. And she was able to see that room by\nthe light of a lamp that had been left there before, as if she were\nlighted by her own undiminished virtue. And she took out of it her\nclothes and her gold, and leaving it secretly at the close of the\nnight, she went out of the city. She reflected--\"It is not fitting\nthat I should go to my father's house after acting thus; what should I\nsay there, and how would people believe me? So I must manage to repair\nto my husband by means of my own ingenuity; for a husband is the only\nrefuge of virtuous women in this world and the next.\" Reflecting thus,\nshe bathed in the water of a tank, and put on the splendid dress of\na prince. Then she went into the bazar and after exchanging some gold\nfor money, she sojourned that day in the house of a certain merchant.\n\nThe next day she struck up a friendship with a merchant named\nSamudrasena who wished to go to Vallabh\u00ed. And wearing the splendid\ndress of a prince, she set out for Vallabh\u00ed with the merchant\nand his servants in order to catch up her husband who had set out\nbeforehand. And she said to that merchant, \"I am oppressed by my\nclansmen, [471] so I will go with you to my friends in Vallabh\u00ed.\"\n\nHaving heard that, the merchant's son waited upon her on the journey,\nout of respect, thinking to himself that she was some distinguished\nprince or other; and that caravan preferred for its march the forest\nroad, which was much frequented by travellers, who avoided the other\nroutes because of the heavy duties they had to pay. In a few days\nthey reached the entrance of the forest, and while the caravan was\nencamped in the evening, a female jackal, like a messenger of death,\nuttered a terrific howl. Thereupon the merchants, who understood\nwhat that meant, became apprehensive of an attack by bandits, and\nthe guards on every side took their arms in hand; and the darkness\nbegan to advance like the vanguard of the bandits; then K\u00edrtisen\u00e1,\nin man's dress, beholding that, reflected, \"Alas! the deeds of those\nwho have sinned in a former life seem to propagate themselves with\na brood of evils! Lo! the calamity which my mother-in-law brought\nupon me has borne fruit here also! First I was engulphed by the wrath\nof my mother-in-law as if by the mouth of death, then I entered the\ncellar like a second prison of the womb. By good fortune, I escaped\nthence, being, as it were, born a second time, and having come here,\nI have again run a risk of my life. If I am slain here by bandits,\nmy mother-in-law, who hates me, will surely say to my husband, 'She\nran off somewhere being attached to another man.' But if some one\ntears off my clothes and recognises me for a woman, then again I run\na risk of outrage, and death is better than that. So I must deliver\nmyself, and disregard this merchant my friend. For good women must\nregard the duty of virtuous wives, not friends and things of that\nkind.\" Thus she determined, and searching about, found a hollow like\na house in the middle of a tree, as it were, an opening made for her\nby the earth out of pity. There she entered and covered her body with\nleaves and such like things; and remained supported by the hope of\nreunion with her husband. Then, in the dead of night, a large force\nof bandits suddenly fell upon the caravan with uplifted weapons,\nand surrounded it on all sides. And there followed a storm of fight,\nwith howling bandits for thunder-clouds, and the gleam of weapons for\nlong-continued lightning-flashes, and a rain of blood. At last the\nbandits, being more powerful, slew the merchant-prince Samudrasena\nand his followers, and went off with all his wealth.\n\nIn the meanwhile K\u00edrtisen\u00e1 was listening to the tumult, and that\nshe was not forcibly robbed of breath is to be ascribed to fate\nonly. Then the night departed, and the keen-rayed sun arose, and she\nwent out from that hollow in the middle of the tree. Surely the gods\nthemselves preserve in misfortune good women exclusively devoted to\ntheir husbands, and of unfailing virtue; for not only did a lion\nbeholding her in the lonely wood spare her, but a hermit that had\ncome from somewhere or other, when she asked him for information,\ncomforted her and gave her a drink of water from his vessel, and then\ndisappeared in some direction or other, after telling her the road to\ntake. Then satisfied as if with nectar, free from hunger and thirst,\nthat woman, devoted to her husband, set out by the road indicated\nby the hermit. Then she saw the sun mounted on the western mountain,\nstretching forth his rays like fingers, as if saying--\"Wait patiently\none night\"--and so she entered an opening in the root of a forest\ntree which looked like a house, and closed its mouth with another\ntree. And in the evening she saw through the opening of a chink in\nthe door of her retreat a terrible R\u00e1kshas\u00ed approaching, accompanied\nby her young sons. She was terrified, thinking to herself--\"Lo! I\nshall be devoured by this R\u00e1kshas\u00ed after escaping all my other\nmisfortunes\"--and in the meanwhile the R\u00e1kshas\u00ed ascended that tree. And\nher sons ascended after her, and immediately said to that R\u00e1kshas\u00ed,\n[472]--\"Mother, give us something to eat.\" Then the R\u00e1kshas\u00ed said to\nher children,--\"To-day, my children, I went to a great cemetery, but\nI did not obtain any food, and though I entreated the congregation of\nwitches, they gave me no portion; then grieved thereat I appealed to\nSiva in his terrific form and asked him for food. And the god asked\nme my name and lineage, and then said to me--'Terrible one, thou\nart of high birth as belonging to the race of Khara and D\u00fashana;\n[473] so go to the city of Vasudatta, not far from here. In that\ncity there lives a great king named Vasudatta addicted to virtue;\nhe defends this whole forest, dwelling on its border, and himself\ntakes duties and chastises robbers. Now, one day, while the king was\nsleeping in the forest, fatigued with hunting, a centipede quickly\nentered his ear unobserved. And in course of time it gave birth to\nmany others inside his head. That produced an illness which now dries\nup all his sinews. And the physicians do not know what is the cause\nof his disease, but if some one does not find out, he will die in a\nfew days. When he is dead, eat his flesh; for by eating it, you will,\nthanks to your magic power, remain satiated for six months!' In these\nwords Siva promised me a meal, that is attended with uncertainty,\nand cannot be obtained for a long time, so what must I do, my\nchildren?\" When the R\u00e1kshas\u00ed said this to her children, they asked\nher, \"If the disease is discovered and removed, will that king live,\nmother? And tell us how such a disease can be cured in him?\" When\nthe children said this, the R\u00e1kshas\u00ed solemnly said to them, \"If the\ndisease is discovered and removed, the king will certainly live. And\nhear how his great disease may be taken away. First his head must be\nanointed by rubbing warm butter on it, and then it must be placed\nfor a long time in the heat of the sun intensified by noonday. And\na hollow cane-tube must be inserted into the aperture of his ear,\nwhich must communicate with a hole in a plate, and this plate must\nbe placed above a pitcher of cool water. Accordingly the centipedes\nwill be annoyed by heat and perspiration, and will come out of his\nhead, and will enter that cane-tube from the aperture of the ear,\nand desiring coolness will fall into the pitcher. In this way the\nking may be freed from that great disease.\" Thus spake the R\u00e1kshas\u00ed\nto her sons on the tree, and then ceased; and K\u00edrtisen\u00e1, who was in\nthe trunk of the tree, heard it. And hearing it, she said to herself,\n\"If ever I get safe away from here, I will go and employ this artifice\nto save the life of that king. For he takes but small duties, and\ndwells on the outskirts of this forest; and so all the merchants come\nthis way because it is more convenient. This is what the merchant,\nSamudrasena, who is gone to heaven, told me; accordingly that husband\nof mine will be sure to return by this very path. So I will go to the\ncity of Vasudatta, which is on the borders of the forest, and I will\ndeliver the king from his sickness, and there await the arrival of my\nhusband.\" Thus reflecting, she managed, though with difficulty, to get\nthrough the night: in the morning, the R\u00e1kshasas having disappeared,\nshe went out from the trunk of the tree.\n\nThen she travelled along slowly in the dress of a man, and in the\nafternoon she saw a good cowherd. He was moved to compassion by seeing\nher delicate beauty, and that she had accomplished a long journey,\nand then she approached him, and said--\"What country is this, please\ntell me?\" The cowherd said--\"This city in front of you is the city of\nVasudatta, belonging to the king Vasudatta: as for the king, he lies\nthere at the point of death with illness.\" When K\u00edrtisen\u00e1 heard that,\nshe said to the cowherd, \"If any one will conduct me into the presence\nof that king, I know how to remove his disease.\" When the cowherd\nheard that, he said, \"I am going to that very city, so come with me,\nthat I may point it out to you.\" K\u00edrtisen\u00e1 answered--\"So be it,\" and\nimmediately that herdsman conducted her to the city of Vasudatta,\nwearing her male dress. And telling the circumstances exactly as\nthey were, he immediately commended that lady with auspicious marks\nto the afflicted warder. And the warder, having informed the king,\nby his orders introduced the blameless lady into his presence. The\nking Vasudatta, though tortured with his disease, was comforted the\nmoment he beheld that lady of wonderful beauty; the soul is able to\ndistinguish friends from enemies. And he said to the lady who was\ndisguised as a man, \"Auspicious sir, if you remove this disease,\nI will give you half my kingdom; I remember a lady stripped off\nfrom me in my dream a black blanket, so you will certainly remove\nthis my disease.\" When K\u00edrtisen\u00e1 heard that, she said--\"This day\nis at an end, O king; to-morrow I will take away your disease;\ndo not be impatient.\" Having said this, she rubbed cow's butter on\nthe king's head; that made sleep come to him, and the excessive pain\ndisappeared. And then all there praised K\u00edrtisen\u00e1, saying--\"This is\nsome god come to us in the disguise of a physician, thanks to our\nmerits in a previous state of existence.\" And the queen waited on her\nwith various attentions, and appointed for her a house in which to\nrest at night, with female attendants. Then on the next day, at noon,\nbefore the eyes of the ministers and ladies of the harem, K\u00edrtisen\u00e1\nextracted from the head of that king, through the aperture of the ear,\none hundred and fifty centipedes, by employing the wonderful artifice\npreviously described by the R\u00e1kshas\u00ed. And after getting the centipedes\ninto the pitcher, she comforted the king by fomenting him with milk\nand melted butter. The king having gradually recovered, and being\nfree from disease, everybody there was astonished at beholding those\ncreatures in the pitcher. And the king, on beholding these harmful\ninsects that had been extracted from his head, was terrified, puzzled\nand delighted, and considered himself born again. And he made high\nfeast, and honoured K\u00edrtisen\u00e1, who did not care for half the kingdom,\nwith villages, elephants, horses, and gold. And the queens and the\nministers loaded her with gold and garments, saying that they ought to\nhonour the physician who had saved the life of their sovereign. But she\ndeposited for the present that wealth in the hand of the king, waiting\nfor her husband, and saying--\"I am under a vow for a certain time.\"\n\nSo K\u00edrtisen\u00e1 remained there some days in man's clothes, honoured by\nall men, and in the meanwhile she heard from the people that her\nown husband, the great merchant Devasena, had come that way from\nVallabh\u00ed. Then, as soon as she knew that that caravan had arrived in\nthe city, she went to it, and saw that husband of hers as a peahen\nbeholds the new cloud. And she fell at his feet, and her heart,\nweeping from the pain of long separation, made her bestow on him\nthe argha [474] with her tears of joy. Her husband, for his part,\nafter he had examined her, who was concealed by her disguise, like\nthe form of the moon invisible in the day on account of the rays of\nthe sun, recognised her. It was wonderful that the heart of Devasena,\nwho was handsome as the moon, did not dissolve like the moonstone,\n[475] on beholding the moon of her countenance.\n\nThen, K\u00edrtisen\u00e1 having thus revealed herself, and her husband remaining\nin a state of wonder, marvelling what it could mean, and the company\nof merchants being astonished, the king Vasudatta, hearing of it,\ncame there full of amazement. And K\u00edrtisen\u00e1, being questioned by him,\ntold in the presence of her husband her whole adventure, that was\ndue to the wickedness of her mother-in-law. And her husband Devasena,\nhearing it, conceived an aversion to his mother, and was affected at\nthe same time by anger, forbearance, astonishment, and joy. And all\nthe people present there, having heard that wonderful adventure of\nK\u00edrtisen\u00e1, exclaimed joyfully--\"Chaste women, mounted on the chariot\nof conjugal affection, protected by the armour of modesty, and armed\nwith the weapon of intellect, are victorious in the struggle.\" The\nking too said--\"This lady, who has endured affliction for the sake of\nher husband, has surpassed even queen S\u00edt\u00e1, who shared the hardships\nof R\u00e1ma. So she is henceforth my sister in the faith, as well as\nthe saviour of my life.\" When the king said that, K\u00edrtisen\u00e1 answered\nhim--\"O king, let your gift of affection which I deposited in your\ncare, consisting of villages, elephants, and horses, be made over\nto my husband.\" When she said this to the king, he bestowed on her\nhusband Devasena the villages and other presents, and being pleased\ngave him a turban of honour. Then Devasena, having his purse suddenly\nfilled with stores of wealth, part of which was given by the king,\nand part acquired by his own trading, avoiding his mother, and\npraising K\u00edrtisen\u00e1, remained dwelling in that town. And K\u00edrtisen\u00e1\nhaving found a happy lot, from which her wicked mother-in-law was\nremoved, and having obtained glory by her unparalleled adventures,\ndwelt there in the enjoyment of all luxury and power, like all the\nrich fruit of her husband's good deeds incarnate in a body.\n\n\"Thus chaste women, enduring the dispensations of hostile fate,\nbut preserving in misfortunes the treasure of their virtue,\nand protected by the great power of their goodness, procure good\nfortune for their husbands and themselves. And thus, O daughter of\na king, many misfortunes befall wives, inflicted by mothers-in-law\nand sisters-in-law, therefore I desire for you a husband's house\nof such a kind, that in it there shall be no mother-in-law and no\ncruel sister-in-law.\"\n\nHearing this delightful and marvellous story from the mouth of the\nAsura princess Somaprabh\u00e1, the mortal princess Kalingasen\u00e1 was highly\ndelighted. Then the sun, seeing that these tales, the matter of which\nwas so various, had come to an end, proceeded to set, and Somaprabh\u00e1,\nhaving embraced the regretful Kalingasen\u00e1, went to her own palace.\n\n\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XXX.\n\n\nThen Kalingasen\u00e1 out of love went to the top of a palace on the high\nroad, to follow with her eyes the course of Somaprabh\u00e1, who had set\nout for her own home, and by chance a young king of the Vidy\u00e1dharas,\nnamed Madanavega, travelling through the air, had a near view of\nher. The youth beholding her, bewildering the three worlds with\nher beauty, like the bunch of peacock feathers of the conjuror\nCupid, was much troubled. He reflected--\"Away with the Vidy\u00e1dhara\nbeauties! Not even the Apsarases deserve to be mentioned in presence\nof the surpassing loveliness of this mortal lady. So if she will not\nconsent to become my wife, what is the profit of my life? But how\ncan I associate with a mortal lady, being a Vidy\u00e1dhara?\" Thereupon\nhe called to mind the science named Prajnapti, and that science,\nappearing in bodily form, thus addressed him, \"She is not really\na mortal woman, she is an Apsaras, degraded in consequence of a\ncurse, and born in the house of the august king Kalingadatta.\" When\nthe Vidy\u00e1dhara had been thus informed by the science, he went off\ndelighted and distracted with love; and averse from all other things,\nreflected in his palace; \"It is not fitting for me to carry her off by\nforce; for the possession of women by force is, according to a curse,\nfated to bring me death. So in order to obtain her, I must propitiate\nSiva by asceticism, for happiness is procurable by asceticism, and no\nother expedient presents itself.\" Thus he resolved, and the next day\nhe went to the Rishabha mountain, and standing on one foot, performed\npenance without taking food. Then the husband of Ambik\u00e1 was soon won\nover by Madanavega's severe asceticism, and appearing to him, thus\nenjoined him, \"This maiden, named Kalingasen\u00e1, is famous for beauty\non the earth, and she cannot find any husband equal to her in the\ngift of loveliness. Only the king of Vatsa is a fitting match for\nher, and he longs to possess her, but through fear of V\u00e1savadatt\u00e1,\ndoes not dare to court her openly. And this princess, who is longing\nfor a handsome husband, will hear of the king of Vatsa from the mouth\nof Somaprabh\u00e1, and repair to him to choose him as her husband. So,\nbefore her marriage takes place, assume the form of the impatient king\nof Vatsa, and go and make her your wife by the G\u00e1ndharva ceremony. In\nthis way, fair sir, you will obtain Kalingasen\u00e1.\" Having received\nthis command from Siva, Madanavega prostrated himself before him,\nand returned to his home on the slope of the K\u00e1lak\u00fata mountain.\n\nThen Kalingasen\u00e1 went on enjoying herself in the city of Takshasil\u00e1,\nin the society of Somaprabh\u00e1, who went every night to her own home, and\ncame back every morning to her friend, in her chariot that travelled\nthrough the air: and one day she said to Somaprabh\u00e1 in private;\n\"My friend, you must not tell any one what I tell you. Listen, and\nI will give you a reason that makes me think the time of my marriage\nhas arrived. Ambassadors have been sent here by many kings to ask me\nin marriage. And they, after an interview with my father, have always\nhitherto been dismissed by him as they came. But now the king of the\nname of Prasenajit, who lives in Sr\u00e1vast\u00ed, has sent a messenger, and he\nalone has been received with honourable distinction by my father. And\nthat course has been recommended by my mother, so I conjecture,\nthe king, my suitor, has been approved of by my father and mother,\nas of sufficiently noble lineage. For he is born in that family,\nin which were born Amb\u00e1 and Amb\u00e1lik\u00e1, the paternal grandmothers\nof the Kurus and P\u00e1ndus. So, my friend, it is clear that they have\nnow determined to bestow me in marriage on this king Prasenajit in\nthe city of Sr\u00e1vast\u00ed.\" When Somaprabh\u00e1 heard this from Kalingasen\u00e1,\nshe suddenly shed from grief a copious shower of tears, creating,\nas it were, a second necklace. And when her friend asked her the\ncause of her tears, that daughter of the Asura Maya, who had seen\nall the terrestrial world, said to her--\"Of the desirable requisites\nin a suitor, youth, good looks, noble birth, good disposition, and\nwealth, youth is of the greatest importance; high birth, and so on,\nare of subordinate importance. But I have seen that king Prasenajit,\nand he is an old man; who cares about his high lineage, as he is old,\nany more than about the birth of the jasmine-flower? You will be to\nbe pitied when linked to him who is white as snow, as the lotus-bed,\nwhen linked to the winter, and your face will be a withered lotus. For\nthis reason despondency has arisen in me, but I should be delighted if\nUdayana, the king of Vatsa, were to become your husband, O auspicious\nlady. For there is no king upon the earth equal to him in form,\nbeauty, lineage, daring and riches. If, fair one, you should be\nmarried to that fitting mate, the display which the Creator has made\nin your case of his power to create beauty, would have brought forth\nfruit.\" By means of these speeches, artfully framed by Somaprabh\u00e1, the\nmind of Kalingasen\u00e1 was impelled as if by engines, and flew towards\nthe king of Vatsa. And then the princess asked the daughter of Maya,\n\"Friend, how is it that he is called the king of Vatsa? In what\nrace was he born? And whence was he named Udayana? Tell me.\" Then\nSomaprabh\u00e1 said--\"Listen, friend, I will tell you that. There is a\nland, the ornament of the earth, named Vatsa. In it there is a city\nnamed Kaus\u00e1mb\u00ed, like a second Amar\u00e1vat\u00ed; and he is called the king of\nVatsa because he rules there. And hear his lineage, my friend, related\nby me. Arjuna of the P\u00e1ndava race had a son named Abhimanyu, and he,\nskilled in breaking the close rings of the hostile army, destroyed the\nforce of the Kauravas. From him there sprang a king named Par\u00edkshit,\nthe head of the race of Bharata, and from him sprang Janamejaya, who\nperformed the snake-sacrifice. His son was Sat\u00e1n\u00edka who settled in\nKaus\u00e1mb\u00ed, and he was slain in a war between the gods and Asuras after\nslaying many giants. His son was king Sahasr\u00e1n\u00edka, an object of praise\nto the world, to whom Indra sent his chariot, and he went to heaven and\nreturned thence. To him was born this Udayana by the queen Mrig\u00e1vat\u00ed,\nthe ornament of the race of the Moon, a king that is a feast to the\neyes of the world. Hear too the reason of his name. That Mrig\u00e1vat\u00ed,\nthe mother of this high-born king, being pregnant, felt a desire to\nbathe in a lake of blood, and her husband, afraid of committing sin,\nhad a lake made of liquid lac and other coloured fluids in which she\nplunged. Then a bird of the race of Garuda pounced upon her, thinking\nshe was raw flesh, and carried her off, and, as fate would have it,\nleft her alive on the mountain of the sunrise. And there the hermit\nJamadagni saw her, and comforted her, promising her reunion with her\nhusband, and she remained there in his hermitage. For such was the\ncurse inflicted upon her husband by Tilottam\u00e1 jealous on account of\nhis neglecting her, which caused him separation from his wife for a\nseason. And in some days she brought forth a son in the hermitage of\nJamadagni on that very mountain of the sunrise, as the sky brings forth\nthe new moon. And because he was born on the mountain of the sunrise,\nthe gods then and there gave him the name of Udayana, uttering from\nheaven this bodiless voice--'This Udayana, who is now born, shall be\nsovereign of the whole earth, and there shall be born to him a son,\nwho shall be emperor of all the Vidy\u00e1dharas.'\n\n\"Sahasr\u00e1n\u00edka, for his part, who had been informed of the real state\nof the case by M\u00e1tali, and had fixed his hope on the termination\nof his curse, with difficulty got through the time without that\nMrig\u00e1vat\u00ed. But when the curse had expired, the king obtained his token\nfrom a Savara who, as fate would have it, had come from the mountain of\nthe sunrise. And then he was informed of the truth by a voice that came\nfrom heaven, and making that Savara his guide, he went to the mountain\nof the sunrise. There he found his wife Mrig\u00e1vat\u00ed like the success\nof his wishes, and her son Udayana like the realm of fancy. With them\nhe returned to Kaus\u00e1mb\u00ed, and appointed his son crown-prince, pleased\nwith the excellence of his qualities; and he gave him the sons of his\nministers, Yaugandhar\u00e1yana and others. When his son took the burden\nof the kingdom off his shoulders, he enjoyed pleasures for a long\ntime in the society of Mrig\u00e1vat\u00ed. And in time the king established\nhis son, that very Udayana, on the throne, and being old, went with\nhis wife and ministers on the long journey. So, Udayana has obtained\nthat kingdom that belonged to his father, and having conquered all\nhis enemies, rules the earth with the help of Yaugandhar\u00e1yana.\"\n\nHaving in these words quickly told her in confidence the story of\nUdayana, she again said to her friend Kalingasen\u00e1--\"Thus that king\nis called the king of Vatsa, fair one, because he rules in Vatsa,\nand since he comes of the P\u00e1ndava lineage, he is also descended\nfrom the race of the sun. And the gods gave him the name of Udayana,\nbecause he was born on the mountain of the sunrise, and in this world\neven the god of love is not a match for him in beauty. He alone is a\nhusband fit for you, most beautiful lady of the three worlds, and he,\nbeing a lover of beauty, no doubt longs for you, who are famous for\nit. But, my friend, his head-wife is V\u00e1savadatt\u00e1, the daughter of\nChandamah\u00e1sena. And she selected him herself, deserting her relations\nin the ardour of her passion, and so sparing the blushes of Ush\u00e1,\nSakuntal\u00e1 and other maidens. And a son has been born to him by her,\ncalled Narav\u00e1hanadatta, who is appointed by the gods as the future\nemperor of the Vidy\u00e1dharas. So it is through fear of her that the king\nof Vatsa does not send here to ask for your hand, but she has been\nseen by me, and she does not vie with you in the gift of beauty.\" When\nher friend Somaprabh\u00e1 said this, Kalingasen\u00e1, being in love with the\nking of Vatsa, answered her--\"I know all this, but what can I do,\nas I am under the power of my parents? But in this, you, who know\nall things and possess magic power, are my refuge.\" Somaprabh\u00e1 then\nsaid to her--\"The whole matter depends on destiny; in proof of it\nhear the following tale.\"\n\n\n\nStory of Tejasvat\u00ed.\n\nOnce on a time there lived in Ujjayin\u00ed a king named Vikramasena,\nand he had a daughter named Tejasvat\u00ed, matchless in beauty. And\nshe disapproved of every king who sued for her hand. But one day,\nwhile she was on the roof of her palace, she saw a man, and as\nfate would have it, she felt a desire to meet him as he was very\nhandsome, and she sent her confidante to him, to communicate to him\nher desire. The confidante went and entreated the man, who shrank from\nsuch an audacious step, and at last with much difficulty she made him\nagainst his will agree to an assignation, saying, \"Await, good sir,\nthe arrival of the princess at night in this retired temple which you\nsee here.\" After saying this, she took leave of him, and went and told\nthe princess Tejasvat\u00ed, who for her part remained watching the sun. But\nthat man, though he had consented, fled somewhere else out of fear;\na frog is not capable of relishing the fibres of a bed of red lotuses.\n\nIn the meanwhile a certain prince of high lineage came, as his father\nwas dead, to visit the king who had been his father's friend. And that\nhandsome young prince, named Somadatta, whose kingdom and wealth had\nbeen taken by pretenders, arriving at night, entered by accident,\nto pass the night there, that very temple in which the confidante\nof the princess had arranged a meeting with the man. While he was\nthere, the princess, blind with passion, approached him, without\ndistinguishing who he was, and made him her self-chosen husband. The\nwise prince gladly received in silence the bride offered him by fate,\nwho foreshadowed his union with the future Fortune of Royalty. And\nthe princess soon perceived that he was very charming, and considered\nthat she had not been deceived by the Creator. Immediately they\nconversed together, and the two separated according to agreement;\nthe princess went to her own palace, while the king spent the rest\nof the night there. In the morning the prince went and announced his\nname by the mouth of the warder, and being recognised, entered into\nthe presence of the king. There he told his sorrow on account of\nhis kingdom having been taken away, and other insults, and the king\nagreed to assist him in overthrowing his enemies. And he determined to\ngive him the daughter he had long desired to give away, and then and\nthere told his intention to the ministers. Then the queen told the\nking his daughter's adventure, having been informed of it before by\nherself, through the mouths of trusty confidantes. Then the king was\nastonished at finding that calamity had been averted and his desire\nattained by mere chance, as in the fable of the crow and the palm,\n[476] and thereupon one of the ministers said to the king, \"Fate\nwatches to ensure the objects of auspicious persons, as good servants\nof their masters, when the latter are not on the look-out. And to\nillustrate this, I will tell you the following tale: listen!\"\n\n\n\nStory of the Br\u00e1hman Harisarman.\n\nThere was a certain Br\u00e1hman in a certain village, named\nHarisarman. [477] He was poor and foolish and in evil ease for want of\nemployment, and he had very many children, that he might reap the fruit\nof his misdeeds in a former life. He wandered about begging with his\nfamily, and at last he reached a certain city, and entered the service\nof a rich householder called Sth\u00faladatta. He made his sons keepers of\nthis householder's cows and other possessions, and his wife a servant\nto him, and he himself lived near his house, performing the duty of\nan attendant. One day there was a feast on account of the marriage\nof the daughter of Sth\u00faladatta, largely attended by many friends of\nthe bridegroom, and merry-makers. And then Harisarman entertained\na hope that he would be able to fill himself up to the throat with\nghee and flesh and other dainties, together with his family, in the\nhouse of his patron. While he was anxiously expecting that occasion,\nno one thought of him. Then he was distressed at getting nothing to\neat, and he said to his wife at night; \"It is owing to my poverty\nand stupidity that I am treated with such disrespect here: so I will\ndisplay by means of an artifice an assumed knowledge, in order that I\nmay become an object of respect to this Sth\u00faladatta, and when you get\nan opportunity, tell him that I possess supernatural knowledge.\" He\nsaid this to her, and after turning the matter over in his mind,\nwhile people were asleep he took away from the house of Sth\u00faladatta\na horse on which his son-in-law rode. He placed it in concealment at\nsome distance, and in the morning the friends of the bridegroom could\nnot find the horse, though they searched in every direction. Then,\nwhile Sth\u00faladatta was distressed at the evil omen, and searching for\nthe thieves who had carried off the horse, the wife of Harisarman\ncame and said to him--\"My husband is a wise man, skilled in astrology\nand sciences of that kind; and he will procure for you the horse;\nwhy do you not ask him?\" When Sth\u00faladatta heard that, he called that\nHarisarman, who said, \"Yesterday I was forgotten, but to-day, now the\nhorse is stolen, I am called to mind,\" and Sth\u00faladatta then propitiated\nthe Br\u00e1hman with these words--\"I forgot you, forgive me\"--and asked him\nto tell him who had taken away their horse? Then Harisarman drew all\nkinds of pretended diagrams and said,--\"The horse has been placed by\nthieves on the boundary line south from this place. It is concealed\nthere, and before it is carried off to a distance, as it will be\nat close of day, quickly go and bring it.\" When they heard that,\nmany men ran and brought the horse quickly, praising the discernment\nof Harisarman. Then Harisarman was honoured by all men as a sage,\nand dwelt there in happiness, honoured by Sth\u00faladatta. Then, as days\nwent on, much wealth consisting of gold and jewels was carried off\nby a thief from the palace of the king. As the thief was not known,\nthe king quickly summoned Harisarman on account of his reputation for\nsupernatural knowledge. And he, when summoned, tried to gain time, and\nsaid \"I will tell you to-morrow,\" and then he was placed in a chamber\nby the king, and carefully guarded. And he was despondent about his\npretended knowledge. [478] Now in that palace there was a maid named\nJihv\u00e1, [479] who, with the assistance of her brother had carried off\nthat wealth from the interior of the palace: she, being alarmed at\nHarisarman's knowledge, went at night and applied her ear to the door\nof that chamber in order to find out what he was about. And Harisarman,\nwho was alone inside, was at that very moment blaming his own tongue,\nthat had made a vain assumption of knowledge. He said--\"O Tongue, what\nis this that you have done, through desire of enjoyment? Ill-conducted\none, endure now punishment in this place.\" When Jihv\u00e1 heard this, she\nthought in her terror, that she had been discovered by this wise man,\nand by an artifice she managed to get in where he was, and falling\nat his feet, she said to that supposed sage;--\"Br\u00e1hman, here I am,\nthat Jihv\u00e1 whom you have discovered to be the thief of the wealth,\nand after I took it, I buried it in the earth in a garden behind\nthe palace, under a pomegranate tree. So spare me, and receive the\nsmall quantity of gold which is in my possession.\" When Harisarman\nheard that, he said to her proudly, \"Depart, I know all this; I\nknow the past, present and future: but I will not denounce you,\nbeing a miserable creature that has implored my protection. But\nwhatever gold is in your possession you must give back to me.\" When\nhe said this to the maid, she consented and departed quickly. But\nHarisarman reflected in his astonishment; \"Fate, if propitious,\nbrings about, as if in sport, a thing that cannot be accomplished,\nfor in this matter when calamity was near, success has unexpectedly\nbeen attained by me. While I was blaming my tongue (jihv\u00e1), the thief\nJihv\u00e1 suddenly flung herself at my feet. Secret crimes I see, manifest\nthemselves by means of fear.\" In these reflections he passed the night\nhappily in the chamber. And in the morning he brought the king by some\nskilful parade of pretended knowledge into the garden, and led him up\nto the treasure, which was buried there and he said that the thief had\nescaped with a part of it. Then the king was pleased and proceeded to\ngive him villages. But the minister, named Devajn\u00e1nin, whispered in the\nking's ear, \"How can a man possess such knowledge unattainable by men,\nwithout having studied treatises; so you may be certain that this is\na specimen of the way he makes a dishonest livelihood, by having a\nsecret intelligence with thieves. So it will be better to test him\nby some new artifice.\" Then the king of his own accord brought a new\ncovered pitcher into which he had thrown a frog, and said to that\nHarisarman--\"Br\u00e1hman, if you can guess what there is in this pitcher,\nI will do you great honour to-day.\" When the Br\u00e1hman Harisarman heard\nthat, he thought that his last hour had come, and he called to mind\nthe pet name of frog which his father had given him in his childhood\nin sport, and impelled by the deity he apostrophized himself by it,\nlamenting his hard fate, and suddenly exclaimed there--\"This is a fine\npitcher for you, frog, since suddenly it has become the swift destroyer\nof your helpless self in this place.\" The people there, when they\nheard that, made a tumult of applause, because his speech chimed in\nso well with the object presented to him, and murmured,--\"Ah! a great\nsage, he knows even about the frog!\" Then the king, thinking that\nthis was all due to knowledge of divination, was highly delighted,\nand gave Harisarman villages with gold, umbrella, and vehicles of\nall kinds. And immediately Harisarman became like a feudal chief.\n\n\"Thus good objects are brought about by fate for those whose actions\nin a former life have been good. Accordingly fate made that daughter\nof yours, Tejasvat\u00ed, approach Somadatta a man of equal birth, and kept\naway one who was unsuited to her.\" Hearing this from the mouth of his\nminister, the king Vikramasena gave his daughter to that prince as if\nshe were the goddess of fortune. Then the prince went and overcame his\nenemies by the help of his father-in-law's host, and being established\nin his own kingdom, lived happily in the company of his wife.\n\n\"So true is it that all this happens by the special favour of fate;\nwho on earth would be able to join you, lovely as you are, with the\nking of Vatsa, though a suitable match for you, without the help of\nfate? What can I do in this matter, friend Kalingasen\u00e1?\" Kalingasen\u00e1,\nhearing this story in private from the mouth of Somaprabh\u00e1,\nbecame eager in her soul for union with the king of Vatsa, and,\nin her aspirations after him, began to feel in a less degree the\nfear of her relations and the warnings of modesty. Then, the sun,\nthe great lamp of the three worlds, being about to set, Somaprabh\u00e1\nthe daughter of the Asura Maya, having with difficulty taken leave,\nuntil her morning return, of her friend, whose mind was fixed upon\nher proposed attempt, went through the air to her own home.\n\n\n\nNote on the story of Harisarman.\n\nThe story of Harisarman resembles closely that of Doctor Allwissend\nin Grimm's Tales. It is shown by Benfey to exist in various forms\nin many countries. It is found in the Siddhik\u00fcr, the Mongolian form\nof the Sanskrit Vet\u00e1lapanchavinsati. In this form of the story the\nincident of the frog in the pot is omitted, and the other incidents\nare considerably altered. Instead of the king's treasure we find a\nmagic gem, on which the prosperity of the country depends; it is not\nstolen but lost by the king's daughter. Instead of the horse we have\nthe cure of a sick Kh\u00e1n who had been driven mad by evil spirits. The\nfolly of the man who represents the Br\u00e1hman consists in his choosing\nworthless presents for his reward. (The story is the IVth in Sagas\nfrom the Far East.) Benfey considers the fullest form of the story to\nbe that in Schleicher's Lithuanian Legends. In this form of the story\nwe have the stealing of the horse. In other points it resembles the\nMongolian version. The Br\u00e1hman is represented by a poor cottager,\nwho puts up over his door a notice saying that he is a Doctor, who\nknows everything and can do everything. The third exploit of the\ncottager is the finding of a stolen treasure which is the second in\nthe Indian story, but his second is a miraculous cure which is in\naccordance with the Siddik\u00fcr. The latter is probably a late work; and\nwe may presume that the Mongols brought the Indian story to Europe,\nin a form resembling that in the Kath\u00e1 Sarit S\u00e1gara more nearly than\nthe form in the Siddik\u00fcr does. In the third exploit of the cottager in\nthe Lithuanian tale, which corresponds to the second in the Indian, the\ntreasure has been stolen by three servants. They listen outside while\nthe Doctor is alone in his room. When the clock strikes one,--he says,\n\"We have one.\" When it strikes two, he says--\"We have two.\" When it\nstrikes three, he says,--\"We have now three.\" In their terror they\ngo to the doctor and beg him not to betray them. He is richly rewarded.\n\nBut after all, Grimm's form of the tale is nearest to the Sanskrit. The\ndish with crabs in it, the contents of which the Doctor has to guess,\nmakes him exclaim--\"Ach ich armer Krebs.\" This might almost have been\ntranslated from the Sanskrit; it is so similar in form. The guilty\nservants, who stole the gold are detected by the Doctor's saying to\nhis wife--\"Margaret, that is the first\"--meaning the first who waited\nat table, and so on.\n\nThe story is also found in the Faceti\u00e6 of Henricus Bebelius, 1506. Here\na poor charcoal-burner represents the Br\u00e1hman. He asks three days\nto consider. The king gives him a good dinner, and while the first\nthief is standing at the window, he exclaims \"Jam unus accessit\"\nmeaning \"one day is at an end.\" The next day the second thief comes\nto listen. The charcoal-burner exclaims \"Secundus accessit\" and so\nwith the third, whereupon they all confess.\n\nBenfey conceives himself to have found the incident of the horse in\nPoggii Faceti\u00e6 (LXXXVI ed. Cracov. 1592, p. 59). Here a doctor boasts\na wonder-working pill. A man who has lost his ass takes one of these\npills. It conducts him to a bed of reeds where he finds his ass. (The\narticle from which I have taken these parallels is found in Benfey's\nOrient und Occident, Vol. I, p. 371 and ff.)\n\n\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XXXI.\n\n\nThe next morning Somaprabh\u00e1 arrived, and Kalingasen\u00e1 said to her\nfriend in her confidential conversation--\"My father certainly wishes\nto give me to Prasenajit, I heard this from my mother, and you have\nseen that he is an old man. But you have described the king of Vatsa\nin such a way in the course of conversation, that my mind has been\ncaptivated by him entering in through the gate of my ear. So first\nshew me Prasenajit, and then take me there, where the king of Vatsa\nis; what do I care for my father, or my mother?\" When the impatient\ngirl said this, Somaprabh\u00e1 answered her--\"If you must go, then let\nus go in the chariot that travels through the air. But you must take\nwith you all your retinue, for, as soon as you have seen the king of\nVatsa, you will find it impossible to return. And you will never see\nor think of your parents, and when you have obtained your beloved, you\nwill forget even me, as I shall be at a distance from you. For I shall\nnever enter your husband's house, my friend.\" When the princess heard\nthat, she wept and said to her,--\"Then bring that king of Vatsa here,\nmy friend, for I shall not be able to exist there a moment without\nyou: was not Aniruddha brought to Ush\u00e1 by Chitralekh\u00e1? And though\nyou know it, hear from my mouth that story.\"\n\n\n\nStory of Ush\u00e1 and Aniruddha.\n\nThe Asura B\u00e1na had a daughter, famous under the name of Ush\u00e1. And\nshe propitiated Gaur\u00ed, who granted her a boon in order that she might\nobtain a husband, saying to her, \"He to whom you shall be united in\na dream, shall be your husband.\" Then she saw in a dream a certain\nman looking like a divine prince. She was married by him according\nto the G\u00e1ndharva form of marriage, and after obtaining the joy of\nunion with him, she woke up at the close of night. When she did not\nsee the husband she had seen in her dream, but beheld the traces\nof his presence, she remembered the boon of Gaur\u00ed, and was full of\ndisquietude, fear, and astonishment. And being miserable without\nthe husband whom she had seen in her dream, she confessed all to\nher friend Chitralekh\u00e1, who questioned her. And Chitralekh\u00e1, being\nacquainted with magic, thus addressed that Ush\u00e1, who knew not the\nname of her lover nor any sign whereby to recognise him,--\"My friend,\nthis is the result of the boon of the goddess Gaur\u00ed, what doubt can\nwe allege in this matter? But how are you to search for your lover\nas he is not to be recognised by any token? I will sketch for you\nthe whole world, gods, Asuras, and men, in case you may be able to\nrecognise him; [480] and point him out to me among them, in order\nthat I may bring him.\" Thus spoke Chitralekh\u00e1, and when Ush\u00e1 answered\n\"By all means!\" she painted for her with coloured pencils the whole\nworld in order. Thereupon Ush\u00e1 exclaimed joyfully, \"There he is,\"\nand pointed out with trembling finger Aniruddha in Dv\u00e1ravat\u00ed of the\nrace of Yadu. Then Chitralekh\u00e1 said--\"My friend, you are fortunate,\nin that you have obtained for a husband Aniruddha the grandson of the\nadorable Vishnu. But he lives sixty thousand yojanas from here.\" When\nUsh\u00e1 heard that, she said to her, overpowered by excessive longing,\n\"Friend, if I cannot to-day repair to his bosom cool as sandal wood,\nknow that I am already dead, being burnt up with the uncontrollable\nfire of love.\" When Chitralekh\u00e1 heard this, she consoled her dear\nfriend, and immediately flew up and went through the air to the city\nof Dv\u00e1ravat\u00ed; and she beheld it in the middle of the sea, producing\nwith its vast and lofty palaces an appearance as if the peaks of\nthe churning mountain [481] had again been flung into the ocean. She\nfound Aniruddha asleep in that city at night, and woke him up, and\ntold him that Ush\u00e1 had fallen in love with him on account of having\nseen him in a dream. And she took the prince, who was eager for the\ninterview, looking exactly as he had before appeared in Ush\u00e1's dream,\nand returned from Dv\u00e1ravat\u00ed in a moment by the might of her magic. And\nflying with him through the air, she introduced that lover secretly\ninto the private apartments of Ush\u00e1, who was awaiting him. When Ush\u00e1\nbeheld that Aniruddha arrived in bodily form, resembling the moon,\nthere was a movement in her limbs resembling the tide of the sea. [482]\nThen she remained there with that sweet-heart who had been given\nher by her friend, in perfect happiness, as if with Life embodied\nin visible form. But her father B\u00e1na, when he heard it, was angry;\nhowever Aniruddha conquered him by his own valour and the might of\nhis grandfather. Then Ush\u00e1 and Aniruddha returned to Dv\u00e1ravat\u00ed and\nbecame inseparable like Siva and P\u00e1rvat\u00ed. [483]\n\n\"Thus Chitralekh\u00e1 united Ush\u00e1 with her lover in one day, but I consider\nyou, my friend, far more powerful than her. So bring me the king of\nVatsa here, do not delay.\" When Somaprabh\u00e1 heard this from Kalingasen\u00e1,\nshe said--\"Chitralekh\u00e1, a nymph of heaven, might take up a strange\nman and bring him, but what can one like myself do in the matter,\nwho never touch any man but my husband? So I will take you, my friend,\nto the place where the king of Vatsa is, having first shewn you your\nsuitor Prasenajit.\" When Somaprabh\u00e1 made this proposal to Kalingasen\u00e1,\nshe consented, and immediately ascended with her the magic chariot\nprepared by her, and setting out through the air with her treasures\nand her retinue, she went off unknown to her parents. For women\nimpelled by love regard neither height nor depth in front of them,\nas a horse urged on by his rider does not fear the keenest sword-edge.\n\nFirst she came to Sr\u00e1vast\u00ed, and beheld from a distance the king\nPrasenajit white with age, who had gone out to hunt, distinguished\nby a chouri frequently waved, which seemed at a distance to repel\nher as if saying--\"Leave this old man.\" And Somaprabh\u00e1 pointed him\nout with a scornful laugh, saying--\"Look! this is the man to whom\nyour father wishes to give you.\" Then she said to Somaprabh\u00e1--\"Old\nage has chosen him for her own, what other female will choose\nhim?\" \"So take me away from here quickly, my friend, to the king of\nVatsa.\" Immediately Kalingasen\u00e1 went with her to the city of Kaus\u00e1mb\u00ed\nthrough the air. Then she beheld from a distance with eagerness that\nking of Vatsa, pointed out by her friend in a garden, as the female\npartridge beholds the nectar-rayed moon. With dilated eye, and hand\nplaced on the heart, she seemed to say \"He has entered my soul by\nthis path.\" Then she exclaimed, \"Friend, procure me a meeting here\nwith the king of Vatsa this very day; for having seen him I am not\nable to wait a moment.\" But when she said this, her friend Somaprabh\u00e1\nanswered her--\"I have seen to-day an unfavourable omen, so remain,\nmy friend, this day quiet and unobserved in this garden, do not,\nmy friend, send go-betweens backwards and forwards. To-morrow I\nwill come and devise some expedient for your meeting: at present,\nO thou whose home is in my heart, I desire to return to the home\nof my husband.\" Having said this, Somaprabh\u00e1 departed thence after\nleaving her there; and the king of Vatsa, leaving the garden, entered\nhis palace. Then Kalingasen\u00e1, remaining there, sent her chamberlain,\ngiving him her message explicitly, to the king of Vatsa; and this\nshe did, though previously forbidden by her friend, who understood\nomens. Love, when recently enthroned in the breasts of young women,\nis impatient of all restraint. And the chamberlain went and announced\nhimself by the mouth of the warder, and immediately entering, thus\naddressed the king of Vatsa--\"O king, the daughter of Kalingadatta\nthe king who rules over Takshasil\u00e1, Kalingasen\u00e1 by name, having heard\nthat you are most handsome, has come here to choose you for a husband,\nabandoning her relatives, having accomplished the journey in a magic\ncar that travels through the air, together with her attendants;\nand she has been conducted here by her confidante named Somaprabh\u00e1,\nwho travels invisible, the daughter of the Asura Maya, the wife of\nNadak\u00favara. I have been sent by her to inform you; do you receive\nher; let there be union of you two as of the moonlight and the\nmoon.\" When the king heard this from the chamberlain, he welcomed him,\nsaying--\"I consent,\" and being delighted, he honoured him with gold and\ngarments. And summoning his chief minister Yaugandhar\u00e1yana, he said to\nhim, \"The daughter of king Kalingadatta, who is called Kalingasen\u00e1,\nand whose beauty is famed on the earth, has come of her own accord\nto choose me as a husband; so tell me quickly, when shall I marry\nher, for she is not to be rejected?\" The minister Yaugandhar\u00e1yana,\nwhen the king of Vatsa said this to him, regarding what would be best\nfor his master in the long run, reflected for a moment as follows:\n[484] \"Kalingasen\u00e1 is certainly famed for beauty in the three worlds,\nthere is no other like her; even the gods are in love with her. If\nthis king of Vatsa obtain her, he will abandon everything else, and\nthen the queen V\u00e1savadatt\u00e1 will lose her life, and then the prince\nNarav\u00e1hanadatta will perish, and Padm\u00e1vat\u00ed out of love for him will\nfind life hard to retain: and then Chandamah\u00e1sena and Pradyota, the\nfathers of the two queens, will lose their lives or become hostile;\nand thus utter ruin will follow. On the other hand it will not do to\nforbid the match, since the vicious passion of this king will increase\nif he is thwarted. So I will put off the time of his marriage in order\nto attain a favourable issue.\" Having thus reflected, Yaugandhar\u00e1yana\nsaid to the king of Vatsa, \"O king, you are fortunate in that this\nKalingasen\u00e1 has of her own accord come to your house, and the king, her\nfather, has become your servant. So you must consult the astrologers,\nand marry her in accordance with good custom at an auspicious time,\nfor she is the daughter of a great king. To-day give her a suitable\npalace to dwell in by herself, and send her male and female slaves,\nand robes and ornaments.\" When his chief minister gave him this\nadvice, the king of Vatsa approved it, and with glad heart performed\nit all with special attention. Then Kalingasen\u00e1 entered the palace\nassigned her for residence, and considering her desire attained,\nwas exceedingly delighted.\n\nThe wise Yaugandhar\u00e1yana, for his part, immediately left the king's\ncourt, went to his own house, and reflected--\"Often procrastination\nserves to avert an inauspicious measure. For long ago, when Indra\nhad fled on account of having caused the death of a Br\u00e1hman, and\nNahusha obtained the sovereignty over the gods, he fell in love\nwith Sach\u00ed, [485] and she was saved by the preceptor of the gods\n[486], to whom she had fled for refuge. For in order to gain time,\nhe kept saying--'She will come to you to-day or to-morrow,'--until\nNahusha was destroyed by the curse of a Br\u00e1hman, uttered with an\nangry roar, and Indra regained the sovereignty of the gods. In the\nsame way I must keep putting off my master.\" Having thus reflected,\nthe minister secretly made an arrangement with the astrologers that\nthey were to fix a distant date.\n\nThen the queen V\u00e1savadatt\u00e1 found out what had taken place, and\nsummoned the prime-minister to her palace. When he entered and bowed\nbefore her, the queen said to him, weeping--\"Noble sir, you said to\nme long ago, 'Queen, as long as I remain where I am, you shall have\nno other rival but Padm\u00e1vat\u00ed,' and observe now, this Kalingasen\u00e1 is\nabout to be married here: and she is beautiful, and my husband is\nattached to her, so you have proved a prophet of falsehood and I am\nnow a dead woman.\" When the minister Yaugandhar\u00e1yana heard this, he\nsaid to her--\"Be composed, for how could this happen, queen, while\nI am alive? However, you must not oppose the king in this matter,\nbut must on the contrary take refuge in self-restraint, and shew him\nall complaisance. The sick man is not induced to place himself in the\nphysician's hands by disagreeable speeches, but he is by agreeable\nspeeches, if the physician does his work by a conciliatory method. If\na man is dragged against the current, he will never escape from the\nstream of a river, or from a vicious tendency, but if he is carried\nwith the current, he will escape from both. So when the king comes\ninto your presence, receive him with all attentions, without anger,\nconcealing your real feelings. Approve at present of his marrying\nKalingasen\u00e1, saying that his kingdom will be made more powerful by\nher father also becoming his ally. And if you do this, the king will\nperceive that you possess in a high degree the virtue of magnanimity,\nand his love and courtesy towards you will increase, and thinking\nthat Kalingasen\u00e1 is within his reach, he will not be impatient, for\nthe desire of a man for any object increases if he is restrained. And\nyou must teach this lesson to Padm\u00e1vat\u00ed also, O blameless one, and so\nthat king may submit to our putting him off in this matter. And after\nthis, I ween, you will behold my skill in stratagem. For the wise are\ntested in difficulty, even as heroes are tested in fight. So, queen,\ndo not be despondent.\" In these words Yaugandhar\u00e1yana admonished the\nqueen, and, as she received his counsels with respect, he departed\nthence. [487] But the king of Vatsa, throughout that day, neither in\nlight nor darkness entered the private apartments of either of the\ntwo queens, for his mind was eager for a new well-matched union with\nKalingasen\u00e1, who had approached him in such an ardour of spontaneous\nchoice. And then the queen and the prime-minister and the king and\nKalingasen\u00e1 spent the night in wakefulness like that of a great feast,\napart in their respective houses, the second couple through impatience\nfor a rare delight, and the first through very profound anxiety.\n\n\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XXXII.\n\n\nThen the artful minister Yaugandhar\u00e1yana came the next morning to\nthe king of Vatsa, who was expecting him, and made the following\nrepresentation--\"O king, why do you not immediately enquire about\nan auspicious moment for celebrating the happy marriage of your\nhighness with Kalingasen\u00e1, the daughter of Kalingadatta, the king\nof Takshasil\u00e1?\" [488] When the king heard that, he said--\"The same\ndesire is fixed in my heart, for my mind cannot endure to remain a\nmoment without her.\" Having said this, the simple-hearted monarch\ngave orders to a warder, who stood before him, and summoned the\nastrologers. When he questioned them, they, having had their cue\npreviously given them by the prime minister, said, \"For the king\nthere will be a favourable moment in six months from this time.\"\n\nWhen Yaugandhar\u00e1yana heard this, he pretended to be angry, and the\ncunning fellow said to the king, \"Out on these blockheads! That\nastrologer, whom your highness previously honoured on the ground of\nhis cleverness, has not come to-day, ask him, and then do what is\nproper.\" When he heard this speech of his minister's, the king of\nVatsa immediately summoned that very astrologer with mind in an agony\nof suspense. He also stuck to his agreement, and in order to put off\nthe day of the marriage he named when asked, after some reflection,\na moment six months off. Then Yaugandhar\u00e1yana pretending to be\ndistracted, said to the king--\"Let your majesty command what is to\nbe done in this matter!\" The king, being impatient and longing for a\nfavourable moment, said, after reflecting--\"You must ask Kalingasen\u00e1,\nand see what she says.\" When Yaugandhar\u00e1yana heard this, he took with\nhim two astrologers and went into the presence of Kalingasen\u00e1. She\nreceived him politely, and beholding her beauty, he reflected--\"If\nthe king were to obtain her, he would abandon the whole kingdom in\nhis reckless passion.\" And he said to her, \"I am come with these\nastrologers to fix the moment of your marriage; so let these servants\ninform me of the particular star in the lunar mansions under which\nyou were born.\" When the astrologers heard the lunar mansion stated\nby her attendants, they pretended to investigate the matter, and kept\nsaying in the course of their calculations, \"It is not on this side,\nit must be after that.\" At last, in accordance with their agreement\nwith the minister, they named again that very moment at the end of\nsix months. When Kalingasen\u00e1 heard that distant date fixed, she was\ncast down in spirit, but her chamberlain said, \"You must first fix a\nfavourable moment, so that this couple may be happy all their lives,\nwhat matters it whether it be near or far off?\" When they heard this\nspeech of the chamberlain's, all there immediately exclaimed--\"Well\nsaid.\" And Yaugandhar\u00e1yana said, \"Yes, and if an inauspicious moment is\nappointed for us, the king Kalingadatta, our proposed connexion, will\nbe grieved.\" Then Kalingasen\u00e1, being helpless, said to them all--\"Let\nit be as you appoint in your wisdom\"--and remained silent. And at once\naccepting that speech of hers, Yaugandhar\u00e1yana took leave of her, and\nwent with the astrologers into the presence of the king. Then he told\nthe proceedings to the king of Vatsa, exactly as they had happened, and\nso having settled his mind by an artifice, he went to his own house.\n\nSo having attained his object of putting off the marriage, in order\nto complete the scheme he had in view, he called to mind his friend,\nthe Br\u00e1hman-R\u00e1kshasa, named Yogesvara. He, according to his previous\npromise, when thought of, readily came to the minister, and bowed\nbefore him and said--\"Why am I called to mind?\" Then Yaugandhar\u00e1yana\ntold him the whole incident of Kalingasen\u00e1 which was tempting his\nmaster to vice, and again said to him--\"I have managed to gain time,\nmy friend; in that interval, do you, remaining concealed, observe\nby your skill the behaviour of Kalingasen\u00e1. For the Vidy\u00e1dharas and\nother spirits are without doubt secretly in love with her, since there\nis no other woman in the three worlds equal to her in beauty. So, if\nshe were to have an intrigue with some Siddha or Vidy\u00e1dhara, and you\nwere to see it, it would be a fortunate thing. And you must observe\nthe divine lover, though he come disguised, when he is asleep, for\ndivine beings, when asleep, assume their own form. If in this way\nwe are able to discover any offence in her by means of your eyes,\nthe king will be disgusted with her, and will accomplish that object\nof ours.\" When the minister said this to him, the Br\u00e1hman-R\u00e1kshasa\nanswered, \"Why should I not by some artifice cause her to fall or\nslay her?\" When the great minister Yaugandhar\u00e1yana heard that, he\nsaid to him--\"This must not be done, for it would be a very wicked\ndeed. And whoever goes his own way without offending against the god\nof justice, finds that that god comes to his assistance to enable\nhim to attain his objects. So you must discover in her, my friend,\na fault self-caused, in order that through your friendship the king's\nobjects may be accomplished by me.\" Having received this order from\nthe excellent minister, the Br\u00e1hman-R\u00e1kshasa departed, and disguised\nby magic entered the house of Kalingasen\u00e1.\n\nIn the meanwhile Somaprabh\u00e1, her friend, the daughter of the Asura\nMaya, went again into the presence of Kalingasen\u00e1. And the daughter\nof Maya, after asking her friend what had happened in the night,\nsaid to her who had abandoned her relations, in the hearing of that\nR\u00e1kshasa--\"I came here in the forenoon after searching for you, but\nI remained concealed at your side, seeing Yaugandhar\u00e1yana. However\nI heard your conversation, and I understood the whole state of\naffairs. So why did you make this attempt yesterday though you were\nforbidden to do so by me? For any business which is undertaken,\nmy friend, without first counteracting the evil omen, will end in\ncalamity; as a proof of this, hear the following tale:\"\n\n\n\nStory of the Br\u00e1hman's son Vishnudatta and his seven foolish\ncompanions.\n\nLong ago there lived in Antarvedi a Br\u00e1hman named Vasudatta, and he had\na son born to him named Vishnudatta. That Vishnudatta, after he reached\nthe age of sixteen years, set out for the city of Vallabh\u00ed in order to\nacquire learning. And there joined him seven other young Br\u00e1hmans his\nfellows, but those seven were fools, while he was wise and sprung from\na good family. After they had taken an oath not to desert one another,\nVishnudatta set out with them at night without the knowledge of his\nparents. And after he had set forth, he saw an evil omen presenting\nitself in front of him, and he said to those friends of his who were\ntravelling with him,--\"Ha! Here is a bad omen! it is advisable to turn\nback now; we will set out again with good hope of success, when we\nhave auspicious omens with us.\" When those seven foolish companions\nheard that, they said, \"Do not entertain groundless fear, for we are\nnot afraid of the omen. If you are afraid, do not go, but we will\nstart this moment; to-morrow morning our relations will abandon us,\nwhen they hear of our proceedings.\" When those ignorant creatures\nsaid that, Vishnudatta set out with them, urged on by his oath, but\nhe first called to mind Hari, the dispeller of sin. And at the end of\nthe night he saw another evil omen, and again mentioned it, and he was\nrebuked by all those foolish friends of his in the following words;\n\"This is our evil omen, you coward afraid to travel, that you have been\nbrought by us, since you shudder at a crow at every step you take;\nwe require no other evil omen.\" Having reviled him in these words,\nthey continued their journey and Vishnudatta went with them, as he\ncould not help it, but kept silence, reflecting--\"One ought not to\ngive advice to a fool bent on going his own crooked way, for it only\nentails ridicule, being like the beautifying of ordure. A single wise\nman fallen among many fools, like a lotus in the path of the waves,\nis surely overwhelmed. So I must not henceforth give these men either\ngood or bad advice, but I must go on in silence; destiny will educe\nprosperity.\" Engaged in these reflections, Vishnudatta proceeded\non the way with those fools, and at the end of the day he reached a\nSavara village. There he wandered about in the night and reached a\ncertain house inhabited by a young woman, and asked the woman for a\nlodging there. She gave him a room, and he entered it with his friends,\nand those seven in a moment went to sleep. He alone remained awake,\nas he had entered a house belonging to a savage. For the stupid sleep\nresolutely, how can the understanding sleep?\n\nAnd in the meanwhile a certain young man secretly entered the inner\napartment of the house, and went into the presence of that woman. And\nshe remained in confidential conversation with him, and as fate\nwould have it, they both fell asleep. And Vishnudatta, perceiving it\nall through the half-open door by the light of a candle, reflected\ndespondently, \"Alas! have we entered the house of a profligate\nwoman? Surely this is her paramour, and not the husband of her youth,\nfor otherwise we should not have this timid secret proceeding;\nI saw at the first that she was of a flighty disposition; but we\nhave entered here as mutual witnesses, for lack of others.\" While he\nwas thinking he heard outside a noise of men, and he saw entering a\nyoung chief of the Savaras with a sword, looking about him, while\nhis attendants remained in the sleeping apartment. When the chief\nsaid--\"Who are you?\" Vishnudatta, supposing him to be the master of\nthe house, said in his terror--\"We are travellers.\" But the Savara\nentered, and seeing his wife in such a position, he cut off with\nhis sword the head of her sleeping paramour. But he did not punish\nor even wake his wife; but placing his sword on the ground he went\nto sleep on another couch. Seeing that by the light of the candle,\nVishnudatta reflected--\"He did right not to kill his wife, but to\nkill the adulterer; but that he should sleep here in confidence,\nafter performing such a deed, is an act of surprising courage,\ncharacteristic of men of mighty minds.\" While Vishnudatta was thus\nreflecting, that wicked woman awoke and beheld her paramour slain,\nand that husband of hers asleep. So she rose up, and took on her\nshoulder the body of her lover, and carrying his head in one hand,\nshe went out. And going outside quickly, she threw into an ash-heap\nthe trunk with the head, and came secretly back. And Vishnudatta going\nout beheld it all from a distance, and again entering remained as he\nwas, in the midst of his sleeping companions. But the wicked woman\ncame back, and entering the room, cut off with that very sword the\nhead of her sleeping husband. And going out she raised a cry so as to\nmake all the servants hear, \"Alas! I am ruined, my husband has been\nslain by these travellers.\" Then the servants, hearing the cry, rushed\nforward and beholding their master slain, ran upon Vishnudatta and his\nfriends with uplifted weapons. And when those others, his companions,\nrose up in terror, as they were about to be slain, Vishnudatta said\nquickly--\"Cease your attempt to slay Br\u00e1hmans! We did not do this deed;\nthis wicked woman herself did it, being in love with another man. But I\nsaw the whole affair from the very beginning, through a half-open door;\nand I went out and observed what she did, and if you will have patience\nwith me, I will tell you.\" Vishnudatta with these words restrained the\nSavaras, and told them the whole affair from the beginning, and took\nthem out and showed them the trunk with the head freshly severed and\nthrown by the woman on that heap of refuse. Then the woman confessed\nthe truth by the paleness of her face, and all there reviled the\nwanton, and said--\"Whom will not a wicked woman kill, when won over\nby another man, like a sword in an enemy's hand, since enticed by\nlove she commits reckless crime without being taught.\" Having said\nthis, they thereupon let Vishnudatta and his companions go; and then\nthe seven companions praised Vishnudatta, saying, \"You became to us,\nwhile we were asleep at night, a protecting jewel-lamp, through your\nkindness we escaped to-day from death produced by an evil omen.\" In\nthese words they praised Vishnudatta, and ceased henceforth their\nreviling, and after bowing before him they set out in the morning on\ntheir errand, accompanied by him.\n\nHaving told this story to Kalingasen\u00e1 in their mutual conversation,\nSomaprabh\u00e1 again said to that friend of hers in Kaus\u00e1mb\u00ed.--\"Thus,\nmy friend, an evil omen presenting itself to people engaged in\nany undertaking, if not counteracted by delay and other methods,\nproduces misfortune. And so people of dull intelligence, neglecting\nthe advice of the wise, and acting impetuously, are afflicted in\nthe end. Accordingly you did not act wisely in sending a messenger\nto the king of Vatsa, asking him to receive you, when there was an\ninauspicious omen. May Fate grant you to be married without any\nimpediment, but you came from your house in an unlucky moment,\ntherefore your marriage is far off. And the gods too are in love\nwith you, so you must be on your guard against this. And you must\nthink of the minister Yaugandhar\u00e1yana, who is expert in politic\nwiles; he, fearing that the king may become engrossed in pleasure,\nmay throw impediments in your way in this business; or he may even\nbring a charge against you after your marriage is celebrated: but no,\nbeing virtuous, he will not bring a false accusation; nevertheless,\nmy friend, you must at all events be on your guard against your rival\nwife, I will tell you a story illustrative of this, listen.\"\n\n\n\nStory of Kadal\u00edgarbh\u00e1.\n\nThere is in this land a city named Ikshumat\u00ed, and by the side of\nit there runs a river called by the same name; both were created\nby Visv\u00e1mitra. And near it there is a great forest, and in it a\nhermit of the name of Mankanaka had made himself a hermitage and\nperformed penance with his heels upwards. And while he was performing\nausterities, he saw an Apsaras of the name of Menak\u00e1 coming through\nthe air, with her clothes floating on the breeze. Then his mind was\nbewildered by Cupid, who had found his opportunity, and there was\nborn to him a daughter named Kadal\u00edgarbh\u00e1, [489] beautiful in every\nlimb. And since she was born in the interior of a plantain, her father,\nthe hermit Mankanaka, gave her the name of Kadal\u00edgarbh\u00e1. She grew up\nin his hermitage like Krip\u00ed the wife of Drona, who was born to Gautama\non his beholding Rambh\u00e1. And once on a time Dridhavarman, a king born\nin Madhyadesa, [490] who in the excitement of the chase was carried\naway by his horse, entered that hermitage. He beheld Kadal\u00edgarbh\u00e1\nclothed in garments of bark, having her beauty exceedingly set off\nby the dress appropriate to the daughter of an ascetic. And she,\nwhen seen, captivated the heart of that king so completely, that\nshe left no room in it for the women of his harem. While thinking\nto himself--\"Shall I be able to obtain as a wife this daughter of\nsome hermit or other, as Dushyanta obtained Sakuntal\u00e1 the daughter\nof the hermit Kanva?\"--the king beheld that hermit Mankanaka coming\nwith fuel and kusa-grass. And leaving his horse, he approached him and\nworshipped at his feet, and when questioned, discovered himself to that\nhermit. Then the hermit gave the following order to Kadal\u00edgarbh\u00e1--\"My\ndear child, prepare the arghya [491] for this king our guest.\" She\nsaid--\"I will do so\"--and bowing, prepared the hospitable offering,\nand then the king said to the hermit--\"Whence did you obtain this\nmaiden who is so beautiful?\"--Then the hermit told the king the story\nof her birth, and her name Kadal\u00edgarbh\u00e1, which indicated the manner\nof it. Then the king, considering the maiden born from the hermit's\nthinking on Menak\u00e1 to be an Apsaras, earnestly craved her hand of\nher father. And the sage gave him that daughter named Kadal\u00edgarbh\u00e1,\nfor the actions of the sages of old time, guided by divine insight,\nwere without hesitation. And the nymphs of heaven, discovering the fact\nby their divine power, came there out of love for Menak\u00e1, and adorned\nher for the wedding. And on that very occasion they put mustard-seeds\ninto her hand and said to her,--\"As you are going along the path, sow\nthem, in order that you may know it again. If, daughter, at any time\nyour husband should scorn you, and you should wish to return here,\nthen you will be able, as you come along, to recognise the path by\nthese, which will have sprung up.\" When they had said this to her,\nand her marriage had been celebrated, the king Dridhavarman placed\nKadal\u00edgarbh\u00e1 on his horse, and departed thence. His army came up and\nescorted him, and in company with that bride of his, who sowed the\nmustard-seeds all along the path, he reached his own palace. There\nhe became averse to the society of his other wives, and dwelt with\nthat Kadal\u00edgarbh\u00e1, after telling her story to his ministers.\n\nThen his principal wife, being exceedingly afflicted, said to his\nminister in secret, after reminding him of the benefits she had\nconferred upon him: \"The king is now exclusively attached to his new\nwife and has deserted me, so take steps to make this rival of mine\ndepart.\" When that minister heard that, he said--\"Queen, it is not\nappropriate for people like me to destroy or banish their masters'\nwives. This is the business of the wives of wandering religious\nmendicants, addicted to jugglery and such practices, associating\nwith men like themselves. For those hypocritical female ascetics,\ncreeping unforbidden into houses, skilled in deception, will stick at\nno deed whatever.\" When he said this to her, the queen, as if abashed,\nsaid to him in affected shame--\"Then I will have nothing to do with\nthis proceeding disapproved of by the virtuous.\" But she laid up his\nspeech in her heart, and dismissing that minister, she summoned by\nthe mouth of her maid a certain wandering female ascetic. And she told\nher all that desire of hers from the beginning, and promised to give\nher great wealth if the business were successfully accomplished. And\nthe wicked female ascetic, from desire of gain, said to the afflicted\nqueen--\"Queen, this is an easy matter, I will accomplish it for you,\nfor I know very many expedients of various kinds.\" Having thus consoled\nthe queen, that female ascetic departed; and after reaching her house,\nshe reflected as one afraid, \"Alas! whom will not excessive desire of\ngain delude, since I rashly made such a promise before the queen? But\nthe fact is, I know no device of the kind, and it is not possible to\ncarry on any deception in the palace, as I do in other places, for the\nauthorities might perhaps find it out and punish me. There may be one\nresource in this difficulty, for I have a friend, a barber, and as he\nis skilled in devices of the kind, all may yet go well, if he exert\nhimself in the matter.\" After thus reflecting, she went to the barber,\nand told him all her plan that was to bring her prosperity. Then\nthe barber, who was old and cunning, reflected--\"This is good luck,\nthat an opportunity of making something has now presented itself to\nme. So we must not kill the king's new wife, but we must preserve\nher alive, for her father has divine insight, and would reveal the\nwhole transaction. But by separating her from the king we will now\nbatten upon the queen, for great people become servants to a servant\nwho shares their criminal secrets. And in due time I will re-unite\nher to the king, and tell him the whole story, in order that he and\nthe sage's daughter may become a source of subsistence to me. And\nthus I shall not have done anything very wrong, and I shall have a\nlivelihood for a long time.\" Having thus reflected, the barber said\nto the hypocritical female ascetic--\"Mother, I will do all this, but\nit would not be proper to slay that new wife of the king's by means\nof magic, for the king might some day find it out, and then he would\ndestroy us all: besides we should incur the sin of woman-murder, and\nher father the sage would curse us. Therefore it is far better that\nshe should be separated from the king by means of our ingenuity,\nin order that the queen may be happy, and we may obtain wealth\n[punctuation missing in scan] And this is an easy matter to me, for\nwhat can I not accomplish by force of intellect? Hear my ingenuity,\nI will relate a story which illustrates it.\"\n\n\n\nStory of the king and the barber's wife\n\nThis king Dridhavarman had an immoral father. And I was then his\nservant, being engaged in the duties which belong to me. He, one\nday, as he was roaming about here, cast eyes on my wife; and as\nshe was young and beautiful, his mind became attached to her. And\nwhen he asked his attendants who she was, they said--\"The barber's\nwife.\" He thought--\"What can the barber do?\" So the wicked king\nentered my house, and after enjoying at will the society of my wife,\ndeparted. But, as it happened, I was away from my house that day,\nbeing absent somewhere or other. And the next day, when I entered,\nI saw that my wife's manner had altered, and when I asked her the\nreason, she told me the whole story, being full of pride at what\nhad occurred. And in that way the king went on puffing up my wife\nby continual visits, which I was powerless to prevent. A prince\ndistracted by unholy passion makes no distinction between what is\nlawful and what is illicit. The forest is like straw to a sylvan\nfire fanned by the wind. So, not being in possession of any other\nexpedient for restraining my sovereign, I reduced myself with spare\ndiet, and took refuge in feigned sickness. And in this state I went\ninto the presence of that king to perform my duties, sighing deeply,\npale and emaciated. Then the king, seeing that I seemed to be ill,\nasked me meaningly the following question--\"Holla! tell me why you have\nbecome thus?\" And after he had questioned me persistently, I answered\nthe king in private, after imploring immunity from punishment--\"King,\nmy wife is a witch. And when I am asleep she extracts my entrails and\nsucks them, and then replaces them as before--This is how I have become\nlean. So how can continual refreshment and eating nourish me?\" When I\nsaid this to the king, he became anxious and reflected--\"Can she really\nbe a witch? Why was I captivated by her? I wonder whether she will\nsuck my entrails also, since I am well nourished with food. So I will\nmyself contrive to test her this very night.\" Having thus reflected,\nthe king caused food to be given me on the spot. Then I went home and\nshed tears in the presence of my wife, and when she questioned me,\nI said to her--\"My beloved, you must not reveal to any one what I am\nabout to tell you. Listen! That king has teeth as sharp as the edge\nof a thunderbolt, where teeth are not usually found, and they broke\nmy razor to-day while I was performing my duties. And in this way I\nshall break a razor every time. So how am I to be continually procuring\nfresh razors? This is why I weep, for the means of supporting myself\nin my home are destroyed.\" When I had said this to my wife, she made\nup her mind to investigate the marvel of the concealed teeth while the\nking was asleep, since he was to visit her at night. But she did not\nperceive that such a thing had never been seen since the world was,\nand could not be true. Even clever women are deceived by the tales\nof an impostor.\n\nSo the king came at night and visited my wife at will, and as if\nfatigued, pretended to go to sleep, remembering what I had said. Then\nmy wife, thinking he was asleep, slowly stretched out her hand to find\nhis concealed teeth. And as soon as her hand reached him, the king\nexclaimed--\"A witch! A witch!\" and left the house in terror. Henceforth\nmy wife, having been abandoned by the king out of fear, became\nsatisfied with me and devoted to me exclusively. In this way I saved\nmy wife on a former occasion from the king by my intelligence.\n\nHaving told this story to the female ascetic, the barber went on to\nsay--\"So, my good lady, this desire of yours must be accomplished by\nwisdom; and I will tell you, mother, how it is to be done, listen to\nme. Some old servant of the harem must be won over to say to this king\nin secret every day, 'Your wife Kadal\u00edgarbh\u00e1 is a witch.' For she,\nbeing a forest maiden, has no attendants of her own, and what will not\nall alien servants do for gain, being easily corrupted? Accordingly,\nwhen the king becomes apprehensive on hearing what the old servant\nsays, you must contrive to place at night hands and feet and other\nlimbs in the chamber of Kadal\u00edgarbh\u00e1. [492] Then the king will\nsee them in the morning, and concluding that what the old man says\nis true, will be afraid of Kadal\u00edgarbh\u00e1 and desert her of his own\naccord. So the queen will be delighted at getting rid of a rival\nwife, and entertain a favourable opinion of you, and we shall gain\nsome advantage.\" When the barber said this to the female ascetic,\nshe consented and went and told the whole matter to the king's head\nqueen. And the queen carried out her suggestions, and the king, who had\nbeen warned, saw the hands and feet in the morning with his own eyes,\nand abandoned Kadal\u00edgarbh\u00e1, thinking her to be wicked. So the female\nascetic, together with the barber, enjoyed to the full the presents\nwhich the queen secretly gave to her, being pleased with her aid.\n\nSo Kadal\u00edgarbh\u00e1, being abandoned by Dridhavarman, went out from the\npalace, grieved because the king would be cursed. And she returned\nto the hermitage of her father by the same path by which she came,\nwhich she was able to recognise by the mustard-seeds she had sown,\nwhich had sprung up. [493] Her father, the hermit Mankanaka, when he\nsaw her suddenly arrived there, remained for some time suspecting\nimmorality on her part. And then he perceived the whole occurrence\nby the power of contemplation, and after lovingly comforting her,\ndeparted thence with her. And he went and told the king, who bowed\nbefore him, the whole treacherous drama, which the head queen\nhad got up out of hatred for her rival. At that moment the barber\nhimself arrived, and related the whole occurrence to the king, and\nthen proceeded to say this to him; \"In this way, my sovereign, I sent\naway the lady Kadal\u00edgarbh\u00e1, and so delivered her from the danger of\nthe incantations which would have been practised against her, since I\nsatisfied the head queen by an artifice.\" When the king heard that,\nhe saw that the speech of the great hermit was certainly true, and\nhe took back Kadal\u00edgarbh\u00e1, recovering his confidence in her. And\nafter respectfully accompanying the departing hermit, he rewarded\nthe barber with wealth, thinking that he was attached to his person:\nkings are the appointed prey of rogues. Then the king, being averse\nto the society of his queen, lived in great comfort with Kadal\u00edgarbh\u00e1.\n\n\"Many false accusations of this kind do rival wives bring, O\nKalingasen\u00e1 of irreproachable beauty. And you are a maiden, the\nauspicious moment of whose marriage is fixed at a distant date, and\neven the gods, whose goings transcend our thought, are in love with\nyou. So do you yourself preserve yourself now, as the one jewel of\nthe world, dedicated to the king of Vatsa only, from all assaults,\nfor your own excellence brings you enmity. I indeed, my friend, shall\nnever return to you, since you are now established in the palace of\nyour husband: good women do not visit the house of a friend's husband,\nO fair one! besides I have been forbidden by my own lord. And it is\nnot possible for me to come here secretly, induced by my affection\nfor you, inasmuch as my husband possesses divine insight and would\nfind it out; with difficulty in truth did I obtain his permission to\ncome here to-day. And since I can be of no use to you now, my friend,\nI will return home, but if my husband should give me permission,\nI will come here again, disregarding modesty.\" Thus Somaprabh\u00e1,\nthe daughter of the Asura king, spake weeping to Kalingasen\u00e1, the\ndaughter of the mortal king, whose face also was washed with tears,\nand after embracing her, departed swiftly to her own palace, as the\nday was passing away.\n\n\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XXXIII.\n\n\nThen the princess Kalingasen\u00e1, who had deserted her own country and\nrelations, remembering her dear friend Somaprabh\u00e1 who had left her,\nand finding the great festival of her marriage with the king of\nVatsa delayed, remained in Kaus\u00e1mb\u00ed like a doe that had strayed from\nthe forest.\n\nAnd the king of Vatsa, feeling a little bitter against the astrologers,\nwho were so dexterous in deferring the marriage of Kalingasen\u00e1,\nbeing despondent with love-longing, went that day to divert his mind,\nto the private apartments of V\u00e1savadatt\u00e1. There the queen, who had\nbeen tutored beforehand by the excellent minister, let fall no sign\nof anger, but shewed especial sedulity in honouring her husband with\nher usual attentions. And the king, wondering how it was that, even\nthough she knew the episode of Kalingasen\u00e1, the queen was not angry,\nbeing desirous of knowing the cause, said to her; \"Do you know, queen,\nthat a princess named Kalingasen\u00e1 has come here to choose me for her\nhusband?\" The moment she heard it, she answered, without changing the\nhue of her countenance, \"I know it; I am exceedingly delighted, for in\nher the goddess of Fortune has come to our house; for by gaining her\nyou will also get her father Kalingadatta under your influence, and\nthe earth will be more completely in your power. Now I am delighted\non account of his great power and your pleasure, and long ago did\nI know this circumstance with regard to you. So am I not fortunate,\nsince I have such a husband as you, whom princesses fall in love with,\nthat are themselves sought by other kings?\" When thus addressed by\nqueen V\u00e1savadatt\u00e1, who had been previously tutored by Yaugandhar\u00e1yana,\nthe king rejoiced in his heart. And after enjoying a drinking-bout\nwith her, he slept that night in her apartments, and waking up in\nthe morning he reflected--\"What, does the magnanimous queen obey\nme so implicitly as even to acquiesce in having Kalingasen\u00e1 for a\nrival? But how could this same proud woman endure her, since it was\nowing to the special favour of destiny that she did not yield her\nbreath, even when I married Padm\u00e1vat\u00ed? So, if anything were to happen\nto her, it would be utter ruin; upon her hang the lives of my son,\nmy brother-in-law, my father-in-law, and Padm\u00e1vat\u00ed, and the welfare\nof the kingdom; what higher tribute can I pay her? So how can I marry\nthat Kalingasen\u00e1?\" Thus reflecting the king of Vatsa left her chamber\nat the close of night, and the next day went to the palace of queen\nPadm\u00e1vat\u00ed. She too, having been taught her lesson by V\u00e1savadatt\u00e1,\nshewed him attentions after the very same fashion, and when questioned\nby him, gave a similar answer. The next day the king, thinking over the\nsentiments and speeches of the queens, which were completely in unison,\ncommended them to Yaugandhar\u00e1yana. And the minister Yaugandhar\u00e1yana,\nwho knew how to seize the right moment, seeing that the king was\nplunged in doubt, spake slowly to him as follows--\"I know well,\nthe matter does not end where you think, there is a terrible resolve\nhere. For the queens spoke thus, because they are steadfastly bent\non surrendering their lives. Chaste women, when their beloved is\nattached to another, or has gone to heaven, become careless about\nall enjoyments, and determined to die, though their intentions are\ninscrutable on account of the haughtiness of their character. For\nmatrons cannot endure the interruption of a deep affection; and in\nproof of this hear now, O king, this story of Srutasena.\"\n\n\n\nThe story of Srutasena.\n\nThere lived long ago in the Dekhan, in a city called Gokarna, a king\nnamed Srutasena, who was the ornament of his race, and possessed of\nlearning. And this king, though his prosperity was complete, had yet\none source of sorrow, that he had not as yet obtained a wife who was\na suitable match for him. And once on a time the king, while brooding\nover that sorrow, began to talk about it, and was thus addressed\nby a Br\u00e1hman, named Agnisarman: \"I have seen two wonders, O king, I\nwill describe them to you: listen! Having gone on a pilgrimage to all\nthe sacred bathing-places, I reached that Panchat\u00edrth\u00ed, in which five\nApsarases were reduced to the condition of crocodiles by the curse of\na holy sage, and were rescued from it by Arjuna, who had come there\nwhile going round the holy spots. There I bathed in the blessed water,\nwhich possesses the power of enabling those men, who bathe in it and\nfast for five nights, to become followers of N\u00e1r\u00e1yana. And while I\nwas departing, I beheld a cultivator in the middle of a field, who\nhad furrowed the earth with his plough, singing. That cultivator was\nasked about the road by a certain wandering hermit, who had come that\nway, but did not hear what he said, being wholly occupied with his\nsong. Then the hermit was angry with that cultivator, and began to\ntalk in a distracted manner; and the cultivator, stopping his song,\nsaid to him--'Alas! though you are a hermit, you will not learn even\na fraction of virtue; even I, though a fool, have discovered what is\nthe highest essence of virtue.' When he heard that, the hermit asked\nhim out of curiosity--'What have you discovered?' And the cultivator\nanswered him--'Sit here in the shade, and listen while I tell you\na tale.'\n\n\n\nStory of the three Br\u00e1hman brothers.\n\nIn this land there were three Br\u00e1hman brothers, Brahmadatta,\nSomadatta, and Visvadatta of holy deeds. Of these the two eldest\npossessed wives, but the youngest was unmarried; he remained as\ntheir servant without being angry, obeying their orders along with\nme; for I was their ploughman. And those elder brothers thought\nthat he was soft, and devoid of intellect, good, not swerving from\nthe right path, simple, and unenterprising. Then, once on a time,\nthe youngest brother Visvadatta was solicited by his two brothers'\nwives who fell in love with him, but he rejected their advances as\nif each of them had been his mother. Then they both of them went\nand said falsely to their own husbands, \"This younger brother of\nyours makes love to us in secret.\" This speech made those two\nelder brothers cherish anger against him in their hearts, for\nmen bewildered by the speeches of wicked women, do not know the\ndifference between truth and falsehood. Then those brothers said\nonce on a time to Visvadatta--\"Go and level that ant-hill in the\nmiddle of the field!\" He said--\"I will\"--and went and proceeded to\ndig up the ant-hill with his spade, though I said to him, \"Do not do\nit, a venomous snake lives there.\" Though he heard what I said, he\ncontinued to dig at the ant-hill, exclaiming--\"Let what will happen,\nhappen,\" for he would not disobey the order of his two elder brothers,\nthough they wished him ill. Then, while he was digging it up, he got\nout of it a pitcher filled with gold, and not a venomous snake, for\nvirtue is an auxiliary to the good. So he took that pitcher and gave\nit all to his elder brothers out of his constant affection for them,\nthough I tried to dissuade him. But they sent assassins, hiring them\nwith a portion of that gold, and had his hands and feet cut off,\nin their desire to seize his wealth. But he was free from anger,\nand in spite of that treatment, did not wax wroth with his brothers,\nand on account of that virtue of his, his hands and feet grew again.\n\n'After beholding that, I renounced from that time all anger, but\nyou, though you are a hermit, have not even now renounced anger. The\nman who is free from anger has gained heaven, behold now a proof of\nthis.' After saying this, the husbandman left his body and ascended to\nheaven. \"This is one wonder which I have seen, hear a second, O king;\"\n\nAfter saying this to king Srutasena, the Br\u00e1hman continued, \"Then, as\nI was roaming about on the shore of the sea to visit sacred places,\nI reached the realm of king Vasantasena. There, as I was about to\nenter an almshouse where cooked food is distributed by the king,\nthe Br\u00e1hmans said to me,--'Br\u00e1hman, advance not in that direction,\nfor there the king's daughter is present, she is called Vidyuddyot\u00e1,\nand if even a hermit beholds her, he is pierced by the arrow of love,\nand becoming distracted ceases to live.' Then I answered them--'This\nis not wonderful to me, for I continually behold king Srutasena, who\nis a second god of love. When he leaves his palace on an expedition,\nor for some other purpose, women of good family are removed by guards\nfrom any place whence they may possibly see him, for fear they should\ninfringe chastity.' When I said this, they knew I was a subject of\nyour Majesty's, and the superintendent of the house of entertainment\nand the king's chaplain took me into the presence of the king,\nthat I might share the feast. There I saw that princess Vidyuddyot\u00e1,\nlooking like the incarnation of the magic art with which the god of\nlove bewilders the world. After a long time I mastered my confusion\nat beholding her, and reflected--'If this lady were to become the\nwife of our sovereign, he would forget his kingdom. Nevertheless I\nmust tell this tale to my master, otherwise there might take place\nthe incident of Devasena and Unm\u00e1din\u00ed.'\n\n\n\nThe story of Devasena and Unm\u00e1din\u00ed.\n\nOnce on a time, in the realm of king Devasena, there was a merchant's\ndaughter, a maiden that bewildered the world with her beauty. Her\nfather told the king about her, but the king did not take her in\nmarriage, for the Br\u00e1hmans, who wished to prevent his neglecting his\nduties, told him she had inauspicious marks. So she was married to his\nprime minister. [494] And once on a time she showed herself to the king\nat a window. And the king, struck by her with a poisonous look from a\ndistance, as if she had been a female snake, [495] fainted again and\nagain, enjoyed no pleasure, and took no food. And the righteous king,\nthough entreated over and over again to marry her by the ministers,\nwith her husband at their head, refused to do so, and devoted to her,\nyielded up his breath.\n\n\"Accordingly I have come to-day and told you this wonderful tale,\nthinking that if a similar distraction were to come upon you, I should\nbe guilty of conspiring against your life.\"\n\nWhen king Srutasena heard from that Br\u00e1hman this speech, which was\nlike the command of the god of love, he became ardently attached to\nVidyuddyot\u00e1, so he immediately sent off the Br\u00e1hman and took steps to\nhave her brought quickly and married her. Then the princess Vidyuddyot\u00e1\nbecame inseparable from the person of that king, as the daylight from\nthe orb of the sun.\n\nThen a maiden of the name of M\u00e1tridatt\u00e1, the daughter of a very rich\nmerchant, intoxicated with the pride of her beauty, came to select that\nking for her husband. Through fear of committing unrighteousness, the\nking married that merchant's daughter; then Vidyuddyot\u00e1, coming to hear\nof it, died of a broken heart. And the king came and beheld that dearly\nloved wife lying dead, and took her up in his arms, and lamenting,\ndied on the spot. Thereupon M\u00e1tridatt\u00e1, the merchant's daughter,\nentered the fire. And so the whole kingdom perished with the king.\n\n\"So you see, king, that the breaking off of long love is\ndifficult to bear, especially would it be so to the proud queen\nV\u00e1savadatt\u00e1. Accordingly, if you were to marry this Kalingasen\u00e1, the\nqueen V\u00e1savadatt\u00e1 would indubitably quit her life, and queen Padm\u00e1vat\u00ed\nwould do the same, for their life is one. And then how would your son\nNarav\u00e1hanadatta live? And, I know, the king's heart would not be able\nto bear any misfortune happening to him. And so all this happiness\nwould perish in a moment, O king. But as for the dignified reserve,\nwhich the queens displayed in their speeches, that sufficiently\nshews that their hearts are indifferent to all things, being firmly\nresolved on suicide. So you must guard your own interests, for even\nanimals understand self-protection, much more wise men like yourself,\nO king.\" The king of Vatsa, when he heard this at length from the\nexcellent minister Yaugandhar\u00e1yana, having now become quite capable\nof wise discrimination, said--\"It is so; there can be no doubt about\nit; all this fabric of my happiness would be overthrown. So what is\nthe use of my marrying Kalingasen\u00e1? Accordingly the astrologers did\nwell in mentioning a distant hour as auspicious for the marriage:\nand there cannot after all be much sin in abandoning one who had\ncome to select me as her husband.\" When Yaugandhar\u00e1yana heard this,\nhe reflected with joy, \"Our business has almost turned out according\nto our wishes. Will not that same great plant of policy, watered with\nthe streams of expedient, and nourished with due time and place, truly\nbring forth fruit?\" Thus reflecting, and meditating upon fitting\ntime and place, the minister Yaugandhar\u00e1yana went to his house,\nafter taking a ceremonious farewell of the king.\n\nThe king too went to the queen V\u00e1savadatt\u00e1, who had assumed to welcome\nhim a manner which concealed her real feelings, and thus spoke to her\nto console her: \"Why do I speak? you know well, O gazelle-eyed one,\nthat your love is my life, even as the water is of the lotus. Could I\nbear even to mention the name of another woman? But Kalingasen\u00e1 came\nto my house of her own impetuous motion. And this is well known, that\nRambh\u00e1, who came to visit Arjuna of her own impetuous will, having\nbeen rejected by him, as he was engaged in austerities, inflicted on\nhim a curse which made him a eunuch. That curse was endured by him\nto the end, living in the house of the king of Vir\u00e1ta in the garb\nof a eunuch, though he displayed miraculous valour. So I did not\nreject this Kalingasen\u00e1 when she came, but I cannot bring myself to\ndo anything without your wish.\" Having comforted her in these words,\nand having perceived by the flush of wine which rose to her cheek, as\nif it were her glowing passionate heart, that her cruel design was a\nreality, the king of Vatsa spent that night with the queen V\u00e1savadatt\u00e1,\ndelighted at the transcendent ability of his prime minister.\n\nAnd in the meanwhile that Br\u00e1hman-R\u00e1kshasa, named Yogesvara, who was\na friend of Yaugandhar\u00e1yana, and whom he had commissioned beforehand\nto watch day and night the proceedings of Kalingasen\u00e1, came that very\nnight of his own accord and said to the prime minister: \"I remain\never at Kalingasen\u00e1's house, either without it or within it, and I\nhave never seen man or god come there. But to-day I suddenly heard an\nindistinct noise in the air, at the commencement of the night, as I was\nlying hid near the roof of the palace. Then my magic science was set\nin motion to ascertain the cause of the sound, but prevailed not; so\nI pondered over it, and came to this conclusion: 'This must certainly\nbe the voice of some being of divine power, enamoured of Kalingasen\u00e1,\nwho is roaming in the sky. Since my science does not succeed, I must\nlook for some opening, for clever people who remain vigilant, find\nlittle difficulty in discovering holes in their opponents' armour. And\nI know that the prime minister said--\"Divine beings are in love with\nher\"--moreover I overheard her friend Somaprabh\u00e1 saying the same. After\narriving at this conclusion I came here to make my report to you. This\nI have to ask you by the way, so tell me so much I pray you. By my\nmagic power I heard, without being seen, what you said to the king,\n'Even animals understand self-protection.' Now tell me, sagacious\nman, if there is any instance of this.\"--When Yogesvara asked him\nthis question, Yaugandhar\u00e1yana answered. \"There is, my friend, and\nto prove it, I will tell you this tale. Listen!\"\n\n\n\nThe tale of the ichneumon, the owl, the cat, and the mouse.\n\nOnce on a time there was a large banyan tree outside the city of\nVidis\u00e1. In that vast tree dwelt four creatures, an ichneumon, an owl,\na cat, and a mouse, [496] and their habitations were apart. The\nichneumon and the mouse dwelt in separate holes in the root, the\ncat in a great hollow in the middle of the tree: but the owl dwelt\nin a bower of creepers on the top of it, which was inaccessible\nto the others. Among these the mouse was the natural prey of all\nthree, three out of the four of the cat. The mouse, the ichneumon,\nand the owl ranged for food during the night, the two first through\nfear of the cat only, the owl partly because it was his nature to\ndo so. But the cat fearlessly wandered night and day through the\nneighbouring barley-field, in order to catch the mouse, while the\nothers went there by stealth at a suitable time out of desire for\nfood. One day a certain hunter of the Chand\u00e1la caste came there. He\nsaw the track of the cat entering that field, and having set nooses\nall round the field in order to compass its death, departed. So the\ncat came there at night to slay the mouse, and entering the field\nwas caught in one of the hunter's nooses. The mouse, for his part,\ncame there secretly in search of food, and seeing the cat caught\nin the noose, danced for joy. While it was entering the field, the\nowl and ichneumon came from afar by the same path, and seeing the\ncat fast in the noose, desired to capture the mouse. And the mouse,\nbeholding them afar off, was terrified and reflected--\"If I fly to\nthe cat, which the owl and the ichneumon are afraid of, that enemy,\nthough fast in the noose, may slay me with one blow, but if I keep\nat a distance from the cat, the owl and the ichneumon will be the\ndeath of me. So being compassed about with enemies, where shall I go,\nwhat shall I do? Ah! I will take refuge with the cat here, for it is\nin trouble, and may save me to preserve its own life, as I shall be\nof use to gnaw through the noose.\" Thus reflecting the mouse slowly\napproached the cat, and said to it, \"I am exceedingly grieved at your\nbeing caught, so I will gnaw through your noose; the upright come to\nlove even their enemies by dwelling in their neighbourhood. But I do\nnot feel confidence in you, as I do not know your intentions.\" When\nthe cat heard that, he said \"Worthy mouse, be at rest, from this day\nforth you are my friend as giving me life.\" The moment he heard this\nfrom the cat, he crept into his bosom; when the owl and ichneumon saw\nthat, they went away hopeless. Then the cat, galled with the noose,\nsaid to the mouse, \"My friend, the night is almost gone, so quickly\ngnaw through my bonds.\" The mouse for its part, waiting for the\narrival of the hunter, slowly nibbled the noose, and protracted the\nbusiness, making a continual munching with its teeth, which was all\npretence. Soon the night came to an end, and the hunter came near;\nthen the mouse, at the request of the cat, quickly gnawed through the\nnoose which held it. So the cat's noose was severed, and it ran away,\nafraid of the hunter; and the mouse, delivered from death, fled into\nits hole. But when called again by the cat, it reposed no confidence\nin him, but remarked, \"The truth is, an enemy is occasionally made\na friend by circumstances, but does not remain such for ever.\"\n\n\"Thus the mouse, though an animal, saved its life from many foes,\nmuch more ought the same thing to take place among men. You heard that\nspeech which I uttered to the king on that occasion, to the effect\nthat by wisdom he should guard his own interests by preserving the\nlife of the queen. And wisdom is in every exigency the best friend, not\nvalour, Yogesvara; in illustration of this hear the following story.\"\n\n\n\nThe story of king Prasenajit and the Br\u00e1hman who lost his treasure.\n\nThere is a city named Sr\u00e1vast\u00ed, and in it there lived in old time a\nking of the name of Prasenajit, and one day a strange Br\u00e1hman arrived\nin that city. A merchant, thinking he was virtuous, because he lived\non rice in the husk, provided him a lodging there in the house of\na Br\u00e1hman. There he was loaded by him every day with presents of\nunhusked rice and other gifts, and gradually by other great merchants\nalso, who came to hear his story. In this way the miserly fellow\ngradually accumulated a thousand d\u00edn\u00e1rs, and, going to the forest,\nhe dug a hole and buried it in the ground, [497] and he went every\nday and examined the spot. Now one day he saw that the hole, in which\nhe had hidden his gold, had been re-opened, and that all the gold had\ngone. When he saw that hole empty, his soul was smitten, and not only\nwas there a void in his heart, but the whole universe seemed to him to\nbe void also. And then he came crying to the Br\u00e1hman, in whose house\nhe lived, and when questioned, he told him his whole story: and he\nmade up his mind to go to a holy bathing-place, and starve himself to\ndeath. Then the merchant, who supplied him with food, hearing of it,\ncame there with others, and said to him, \"Br\u00e1hman, why do you long to\ndie for the loss of your wealth? Wealth, like an unseasonable cloud,\nsuddenly comes and goes.\" Though plied by him with these and similar\narguments, he would not abandon his fixed determination to commit\nsuicide, for wealth is dearer to the miser than life itself. But when\nthe Br\u00e1hman was going to the holy place to commit suicide, the king\nPrasenajit himself, having heard of it, came to him and asked him,\n\"Br\u00e1hman, do you know of any mark by which you can recognize the place\nwhere you buried your d\u00edn\u00e1rs?\" When the Br\u00e1hman heard that, he said:\n\"There is a small tree in the wood there, I buried that wealth at its\nfoot.\" When the king heard that, he said, \"I will find that wealth and\ngive it back to you, or I will give it you from my own treasury, do\nnot commit suicide, Br\u00e1hman.\" After saying this, and so diverting the\nBr\u00e1hman from his intention of committing suicide, the king entrusted\nhim to the care of the merchant, and retired to his palace. There\nhe pretended to have a headache, and sending out the door-keeper, he\nsummoned all the physicians in the city by proclamation with beat of\ndrum. And he took aside every single one of them and questioned him\nprivately in the following words: \"What patients have you here, and\nhow many, and what medicine have you prescribed for each?\" And they\nthereupon, one by one, answered all the king's questions. Then one\namong the physicians, when his turn came to be questioned, said this,\n\"The merchant M\u00e1tridatta has been out of sorts, O king, and this is\nthe second day, that I have prescribed for him n\u00e1gabal\u00e1. [498] When\nthe king heard that, he sent for the merchant, and said to him--\"Tell\nme, who fetched you the n\u00e1gabal\u00e1?\" The merchant said--\"My servant,\nyour highness.\" When the king got this answer from the merchant, he\nquickly summoned the servant and said to him--\"Give up that treasure\nbelonging to a Br\u00e1hman, consisting of a store of d\u00edn\u00e1rs, which you\nfound when you were digging at the foot of a tree for n\u00e1gabal\u00e1.\" When\nthe king said this to him, the servant was frightened and confessed\nimmediately, and bringing those d\u00edn\u00e1rs left them there. So the king\nfor his part summoned the Br\u00e1hman and gave him, who had been fasting\nin the meanwhile, his d\u00edn\u00e1rs, lost and found again, like a second\nsoul external to his body.\n\n\"Thus that king by his wisdom recovered for the Br\u00e1hman his wealth,\nwhich had been taken away from the root of the tree, knowing that\nthat simple grew in such spots. So true is it, that intellect\nalways obtains the supremacy, triumphing over valour, indeed in\nsuch cases what could courage accomplish? Accordingly, Yogesvara,\nyou ought to bring it to pass by your wisdom, that some peccadillo be\ndiscovered in Kalingasen\u00e1. And it is true that the gods and Asuras\nare in love with her. This explains your hearing at night the sound\nof some being in the air. And if we could only obtain some pretext,\ncalamity would fall upon her, not on us; the king would not marry\nher, and yet we should not have dealt unrighteously with her.\" When\nthe Br\u00e1hman-R\u00e1kshasa Yogesvara heard all this from the sagacious\nYaugandhar\u00e1yana, he was delighted and said to him--\"Who except the\ngod Vrihaspati can match thee in policy? This counsel of thine waters\nwith ambrosia the tree of empire. I, even I, will investigate with\nwisdom and might the proceedings of Kalingasen\u00e1.\" Having said this,\nYogesvara departed thence.\n\nAnd at this time Kalingasen\u00e1, while in her palace, was continually\nafflicted by beholding the king of Vatsa roaming about in his palace\nand its grounds. Thinking on him, she was inflamed with love, and\nthough she wore a bracelet and necklace of lotus fibres, she never\nobtained relief thereby, nor from sandal-ointment, or other remedies.\n\nIn the meanwhile the king of the Vidy\u00e1dharas, named Madanavega, who had\nseen her before, remained wounded by the arrow of ardent love. Though\nhe had performed a vow to obtain her, and had been granted a boon by\nSiva, still she was not easy to gain, because she was living in the\nland of another, and attached to another, so the Vidy\u00e1dhara prince\nwas wandering about at night in the air over her palace, in order to\nobtain an opportunity. But, remembering the order of Siva pleased\nwith his asceticism, he assumed one night by his skill the form of\nthe king of Vatsa. And in his shape he entered her palace, saluted\nwith praises by the door-keepers, who said--\"Unable to bear delay,\nthe king has come here without the knowledge of his ministers.\" And\nKalingasen\u00e1, on beholding him, rose up bewildered with agitation,\nthough she was, so to speak, warned by her ornaments which jingled\nout the sounds--\"This is not the man.\" Then she by degrees gained\nconfidence in him, and Madanavega, wearing the form of the king\nof Vatsa, made her his wife by the G\u00e1ndharva rite. At that moment\nYogesvara entered, invisible by his magic, and, beholding the incident,\nwas cast down, supposing that he saw the king of Vatsa before him. He\nwent and told Yaugandhar\u00e1yana, who, on receiving his report, saw by\nhis skill that the king was in the society of V\u00e1savadatt\u00e1. So by the\norder of the prime minister he returned delighted, to observe the shape\nof that secret paramour of Kalingasen\u00e1, when asleep. And so he went\nand beheld that Madanavega asleep in his own form on the bed of the\nsleeping Kalingasen\u00e1, a heavenly being, the dustless lotus of whose\nfoot was marked with the umbrella and the banner; and who had lost\nhis power of changing his form, because his science was suspended\nduring sleep. Then Yogesvara, full of delight, went and told what\nhe had seen in a joyful mood to Yaugandhar\u00e1yana. He said--\"One like\nme knows nothing, you know everything by the eye of policy; by your\ncounsel this difficult result has been attained for your king. What\nis the sky without the sun? What is a tank without water? What is a\nrealm without counsel? What is speech without truth?\" When Yogesvara\nsaid this, Yaugandhar\u00e1yana took leave of him, much pleased, and went\nin the morning to visit the king of Vatsa. He approached him with\nthe usual reverence, and in course of conversation said to the king,\nwho asked him what was to be done about Kalingasen\u00e1--\"She is unchaste,\nO king, and does not deserve to touch your hand. For she went of her\nown accord to visit Prasenajit. When she saw that he was old, she was\ndisgusted, and came to visit you out of desire for your beauty, and now\nshe even enjoys at her pleasure the society of another person.\" When\nthe king heard this, he said--\"How could a lady of birth and rank do\nsuch a deed? Or who has power to enter my harem?\" When the king said\nthis, the wise Yaugandhar\u00e1yana answered him, \"I will prove it to you\nby ocular testimony this very night, my sovereign. For the divine\nSiddhas and other beings of the kind are in love with her. What can\na man do against them? And who here can interfere with the movements\nof gods? So come and see it with your own eyes.\" When the minister\nsaid this, the king determined to go there with him at night.\n\nThen Yaugandhar\u00e1yana came to the queen, and said--\"To-day, O queen,\nI have carried out what I promised, that the king should marry no\nother wife except queen Padm\u00e1vat\u00ed, and thereupon he told her the whole\nstory of Kalingasen\u00e1. And the queen V\u00e1savadatt\u00e1 congratulated him,\nbowing low and saying--\"This is the fruit which I have reaped from\nfollowing your instructions.\"\n\nThen, at night, when folk were asleep, the king of Vatsa went with\nYaugandhar\u00e1yana to the palace of Kalingasen\u00e1. And entering unperceived,\nhe beheld Madanavega in his proper form, sleeping by the side of\nthe sleeping Kalingasen\u00e1. And when the king was minded to slay that\naudacious one, the Vidy\u00e1dhara prince was roused by his own magic\nknowledge, and when awake, he went out, and immediately flew up into\nthe heaven. And then Kalingasen\u00e1 awoke immediately. And seeing the bed\nempty, she said, \"How is this, that the king of Vatsa wakes up before\nme, and departs, leaving me asleep?\" When Yaugandhar\u00e1yana heard that,\nhe said to the king of Vatsa--\"Listen, she has been beguiled by that\nVidy\u00e1dhara wearing your form. He was found out by me by means of my\nmagic power, and now I have exhibited him before your eyes, but you\ncannot kill him on account of his heavenly might.\" After saying this,\nhe and the king approached her, and Kalingasen\u00e1, for her part, seeing\nthem, stood in a respectful attitude. But when she began to say to the\nking--\"Where, O king, did you go only a moment ago, so as to return\nwith your minister?\"--Yaugandhar\u00e1yana said to her--\"Kalingasen\u00e1,\nyou have been married by some being, who beguiled you by assuming\nthe shape of the king of Vatsa, and not by this lord of mine.\"\n\nWhen Kalingasen\u00e1 heard this, she was bewildered, and as if pierced\nthrough the heart by an arrow, she said to the king of Vatsa with\ntear-streaming eyes,--\"Have you forgotten me, O king, after marrying\nme by the G\u00e1ndharva rite, as Sakuntal\u00e1 long ago was forgotten by\nDushyanta?\" [499] When the king was thus addressed by her, he said\nwith downcast face, \"In truth you were not married by me, for I never\ncame here till this moment.\" When the king of Vatsa had said this,\nthe minister said to him--\"Come along\"--and conducted him at will to\nthe palace.\n\nWhen the king had departed thence with his minister, that lady\nKalingasen\u00e1, sojourning in a foreign country, like a doe that\nhad strayed from the herd, having deserted her relations, with\nher face robbed of its painting by kissing, as a lotus is robbed\nof its leaves by cropping, having her braided tresses disordered,\neven as a bed of lotuses trampled by an elephant has its cluster\nof black bees dispersed; now that her maidenhood was gone for ever,\nnot knowing what expedient to adopt or what course to pursue, looked\nup to heaven and spake as follows--\"Whoever that was that assumed\nthe shape of the king of Vatsa and married me, let him appear,\nfor he is the husband of my youth.\" When invoked in these words,\nthat king of the Vidy\u00e1dharas descended from heaven, of divine shape,\nadorned with necklace and bracelet. And when she asked him who he\nwas, he answered her;--\"I, fair one, am a prince of the Vidy\u00e1dharas,\nnamed Madanavega. And long ago I beheld you in your father's house,\nand by performing penance obtained a boon from Siva, which conferred\non me the attainment of you. So, as you were in love with the king\nof Vatsa, I assumed his form, and quickly married you by stealth,\nbefore your contract with him had been celebrated.\" By the nectar of\nthis speech of his, entering her ears, the lotus of her heart was a\nlittle revived. Then Madanavega comforted that fair one, and made her\nrecover her composure, and bestowed on her a heap of gold, and when\nshe had conceived in her heart affection for her excellent husband,\nas being well suited to her, he flew up into the heaven to return\nagain. And Kalingasen\u00e1, after obtaining permission from Madanavega,\nconsented to dwell patiently where she was, reflecting that the\nheavenly home, the abode of her husband, could not be approached by\na mortal, and that through passion she had left her father's house.\n\n\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XXXIV.\n\n\nThen the king of Vatsa, thinking on the peerless beauty of\nKalingasen\u00e1, was one night seized with love, so he rose up and went\nsword in hand, and entered her palace alone; and she welcomed him and\nreceived him politely. Then the king asked her to become his wife,\nbut she rejected his addresses, saying, \"You should regard me as the\nwife of another.\" Whereupon he answered--\"Since you are unchaste as\nhaving resorted to three men, I shall not by approaching you incur\nthe guilt of adultery.\" When the king said this to Kalingasen\u00e1, she\nanswered him, \"I came to marry you, O king, but I was married by the\nVidy\u00e1dhara Madanavega at his will, for he assumed your shape. And\nhe is my only husband, so why am I unchaste? But such are the\nmisfortunes even of ordinary women who desert their relations,\nhaving their minds bewildered with the love of lawless roaming,\nmuch more of princesses? And this is the fruit of my own folly in\nsending a messenger to you, though I had been warned not to do so by\nmy friend, who had seen an evil omen. So if you touch me by force,\nI will abandon life, for what woman of good family will injure her\nhusband? And to prove this I will tell you a tale--listen O king.\"\n\n\n\nThe story of king Indradatta.\n\nThere lived in old time in the land of Chedi a great king called\nIndradatta, he founded for his glory a great temple at the holy\nbathing-place of P\u00e1pasodhana, desiring the body of good reputation,\nas he saw that our mortal body is perishable. And the king in the\nardour of his devotion was continually going to visit it, and all\nkinds of people were continually coming there to bathe in the holy\nwater. Now, one day the king saw a merchant's wife, whose husband was\ntravelling in foreign parts, who had come there to bathe in the holy\nwater; she was steeped in the nectar of pure beauty, and adorned\nwith various charms, like a splendid moving palace of the god of\nLove. She was embraced on both her feet by the radiance of the two\nquivers of the five-arrowed god, [500] as if out of love, believing\nthat with her he would conquer the world. [501] The moment the king\nsaw her, she captivated his soul so entirely that, unable to restrain\nhimself, he found out her house and went there at night. And when he\nsolicited her, she said to him--\"You are a protector of the helpless,\nyou ought not to touch another man's wife. And if you lay violent\nhands on me, you will commit a great sin; and I will die immediately,\nI will not endure disgrace.\" Though she said this to him, the king\nstill endeavoured to use force to her, whereupon her heart broke in a\nmoment through fear of losing her chastity. When the king saw that,\nhe was at once abashed, and went back by the way that he came, and\nin a few days died out of remorse for that crime.\n\nHaving told this tale, Kalingasen\u00e1 bowed in timid modesty, and\nagain said to the king of Vatsa--\"Therefore, king, set not your\nheart on wickedness that would rob me of breath; since I have come\nhere, allow me to dwell here; if not, I will depart to some other\nplace.\" Then the king of Vatsa, who knew what was right, hearing\nthis from Kalingasen\u00e1, after reflecting, desisted from his intention,\nand said to her--\"Princess, dwell here at will with this husband of\nyours; I will not say anything to you, henceforth fear not.\" When\nthe king had said this, he returned of his own accord to his house,\nand Madanavega, having heard the conversation, descended from heaven,\nand said--\"My beloved, you have done well, if you had not acted thus,\nO fortunate one, good fortune would not have resulted, for I should\nnot have tolerated your conduct.\" When the Vidy\u00e1dhara had said this,\nhe comforted her, and passed the night there, and continued going\nto her house and returning again. And Kalingasen\u00e1, having a king of\nthe Vidy\u00e1dharas for her husband, remained there, blessed even in\nher mortal state with the enjoyment of heavenly pleasures. As for\nthe king of Vatsa, he ceased to think about her, and remembering the\nspeech of his minister, he rejoiced, considering that he had saved\nhis queens and kingdom and also his son. And the queen V\u00e1savadatt\u00e1\nand the minister Yaugandhar\u00e1yana were at ease, having reaped the\nfruit of the wishing-tree of policy.\n\nThen, as days went on, Kalingasen\u00e1 had the lotus of her face a\nlittle pale, and was pregnant, having longing produced in her. Her\nlofty breasts, with extremities a little dark, appeared like\nthe treasure-vessels of Love, marked with his seal of joy. [502]\nThen her husband Madanavega came to her and said, \"Kalingasen\u00e1, we\nheavenly beings are subject to this law, that, when a mortal child\nis conceived we must abandon it, and go afar. Did not Menak\u00e1 leave\nSakuntal\u00e1 in the hermitage of Kanva? And though you were formerly an\nApsaras, you have now, goddess, become a mortal by the curse of Siva,\ninflicted on account of your disobedience. Thus it has come to pass\nthat, though chaste, you have incurred the reproach of unchastity;\nso guard your offspring, I will go to my own place. And whenever\nyou think upon me, I will appear to you.\" Thus the prince of the\nVidy\u00e1dharas spake to the weeping Kalingasen\u00e1, and consoled her,\nand gave her a heap of valuable jewels, and departed with his mind\nfixed on her, drawn away by the law. Kalingasen\u00e1, for her part,\nremained there; supported by the hope of offspring as by a friend,\nprotected by the shade of the king of Vatsa's arm.\n\nIn the meanwhile the husband of Ambik\u00e1 [503] gave the following\norder to Rati, the wife of the god of Love, who had performed\npenance in order to get back her husband with his body restored:\n\"That husband of thine who was formerly consumed, has been born in\nthe palace of the king of Vatsa, under the name of Narav\u00e1hanadatta,\nconceived in a mortal womb on account of disrespect shewn to me. But\nbecause thou hast propitiated me, thou shalt also be born in the world\nof mortals, without being conceived in a mortal womb; and then thou\nshalt be reunited to thy husband, once more possessing a body.\" Having\nsaid this to Rati, Siva then gave this command to the Creator; [504]\n\"Kalingasen\u00e1 shall give birth to a son of divine origin. By thy power\nof illusion thou shalt remove her son, and substitute in his place\nthis very Rati, who shall abandon her heavenly body, and be moulded\nby thee in the form of a mortal maiden.\" The Creator, in obedience to\nthe order of Siva, [505] went down to earth, and when the appointed\ntime came, Kalingasen\u00e1 gave birth to a son. The Creator abstracted,\nby his divine power of illusion, her son, the moment he was born,\nand substituted Rati, whom he had turned into a girl, in his place,\nwithout the change being detected. And all present there saw that girl\nborn, and she seemed like the streak of the new moon suddenly rising\nin broad daylight, for she illuminated with her splendour the lying-in\nchamber, and eclipsing the long row of flames of the jewel-lamps [506]\nrobbed them of lustre, and made them, as it were, abashed. Kalingasen\u00e1,\nwhen she saw that incomparable daughter born, in her delight made\ngreater rejoicing, than she would have made at the birth of a son.\n\nThen the king of Vatsa, with his queen and his ministers, heard that\nsuch a lovely daughter had been born to Kalingasen\u00e1. And when the\nking heard of it, he suddenly, under the impulsion of the god Siva,\nsaid to the queen V\u00e1savadatt\u00e1, in the presence of Yaugandhar\u00e1yana;\n\"I know, this Kalingasen\u00e1 is a heavenly nymph, who has fallen down to\nearth in consequence of a curse, and this daughter born to her will\nalso be heavenly, and of wonderful beauty. So this girl, being equal\nin beauty to my son Narav\u00e1hanadatta, ought to be his head-queen.\" When\nthe queen V\u00e1savadatt\u00e1 heard that, she said to the king--\"Great king,\nwhy do you suddenly say this now? What similarity can there possibly\nbe between this son of yours, of pure descent by both lines, and the\ndaughter of Kalingasen\u00e1, a girl whose mother is unchaste.\" When the\nking heard that, he reflected, and said, \"Truly, I do not say this\nof myself, but some god seems to have entered into me, and to be\nforcing me to speak. And I seem to hear a voice uttering these words\nfrom heaven--'This daughter of Kalingasen\u00e1 is the appointed wife\nof Narav\u00e1hanadatta.' Moreover, that Kalingasen\u00e1 is a faithful wife,\nof good family; and her reproach of unchastity has arisen from the\ninfluence of her actions in a former birth.\" When the king had said\nthis, the minister Yaugandhar\u00e1yana spoke--\"We hear, king, that when\nthe god of Love was consumed, Rati performed asceticism. And Siva\ngranted to Rati, who wished to recover her husband, the following boon:\n'Thou shalt assume the condition of a mortal, and be reunited to thy\nhusband, who has been born with a body in the world of mortals.' Now,\nyour son has long ago been declared by a heavenly voice to be an\nincarnation of K\u00e1ma, and Rati by the order of Siva has to become\nincarnate in mortal form. And the midwife said to me to-day--'I\ninspected previously the fetus when contained in the uterus, and\nthen I saw one quite different from what has now appeared. Having\nbeheld this marvel I have come here to tell you.' This is what that\nwoman told me, and now this inspiration has come to you. So I am\npersuaded that the gods have stolen the real child of Kalingasen\u00e1\nand substituted this daughter not born in the ordinary way, who is\nno other than Rati, ordained beforehand to be the wife of your son,\nwho is an incarnation of K\u00e1ma, O king. To illustrate this, hear the\nfollowing story concerning a Yaksha.\"\n\n\n\nStory of the Yaksha Vir\u00fap\u00e1ksha.\n\nThe god of wealth had for servant a Yaksha, named Vir\u00fap\u00e1ksha, who\nhad been appointed chief guardian of lacs of treasure. [507] And he\ndelegated a certain Yaksha to guard a treasure lying outside the town\nof Mathur\u00e1, posted there like an immovable pillar of marble. And\nonce on a time a certain Br\u00e1hman, a votary of Pasupati, who made\nit his business to exhume treasures, went there in search of hidden\nwealth. While he was examining that place, with a candle made of human\nfat in his hand, the candle fell from his grasp. By that sign he knew\nthat treasure was concealed there; and he attempted to dig it up with\nthe help of some other Br\u00e1hmans his friends. Then the Yaksha, who was\ntold off to guard that treasure, beholding that, came and related\nthe whole circumstance to Vir\u00fap\u00e1ksha. And Vir\u00fap\u00e1ksha in his wrath\ngave the following command to the Yaksha--\"Go and slay immediately\nthose mean treasure-hunters.\" Then the Yaksha went and slew by his\npower those Br\u00e1hmans, who were digging for treasure, before they had\nattained their object. Then the god of wealth came to hear of it, and\nbeing angry he said to Vir\u00fap\u00e1ksha, \"Why did you, evil one, recklessly\norder the slaughter of a Br\u00e1hman? What will not poor people, who are\nstruggling for a livelihood, [508] do out of desire for gain? But\nthey must be prevented by being terrified with various bug-bears,\nthey must not be slain.\" When the god of Wealth had said this, he\ncursed that Vir\u00fap\u00e1ksha as follows--\"Be born as a mortal on account of\nyour wicked conduct.\" Then that Vir\u00fap\u00e1ksha, smitten with the curse,\nwas born on the earth as the son of a certain Br\u00e1hman who lived on a\nroyal grant. Then the Yakshin\u00ed his wife implored the lord of wealth,\n\"O god, send me whither my husband has gone; be merciful to me,\nfor I cannot live without him.\" When the virtuous lady addressed\nthis prayer to him, Vaisravana said--\"Thou shalt descend, without\nbeing born, into the house of a female slave of that very Br\u00e1hman, in\nwhose house thy husband is born. There thou shalt be united to that\nhusband of thine, and by thy power he shall surmount his curse and\nreturn to my service.\" In accordance with this decree of Vaisravana,\nthat virtuous wife became a mortal maiden, and fell at the door of\nthat Br\u00e1hman's female slave's house. And the slave suddenly saw that\nmaiden of marvellous beauty, and took her and exhibited her to her\nmaster the Br\u00e1hman. And the Br\u00e1hman rejoiced, and said to the female\nslave--\"This is without doubt some heavenly maiden not born in the\nordinary way; so my soul tells me. Bring here this girl who has entered\nyour house, for, I think, she deserves to be my son's wife.\" Then in\ncourse of time that girl and the son of the Br\u00e1hman, having grown\nup, were smitten with ardent reciprocal affection at the sight of\none another. Then they were married by the Br\u00e1hman; and the couple,\nthough they did not remember their previous births, felt as if a long\nseparation had been brought to an end. Then at last the Yaksha died,\nand as his wife burnt herself with his mortal body, his sins were\nwiped away by her sufferings, and he regained his former rank.\n\n\"Thus, you see, heavenly beings, on account of certain causes, descend\nfrom heaven to the earth, by the appointment of fate, and, because they\nare free from sin, they are not born in the usual way. What does this\ngirl's family matter to you? So this daughter of Kalingasen\u00e1 is, as I\nsaid, the wife appointed for your son by destiny.\" When Yaugandhar\u00e1yana\nhad said this to the king of Vatsa and the queen V\u00e1savadatt\u00e1, they\nboth consented in their hearts that it should be so. Then the prime\nminister returned to his house, and the king, in the company of his\nwife, spent the day happily, in drinking and other enjoyments.\n\nThen, as time went on, that daughter of Kalingasen\u00e1, who had lost\nher recollection of her former state through illusion, gradually\ngrew up, and her dower of beauty grew with her; and her mother and\nher attendants gave her the name of Madanamanchuk\u00e1, because she was\nthe daughter of Madanavega, saying, \"Surely the beauty of all other\nlovely women has fled to her; else how could they have become ugly\nbefore her?\" And the queen V\u00e1savadatt\u00e1, hearing she was beautiful,\none day had her brought into her presence out of curiosity. Then the\nking and Yaugandhar\u00e1yana and his fellows beheld her clinging to the\nface of her nurse, as the candle-flame clings to the wick. And there\nwas no one present, who did not think that she was an incarnation\nof Rati, when they beheld her matchless body, which was like nectar\nto their eyes. And then the queen V\u00e1savadatt\u00e1 brought there her son\nNarav\u00e1hanadatta, who was a feast to the eyes of the world. He beheld,\nwith the lotus of his face expanded, the gleaming Madanamanchuk\u00e1, as\nthe bed of water-lilies beholds the young splendour of the sun. The\ngirl gazed with dilated countenance upon that gladdener of the eyes,\nand could not gaze enough, as the female partridge can never be sated\nwith gazing on the moon. Henceforth these two children could not\nremain apart even for a moment, being, as it were, fastened together\nwith the nooses of glances.\n\nBut, in course of time, the king of Vatsa came to the conclusion\nthat that marriage was made in heaven, [509] and turned his mind\nto the solemnization of the nuptials. When Kalingasen\u00e1 heard that,\nshe rejoiced, and fixed her affection upon Narav\u00e1hanadatta out\nof love for her daughter's future husband. And then the king of\nVatsa, after deliberating with his ministers, had made for his son\na separate palace like his own. Then that king, who could discern\ntimes and seasons, collected the necessary utensils, and anointed\nhis son as crown-prince, since it was apparent that he possessed all\npraiseworthy qualities. First there fell on his head the water of his\nfather's tears, and then the water of holy bathing-places, purified by\nVaidik spells of mickle might. When the lotus of his face was washed\nwith the water of inauguration, wonderful to say, the faces of the\ncardinal points became also clear. When his mothers threw on him the\nflowers of the auspicious garlands, the heaven immediately shed a\nrain of many celestial wreaths. As if in emulation of the thunder\nof the drums of the gods, the echoes of the sound of the cymbals\nof rejoicing floated in the air. Every one there bowed before him,\nas soon as he was inaugurated as crown-prince; then by that alone he\nwas exalted, without his own power.\n\nThen the king of Vatsa summoned the good sons of the ministers, who\nwere the playfellows of his son, and appointed them to their offices\nas servants to the crown-prince. He appointed to the office of prime\nminister Marubh\u00fati the son of Yaugandhar\u00e1yana, and then Harisikha the\nson of Rumanvat to the office of commander-in-chief, and he appointed\nTapantaka the son of Vasantaka as the companion of his lighter hours,\nand Gomukha the son of Ityaka to the duty of chamberlain and warder,\nand to the office of domestic chaplains the two sons of Pingalik\u00e1,\nVaisv\u00e1nara and S\u00e1ntisoma, the nephews of the king's family priest. When\nthese men had been appointed by the king servants to his son, there\nwas heard from heaven a voice preceded by a rain of flowers: \"These\nministers shall accomplish all things prosperously for the prince,\nand Gomukha shall be his inseparable companion.\" When the heavenly\nvoice had said this, the delighted king of Vatsa honoured them all\nwith clothes and ornaments; and while that king was showering wealth\nupon his dependents, none of them could claim the title of poor on\naccount of the accumulation of riches. And the city was filled with\ndancing girls and minstrels, who seemed to be invited by the rows of\nsilken streamers fanned and agitated by the wind.\n\nThen Kalingasen\u00e1 came to the feast of her future son-in-law, looking\nlike the Fortune of the Vidy\u00e1dhara race which was to attend him,\npresent in bodily form. Then V\u00e1savadatt\u00e1 and Padm\u00e1vat\u00ed and she\ndanced, all three of them, for joy, like the three powers [510] of\na king united together. And all the trees there seemed to dance,\nas their creepers waved in the wind, much more did the creatures\npossessing sense.\n\nThen the crown-prince Narav\u00e1hanadatta, having been inaugurated in\nhis office, ascended an elephant of victory, and went forth. And\nhe was sprinkled by the city wives with their upcast eyes, blue,\nwhite and red, resembling offerings of blue lotuses, parched grain\nand water-lilies. And after visiting the gods worshipped in that city,\nbeing praised by heralds and minstrels, he entered his palace with his\nministers. Then Kalingasen\u00e1 gave him, to begin with, celestial viands\nand drinks far exceeding what his own magnificence could supply, and\nshe presented to him and his ministers, friends and servants, beautiful\nrobes and heavenly ornaments, for she was overpowered with love for\nher son-in-law. So the day passed in high festivity for all these,\nthe king of Vatsa and the others, charming as the taste of nectar.\n\nThen the night arrived, and Kalingasen\u00e1 pondering over her daughter's\nmarriage, called to mind her friend Somaprabh\u00e1. No sooner had she\ncalled to mind the daughter of the Asura Maya, than her husband,\nthe much-knowing Nadak\u00favara, thus addressed that noble lady, his\nwife--\"Dear one, Kalingasen\u00e1 is now thinking on thee with longing,\ntherefore go and make a heavenly garden for her daughter.\" Having said\nthis, and revealed the future and the past history of that maiden,\nher husband dismissed that instant his wife Somaprabh\u00e1. And when she\narrived, her friend Kalingasen\u00e1 threw her arms around her neck, having\nmissed her so long, and Somaprabh\u00e1, after asking after her health,\nsaid to her--\"You have been married by a Vidy\u00e1dhara of great power,\nand your daughter is an incarnation of Rati by the favour of Siva, and\nshe has been brought into the world as the wife, in a previous state\nof existence, of an incarnation of Love, that has taken his birth from\nthe king of Vatsa. He shall be emperor of the Vidy\u00e1dharas for a kalpa\nof the gods; and she shall be honoured above his other wives. But\nyou have descended into this world, being an Apsaras degraded by the\ncurse of Indra, and after you have brought your duties to completion,\nyou shall obtain deliverance from your curse. All this was told me,\nmy friend, by my wise husband, so you must not be anxious; you will\nenjoy every prosperity. And I will now make here for your daughter\na heavenly garden, the like of which does not exist on earth,\nin heaven, or in the nether regions.\" Having said this, Somaprabh\u00e1\nmade a heavenly garden by her magic power, and taking leave of the\nregretful Kalingasen\u00e1, she departed. Then, at the dawn of day, people\nbeheld that garden, looking like the garden of Nandana suddenly fallen\ndown from heaven to earth. Then the king of Vatsa heard of it, and\ncame there with his wives and his ministers, and Narav\u00e1hanadatta with\nhis companions. And they beheld that garden, the trees of which bore\nboth flowers and fruits all the year round, [511] with many jewelled\npillars, walls, lawns, and tanks; with birds of the colour of gold,\nwith heavenly perfumed breezes, like a second Svarga descended to\nearth from the region of the gods. The lord of Vatsa, when he saw that\nwonderful sight, asked Kalingasen\u00e1, who was intent on hospitality,\nwhat it was. And she thus answered the king in the hearing of all:\n\"There is a great Asura, Maya by name, an incarnation of Visvakarman,\nwho made the assembly-hall of Yudhishthira, and the city of Indra:\nhe has a daughter, Somaprabh\u00e1 by name, who is a friend of mine. She\ncame here at night to visit me, and out of love made this heavenly\ngarden by her magic power, for the sake of my daughter.\" After saying\nthis, she told all the past and future fortunes of her daughter,\nwhich Somaprabh\u00e1 had revealed to her, letting the king know that\nshe had heard them from her friend. Then all there, perceiving that\nthe speech of Kalingasen\u00e1 tallied with what they previously knew,\ndismissed their doubts and were exceedingly delighted. And the king\nof Vatsa, with his wives and his son, spent that day in the garden,\nbeing hospitably entertained by Kalingasen\u00e1.\n\nThe next day, the king went to visit a god in a temple, and he saw\nmany women well-clothed and with beautiful ornaments. And when he\nasked them who they were, they said to him--\"We are the sciences,\nand these are the accomplishments; and we are come here on account of\nyour son: we shall now go and enter into him.\" Having said this they\ndisappeared, and the king of Vatsa entered his house astonished. There\nhe told it to the queen V\u00e1savadatt\u00e1 and to the circle of his ministers,\nand they rejoiced at that favour of the deity. Then V\u00e1savadatt\u00e1, by\nthe direction of the king, took up a lyre as soon as Narav\u00e1hanadatta\nentered the room. And while his mother was playing, Narav\u00e1hanadatta\nsaid modestly to her, \"This lyre is out of tune.\" His father said,\n\"Take it, and play on it,\" whereupon he played upon the lyre so as to\nastonish even the Gandharvas. When he was thus tested by his father\nin all the sciences and the accomplishments, he became endowed with\nthem all, and of himself knew all knowledge. When the king of Vatsa\nbeheld his son endowed with all talents, he taught Madanamanchuk\u00e1,\nthe daughter of Kalingasen\u00e1, dancing. As fast as she became perfect\nin accomplishments, [512] the heart of the prince Narav\u00e1hanadatta was\ndisturbed. So the sea is disturbed, as fast as the orb of the moon\nrounds off its digits. And he delighted in beholding her singing and\ndancing, accomplished in all the gestures of the body, so that she\nseemed to be reciting the decrees of Love. As for her, if she did not\nsee for a moment that nectar-like lover, the tears rose to her eyes,\nand she was like a bed of white lotuses, wet with dew at the hour\nof dawn. [513] And Narav\u00e1hanadatta, being unable to live without\ncontinually beholding her face, came to that garden of hers. There\nhe remained, and Kalingasen\u00e1 out of affection did all she could to\nplease him, bringing her daughter to him. And Gomukha, who saw into\nhis master's heart, and wished to bring about his long stay there,\nused to tell various tales to Kalingasen\u00e1. The king was delighted by\nhis friend's penetrating his intentions, for seeing into one's lord's\nsoul is the surest way of winning him. And Narav\u00e1hanadatta himself\nperfected Madanamanchuk\u00e1 in dancing and other accomplishments, giving\nher lessons in a concert-hall that stood in the garden, and while his\nbeloved danced, he played on all instruments so as to put to the blush\nthe most skilful minstrels. And he conquered also various professors\nthat came from all quarters, and were skilful in managing elephants,\nhorses, and chariots, in the use of hand-to-hand and missile weapons,\nin painting and modelling. [514] In these amusements passed during\nchildhood the days of Narav\u00e1hanadatta, who was the chosen bridegroom\nof Science.\n\nNow, once on a time the prince, with his ministers, and accompanied by\nhis beloved, went on a pilgrimage to a garden called N\u00e1gavana. There a\ncertain merchant's wife fell in love with Gomukha, and being repulsed,\ntried to kill him by offering to him a poisoned drink. But Gomukha\ncame to hear of it from the lips of her confidante, and did not take\nthat drink, but broke out into the following denunciation of women:\n\"Alas! the Creator first created recklessness, and then women in\nimitation of it; by nature nothing is too bad for them to do. Surely\nthis being they call woman, is created of nectar and poison, for,\nwhen she is attached to one, she is nectar, and when estranged she\nis indeed poison. Who can see through a woman, with loving face\nsecretly planning crime? A wicked woman is like a lotus-bed with\nits flowers expanded, and an alligator concealed in it. But now and\nthen there falls from heaven, urging on a host of virtues, a good\nwoman that brings praise to her husband, like the pure light of the\nsun. But another, of evil augury, attached to strangers, not free\nfrom inordinate desires, wicked, bearing the poison of aversion,\n[515] slays her husband like a female snake.\"\n\n\n\nStory of Satrughna and his wicked wife.\n\nFor instance, in a certain village there was a certain man named\nSatrughna, and his wife was unchaste. He once saw in the evening his\nwife in the society of her lover, and he slew that lover of hers,\nwhen he was in the house, with the sword. And he remained at the door\nwaiting for the night, keeping his wife inside, and at night-fall\na traveller came there to ask for a lodging. He gave him refuge,\nand artfully carried away with his help the corpse of that adulterer\nat night, and went with it to the forest. And there, while he was\nthrowing that corpse into a well, the mouth of which was overgrown\nwith plants, his wife came behind him, and pushed him in also.\n\n\"What reckless crime of this kind will not a wicked wife commit?\" In\nthese words Gomukha, though still a boy, denounced the conduct\nof women.\n\nThen Narav\u00e1hanadatta himself worshipped the snakes in that grove of\nsnakes, [516] and went back to his palace with his retinue.\n\nWhile he was there, he desired one day to prove his ministers, Gomukha\nand the others, so he asked them, though he himself knew it well, for\na summary of the policy of princes. They consulted among themselves,\nand said--\"You know all things, nevertheless we will tell you this,\nnow that you ask us,\" and so they proceeded to relate the cream of\npolitical science.\n\n\"A king should first tame and mount the horses of the senses,\nand should conquer those internal foes, love, anger, avarice and\ndelusion, and should subdue himself as a preparation for subduing\nother enemies, for how can a man, who has not conquered himself,\nbeing helpless, conquer others? Then he should procure ministers,\nwho, among other good qualities, possess that of being natives of his\nown country, and a skilful family priest, knowing the Atharva Veda,\ngifted with asceticism. He should test his ministers with respect to\nfear, avarice, virtue and passion, by ingenious artifices, and then he\nshould appoint them to appropriate duties, discerning their hearts. He\nshould try their speech, when they are deliberating with one another\non affairs, to see if it is truthful, or inspired by malice, spoken\nout of affection, or connected with selfish objects. He should be\npleased with truth, but should punish untruth as it deserves, and\nhe should continually inquire into the conduct of each of them by\nmeans of spies. Thus he should look at business with unhooded eye,\nand by rooting up opponents, [517] and acquiring a treasure, a force,\nand the other means of success, should establish himself firmly\non the throne. Then, equipped with the three powers of courage,\nkingly authority, and counsel, he should be eager to conquer the\nterritory of others, considering the difference between the power\nof himself and his foe. He should continually take counsel with\nadvisers, who should be trusty, learned and wise, and should correct\nwith his own intellect the policy determined on by them, in all its\ndetails. Being versed in the means of success, [518] (conciliation,\nbribery and the others,) he should attain for himself security,\nand he should then employ the six proper courses, of which alliance\nand war are the chief. [519] Thus a king acquires prosperity, and as\nlong as he carefully considers his own realm and that of his rival,\nhe is victorious but never vanquished. But an ignorant monarch, blind\nwith passion and avarice, is plundered by wicked servants, who shew\nhim the wrong path, and leading him astray, fling him into pits. On\naccount of these rogues a servant of another kind is never admitted\ninto the presence of the king, as a husbandman cannot get at a crop of\nrice enclosed with a palisade. For he is enslaved by those faithless\nservants, who penetrate into his secrets; and consequently Fortune\nin disgust flies from him, because he does not know the difference\nbetween man and man. Therefore a king should conquer himself, should\ninflict due chastisement, and know the difference of men's characters,\nfor in this way he will acquire his subjects' love and become thereby\na vessel of prosperity.\"\n\n\n\nStory of king S\u00farasena and his ministers.\n\nIn old time a king named S\u00farasena, who relied implicitly upon his\nservants, was enslaved and plundered by his ministers, who had formed\na coalition. Whoever was a faithful servant to the king, the ministers\nwould not give even a straw to, though the king wished to bestow a\nreward upon him; but if any man was a faithful servant to them, they\nthemselves gave him presents, and by their representations induced\nthe king to give to him, though he was undeserving. When the king\nsaw that, he gradually came to be aware of that coalition of rogues,\nand set those ministers at variance with one another by a clever\nartifice. When they were estranged, and the clique was broken up,\nand they began to inform against one another, the king ruled the\nrealm successfully, without being deceived by others.\n\n\n\nStory of Harisinha.\n\nAnd there was a king named Harisinha, of ordinary power but versed in\nthe true science of policy, who had surrounded himself with devoted\nand wise ministers, possessed forts, and stores of wealth; he made\nhis subjects devoted to him and conducted himself in such a way that,\nthough attacked by an emperor, he was not defeated.\n\n\"Thus discernment and reflection are the main things in governing a\nkingdom; what is of more importance?\" Having said this, each taking\nhis part, Gomukha and his fellows ceased. Narav\u00e1hanadatta, approving\nthat speech of theirs, though he knew that heroic action is to be\nthought upon, [520] still placed his reliance upon destiny whose\npower surpasses all thought.\n\nThen he rose up, and his ardour being kindled by delay, he went with\nthem to visit his beloved Madanamanchuk\u00e1; when he had reached her\npalace and was seated on a throne, Kalingasen\u00e1, after performing the\nusual courtesies, said with astonishment to Gomukha, [521] \"Before\nthe prince Narav\u00e1hanadatta arrived, Madanamanchuk\u00e1, being impatient,\nwent up to the top of the palace to watch him coming, accompanied by\nme, and while we were there, a man descended from heaven upon it,\nhe was of divine appearance, wore a tiara, and a sword, and said\nto me 'I am a king, a lord of the Vidy\u00e1dharas named M\u00e1nasavega,\nand you are a heavenly nymph named Surabhidatt\u00e1 who by a curse have\nfallen down to earth, and this your daughter is of heavenly origin,\nthis is known to me well. So give me this daughter of yours in\nmarriage, for the connexion is a suitable one.' When he said this,\nI suddenly burst out laughing, and said to him, 'Narav\u00e1hanadatta has\nbeen appointed her husband by the gods, and he is to be the emperor\nof all you Vidy\u00e1dharas.' When I said this to him, the Vidy\u00e1dhara\nflew up into the sky, like a sudden streak of lightning dazzling\nthe eyes of my daughter.\" When Gomukha heard that, he said, \"The\nVidy\u00e1dharas found out that the prince was to be their future lord,\nfrom a speech in the air, by which the future birth of the prince\nwas made known to the king in private, and they immediately desired\nto do him a mischief. What self-willed one would desire a mighty\nlord as his ruler and restrainer? For which reason Siva has made\narrangements to ensure the safety of this prince, by commissioning\nhis attendants to wait on him in actual presence. I heard this speech\nof N\u00e1rada's being related by my father. So it comes to pass that the\nVidy\u00e1dharas are now hostile to us.\" When Kalingasen\u00e1 heard this,\nshe was terrified at the thought of what had happened to herself,\nand said, \"Why does not the prince marry Madanamanchuk\u00e1 now, before\nshe is deceived, like me, by delusion?\" When Gomukha and the others\nheard this from Kalingasen\u00e1, they said, \"Do you stir up the king of\nVatsa to this business.\" Then Narav\u00e1hanadatta, with his heart fixed on\nMadanamanchuk\u00e1 only, amused himself by looking at her in the garden\nall that day, with her face like a full-blown lotus, with her eyes\nlike opening blue water-lilies, with lips lovely as the bandh\u00faka,\nwith breasts like clusters of mand\u00e1ras, with body delicate as the\nsir\u00edsha, like a matchless arrow, composed of five flowers, appointed\nby the god of love for the conquest of the world.\n\nThe next day Kalingasen\u00e1 went in person, and proffered her petition to\nthe king for the marriage of her daughter. The king of Vatsa dismissed\nher, and summoning his ministers, said to them in the presence of\nthe queen V\u00e1savadatt\u00e1, \"Kalingasen\u00e1 is impatient for the marriage of\nher daughter: so how are we to manage it, for the people think that\nthat excellent woman is unchaste? And we must certainly consider the\npeople: did not R\u00e1mabhadra long ago desert queen S\u00edt\u00e1, though she\nwas chaste, on account of the slander of the multitude? Was not Amb\u00e1,\nthough carried off with great effort by Bh\u00edshma for the sake of his\nbrother, reluctantly abandoned, because she had previously chosen\nanother husband? In the same way this Kalingasen\u00e1, after spontaneously\nchoosing me, was married by Madanavega; for this reason the people\nblame her. Therefore let this Narav\u00e1hanadatta himself marry by the\nG\u00e1ndharva ceremony her daughter, who will be a suitable wife for\nhim.\" When the king of Vatsa said this, Yaugandhar\u00e1yana answered,\n\"My lord, how could Kalingasen\u00e1 consent to this impropriety? For I\nhave often observed that she, as well as her daughter, is a divine\nbeing, no ordinary woman, and this was told me by my wise friend the\nBr\u00e1hman-R\u00e1kshasa.\" While they were debating with one another in this\nstyle, the voice of Siva was heard from heaven to the following effect:\n\"The god of love, after having been consumed by the fire of my eye,\nhas been created again in the form of Narav\u00e1hanadatta, and having been\npleased with the asceticism of Rati I have created her as his wife in\nthe form of Madanamanchuk\u00e1. And dwelling with her, as his head-wife,\nhe shall exercise supreme sovereignty over the Vidy\u00e1dharas for a kalpa\nof the gods, after conquering his enemies by my favour.\" After saying\nthis the voice ceased.\n\nWhen he heard this speech of the adorable Siva, the king of Vatsa,\nwith his retinue, worshipped him, and joyfully made up his mind to\ncelebrate the marriage of his son. Then the king congratulated his\nprime minister, who had before discerned the truth, and summoned the\nastrologers, and asked them what would be a favourable moment, and\nthey, after being honoured with presents, told him that a favourable\nmoment would arrive within a few days. Again those astrologers\nsaid to him--\"Your son will have to endure some separation for a\nshort season from this wife of his; this we know, O lord of Vatsa,\nby our own scientific foresight.\" Then the king proceeded to make the\nrequisite preparations for the marriage of his son, in a style suited\nto his own magnificence, so that not only his own city, but the whole\nearth was made to tremble with the effort of it. Then, the day of\nmarriage having arrived, Kalingasen\u00e1 adorned her daughter, to whom\nher father had sent his own heavenly ornaments, and Somaprabh\u00e1 came\nin obedience to her husband's order. Then Madanamanchuk\u00e1, adorned\nwith a heavenly marriage thread, looked still more lovely; is not\nthe moon truly beautiful, when accompanied by K\u00e1rtika? And heavenly\nnymphs, by the order of Siva, sang auspicious strains in her honour:\nthey were eclipsed by her beauty and remained hidden as if ashamed,\nbut the sound of their songs was heard. They sang the following hymn\nin honour of Gaur\u00ed, blended with the minstrelsy of the matchless\nmusicians of heaven, so as to make unequalled harmony--\"Victory to\nthee, O daughter of the mountain, that hast mercy on thy faithful\nvotaries, for thou hast thyself come to-day and blessed with success\nthe asceticism of Rati.\" Then Narav\u00e1hanadatta, resplendent with\nexcellent marriage-thread, entered the wedding-pavilion full of various\nmusical instruments. And the bride and bridegroom, after accomplishing\nthe auspicious ceremony of marriage, with intent care, so that no rite\nwas left out, ascended the altar-platform where a fire was burning,\nas if ascending the pure flame of jewels on the heads of kings. If the\nmoon and the sun were to revolve at the same time round the mountain\nof gold, [522] there would be an exact representation in the world\nof the appearance of those two, the bride and the bridegroom, when\ncircumambulating the fire, keeping it on their right. Not only did\nthe drums of the gods in the air drown the cymbal-clang in honour of\nthe marriage festival, but the rain of flowers sent down by the gods\noverwhelmed the gilt grain thrown by the women. Then also the generous\nKalingasen\u00e1 honoured her son-in-law with heaps of gold studded with\njewels, so that the lord of Alak\u00e1 was considered very poor compared\nwith him, and much more so all miserable earthly monarchs. And then\nthe bride and bridegroom, now that the delightful ceremony of marriage\nwas accomplished in accordance with their long-cherished wishes,\nentered the inner apartments crowded with women, adorned with pure and\nvariegated decoration, even as they penetrated the heart of the people\nfull of pure and various loyalty. Moreover, the city of the king of\nVatsa was quickly filled with kings, surrounded with splendid armies,\nwho, though their valour was worthy of the world's admiration, had\nbent in submission, bringing in their hands valuable jewels by way of\npresents, as if with subject seas. [523] On that high day of festival,\nthe king distributed gold with such magnificence to his dependants,\nthat the children in their mothers' wombs were at any rate the only\nbeings in his kingdom not made of gold. [524] Then on account of the\ntroops of excellent minstrels and dancing girls, that came from all\nquarters of the world, with hymns, music, dances and songs on all\nsides, the world seemed full of harmony. And at that festival the\ncity of Kaus\u00e1mb\u00ed seemed itself to be dancing, for the pennons agitated\nby the wind seemed like twining arms, and it was beautified with the\ntoilettes of the city matrons, as if with ornaments. And thus waxing\nin mirth every day, that great festival continued for a long time,\nand all friends, relations and people generally were delighted by it,\nand had their wishes marvellously fulfilled. And that crown-prince\nNarav\u00e1hanadatta, accompanied by Madanamanchuk\u00e1, enjoyed, though intent\non glory, the long-desired pleasures of this world.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nBOOK VII.\n\n\nCHAPTER XXXV.\n\n\nMay the head of Siva, studded with the nails of Gaur\u00ed engaged in\nplayfully pulling his hair, and so appearing rich in many moons,\n[525] procure you prosperity.\n\n\n\nMay the god of the elephant face, [526] who, stretching forth his\ntrunk wet with streaming ichor, curved at the extremity, seems to be\nbestowing successes, protect you.\n\n\n\nThus the young son of the king of Vatsa, having married in Kaus\u00e1mb\u00ed\nMadanamanchuk\u00e1, whom he loved as his life, remained living as he chose,\nwith his ministers Gomukha and others, having obtained his wish.\n\nAnd once on a time, when the feast of spring had arrived, adorned\nwith the gushing notes of love-intoxicated cuckoos, in which the\nwind from the Malaya mountain set in motion by force the dance of the\ncreepers,--the feast of spring delightful with the hum of bees, the\nprince went to the garden with his ministers to amuse himself. After\nroaming about there, his friend Tapantaka suddenly came with his\neyes expanded with delight, and stepping up to him, said--\"Prince,\nI have seen not far from here a wonderful maiden, who has descended\nfrom heaven and is standing under an asoka-tree, and that very maiden,\nwho illumines the regions with her beauty, advancing towards me with\nher friends, sent me here to summon you.\" When Narav\u00e1hanadatta heard\nthat, being eager to see her, he went quickly with his ministers to\nthe foot of the tree. He beheld there that fair one, with her rolling\neyes like bees, with her lips red like shoots, beautiful with breasts\nfirm as clusters, having her body yellow with the dust of flowers,\nremoving fatigue by her loveliness, [527] like the goddess of the\ngarden appearing in a visible shape suited to her deity. And the prince\napproached the heavenly maiden, who bowed before him, and welcomed\nher, for his eyes were ravished with her beauty. Then his minister\nGomukha, after all had sat down, asked her, \"Who are you, auspicious\none, and for what reason have you come here?\" When she heard that,\nshe laid aside her modesty in obedience to the irresistible decree\nof Love, and frequently stealing sidelong glances at the lotus of\nNarav\u00e1hanadatta's face with an eye that shed matchless affection,\nshe began thus at length to relate her own history.\n\n\n\nStory of Ratnaprabh\u00e1.\n\nThere is a mountain-chain called Himavat, famous in the three worlds;\nit has many peaks, but one of its peaks is the mount of Siva which\nis garlanded with the brightness of glittering jewels, and flashes\nwith gleaming snow, and like the expanse of the heaven, cannot be\nmeasured. Its plateaux are the home of magic powers and of magic\nherbs, which dispel old age, death, and fear, and are to be obtained\nby the favour of Siva. With its peaks yellow with the brightness of\nthe bodies of many Vidy\u00e1dharas, it transcends the glory of the peaks\nof Sumeru itself, the mighty hill of the immortals.\n\nOn it there is a golden city called K\u00e1nchanasringa, which gleams\nrefulgent with brightness, like the palace of the Sun. It extends\nmany yojanas, and in it there lives a king of the Vidy\u00e1dharas named\nHemaprabha, who is a firm votary of the husband of Um\u00e1. And though he\nhas many wives, he has only one queen, whom he loves dearly, named\nAlank\u00e1raprabh\u00e1, as dear to him as Rohin\u00ed to the moon. With her the\nvirtuous king used to rise up in the morning and bathe, and worship\nduly Siva and his wife Gaur\u00ed, and then he would descend to the world\nof men, and give to poor Br\u00e1hmans every day a thousand gold-pieces\nmixed with jewels. And then he returned from earth and attended\nto his kingly duties justly, and then he ate and drank, abiding by\nhis vow like a hermit. While days elapsed in this way, melancholy\narose once in the bosom of the king, caused by his childlessness, but\nsuggested by a passing occasion. And his beloved queen Alank\u00e1raprabh\u00e1,\nseeing that he was in very low spirits, asked him the cause of his\nsadness. Then the king said to her--\"I have all prosperity, but the\none grief of childlessness afflicts me, O queen. And this melancholy\nhas arisen in my breast on the occasion of calling to mind a tale,\nwhich I heard long ago, of a virtuous man who had no son.\" Then the\nqueen said to him, \"Of what nature was that tale?\" When asked this\nquestion, the king told her the tale briefly in the following words:\n\n\n\nStory of Sattvas\u00edla and the two treasures.\n\nIn the town of Chitrak\u00fata there was a king named Br\u00e1hmanavara, rightly\nnamed, for he was devoted to honouring Br\u00e1hmans. He had a victorious\nservant named Sattvas\u00edla who devoted himself exclusively to war,\nand every month Sattvas\u00edla received a hundred gold-pieces from that\nking. But as he was munificent, that gold was not enough for him,\nespecially as his childlessness made the pleasure of giving the\nsole pleasure to which he was addicted. Sattvas\u00edla was continually\nreflecting--\"The Disposer has not given me a son to gladden me, but he\nhas given me the vice of generosity, and that too without wealth. It is\nbetter to be produced in the world as an old barren tree or a stone,\nthan as a poor man altogether abandoned to the vice of giving away\nmoney.\" But once on a time Sattvas\u00edla, while wandering in a garden,\nhappened by luck to find a treasure: and with the help of his servants\nhe quickly brought home that hoard, which gleamed with much gold and\nglittered with priceless stones. Out of that he provided himself\nwith pleasures, and gave wealth to Br\u00e1hmans, slaves, and friends,\nand thus the virtuous man spent his life. Meanwhile his relations,\nbeholding this, guessed the secret, and went to the king's palace,\nand of their own accord informed the king that Sattvas\u00edla had found\na treasure. Then Sattvas\u00edla was summoned by the king, and by order\nof the door-keeper remained standing for a moment in a lonely part\nof the king's courtyard. There, as he was scratching the earth with\nthe hilt of a l\u00edl\u00e1vajra, [528] that was in his hand, he found another\nlarge treasure in a copper vessel. It appeared like his own heart,\ndisplayed openly for him by Destiny pleased with his virtue, in order\nthat he might propitiate the king with it. So he covered it up again\nwith earth as it was before, and when summoned by the door-keeper,\nentered the king's presence. When he had made his bow there, the king\nhimself said, \"I have come to learn that you have obtained a treasure,\nso surrender it to me.\" And Sattvas\u00edla for his part answered him then\nand there, \"O king, tell me: shall I give you the first treasure I\nfound, or the one I found to-day.\" The king said to him--\"Give the\none recently found.\" And thereupon Sattvas\u00edla went to a corner of\nthe king's courtyard, and gave him up the treasure. Then the king,\nbeing pleased with the treasure, dismissed Sattvas\u00edla with these\nwords--\"Enjoy the first-found treasure as you please.\" So Sattvas\u00edla\nreturned to his house. There he remained increasing the propriety of\nhis name with gifts and enjoyments, and so managing to dispel somehow\nor other the melancholy caused by the affliction of childlessness.\n\n\"Such is the story of Sattvas\u00edla, which I heard long ago, and because\nI have recalled it to mind, I remain sorrowful through thinking over\nthe fact that I have no son.\" When the queen Alank\u00e1raprabh\u00e1 was thus\naddressed by her husband Hemaprabha, the king of the Vidy\u00e1dharas, she\nanswered him, \"It is true: Fortune does assist the brave in this way;\ndid not Sattvas\u00edla, when in difficulties, obtain a second treasure? So\nyou too will obtain your desire by the power of your courage, as an\nexample of the truth of this, hear the story of Vikramatunga.\"\n\n\n\nStory of the brave king Vikramatunga.\n\nThere is a city called P\u00e1taliputra, the ornament of the earth, filled\nwith various beautiful jewels, the colours of which are so disposed as\nto form a perfect scale of colour. In that city there dwelt long ago\na brave king, named Vikramatunga, who in giving [529] never turned\nhis back on a suppliant, nor in fighting on an enemy. That king one\nday entered the forest to hunt, and saw there a Br\u00e1hman offering a\nsacrifice with vilva [530] fruits. When he saw him, he was desirous\nto question him, but avoided going near him, and went off to a great\ndistance with his army in his ardour for the chase. For a long time\nhe sported with deer and lions, that rose up and fell slain by his\nhand, as if with foes, and then he returned and beheld the Br\u00e1hman\nstill intent on his sacrifice as before, and going up to him he\nbowed before him, and asked him his name and the advantage he hoped\nto derive from offering the vilva fruits. Then the Br\u00e1hman blessed\nthe king and said to him, \"I am a Br\u00e1hman named N\u00e1gasarman, and bear\nthe fruit I hope from my sacrifice. When the god of Fire is pleased\nwith this vilva sacrifice, then vilva fruits of gold will come out\nof the fire-cavity. Then the god of Fire will appear in bodily form\nand grant me a boon; and so I have spent much time in offering vilva\nfruits. But so little is my merit that even now the god of Fire is not\npropitiated.\" When he said this, that king of resolute valour answered\nhim--\"Then give me one vilva fruit that I may offer it, and I will\nto-day, O Br\u00e1hman, render the god of Fire propitious to you.\" Then\nthe Br\u00e1hman said to the king, \"How will you, unchastened and impure,\npropitiate that god of Fire, who is not satisfied with me, who remain\nthus faithful to my vow, and am chastened?\" When the Br\u00e1hman said this\nto him, the king said to him again, \"Never mind, give me a vilva fruit,\nand in a moment you shall behold a wonder.\" Then the Br\u00e1hman, full\nof curiosity, gave a vilva fruit to the king, and he then and there\nmeditated with soul of firm valour--\"If thou art not satisfied with\nthis vilva fruit, O god of Fire, then I will offer thee my own head,\"\nand thereupon offered the fruit. And the seven-rayed god appeared from\nthe sacrificial cavity, bringing the king a golden vilva fruit as the\nfruit of his tree of valour. And the Fire-god, present in visible form,\nsaid to that king--\"I am pleased with thy courage, so receive a boon,\nO king.\" When the magnanimous king heard that, he bowed before him and\nsaid--\"Grant this Br\u00e1hman his wish. What other boon do I require?\" On\nhearing this speech of the king's, the Fire-god was much pleased and\nsaid to him--\"O king, this Br\u00e1hman shall become a great lord of wealth,\nand thou also by my favour shalt have the prosperity of thy treasury\never undiminished.\" When the Fire-god had, in these words, bestowed\nthe boon, the Br\u00e1hman asked him this question; \"Thou hast appeared\nswiftly to a king that acts according to his own will, but not to me\nthat am under vows: why is this, O revered one?\" Then the Fire-god,\nthe giver of boons, answered--\"If I had not granted him an interview,\nthis king of fierce courage would have offered his head in sacrifice to\nme. In this world successes quickly befall those of fierce spirit, but\nthey come slowly, O Br\u00e1hman, to those of dull spirit like thee.\" Thus\nspake the god of Fire, and vanished, and the Br\u00e1hman N\u00e1gasarman took\nleave of the king and in course of time became very rich. But the\nking Vikramatunga, whose courage had been thus seen by his dependents,\nreturned amid their plaudits to his town of P\u00e1taliputra.\n\nWhen the king was dwelling there, the warder Satrunjaya entered\nsuddenly one day, and said secretly to him; \"There is standing at\nthe door, O king, a Br\u00e1hman lad, who says his name is Dattasarman,\nhe wishes to make a representation to you in private.\" The king gave\nthe order to introduce him, and the lad was introduced, and after\nblessing the king, he bowed before him, and sat down. And he made\nthis representation--\"King, by a certain device of powder I know\nhow to make always excellent gold out of copper. For that device was\nshewn me by my spiritual teacher, and I saw with my own eyes that he\nmade gold by that device.\" When the lad said this, the king ordered\ncopper to be brought, and when it was melted, the lad threw the powder\nupon it. But while the powder was being thrown, an invisible Yaksha\ncarried it off, and the king alone saw him, having propitiated the\ngod of Fire. And that copper did not turn into gold, as the powder\ndid not reach it; thrice did the lad make the attempt and thrice his\nlabour was in vain. Then the king, first of brave men, took the powder\nfrom the desponding lad, and himself threw it on the melted copper;\nwhen he threw the powder, the Yaksha did not intercept it, but went\naway smiling. Accordingly the copper became gold by contact with that\npowder. Then the boy, astonished, asked the king for an explanation,\nand the king told him the incident of the Yaksha, just as he had seen\nit. And having learned in this way the device of the powder from that\nlad, the king made him marry a wife, and gave him all he wished, and\nhaving his treasury prosperously filled by means of the gold produced\nby that device, he himself enjoyed great happiness together with his\nwives, and made Br\u00e1hmans rich.\n\n\"Thus you see that the Lord grants their desires to men of fierce\ncourage, seeming to be either terrified or pleased by them. And who,\nO king, is of more firm valour or more generous than you? So Siva, when\npropitiated by you, will certainly give you a son; do not sorrow.\" The\nking Hemaprabha, when he heard this noble speech from the mouth of\nqueen Alank\u00e1raprabh\u00e1, believed it and was pleased. And he considered\nthat his own heart, radiant with cheerfulness, indicated that he would\ncertainly obtain a son by propitiating Siva. The next day after this,\nhe and his wife bathed and worshipped Siva, and he gave 90 millions of\ngold-pieces to the Br\u00e1hmans, and without taking food he went through\nascetic practices in front of Siva, determined that he would either\nleave the body or propitiate the god, and continuing in asceticism,\nhe praised the giver of boons, the husband of the daughter of the\nmountain, [531] that lightly gave away the sea of milk to his votary\nUpamanyu, saying, \"Honour to thee, O husband of Gaur\u00ed, who art the\ncause of the creation, preservation, and destruction of the world,\nwho dost assume the eight special forms of ether and the rest. [532]\nHonour to thee, who sleepest on the ever-expanded lotus of the heart,\nthat art Sambhu, the swan dwelling in the pure M\u00e1nasa lake. [533]\nHonour to thee, the exceeding marvellous Moon, of divine brightness,\npure, of watery substance, to be beheld by those whose sins are\nput away; to thee whose beloved is half thy body, [534] and who\nnevertheless art supremely chaste. Honour to thee who didst create\nthe world by a wish, and art thyself the world.\"\n\nWhen the king had praised Siva in these words and fasted for three\nnights, the god appeared to him in a dream, and spake as follows:\n\"Rise up, O king, there shall be born to thee a heroic son that\nshall uphold thy race. And thou shalt also obtain by the favour of\nGaur\u00ed, a glorious daughter who is destined to be the queen of that\ntreasure-house of glory, Narav\u00e1hanadatta, your future emperor.\" When\nSiva had said this, he disappeared, and Hemaprabha woke up, delighted,\nat the close of night. And by telling his dream he gladdened his\nwife Alank\u00e1raprabh\u00e1, who had been told the same by Gaur\u00ed in a dream,\nand dwelt on the agreement of the two visions. And then the king rose\nup and bathed and worshipped Siva, and after giving gifts, broke his\nfast, and kept high festival.\n\nThen, after some days had passed, the queen Alank\u00e1raprabh\u00e1 became\npregnant by that king, and delighted her beloved by her face redolent\nof honey, with wildly rolling eyes, so that it resembled a pale lotus\nwith bees hovering round it. Then she gave birth in due time to a son,\n(whose noble lineage was proclaimed by the elevated longings of her\npregnancy,) as the sky gives birth to the orb of day. As soon as he\nwas born, the lying-in chamber was illuminated by his might, and\nso was made red as vermilion. And his father gave to that infant,\nthat brought terror to the families of his enemies, the name of\nVajraprabha, that had been appointed for him by a divine voice. Then\nthe boy grew by degrees, being filled with accomplishments, and causing\nthe exultation of his family, as the new moon fills out with digits,\n[535] and causes the sea to rise.\n\nThen, not long after, the queen of that king Hemaprabha again became\npregnant. And when she was pregnant, she sat upon a golden throne,\nand became truly the jewel of the harem, adding special lustre to\nher settings. And in a chariot, in the shape of a beautiful lotus,\nmanufactured by help of magic science, she roamed about in the sky,\nsince her pregnant longings assumed that form. But when the due\ntime came, a daughter was born to that queen, whose birth by the\nfavour of Gaur\u00ed was a sufficient guarantee of her loveliness. And\nthis voice was then heard from heaven--\"She shall be the wife of\nNarav\u00e1hanadatta\"--which agreed with the words of Siva's revelation. And\nthe king was just as much delighted at her birth as he was at that\nof his son, and gave her the name of Ratnaprabh\u00e1. And Ratnaprabh\u00e1,\nadorned with her own science, grew up in the house of her father,\nproducing illumination in all the quarters of the sky. Then the king\nmade his son Vajraprabha, who had begun to wear armour, take a wife,\nand appointed him crown-prince. And he devolved on him the burden of\nthe kingdom and remained at ease; but still one anxiety lingered in\nhis heart, anxiety about the marriage of his daughter.\n\nOne day the king beheld that daughter, who was fit to be given away\nin marriage, sitting near him, and said to the queen Alank\u00e1raprabh\u00e1,\nwho was in his presence; \"Observe, queen, a daughter is a great misery\nin the three worlds, even though she is the ornament of her family,\na misery, alas! even to the great. For this Ratnaprabh\u00e1, though\nmodest, learned, young and beautiful, afflicts me because she has not\nobtained a husband.\" The queen said to him--\"She was proclaimed by the\ngods as the destined wife of Narav\u00e1hanadatta, our future emperor,\nwhy is she not given to him?\" When the queen said this to him,\nthe king answered: \"In truth the maiden is fortunate, that shall\nobtain him for a bridegroom. For he is an incarnation of K\u00e1ma upon\nearth, but he has not as yet attained his divine nature: therefore\nI am now waiting for his attainment of superhuman knowledge.\" [536]\nWhile he was thus speaking, Ratnaprabh\u00e1, by means of those accents of\nher father, which entered her ear like the words of the bewildering\nspell of the god of love, became as if bewildered, as if possessed,\nas if asleep, as if in a picture, and her heart was captivated by\nthat bridegroom. Then with difficulty she took a respectful leave\nof her parents, and went to her own private apartments, and managed\nat length to get to sleep at the end of the night. Then the goddess\nGaur\u00ed, being full of pity for her, gave her this command in a dream;\n\"To-morrow, my daughter, is an auspicious day; so thou must go to the\ncity of Kaus\u00e1mb\u00ed and see thy future husband, and thence thy father,\nO auspicious one, will himself bring thee and him into this his city,\nand celebrate your marriage.\" So in the morning, when she woke up,\nshe told that dream to her mother. Then her mother gave her leave to\ngo, and she, knowing by her superhuman knowledge that her bridegroom\nwas in the garden, set out from her own city to visit him.\n\n\"Thou knowest, O my husband, that I am that Ratnaprabh\u00e1, arrived to-day\nin a moment, full of impatience, and you all know the sequel.\" When\nhe heard this speech of hers, that in sweetness exceeded nectar,\nand beheld the body of the Vidy\u00e1dhar\u00ed that was ambrosia to the\neyes, Narav\u00e1hanadatta in his heart blamed the Creator, saying to\nhimself--\"Why did he not make me all eye and ear?\" And he said to\nher--\"Fortunate am I; my birth and life has obtained its fruit,\nin that I, O beautiful one, have been thus visited by thee out of\naffection!\" When they had thus exchanged the protestations of new\nlove, suddenly the army of the Vidy\u00e1dharas was beheld there in the\nheaven. Ratnaprabh\u00e1 said immediately, \"Here is my father come,\" and\nthe king Hemaprabha descended from heaven with his son. And with his\nson Vajraprabha he approached that Narav\u00e1hanadatta, who gave him a\ncourteous welcome. And while they stood for a moment paying one another\nthe customary compliments, the king of Vatsa, who had heard of it,\ncame with his ministers. And then that Hemaprabha told the king,\nafter he had performed towards him the rites of hospitality, the\nwhole story exactly as it had been related by Ratnaprabh\u00e1, and said,\n\"I knew by the power of my supernatural knowledge that my daughter had\ncome here, and I am aware of all that has happened in this place. [537]\n\n\n\nFor he will afterwards possess such an imperial chariot. Pray consent,\nand then thou shalt behold in a short time thy son, the prince,\nreturned here, united to his wife Ratnaprabh\u00e1.\" After he had addressed\nthis prayer to the king of Vatsa, and he had consented to his wish,\nthat Hemaprabha, with his son, prepared that chariot by his own magic\nskill, and made Narav\u00e1hanadatta ascend it, together with Ratnaprabh\u00e1,\nwhose face was cast down from modesty, followed by Gomukha and the\nothers, and Yaugandhar\u00e1yana, who was also deputed to accompany him\nby his father, and thus Hemaprabha took him to his own capital,\nK\u00e1nchanasringaka.\n\nAnd Narav\u00e1hanadatta, when he reached that city of his father-in-law,\nsaw that it was all of gold, gleaming with golden ramparts, embraced,\nas it were, on all sides with rays issuing out like shoots, and\nso stretching forth innumerable arms in eagerness of love for\nthat son-in-law. There the king Hemaprabha, of high emprise, gave\nRatnaprabh\u00e1 with due ceremonies to him, as the sea gave Lakshm\u00ed to\nVishnu. And he gave him glittering heaps of jewels, gleaming like\ninnumerable wedding fires lighted. [538] And in the city of that\nfestive prince, who was showering wealth, even the houses, being draped\nwith flags, appeared as if they had received changes of raiment. And\nNarav\u00e1hanadatta, having performed the auspicious ceremony of marriage,\nremained there enjoying heavenly pleasures with Ratnaprabh\u00e1. And he\namused himself by looking in her company at beautiful temples of the\ngods in gardens and lakes, having ascended with her the heaven by\nthe might of her science.\n\nSo, after he had lived some days with his wife in the city of the\nking of the Vidy\u00e1dharas, the son of the king of Vatsa determined,\nin accordance with the advice of Yaugandhar\u00e1yana, to return to his\nown city. Then his mother-in-law performed for him the auspicious\nceremonies previous to starting, and his father-in-law again honoured\nhim and his minister, and then he set out with Hemaprabha and his son,\naccompanied by his beloved, having again ascended that chariot. He soon\narrived, like a stream of nectar to the eyes of his mother, and entered\nhis city with Hemaprabha and his son and his own followers, bringing\nwith him his wife, who made the king of Vatsa rejoice exceedingly\nwith delight at beholding her. The king of Vatsa of exalted fortune,\nwith V\u00e1savadatt\u00e1, welcomed that son, who bowed at his feet with his\nwife, and honoured Hemaprabha his new connexion, as well as his son,\nin a manner conformable to his own dignity. Then, after that king of\nthe Vidy\u00e1dharas, Hemaprabha, had taken leave of the lord of Vatsa and\nhis family, and had flown up into the heaven and gone to his own city,\nthat Narav\u00e1hanadatta, together with Ratnaprabh\u00e1 and Madanamanchuk\u00e1,\nspent that day in happiness surrounded by his friends.\n\n\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XXXVI.\n\n\nWhen that Narav\u00e1hanadatta had thus obtained a new and lovely bride\nof the Vidy\u00e1dhara race, and was the next day with her in her house,\nthere came in the morning to the door, to visit him, his ministers\nGomukha and others. They were stopped for a moment at the door by\nthe female warder, and announced within; then they entered and were\ncourteously received, and Ratnaprabh\u00e1 said to the warder, \"The door\nmust not again be closed against the entrance of my husband's friends,\nfor they are as dear to me as my own body. And I do not think that\nthis is the way to guard female apartments.\" After she had addressed\nthe female warder in these words, she said in turn to her husband,\n\"My husband, I am going to say something which occurs to me, so\nlisten. I consider that the strict seclusion of women is a mere\nsocial custom, or rather folly produced by jealousy. It is of no use\nwhatever. Women of good family are guarded by their own virtue, as\ntheir only chamberlain. But even God himself can scarcely guard the\nunchaste. Who can restrain a furious river and a passionate woman? And\nnow listen, I will tell you a story.\"\n\n\n\nStory of king Ratn\u00e1dhipati and the white elephant Svetarasmi.\n\nThere is here a great island in the midst of the sea, named\nRatnak\u00fata. In it there lived in old times a king of great courage,\na devoted worshipper of Vishnu, rightly named Ratn\u00e1dhipati. [539]\nThat king, in order to obtain the conquest of the earth, and all\nkings' daughters as his wives, went through a severe penance,\nto propitiate Vishnu. The adorable one, pleased with his penance,\nappeared in bodily form, and thus commanded him--\"Rise up, king,\nI am pleased with thee, so I tell thee this--listen! There is in\nthe land of Kalinga a Gandharva, who has become a white elephant by\nthe curse of a hermit, and is known by the name of Svetarasmi. On\naccount of the asceticism he performed in a former life, and on\naccount of his devotion to me, that elephant is supernaturally wise,\nand possesses the power of flying through the sky, and of remembering\nhis former birth. And I have given an order to that great elephant,\nin accordance with which he will come of himself through the air,\nand become thy beast of burden. That white elephant thou must mount,\nas the wielder of the thunderbolt mounts the elephant of the gods,\n[540] and whatever king thou shalt travel through the air to visit,\nin fear shall bestow on thee, who art of god-like presence, tribute in\nthe form of a daughter, for I will myself command him to do so in a\ndream. Thus thou shalt conquer the whole earth, and all zenanas, and\nthou shalt obtain eighty thousand princesses.\" When Vishnu had said\nthis, he disappeared, and the king broke his fast, and the next day\nhe beheld that elephant, which had come to him through the air. And\nwhen the elephant had thus placed himself at the king's disposal,\nhe mounted him, as he had been bidden to do by Vishnu, and in this\nmanner he conquered the earth, and carried off the daughters of\nkings. And then the king dwelt there in Ratnak\u00fata with those wives,\neighty thousand in number, amusing himself as he pleased. And in order\nto propitiate Svetarasmi, that celestial elephant, he fed every day\nfive hundred Br\u00e1hmans.\n\nNow once on a time the king Ratn\u00e1dhipati mounted that elephant,\nand, after roaming through the other islands, returned to his own\nisland. And as he was descending from the sky, it came to pass that\na bird of the race of Garuda struck that excellent elephant with\nhis beak. And the bird fled, when the king struck him with the\nsharp elephant-hook, but the elephant fell on the ground stunned\nby the blow of the bird's beak. The king got off his back, but the\nelephant, though he recovered his senses, was not able to rise up in\nspite of the efforts made to raise him, and ceased eating. For five\ndays the elephant remained in the same place, where it had fallen,\nand the king was grieved and took no food, and prayed as follows:\n\"Oh guardians of the world, teach me some remedy in this difficulty;\notherwise I will cut off my own head and offer it to you.\" When he had\nsaid this, he drew his sword and was preparing to cut off his head,\nwhen immediately a bodiless voice thus addressed him from the sky--\"O\nking do nothing rash; if some chaste woman touches this elephant with\nher hand, it will rise up, but not otherwise.\" When the king heard\nthat, he was glad, and summoned his own carefully guarded chief queen,\nAmritalat\u00e1. When the elephant did not rise up, though she touched it\nwith her hand, the king had all his other wives summoned. But though\nthey all touched the elephant in succession, he did not rise up; the\nfact was, not one among them was chaste. Then the king, having beheld\nall those eighty thousand wives openly humiliated in the presence of\nmen, being himself abashed, summoned all the women of his capital,\nand made them touch the elephant one after another. And when in\nspite of it the elephant did not rise up, the king was ashamed,\nbecause there was not a single chaste woman in his city.\n\nAnd in the meanwhile a merchant named Harshagupta, who had arrived\nfrom T\u00e1mralipt\u00ed, [541] having heard of that event, came there full\nof curiosity. And in his train there came a servant of the name of\nS\u00edlavat\u00ed, who was devoted to her husband; when she saw what had taken\nplace, she said to him--\"I will touch this elephant with my hand:\nand if I have not even thought in my mind of any other man than\nmy husband, may it rise up.\" No sooner had she said this, than she\ncame up and touched the elephant with her hand, whereupon it rose up\nin sound health and began to eat. [542] But when the people saw the\nelephant Svetarasmi rise up, they raised a shout and praised S\u00edlavat\u00ed,\nsaying--\"Such are these chaste women, few and far between, who, like\nSiva, are able to create, preserve and destroy this world.\" The king\nRatn\u00e1dhipati also was pleased, and congratulated the chaste S\u00edlavat\u00ed,\nand loaded her with innumerable jewels, and he also honoured her\nmaster, the merchant Harshagupta, and gave him a house near his own\npalace. And he determined to avoid all communication with his own\nwives, and ordered that henceforth they should have nothing but food\nand raiment.\n\nThen the king, after he had taken his food, sent for the chaste\nS\u00edlavat\u00ed, and said to her at a private interview in the presence\nof Harshagupta, \"S\u00edlavat\u00ed, if you have any maiden of your father's\nfamily, give her to me, for I know she will certainly be like\nyou.\" When the king said this to her, S\u00edlavat\u00ed answered--\"I have a\nsister in T\u00e1mralipt\u00ed named R\u00e1jadatt\u00e1; marry her, O king, if you wish,\nfor she is of distinguished beauty.\" When she said this to the king,\nhe consented and said, \"So be it,\" and having determined on taking\nthis step, he mounted, with S\u00edlavat\u00ed and Harshagupta, the elephant\nSvetarasmi, that could fly though the air, and going in person to\nT\u00e1mralipt\u00ed, entered the house of that merchant Harshagupta. There\nhe asked the astrologers that very day, what would be a favourable\ntime for him to be married to R\u00e1jadatt\u00e1, the sister of S\u00edlavat\u00ed. And\nthe astrologers, having enquired under what stars both of them were\nborn, said, \"A favourable conjuncture will come for you, O king,\nin three months from this time. But if you marry R\u00e1jadatt\u00e1 in the\npresent position of the constellations, she will without fail prove\nunchaste.\" Though the astrologers gave him this response, the king,\nbeing eager for a charming wife, and impatient of dwelling long alone,\nthus reflected--\"Away with scruples! I will marry R\u00e1jadatt\u00e1 here\nthis very day. For she is the sister of the blameless S\u00edlavat\u00ed and\nwill never prove unchaste. And I will place her in that uninhabited\nisland in the middle of the sea, where there is one empty palace, and\nin that inaccessible spot I will surround her with a guard of women;\nso how can she become unchaste, as she can never see men?\" Having\nformed this determination, the king that very day rashly married that\nR\u00e1jadatt\u00e1, whom S\u00edlavat\u00ed bestowed upon him. And after he had married\nher, and had been received with the customary rites by Harshagupta,\nhe took that wife, and with her and S\u00edlavat\u00ed, he mounted Svetarasmi,\nand then in a moment went through the air to the land of Ratnak\u00fata,\nwhere the people were anxiously expecting him. And he rewarded\nS\u00edlavat\u00ed again so munificently, that she attained all her wishes,\nhaving reaped the fruit of her vow of chastity. Then he mounted his\nnew wife R\u00e1jadatt\u00e1 on that same air-travelling elephant Svetarasmi,\nand conveyed her carefully, and placed her in the empty palace in the\nisland in the midst of the sea, inaccessible to man, with a retinue\nof women only. And whatever article she required, he conveyed there\nthrough the air on that elephant, so great was his distrust. And being\ndevotedly attached to her, he always spent the night there, but came\nto Ratnak\u00fata in the day to transact his regal duties. Now one morning\nthe king, in order to counteract an inauspicious dream, indulged with\nthat R\u00e1jadatt\u00e1 in a drinking-bout for good luck. And though his wife,\nbeing intoxicated with that banquet, did not wish to let him go, he\nleft her, and departed to Ratnak\u00fata to transact his business, for the\nroyal dignity is an ever-exacting wife. There he remained performing\nhis duties with anxious mind, which seemed ever to ask him, why he\nleft his wife there in a state of intoxication? And in the meanwhile\nR\u00e1jadatt\u00e1, remaining alone in that inaccessible place, the female\nservants being occupied in culinary and other duties, saw a certain man\ncome in at the door, like Fate determined to baffle all expedients for\nguarding her, and his arrival filled her with astonishment. And that\nintoxicated woman asked him when he approached her, \"Who are you,\nand how have you come to this inaccessible place?\" Then that man,\nwho had endured many hardships, answered her--\n\n\n\nStory of Yavanasena.\n\nFair one, I am a merchant's son of Mathur\u00e1 named Yavanasena. And when\nmy father died, I was left helpless, and my relations took from me my\nproperty, so I went to a foreign country, and resorted to the miserable\ncondition of being servant to another man. Then I with difficulty\nscraped together a little wealth by trading, and as I was going to\nanother land, I was plundered by robbers who met me on the way. Then\nI wandered about as a beggar, and, with some other men like myself,\nI went to a mine of jewels called Kanakakshetra. There I engaged to\npay the king his share, and after digging up the earth in a trench for\na whole year, I did not find a single jewel. So, while the other men\nmy fellows were rejoicing over the jewels they had found, smitten with\ngrief I retired to the shore of the sea, and began to collect fuel.\n\nAnd while I was constructing with the fuel a funeral pyre, in\norder that I might enter the flame, a certain merchant named\nJ\u00edvadatta happened to come there; that merciful man dissuaded me\nfrom suicide, and gave me food, and as he was preparing to go in a\nship to Svarnadv\u00edpa he took me on board with him. Then, as we were\nsailing along in the midst of the ocean, after five days had passed,\nwe suddenly beheld a cloud. The cloud discharged its rain in large\ndrops, and that vessel was whirled round by the wind like the head of\na mast elephant. Immediately the ship sank, but as fate would have it,\nI caught hold of a plank, just as I was sinking. I mounted on it,\nand thereupon the thunder-cloud relaxed its fury, and, conducted\nby destiny, I reached this country; and have just landed in the\nforest. And seeing this palace, I entered, and I beheld here thee,\nO auspicious one, a rain of nectar to my eyes, dispelling pain.\n\nWhen he had said this, R\u00e1jadatt\u00e1 maddened with love and wine, placed\nhim on a couch and embraced him. Where there are these five fires,\nfeminine nature, intoxication, privacy, the obtaining of a man, and\nabsence of restraint, what chance for the stubble of character? So\ntrue is it, that a woman maddened by the god of Love is incapable of\ndiscrimination; since this queen became enamoured of that loathsome\ncastaway. In the meanwhile the king Ratn\u00e1dhipati, being anxious,\ncame swiftly from Ratnak\u00fata, borne along on the sky-going elephant;\nand entering his palace he beheld his wife R\u00e1jadatt\u00e1 in the arms of\nthat creature. When the king saw the man, though he felt tempted to\nslay him, he slew him not, because he fell at his feet, and uttered\npiteous supplications. And beholding his wife terrified, and at\nthe same time intoxicated, he reflected, \"How can a woman that is\naddicted to wine, the chief ally of lust, be chaste? A lascivious\nwoman cannot be restrained even by being guarded. Can one fetter a\nwhirlwind with one's arms? This is the fruit of my not heeding the\nprediction of the astrologers. To whom is not the scorning of wise\nwords bitter in its after-taste? When I thought that she was the\nsister of S\u00edlavat\u00ed, I forgot that the K\u00e1lak\u00fata poison was twin-born\nwith the amrita. [543] Or rather who is able, even by doing the utmost\nof a man, to overcome the incalculable freaks of marvellously working\nDestiny.\" Thus reflecting, the king was not wroth with any one, and\nspared the merchant's son, her paramour, after asking him the story\nof his life. The merchant's son, when dismissed thence, seeing no\nother expedient, went out and beheld a ship coming, far off in the\nsea. Then he again mounted that plank, and drifting about in the sea,\ncried out, puffing and blowing, \"Save me! Save me!\" So a merchant, of\nthe name of Krodhavarman, who was on that ship, drew that merchant's\nson out of the water, and made him his companion. Whatever deed is\nappointed by the Disposer to be the destruction of any man, dogs\nhis steps whithersoever he runneth. For this fool, when on the ship,\nwas discovered by his deliverer secretly associating with his wife,\nand thereupon was cast by him into the sea and perished.\n\nIn the meanwhile the king Ratn\u00e1dhipati caused the queen R\u00e1jadatt\u00e1\nwith her retinue to mount Svetarasmi, without allowing himself to\nbe angry, and he carried her to Ratnak\u00fata, and delivered her to\nS\u00edlavat\u00ed, and related that occurrence to her and his ministers. And\nhe exclaimed, \"Alas! How much pain have I endured, whose mind has\nbeen devoted to these unsubstantial insipid enjoyments. Therefore I\nwill go to the forest, and take Hari as my refuge, in order that I\nmay never again be a vessel of such woes.\" Thus he spake, and though\nhis sorrowing ministers and S\u00edlavat\u00ed endeavoured to prevent him, he,\nbeing disgusted with the world, would not abandon his intention. Then,\nbeing indifferent to enjoyments, he first gave half of his treasure to\nthe virtuous S\u00edlavat\u00ed, and the other half to the Br\u00e1hmans, and then\nthat king made over in the prescribed form his kingdom to a Br\u00e1hman\nof great excellence, named P\u00e1pabhanjana. And after he had given away\nhis kingdom, he ordered Svetarasmi to be brought, with the object\nof retiring to a grove of asceticism, his subjects looking on with\ntearful eyes. No sooner was the elephant brought, than it left the\nbody, and became a man of god-like appearance, adorned with necklace\nand bracelet. When the king asked him who he was, and what was the\nmeaning of all this, he answered:\n\n\"We were two Gandharva brothers, living on the Malaya mountain: I was\ncalled Somaprabha, and the eldest was Devaprabha. And my brother had\nbut one wife, but she was very dear to him. Her name was R\u00e1javat\u00ed. One\nday he was wandering about with her in his arms, and happened to\narrive, with me in his company, at a place called the dwelling of the\nSiddhas. There we both worshipped Vishnu in his temple, and began all\nof us to sing before the adorable one. In the meanwhile a Siddha came\nthere, and stood regarding with fixed gaze R\u00e1javat\u00ed, who was singing\nsongs well worth hearing. And my brother, who was jealous, said in\nhis wrath to that Siddha; 'Why dost thou, although a Siddha, cast a\nlonging look at another's wife?' Then the Siddha was moved with anger,\nand said to him by way of a curse--'Fool, I was looking at her out of\ninterest in her song, not out of desire. So fall thou, jealous one,\ninto a mortal womb together with her; and then behold with thy own eyes\nthy wife in the embraces of another.' When he had said this, I, being\nenraged at the curse, struck him, out of childish recklessness, with a\nwhite toy elephant of clay, that I had in my hand. Then he cursed me\nin the following words--\"Be born again on the earth as an elephant,\nlike that with which you have just struck me.\" Then being merciful,\nthat Siddha allowed himself to be propitiated by that brother of mine\nDevaprabha, and appointed for us both the following termination of the\ncurse; \"Though a mortal thou shalt become, by the favour of Vishnu,\nthe lord of an island, and shalt obtain as thy servant this thy younger\nbrother, who will have become an elephant, a beast of burden fit for\ngods. Thou shalt obtain eighty thousand wives, and thou shalt come\nto learn the unchastity of them all in the presence of men. Then thou\nshalt marry this thy present wife, who will have become a woman, and\nshalt see her with thy own eyes embracing another. Then, thou shalt\nbecome sick in thy heart of the world, and shalt bestow thy realm on\na Br\u00e1hman, but when after doing this thou shalt set out to go to a\nforest of ascetics, thy younger brother shall first be released from\nhis elephant nature, and thou also with thy wife shalt be delivered\nfrom thy curse.' This was the termination of the curse appointed for\nus by the Siddha, and we were accordingly born with different lots,\non account of the difference of our actions in that previous state,\nand lo! the end of our curse has now arrived.\" When Somaprabha\nhad said this, that king Ratn\u00e1dhipati remembered his former birth,\nand said--\"True! I am that very Devaprabha; and this R\u00e1jadatt\u00e1 is\nmy former wife R\u00e1javat\u00ed.\" Having said this, he, together with his\nwife, abandoned the body. In a moment they all became Gandharvas,\nand, in the sight of men, flew up into the air, and went to their own\nhome, the Malaya mountain. S\u00edlavat\u00ed too, through the nobleness of her\ncharacter, obtained prosperity, and going to the city of T\u00e1mralipt\u00ed,\nremained in the practice of virtue.\n\n\"So true is it, that in no case can any one guard a woman by force in\nthis world, but the young woman of good family is ever protected by the\npure restraint of her own chastity. And thus the passion of jealousy is\nmerely a purposeless cause of suffering, annoying others, and so far\nfrom being a protection to women, it rather excites in them excessive\nlonging.\" When Narav\u00e1hanadatta had heard this tale full of good sense\nrelated by his wife, he and his ministers were highly pleased.\n\n\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XXXVII.\n\n\nThen Narav\u00e1hanadatta's minister Gomukha said to him, by way of capping\nthe tale, which had been told by Ratnaprabh\u00e1: \"It is true that chaste\nwomen are few and far between, but unchaste women are never to be\ntrusted; in illustration of this, hear the following story.\"\n\n\n\nStory of Nischayadatta.\n\nThere is in this land a town of the name of Ujjayin\u00ed, famous throughout\nthe world: in it there lived of old time a merchant's son, named\nNischayadatta. He was a gambler and had acquired money by gambling,\nand every day the generous man used to bathe in the water of the Sipr\u00e1,\nand worship Mah\u00e1k\u00e1la: [544] his custom was first to give money to the\nBr\u00e1hmans, the poor, and the helpless, and then to anoint himself and\nindulge in food and betel.\n\nEvery day, when he had finished his bathing and his worship, he used\nto go and anoint himself in a cemetery near the temple of Mah\u00e1k\u00e1la,\nwith sandalwood and other things. And the young man placed the\nunguent on a stone pillar that stood there, and so anointed himself\nevery day alone, rubbing his back against it. In that way the pillar\neventually became very smooth and polished. Then there came that way\na draughtsman with a sculptor; the first, seeing that the pillar\nwas very smooth, drew on it a figure of Gaur\u00ed, and the sculptor\nwith his chisel in pure sport carved it on the stone. Then, after\nthey had departed, a certain daughter of the Vidy\u00e1dharas came there\nto worship Mah\u00e1k\u00e1la, and saw that image of Gaur\u00ed on the stone. From\nthe clearness of the image she inferred the proximity of the goddess,\nand, after worshipping, she entered that stone pillar to rest. In the\nmeanwhile Nischayadatta, the merchant's son, came there, and to his\nastonishment beheld that figure of Um\u00e1 carved on the stone. He first\nanointed his limbs, and then placing the unguent on another part of the\nstone, began to anoint his back by rubbing it against the stone. When\nthe rolling-eyed Vidy\u00e1dhara maiden inside the pillar saw that, her\nheart being captivated by his beauty, she reflected--\"What! has this\nhandsome man no one to anoint his back? Then I will now rub his back\nfor him.\" Thus the Vidy\u00e1dhar\u00ed reflected, and, stretching forth her\nhand from inside the pillar, she anointed his back then and there\nout of affection. Immediately the merchant's son felt the touch, and\nheard the jingling of the bracelet, and caught hold of her hand with\nhis. And the Vidy\u00e1dhar\u00ed, invisible as she was, said to him from the\npillar--\"Noble sir, what harm have I done you? let go my hand.\" Then\nNischayadatta answered her--\"Appear before me, and say who you are,\nthen I will let go your hand.\" Then the Vidy\u00e1dhar\u00ed affirmed with an\noath--\"I will appear before your eyes, and tell you all.\" So he let\ngo her hand. Then she came out visibly from the pillar, beautiful\nin every limb, and sitting down, with her eyes fixed on his face,\nsaid to him, \"There is a city called Pushkar\u00e1vat\u00ed [545] on a peak of\nthe Him\u00e1layas, in it there lives a king named Vindhyapara. I am his\nmaiden daughter, named Anur\u00e1gapar\u00e1. I came to worship Mah\u00e1k\u00e1la, and\nrested here to-day. And thereupon you came here, and were beheld by me\nanointing your back on this pillar, resembling the stupefying weapon\nof the god of love. Then first my heart was charmed with affection\nfor you, and afterwards my hand was smeared with your unguent, as I\nrubbed your back. [546] The sequel you know. So I will now go to my\nfather's house.\"\n\nWhen she said this to the merchant's son, he answered--\"Fair one,\nI have not recovered my soul which you have taken captive; how can\nyou thus depart, without letting go the soul which you have taken\npossession of?\" When he said this to her, she was immediately overcome\nwith love, and said--\"I will marry you, if you come to my city. It is\nnot hard for you to reach; your endeavour will be sure to succeed. For\nnothing in this world is difficult to the enterprising.\" Having said\nthis, Anur\u00e1gapar\u00e1 flew up into the air and departed; and Nischayadatta\nreturned home with mind fixed upon her. Recollecting the hand that\nwas protruded from the pillar, like a shoot from the trunk of a tree,\nhe thought--\"Alas! though I seized her hand I did not win it for my\nown. Therefore I will go to the city of Pushkar\u00e1vat\u00ed to visit her, and\neither I shall lose my life, or Fate will come to my aid.\" So musing,\nhe passed that day there in an agony of love, and he set out from that\nplace early the next morning, making for the north. As he journeyed,\nthree other merchants' sons, who were travelling towards the north,\nassociated themselves with him as companions. In company with them\nhe travelled through cities, villages, forests, and rivers, and at\nlast reached the northern region abounding in barbarians.\n\nThere he and his companions were found on the way by some T\u00e1jikas, who\ntook them and sold them to another T\u00e1jika. He sent them in the care of\nhis servants as a present to a Turushka, named Murav\u00e1ra. Then those\nservants took him and the other three, and hearing that Murav\u00e1ra\nwas dead, they delivered them to his son. The son of Murav\u00e1ra\nthought--\"These men have been sent me as a present by my father's\nfriend, so I must send them to him to-morrow by throwing them into\nhis grave.\" [547] Accordingly the Turushka fettered Nischayadatta and\nhis three friends with strong chains, that they might be kept till\nthe morning. Then, while they were remaining in chains at night,\nNischayadatta said to his three friends, the merchant's sons,\nwho were afflicted with dread of death--\"What will you gain by\ndespondency? Maintain steadfast resolution. For calamities depart\nfar away from the resolute, as if terrified at them. Think on the\npeerless adorable Durg\u00e1, that deliverer from calamity.\"\n\nThus encouraging them, he devoutly worshipped that goddess Durg\u00e1:\n\"Hail to thee, O goddess! I worship thy feet that are stained with\na red dye, as if it were the clotted gore of the trampled Asura\nclinging to them. Thou, as the all-ruling power of Siva, dost govern\nthe three worlds, and inspired by thee they live and move. Thou didst\ndeliver the worlds, O slayer of the Asura Mahisha. Deliver me that\ncrave thy protection, O thou cherisher of thy votaries.\" In these\nand similar words he and his companions duly worshipped the goddess,\nand then they all fell asleep, being weary. And the goddess Durg\u00e1\nin a dream commanded Nischayadatta and his companions--\"Rise up,\nmy children, depart, for your fetters are loosed.\" Then they woke up\nat night, and saw that their fetters had fallen off of themselves,\nand after relating to one another their dream, they departed thence\ndelighted. And after they had gone a long journey, the night came\nto an end, and then those merchant's sons, who had gone through such\nterrors, said to Nischayadatta; \"Enough of this quarter of the world\ninfested with barbarians! We will go to the Deccan, friend, but do\nyou do as you desire.\"--When they said this to him, he dismissed\nthem to go where they would, and set out alone vigorously on his\njourney, making towards that very northern quarter, drawn by the\nnoose of love for Anur\u00e1gapar\u00e1, flinging aside fear. As he went\nalong, he fell in, in course of time, with four P\u00e1supata ascetics,\nand reached and crossed the river Vitast\u00e1. And after crossing it,\nhe took food, and as the sun was kissing the western mountain,\nhe entered with them a forest that lay in their path. And there\nsome woodmen, that met them, said to them: \"Whither are you going,\nnow that the day is over. There is no village in front of you: but\nthere is an empty temple of Siva in this wood. Whoever remains there\nduring the night inside or outside, falls a prey to a Yakshin\u00ed, who\nbewilders him, making horns grow on his forehead, and then treats him\nas a victim, and devours him.\" Those four P\u00e1supata ascetics, who were\ntravelling together, though they heard this, said to Nischayadatta,\n\"Come along! what can that miserable Yakshin\u00ed do to us? For we have\nremained many nights in various cemeteries.\" When they said this,\nhe went with them, and finding an empty temple of Siva, he entered\nit with them to pass the night there. In the court of that temple\nthe bold Nischayadatta and the P\u00e1supata ascetics quickly made a great\ncircle with ashes, and entering into it, they lighted a fire with fuel,\nand all remained there, muttering a charm to protect themselves.\n\nThen at night there came there dancing the Yakshin\u00ed Sringotp\u00e1din\u00ed,\n[548] playing from afar on her lute of bones, and when she came near,\nshe fixed her eye on one of the four P\u00e1supata ascetics, and recited\na charm, as she danced outside the circle. That charm produced horns\non him, [549] and bewildered he rose up, and danced till he fell\ninto the blazing fire. And when he had fallen, the Yakshin\u00ed dragged\nhim half-burnt out of the fire, and devoured him with delight. Then\nshe fixed her eye on the second P\u00e1supata ascetic, and in the same\nway recited the horn-producing charm and danced. The second one also\nhad horns produced by that charm, and was made to dance, and falling\ninto the fire, was dragged out and devoured before the eyes of the\nothers. In this way the Yakshin\u00ed maddened one after another at night\nthe four ascetics, and after horns had been produced on them, devoured\nthem. But while she was devouring the fourth, it came to pass that,\nbeing intoxicated with flesh and blood, she laid her lute down on the\nground. Thereupon the bold Nischayadatta rose up quickly, and seized\nthe lute, and began to play on it, and dancing round with a laugh, to\nrecite that horn-producing charm, which he had learnt from hearing it\noften, fixing at the same time his eye on the face of the Yakshin\u00ed. By\nthe operation of the charm she was confused, and dreading death, as\nhorns were just about to sprout on her forehead, she flung herself\nprostrate, and thus entreated him; \"Valiant man, do not slay me,\na helpless woman. I now implore your protection, stop the recital of\nthe charm, and the accompanying movements. Spare me! I know all your\nstory, and will bring about your wish; I will carry you to the place,\nwhere Anur\u00e1gapar\u00e1 is.\" The bold Nischayadatta, when thus confidingly\naddressed by her, consented, and stopped the recital of the charm,\nand the accompanying movements. Then, at the request of the Yakshin\u00ed,\nhe mounted on her back, and being carried by her through the air,\nhe went to find his beloved. [550]\n\nAnd when the night came to an end, they had reached a mountain wood;\nthere the Guhyak\u00ed bowing thus addressed Nischayadatta; \"Now that the\nsun has risen, I have no power to go upwards, [551] so spend this\nday in this charming wood, my lord; eat sweet fruits and drink the\nclear water of the brooks. I go to my own place, and I will return\nat the approach of night; and then I will take you to the city of\nPushkar\u00e1vat\u00ed, the crown of the Him\u00e1layas, and into the presence of\nAnur\u00e1gapar\u00e1.\" Having said this, the Yakshin\u00ed with his permission set\nhim down from her shoulder, and departed to return again according\nto her promise.\n\nWhen she had gone, Nischayadatta beheld a deep lake, transparent and\ncool, but tainted with poison, lit up by the sun, that stretching\nforth the fingers of its rays, revealed it as an example illustrative\nof the nature of the heart of a passionate woman. He knew by the\nsmell that it was tainted with poison, and left it, after necessary\nablutions, and being afflicted with thirst he roamed all over that\nheavenly mountain in search of water. And as he was wandering about,\nhe saw on a lofty place what seemed to be two rubies glittering,\nand he dug up the ground there.\n\nAnd after he had removed the earth, he saw there the head of a living\nmonkey, and his eyes like two rubies. While he was indulging his\nwonder, thinking what this could be, that monkey thus addressed him\nwith human voice; \"I am a man, a Br\u00e1hman transformed into a monkey;\nrelease me, and then I will tell you all my story, excellent sir.\" As\nsoon as he heard this, he removed the earth, marvelling, and drew the\nape out of the ground. When Nischayadatta had drawn out the ape, it\nfell at his feet, and continued--\"You have given me life by rescuing\nme from calamity. So come, since you are weary, take fruit and water,\nand by your favour I also will break my long fast. Having said this,\nthe liberated monkey took him to the bank of a mountain-torrent\nsome distance off, where there were delicious fruits, and shady\ntrees. There he bathed and took fruit and water, and coming back,\nhe said to the monkey who had broken his fast--\"Tell me how you have\nbecome a monkey, being really a man.\" Then that monkey said, \"Listen,\nI will tell you now.\"\n\n\n\nStory of Somasv\u00e1min.\n\nIn the city of V\u00e1r\u00e1nas\u00ed there is an excellent Br\u00e1hman named\nChandrasv\u00e1min, I am his son by his virtuous wife, my friend. And my\nfather gave me the name of Somasv\u00e1min. In course of time it came to\npass that I mounted the fierce elephant of love, which infatuation\nmakes uncontrollable. When I was at this stage of my life, the youthful\nBandhudatt\u00e1, the daughter of the merchant Sr\u00edgarbha, an inhabitant of\nthat city, and the wife of the great merchant of Mathur\u00e1 Var\u00e1hadatta,\nwho was dwelling in her father's house, beheld me one day, as she was\nlooking out of the window. She was enamoured of me on beholding me,\nand after enquiring my name, she sent a confidential female friend\nto me, desiring an interview. Her friend came up secretly to me\nwho was blind with love, and, after telling her friend's desire,\ntook me to her house. There she placed me, and then went and brought\nsecretly Bandhudatt\u00e1, whose eagerness made her disregard shame. And\nno sooner was she brought, than she threw her arms round my neck,\nfor excessive love in women is your only hero for daring. Thus every\nday Bandhudatt\u00e1 came at will from her father's house, and sported\nwith me in the house of her female friend.\n\nNow one day the great merchant, her husband, came from Mathur\u00e1 to\ntake her back to his own house, as she had been long absent. Then\nBandhudatt\u00e1, as her father ordered her to go, and her husband was eager\nto take her away, secretly made a second request to her friend. She\nsaid \"I am certainly going to be taken by my husband to the city of\nMathur\u00e1, and I cannot live there separated from Somasv\u00e1min. So tell\nme what resource there is left to me in this matter.\" When she said\nthis, her friend Sukhasay\u00e1, who was a witch, answered her, \"I know two\nspells; [552] by reciting one of them a man can be in a moment made\nan ape, if a string is fastened round his neck, and by the second,\nif the string is loosed, he will immediately become a man again;\nand while he is an ape his intelligence is not diminished. So if you\nlike, fair one, you can keep your lover Somasv\u00e1min; for I will turn\nhim into an ape on the spot, then take him with you to Mathur\u00e1 as a\npet animal. And I will shew you how to use the two spells, so that\nyou can turn him, when near you, into the shape of a monkey, and when\nyou are in a secret place, make him once more a beloved man.\" When\nher friend had told her this, Bandhudatt\u00e1 consented, and sending\nfor me in secret, told me that matter in the most loving tone. I\nconsented, and immediately Sukhasay\u00e1 fastened a thread on my neck\nand recited the spell, and made me a young monkey. And in that shape\nBandhudatt\u00e1 brought and shewed me to her husband, and she said--\"A\nfriend of mine gave me this animal to play with.\" And he was delighted\nwhen he saw me in her arms as a plaything, and I, though a monkey,\nretained my intelligence, and the power of articulate speech. And I\nremained there, saying to myself with inward laughter--\"Wonderful are\nthe actions of women.\" For whom does not love beguile? The next day\nBandhudatt\u00e1, having been taught that spell by her friend, set out from\nher father's house to go to Mathur\u00e1 with her husband. And the husband\nof Bandhudatt\u00e1, wishing to please her, had me carried on the back of\none of his servants during the journey. So the servant and I and the\nrest went along, and in two or three days reached a wood, that lay\nin our way, which was perilous from abounding in monkeys. Then the\nmonkeys, beholding me, attacked me in troops on all sides, quickly\ncalling to one another with shrill cries. And the irrepressible apes\ncame and began to bite that merchant's servant, on whose back I was\nsitting. He was terrified at that, and flung me off his back on to\nthe ground, and fled for fear, so the monkeys got hold of me then\nand there. And Bandhudatt\u00e1, out of love for me, and her husband and\nhis servants, attacked the apes with stones and sticks, but were not\nable to get the better of them. Then those monkeys, as if enraged\nwith my evil actions, pulled off with their teeth and nails every\nhair from every one of my limbs, as I lay there bewildered. At last,\nby the virtue of the string on my neck, and by thinking on Siva, I\nmanaged to recover my strength, and getting loose from them, I ran\naway. And entering into the depths of the wood, I got out of their\nsight, and gradually, roaming from forest to forest, I reached this\nwood. And while I was wandering about here in the rainy season, blind\nwith the darkness of grief, saying to myself, \"How is it that even in\nthis life adultery has produced for thee the fruit of transformation\ninto the shape of a monkey, and thou hast lost Bandhudatt\u00e1?\" Destiny,\nnot yet sated with tormenting me, inflicted on me another woe, for a\nfemale elephant suddenly came upon me, and seizing me with her trunk\nflung me into the mud of an ant-hill that had been saturated with\nrain. I know it must have been some divinity instigated by Destiny,\nfor, though I exerted myself to the utmost, I could not get out of\nthat mud. And while it was drying up, [553] not only did I not die,\nbut knowledge was produced in me, while I thought continually upon\nSiva. And all the while I never felt hunger nor thirst, my friend,\nuntil to-day you drew me out of this trap of dry mud. And though I have\ngained knowledge, I do not even now possess power sufficient to set\nmyself free from this monkey nature. But when some witch unties the\nthread on my neck, reciting at the same time the appropriate spell,\nthen I shall once more become a man.\n\n\"This is my story, but tell me now, my friend, how you came to this\ninaccessible wood, and why.\" When Nischayadatta was thus requested\nby the Br\u00e1hman Somasv\u00e1min, he told him his story, how he came from\nUjjayin\u00ed on account of a Vidy\u00e1dhar\u00ed, and how he was conveyed at night\nby a Yakshin\u00ed, whom he had subdued by his presence of mind. Then the\nwise Somasv\u00e1min, who wore the form of a monkey, having heard that\nwonderful story, went on to say; \"You, like myself, have suffered\ngreat woe for the sake of a female. But females, like prosperous\ncircumstances, are never faithful to any one in this world. Like the\nevening, they display a short-lived glow of passion, their hearts\nare crooked like the channels of rivers, like snakes they are not to\nbe relied on, like lightning they are fickle. So, that Anur\u00e1gapar\u00e1,\nthough she may be enamoured of you for a time, when she finds a\nparamour of her own race, will be disgusted with you, who are only\na mortal. So desist now from this effort for the sake of a female,\nwhich you will find like the fruit of the Colocynth, bitter in its\nafter-taste. Do not go, my friend, to Pushkar\u00e1vat\u00ed, the city of the\nVidy\u00e1dharas, but ascend the back of the Yakshin\u00ed and return to your\nown Ujjayin\u00ed. Do what I tell you, my friend; formerly in my passion I\ndid not heed the voice of a friend, and I am suffering for it at this\nvery moment. For when I was in love with Bandhudatt\u00e1, a Br\u00e1hman named\nBhavasarman, who was a very dear friend of mine, said this to me in\norder to dissuade me;--'Do not put yourself in the power of a female,\nthe heart of a female is a tangled maze; in proof of it I will tell\nyou what happened to me--listen!'\"\n\n\n\nStory of Bhavasarman.\n\nIn this very country, in the city of V\u00e1r\u00e1nas\u00ed, there lived a young and\nbeautiful Br\u00e1hman woman named Somad\u00e1, who was unchaste and secretly a\nwitch. And as destiny would have it, I had secret interviews with her,\nand in the course of our intimacy my love for her increased. One day\nI wilfully struck her in the fury of jealousy, and the cruel woman\nbore it patiently, concealing her anger for the time. The next day\nshe fastened a string round my neck, as if in loving sport, and I was\nimmediately turned into a domesticated ox. Then I, thus transformed\ninto an ox, was sold by her, on receiving the required price, to a\nman who lived by keeping domesticated camels. When he placed a load\nupon me, a witch there, named Bandhamochanik\u00e1, beholding me sore\nburdened, was filled with pity. [554] She knew by her supernatural\nknowledge that I had been made an animal by Somad\u00e1, and when my\nproprietor was not looking, she loosed the string from my neck. So I\nreturned to the form of a man, and that master of mine immediately\nlooked round, and thinking that I had escaped, wandered all about\nthe country in search of me. And as I was going away from that place\nwith Bandhamochin\u00ed, it happened that Somad\u00e1 came that way and beheld\nme at a distance. She, burning with rage, said to Bandhamochin\u00ed, who\npossessed supernatural knowledge,--\"Why did you deliver this villain\nfrom his bestial transformation? Curses on you! wicked woman, you shall\nreap the fruit of this evil deed. To-morrow morning I will slay you,\ntogether with this villain.\" When she had gone after saying this,\nthat skilful sorceress Bandhamochin\u00ed, in order to repel her assault,\ngave me the following instructions--\"She will come to-morrow morning\nin the form of a black mare to slay me, and I shall then assume the\nform of a bay mare. And when we have begun to fight, you must come\nbehind this Somad\u00e1, sword in hand, and resolutely strike her. In this\nway we will slay her; so come to-morrow morning to my house.\" After\nsaying this, she pointed out to me her house. When she had entered\nit, I went home, having endured more than one birth in this very\nlife. And in the morning I went to the house of Bandhamochin\u00ed, sword\nin hand. Then Somad\u00e1 came there, in the form of a black mare. [555]\nAnd Bandhamochin\u00ed, for her part, assumed the form of a bay mare; and\nthen they fought with their teeth and heels, biting and kicking. Then I\nstruck that vile witch Somad\u00e1 a blow with my sword, and she was slain\nby Bandhamochin\u00ed. Then I was freed from fear, and having escaped the\ncalamity of bestial transformation, I never again allowed my mind to\nentertain the idea of associating with wicked women. Women generally\nhave these three faults, terrible to the three worlds, flightiness,\nrecklessness, and a love for the congregation of witches. [556] So why\ndo you run after Bandhudatt\u00e1, who is a friend of witches? Since she\ndoes not love her husband, how is it possible that she can love you?\n\n\"Though my friend Bhavasarman gave me this advice, I did not do what he\ntold me; and so I am reduced to this state. So I give you this counsel;\ndo not suffer hardship to win Anur\u00e1gapar\u00e1, for when she obtains a lover\nof her own race, she will of a surety desert you. A woman ever desires\nfresh men, as a female humble bee wanders from flower to flower; so\nyou will suffer regret some day, like me, my friend.\" This speech of\nSomasv\u00e1min, who had been transformed into a monkey, did not penetrate\nthe heart of Nischayadatta, for it was full of passion. And he said\nto that monkey; \"She will not be unfaithful to me, for she is born of\nthe pure race of the Vidy\u00e1dharas.\" Whilst they were thus conversing,\nthe sun, red with the hues of evening, went to the mountain of setting,\nas if wishing to please Nischayadatta. Then the night arrived, as the\nharbinger of the Yakshin\u00ed Sringotp\u00e1din\u00ed, and she herself came soon\nafterwards. And Nischayadatta mounted on her back, and went off to\ngo to his beloved, taking leave of the ape, who begged that he might\never be remembered by him. And at midnight he reached that city of\nPushkar\u00e1vat\u00ed, which was situated on the Him\u00e1layas, and belonged to\nthe king of the Vidy\u00e1dharas, the father of Anur\u00e1gapar\u00e1. At that very\nmoment Anur\u00e1gapar\u00e1, having known by her power of his arrival, came out\nfrom that city to meet him. Then the Yakshin\u00ed put down Nischayadatta\nfrom her shoulder, and pointing out to him Anur\u00e1gapar\u00e1, said--\"Here\ncomes your beloved, like a second moon giving a feast to your eyes in\nthe night, so now I will depart,\" and bowing before him, she went her\nway. Then Anur\u00e1gapar\u00e1, full of the excitement produced by expectation,\nwent up to her beloved, and welcomed him with embraces and other signs\nof love. He too embraced her, and now that he had obtained the joy of\nmeeting her after enduring many hardships, he could not be contained\nin his own body, and as it were entered hers. So Anur\u00e1gapar\u00e1 was made\nhis wife by the G\u00e1ndharva ceremony of marriage, and she immediately\nby her magic skill created a city. In that city, which was outside\nthe metropolis, he dwelt with her, without her parents suspecting it,\nas their eyes were blinded by her skill. And when, on her questioning\nhim, he told her those strange and painful adventures of his journey,\nshe respected him much, and bestowed on him all the enjoyments that\nheart could wish.\n\nThen Nischayadatta told that Vidy\u00e1dhar\u00ed the strange story of\nSomasv\u00e1min, who had been transformed into a monkey, and said to her,\n\"If this friend of mine could by any endeavour on your part be freed\nfrom his monkey condition, then my beloved, you would have done a good\ndeed.\" When he told her this, Anur\u00e1gapar\u00e1 said to him--\"This is in\nthe way of witches' spells, but it is not our province. Nevertheless\nI will accomplish this desire of yours, by asking a friend of mine,\na skilful witch named Bhadrar\u00fap\u00e1. When the merchant's son heard that,\nhe was delighted, and said to that beloved of his--\"So come and see\nmy friend, let us go to visit him.\" She consented, and the next day,\ncarried in her lap, Nischayadatta went through the air to the wood,\nwhich was the residence of his friend. When he saw his friend there\nin monkey form, he went up to him with his wife, who bowed before\nhim, and asked after his welfare. And the monkey Somasv\u00e1min welcomed\nhim, saying--\"It is well with me to-day, in that I have beheld you\nunited to Anur\u00e1gapar\u00e1,\" and he gave his blessing to Nischayadatta's\nwife. Then all three sat down on a charming slab of rock there, and\nheld a conversation [557] about his story, the various adventures of\nthat ape, previously discussed by Nischayadatta with his beloved. Then\nNischayadatta took leave of that monkey, and went to the house of\nhis beloved, flying up into the air, carried by her in her arms.\n\nAnd the next day he again said to that Anur\u00e1gapar\u00e1, \"Come, let us go\nfor a moment to visit that ape our friend;\" then she said to him--\"Go\nto-day yourself, receive from me the science of flying up, and also\nthat of descending.\" When she had said this to him, he took those two\nsciences, and flew through the air to his friend the ape. And as he\nremained long conversing with him, Anur\u00e1gapar\u00e1 went out of the house\ninto the garden. While she was seated there, a certain Vidy\u00e1dhara\nyouth, who was wandering at will through the air, came there. The\nVidy\u00e1dhara, knowing by his art that she was a Vidy\u00e1dhar\u00ed who had\na mortal husband, the moment he beheld her, was overpowered with a\nparoxysm of love, and approached her. And she, with face bent on the\nground, beheld that he was handsome and attractive, and slowly asked\nhim out of curiosity, who he was and whence he came. Then he answered\nher, \"Know, fair one, that I am a Vidy\u00e1dhara, by name R\u00e1gabhanjana,\ndistinguished for my knowledge of the sciences of the Vidy\u00e1dharas. The\nmoment I beheld you, O gazelle-eyed one, I was suddenly overpowered\nby love, and made your slave, so cease to honour, O goddess, a mortal,\nwhose abode is the earth, and favour me, your equal, before your father\nfinds out your intrigue.\" When he said this, the fickle-hearted one,\nlooking timidly at him with a sidelong glance, thought--\"Here is a fit\nmatch for me.\" When he had thus ascertained her wishes, he made her\nhis wife: when two are of one mind, what more does secret love require?\n\nThen Nischayadatta arrived from the presence of Somasv\u00e1min, after that\nVidy\u00e1dhara had departed. And when he came, Anur\u00e1gapar\u00e1, having lost\nher love for him, did not embrace him, giving as an excuse that she had\na headache. But the simple-minded man, bewildered by love, not seeing\nthrough her excuse, thought that her pain was due to illness and spent\nthe day in that belief. But the next day, he again went in low spirits\nto see his friend the ape, flying through the air by the force of the\ntwo sciences he possessed. When he had gone, Anur\u00e1gapar\u00e1's Vidy\u00e1dhara\nlover returned to her, having spent a sleepless night without her. And\nembracing round the neck her, who was eager for his arrival owing to\nhaving been separated during the night, he was at length overcome\nby sleep. She by the power of her science concealed her lover, who\nlay asleep in her lap, and weary with having kept awake all night,\nwent to sleep herself. In the meanwhile Nischayadatta came to the\nape, and his friend, welcoming him, asked him--\"Why do I seem to see\nyou in low spirits to-day? Tell me.\" Then Nischayadatta said to that\nape, \"Anur\u00e1gapar\u00e1 is exceedingly ill, my friend; for that reason I\nam grieved, for she is dearer to me than life.\" Then that ape, who\npossessed supernatural knowledge, said to him--\"Go, take her in your\narms asleep as she is, and flying through the air by the help of the\nscience she bestowed, bring her to me, in order that I may this very\nday shew you a great marvel.\" When Nischayadatta heard this, he went\nthrough the air and lightly took up that sleeping fair, but he did not\nsee that Vidy\u00e1dhara, who was asleep in her lap, and had been previously\nmade invisible by the power of her science. And flying up into the air,\nhe quickly brought Anur\u00e1gapar\u00e1 to that ape. That ape, who possessed\ndivine insight, immediately shewed him a charm, by which he was able\nto behold the Vidy\u00e1dhara clinging to her neck. When he saw this, he\nexclaimed--\"Alas! what does this mean?\" And the ape, who was able to\ndiscern the truth, told him the whole story. Then Nischayadatta fell\ninto a passion, and the Vidy\u00e1dhara, who was the lover of his wife,\nwoke up, and flying up into the air, disappeared. Then Anur\u00e1gapar\u00e1\nwoke up, and seeing that her secret was revealed, stood with face cast\ndown through shame. Then Nischayadatta said to her with eyes gushing\nwith tears--\"Wicked female, how could you thus deceive me who reposed\nconfidence in you? Although a device is known in this world for fixing\nthat exceedingly fickle metal quicksilver, no expedient is known for\nfixing the heart of a woman.\" While he was saying this, Anur\u00e1gapar\u00e1,\nat a loss for an answer, and weeping, slowly soared up into the air,\nand went to her own home.\n\nThen Nischayadatta's friend, the ape, said to him--\"That you are\ngrieved is the fruit of the fierce fire of passion, in that you ran\nafter this fair one, though I tried to dissuade you. For what reliance\ncan be placed on fickle fortunes and fickle women? So cease your\nregret. Be patient now. For even the Disposer himself cannot o'erstep\ndestiny.\" When Nischayadatta heard this speech from the ape, he flung\naside that delusion of grief, and abandoning passion, fled to Siva as\nhis refuge. Then, as he was remaining in that wood with his friend the\nape, it happened that a female hermit of the name of Mokshad\u00e1 came near\nhim. She seeing him bowing before her, proceeded to ask him--\"How comes\nthis strange thing to pass that, though a man, you have struck up a\nfriendship with this ape?\" Then he related to her his own melancholy\nstory and afterwards the sad tale of his friend, and thereupon thus\nsaid to her; \"If you, reverend lady, know any incantation or spell\nby which it can be done, immediately release this excellent Br\u00e1hman,\nmy friend, from his ape-transformation.\" When she heard that, she\nconsented, and employing a spell, she loosed the string from his\nneck, and Somasv\u00e1min abandoned that monkey form and became a man as\nbefore. Then she disappeared like lightning, clothed with celestial\nbrightness, and in time Nischayadatta and the Br\u00e1hman Somasv\u00e1min,\nhaving performed many austerities, attained final beatitude.\n\n\"Thus fair ones, naturally fickle, bring about a series of evil actions\nwhich produce true discernment, and aversion to the world. But here and\nthere you will find a virtuous one among them, who adorns a glorious\nfamily, as the streak of the moon the broad sky.\"\n\nWhen Narav\u00e1hanadatta, accompanied by Ratnaprabh\u00e1, heard this wonderful\ntale from the mouth of Gomukha, he was highly pleased.\n\n\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XXXVIII.\n\n\nThen Marubh\u00fati, perceiving that Narav\u00e1hanadatta was pleased with the\ntale of Gomukha, in order to rival him, said, \"Women are generally\nfickle, but not always, for even het\u00e6r\u00e6 are seen to be rich in\ngood qualities, much more others; in proof of this, king, hear this\nfamous tale.\"\n\n\n\nStory of king Vikram\u00e1ditya and the het\u00e6ra.\n\nThere was in P\u00e1taliputra a king named Vikram\u00e1ditya; he had two\ncherished friends the king Hayapati, [558] and the king Gajapati, [559]\nwho had large armies of horse and elephants. And that proud sovereign\nhad a mighty enemy named Narasinha [560] the lord of Pratishth\u00e1na, a\nking who had a large force of infantry. Being angry with that enemy,\nand puffed up on account of the power of his allies, Vikram\u00e1ditya\nrashly made this vow--\"I will so completely conquer that king, the lord\nof men, that the heralds and bards shall proclaim him at the door as my\nslave.\" Having made this vow, he summoned those allies, Hayapati and\nGajapati, and accompanied with a large force, shaking the earth with\nelephants and horses, marched with them to make a fierce attack on the\nlord of men, Narasinha. When he arrived near Pratishth\u00e1na, Narasinha,\nthe lord of men, put on his armour and went out to meet him. Then\nthere took place between the two kings a battle that excited wonder,\nin which footmen fought with elephants and horses. And at last the\narmy of Vikram\u00e1ditya was routed by the forces of Narasinha, the lord\nof men, which contained many crores of footmen. And Vikram\u00e1ditya,\nbeing routed, fled to his city P\u00e1taliputra, and his two allies fled\nto their own countries. And Narasinha, the lord of men, entered his\nown city Pratishth\u00e1na, accompanied by heralds who praised his might.\n\nThen Vikram\u00e1ditya, not having gained his end, thought--\"Well! as\nthat enemy is not to be conquered by arms, I will conquer him by\npolicy; let some blame me if they like, but let not my oath be made\nvoid.\" Thus reflecting, he entrusted his kingdom to suitable ministers,\nand secretly went out of the city with one chief minister, named\nBuddhivara, and with five hundred well-born and brave R\u00e1jp\u00fats and in\nthe disguise of a candidate for service, [561] went to Pratishth\u00e1na,\nthe city of his enemy. There he entered the splendid mansion of a\nbeautiful het\u00e6ra named Madanam\u00e1l\u00e1, that resembled the palace of a\nking. It seemed to invite him with the silk of its banners, hoisted\non the pinnacles of high ramparts, the points of which waved to and\nfro in the soft breeze. It was guarded at the principal entrance, the\neast door, day and night, by twenty thousand footmen, equipped with all\nkinds of weapons. At each of the other three doors, looking towards\nthe other cardinal points, it was defended by ten thousand warriors\never on the qui vive. In such guise the king entered, proclaimed by\nthe warders, the enclosure of the palace, which was divided into seven\nzones. In one zone it was adorned with many long lines of horses. In\nanother the path was impeded by dense troops of elephants. In another\nit was surrounded with an imposing array of dense weapons. In another\nit was resplendent with many treasure-houses, that gleamed with the\nflash of jewels. In another a circle was always formed by a dense\ncrowd of attendants. In another it was full of the noise of many\nbards reciting aloud, and in another resounding with the sound of\ndrums beaten in concert. Beholding all these sights the king at last\nreached, with his retinue, the splendid edifice in which Madanam\u00e1l\u00e1\ndwelt. She having heard with great interest from her attendants that,\nas he passed through the zones, the horses and other creatures were\ncured of their wounds, [562] thought that he must be some great one\nin disguise, and so she went to meet him, and bowed before him with\nlove and curiosity, and bringing him in, seated him on a throne fit\nfor a king. The king's heart was ravished by her beauty, gracefulness\nand courtesy, and he saluted her without revealing who he was. Then\nMadanam\u00e1l\u00e1 honoured that king with costly baths, flowers, perfumes,\ngarments and ornaments. And she gave daily subsistence to those\nfollowers of his, and feasted him and his minister with all kinds\nof viands. And she spent the day with him in drinking, and other\ndiversions, and surrendered herself to him, having fallen in love\nwith him at first sight. Vikram\u00e1ditya, being thus entertained by her,\nday by day, continued, though in disguise, to live in a style suited\nto an emperor. And whatever and howmuchsoever wealth he was in the\nhabit of giving to suppliants, Madanam\u00e1l\u00e1 gladly furnished him with\nfrom her own store. And she thought her body and wealth well employed,\nwhile enjoyed by him, and she remained averse to gain and to other\nmen. For out of love to him she even kept off by stratagems Narasinha,\nthe king of that land, who came there being enamoured of her.\n\nWhile the king was being waited on in this fashion by Madanam\u00e1l\u00e1, he\none day said in secret to his minister Buddhivara, who accompanied him,\n\"A het\u00e6ra desires wealth, and not even if she feels love, does she\nbecome attached without it, for when Providence framed suitors, he\nbestowed greed on these women. But this Madanam\u00e1l\u00e1, though her wealth\nis being consumed by me, through her great love is not estranged\nfrom me, on the contrary she delights in me. So how can I now make\nher a recompense, in order that my vow may in course of time be fully\naccomplished?\" When the minister Buddhivara heard this, he said to the\nking; \"If this be so, give her some of those priceless jewels which\nthe mendicant Prapanchabuddhi gave you.\" When the king heard that, he\nanswered him, \"If I were to give them all to her, I should not have\nmade her a recompense worth speaking of; but I can free myself from\nobligation in another way, which is connected also with the story of\nthat mendicant.\" When the minister heard this, he said--\"King, why\ndid that mendicant court you? Tell me his story.\" When his minister\nBuddhivara proffered this request, the king said, \"Listen: I will\ntell you his story.\"\n\n\n\nStory of king Vikram\u00e1ditya and the treacherous mendicant.\n\nLong ago a mendicant named Prapanchabuddhi used to enter my hall of\naudience in P\u00e1taliputra every day and give me a box. For a whole year\nI gave these boxes, just as they were, unopened into the hand of my\ntreasurer. One day, one of those boxes presented by the mendicant\nby chance fell from my hand on to the ground, and burst open. And a\ngreat jewel fell out of it, glittering like fire, and it appeared as\nif it were the mendicant's heart which I had not discerned before,\nrevealed by him. When I saw that, I took it, and I had those other\nboxes brought which he had presented to me, and opened them, and\ntook a jewel out of every one of them. Then in astonishment I asked\nPrapanchabuddhi--\"Why do you court me with such splendid jewels?\" Then\nthat mendicant took me aside, and said to me--\"On the fourteenth day\nof the black fortnight now approaching I have to perform a certain\nincantation at night-fall, in a cemetery outside this town. I desire\nyou, my hero, to come and take part in that enterprise, for success is\neasily obtained, when the obstacles to it are swept away by the aid\nof a hero.\" When the mendicant said this to me, I agreed. So he went\noff delighted, and in a few days the fourteenth night of the black\nfortnight came, and I remembered the speech of that ascetic. [563]\nThen I performed my daily observances, and waited for the night, and\nafter I had recited the evening prayer, it happened that I rapidly fell\nasleep. Then the adorable Hari, who is compassionate to his votaries,\nappeared to me in a dream, mounted on Garuda, with his breast marked\nwith a lotus, and thus commanded me--\"My son, this Prapanchabuddhi\n[564] is rightly named, for he will inveigle you into the cemetery to\ntake part in the incantation of the circle, [565] and will offer you\nup as a victim. So do not do what he tells you to do with the object\nof slaying you, but say to him--'You do it first, and when I have\nlearned the way, I will do it.' Then, as he is shewing you the way,\ntake advantage of the opportunity, and slay him immediately, and\nyou will acquire the power that he desires to obtain.\" When Vishnu\nhad said this, he disappeared, and I woke up and thought--\"By the\nfavour of Hari I have detected that magician, and this day I must\nslay him.\" Having thus reflected, when the first watch of the night\nwas gone, I went, sword in hand, alone to that cemetery. There I\nbeheld that mendicant, who had performed the ceremony of the circle\nincantation, and when the treacherous fellow saw me, he welcomed me,\nand said, \"King, close your eyes, and fall at full length on the ground\nwith your face downwards, and in this way both of us will attain our\nends.\" Then I answered him--\"Do it yourself first. Shew me how to do\nit, and, after I have learned, I will do precisely as you do.\" When\nthe mendicant heard that, like a fool, he fell on the earth, and I\ncut off his head with a stroke of my sword. [566] Then a voice was\nheard from the air--\"Bravo, king! By offering up to-day this rascally\nmendicant thou hast obtained the power of going through the air, which\nhe wished to obtain. I, the god of wealth, that move about at will,\nam pleased with thy courage. So, ask me for another boon, whatever\nthou mayest desire.\" After saying this, he manifested himself, and I,\nbowing before him, said,--\"When I shall supplicate thee, adorable one,\nthou shalt appear on my thinking of thee, and grant me a suitable\nboon.\" The god of wealth said--\"So be it\"--and disappeared. And having\nobtained magic power, I went back quickly to my own palace. Thus I\nhave told you my adventure, so by means of that boon of Kuvera I must\nnow recompense Madanam\u00e1l\u00e1. And you must now go back to P\u00e1taliputra,\ntaking with you my disguised R\u00e1jp\u00fat retinue, and I, as soon as I have\nin a novel way recompensed my beloved, will immediately go there,\nwith the intention of returning here.\" Having said this, and having\nperformed his daily duties, the king dismissed his minister with his\nretinue. He said, \"So be it\" and departed, and the king spent that\nnight with Madanam\u00e1l\u00e1, anxious about his approaching separation. She\ntoo, embracing him frequently, because her heart seemed to tell her\nthat he was going to a distance, did not sleep all that night.\n\nIn the morning the king, having performed all his necessary duties,\nentered a chapel for the daily worship of the gods, on the pretence\nof repeating prayers. And there the god of wealth appeared before\nhim on his thinking of him, and bowing before him the king craved\nthat boon formerly promised, in the following words--\"O god, give me\nhere to-day in accordance with that boon, which you promised me, five\ngreat indestructible golden figures of men, such that, though their\nlimbs may be continually cut off for any desired use, those very limbs\nwill grow again, exactly as before.\" The god of wealth said, \"Even so;\nbe there unto thee five such figures as thou desirest!\" Having said\nthis, he immediately disappeared. And the king immediately beheld\nthose five great golden figures of men suddenly standing in the\nchapel; then he went out delighted, and not forgetting his promise,\nhe flew up into the air and went to his city of P\u00e1taliputra. There\nhe was welcomed by his ministers, and the citizens and his wives,\nand he remained engaged in his kingly duties, while his heart was far\naway in Pratishth\u00e1na. In the meanwhile, in Pratishth\u00e1na, that beloved\nof his entered that chapel to see her love, who had entered it long\nbefore. And when she entered, she did not perceive that beloved king\nanywhere, but she beheld five gigantic golden figures of men. When she\nsaw them, and did not find him, she reflected in her grief--\"Surely\nthat love of mine was some Vidy\u00e1dhara or Gandharva, who bestowed upon\nme these men and flew away up to heaven.\n\n\"So what am I to do with these figures, which are all a mere\nburden, now that I am deprived of him?\" Thus reflecting she asked\nher servants over and over again for news of him, and went out and\nroamed all about her domain. And she found no satisfaction anywhere,\neither in the palaces, the gardens, the chambers or other places,\nbut she kept lamenting, grieved at being separated from her lover,\nready to abandon the body.\n\nHer attendants tried to comfort her, saying, \"Do not despair, mistress,\nfor he is some god roaming about at will, and when he pleases, he will\nreturn to you, fair one.\" With such hope-inspiring words did they at\nlength so far console her that she made this vow--\"If in six months he\ndoes not grant me to behold him, I will give away all my property and\nenter the fire.\" With this promise she fortified herself, and remained\nevery day giving alms, thinking on that beloved of hers. And one day,\nshe cut off both the arms of one of those golden men, and gave them\nto the Br\u00e1hmans, being intent on charity only. And the next day she\nperceived with astonishment that both arms had grown again, exactly\nas they were before. Then she proceeded to cut off the arms of the\nothers, to give them away, and the arms of all of them grew again\nas they were before. Then she saw that they were indestructible,\nand every day she cut off the arms of the figures and gave them to\nstudious Br\u00e1hmans, according to the number of the Vedas they had read.\n\nAnd in a few days a Br\u00e1hman, named Sangr\u00e1madatta, having heard\nthe fame of her bounty, which was spread abroad in every direction,\ncame from P\u00e1taliputra. He being poor, but acquainted with four Vedas,\nand endowed with virtues, entered into her presence desiring a gift,\nbeing announced by the door-keepers. She gave him as many arms of the\ngolden figures as he knew Vedas, after bowing before him with limbs\nemaciated with her vow and pale with separation from her beloved. Then\nthe Br\u00e1hman, having heard from her sorrow-stricken attendants the\nwhole of her story, ending in that very terrible vow, was delighted,\nbut at the same time despondent, and loading two camels with those\ngolden arms went to his native city, P\u00e1taliputra. Then that Br\u00e1hman,\nthinking that his gold would not be safe there, unless guarded by\nthe king, entered the king's presence and said to him, while he was\nsitting in the hall of judgment; \"Here I am, O great king, a Br\u00e1hman\nwho am an inhabitant of thy town. I, being poor, and desiring wealth,\nwent to the southern clime, and arrived at a city named Pratishth\u00e1na,\nbelonging to king Narasinha. There, being desirous of a donation, I\nwent to the house of Madanam\u00e1l\u00e1, a het\u00e6ra of distinguished fame. For\nwith her there lived long some divine being, who departed somewhere\nor other, after giving her five indestructible figures of men. Then\nthe high-spirited woman became afflicted at his departure, and\nconsidering life to be poison-agony, and the body, that fruitless\naccumulation of delusion, to be merely a punishment for thieving, lost\nher patience, and being with difficulty consoled by her attendants\nmade this vow--\"If in the space of six months he does not visit me,\nI must enter the fire, my soul being smitten by adversity.\" Having\nmade this vow she, being resolved on death, and desiring to perform\ngood actions, gives away every day very large gifts. And I beheld her,\nking, with tottering feet, conspicuous for the beauty of her person,\nthough it was thin from fasting; with hand moistened with the water of\ngiving, surrounded with maids like clustering bees, sorely afflicted,\nlooking like the incarnation of the mast condition of the elephant\nof love. [567] And I think that lover who deserts her, and causes by\nhis absence that fair one to abandon the body, deserves blame, indeed\ndeserves death. She to-day gave to me, who know the four Vedas, four\ngolden arms of human figures, according to right usage, proportioning\nher gift to the number of my Vedas. So I wish to purify my house with\nsacrifice, and to follow a life of religion here; therefore let the\nking grant me protection.\"\n\nThe king Vikram\u00e1ditya, hearing these tidings of his beloved from the\nmouth of the Br\u00e1hman, had his mind suddenly turned towards her. And\nhe commanded his door-keeper to do what the Br\u00e1hman wished, and\nthinking how constant was the affection of his mistress, who valued\nher life as stubble, and in his impatience supposing that she would\nbe able to assist him in accomplishing his vow, and remembering that\nthe time fixed for her abandoning the body had almost arrived, he\nquickly committed his kingdom to the care of his ministers, and flying\nthrough the air reached Pratishth\u00e1na, and entered the house of his\nbeloved. There he beheld his beloved, with raiment pellucid like the\nmoonlight, having given her wealth away to Pandits, [568] attenuated\nlike a digit of the moon at the time of its change. Madanam\u00e1l\u00e1, for\nher part, on beholding him arrived unexpectedly, the quintessence\nof nectar to her eyes, was for a moment like one amazed. Then she\nembraced him, and threw round his neck the noose of her arms, as\nif fearing that he would escape again. And she said to him with a\nvoice, the accents of which were choked with tears, \"Cruel one, why\ndid you depart and forsake my innocent self?\" The king said, \"Come,\nI will tell you in private,\" and went inside with her, welcomed by\nher attendants. There he revealed to her who he was, and described\nhis circumstances, how he came there to conquer king Narasinha by\nan artifice, and how, after slaying Prapanchabuddhi, he acquired the\npower of flying in the air, and how he was enabled to reward her by\na boon that he obtained from the lord of wealth, and how, hearing\ntidings of her from a Br\u00e1hman, he had returned there. Having told the\nwhole story beginning with the subject of his vow, he again said to\nher--\"So my beloved, that king Narasinha, being very mighty, is not\nto be conquered by armies, and he contended with me in single combat,\nbut I did not slay him, for I possess the power of flying in the air,\nand he can only go on the earth, for who, that is a true Kshatriya,\nwould desire to conquer in an unfair combat? The object of my vow is,\nthat that king may be announced by the heralds as waiting at the door;\ndo you assist me in that?\"\n\nWhen the het\u00e6ra heard this, she said, \"I am honoured by your\nrequest,\" and summoning her heralds she said to them--\"When the king\nNarasinha shall come to my house, you must stand near the door with\nattentive eyes, and while he is entering, you must say again and\nagain--\"King, prince Narasinha is loyal and devoted to thee.\" And\nwhen he looks up and asks--\"Who is here?\"--you must immediately say\nto him--\"Vikram\u00e1ditya is here.\" After giving them these orders, she\ndismissed them, and then she said to the female warder--\"You must\nnot prevent king Narasinha from entering here.\" After issuing these\norders, Madanam\u00e1l\u00e1 remained in a state of supreme felicity, having\nregained the lord of her life, and gave away her wealth fearlessly.\n\nThen king Narasinha, having heard of that profuse liberality of hers,\nwhich was due to her possession of the golden figures, though he\nhad given her up, came to visit her house. And while he entered, not\nbeing forbidden by the warder, all the heralds shouted in a loud voice,\nbeginning at the outer door, \"King, prince Narasinha is submissive and\ndevoted.\" When that sovereign heard that, he was angry and alarmed, and\nwhen he asked who was there, and found out that king Vikram\u00e1ditya was\nthere, he waited a moment and went through the following reflections;\n\"So this king has forced his way into my kingdom, and carried out the\nvow he made long ago, that I should be announced at his door. In truth\nthis king is a man of might, since he has thus beaten me to-day. And\nI must not slay him by force, since he has come alone to a house in\nmy dominions. So I had better enter now.\" Having thus reflected, king\nNarasinha entered, announced by all the heralds. And king Vikram\u00e1ditya,\non beholding him enter with a smile on his face, rose up also with\nsmiling countenance and embraced him. Then those two kings sat down\nand enquired after one another's welfare, while Madanam\u00e1l\u00e1 stood by\ntheir side.\n\nAnd in the course of conversation Narasinha asked Vikram\u00e1ditya where he\nhad obtained those golden figures. Then Vikram\u00e1ditya told him the whole\nof that strange adventure of his, how he had slain the base ascetic,\nand acquired the power of flying through the air, and how, by virtue\nof the boon of the god of wealth, he had obtained five indestructible\ngigantic golden figures. Then king Narasinha chose that king for his\nfriend, discovering that he was of great might, that he possessed the\npower of flying, and that he had a good heart. And having made him\nhis friend, he welcomed him with the prescribed rites of hospitality,\nand taking him to his own palace, he entertained him with all the\nattentions paid to himself. And king Vikram\u00e1ditya, after having been\nthus honoured, was dismissed by him, and returned to the house of\nMadanam\u00e1l\u00e1. Then Vikram\u00e1ditya, having accomplished his difficult vow\nby his courage and intelligence, determined to go to his own city. And\nMadanam\u00e1l\u00e1, being unable to remain separated from him, was eager to\naccompany him, and with the intention of abandoning her native land,\nshe bestowed her dwelling upon the Br\u00e1hmans. Then Vikram\u00e1ditya,\nthe moon of kings, went with her, whose mind was exclusively fixed\non him, to his own city of P\u00e1taliputra, followed by her elephants,\nhorses, and footmen. There he remained in happiness, (accompanied by\nMadanam\u00e1l\u00e1, who had abandoned her own country for his love,) having\nformed an alliance with king Narasinha.\n\n\"Thus, king, even het\u00e6r\u00e6 are occasionally of noble character and\nas faithful to kings as their own wives, much more then matrons of\nhigh birth.\" On hearing this noble tale from the mouth of Marubh\u00fati,\nthe king Narav\u00e1hanadatta, and his new wife Ratnaprabh\u00e1 sprung from\nthe glorious race of the Vidy\u00e1dharas, were much delighted.\n\n\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XXXIX.\n\n\nWhen Marubh\u00fati had told this story there, the commander-in-chief\nHarisikha said in the presence of Narav\u00e1hanadatta--\"It is true, good\nwomen value nothing more than their husbands, and in proof of it,\nlisten now to this still more wonderful tale.\"\n\n\n\nStory of Sringabhuja and the daughter of the R\u00e1kshasa.\n\nThere is a city on the earth named Vardham\u00e1na, and in it there dwelt\na king named V\u00edrabhuja, chief of righteous men. And though he had a\nhundred wives, one queen of the name of Gunavar\u00e1 was dearer to him than\nhis life. And in spite of his hundred wives, it happened, as Fate would\nhave it, that not one of them bore him a son. So he asked a physician\nnamed Srutavardhana--\"Is there any medicine able to bring about\nthe birth of a son?\" When the physician heard that, he said--\"King,\nI can prepare such a medicine, [569] but the king must procure for\nme a wild goat.\" When he heard this speech of the physician's, the\nking gave an order to the warder, and had a goat brought for him from\nthe forest. The physician handed over the goat to the king's cooks,\nand with its flesh prepared a sovereign elixir for the queens. The\nking went off to worship his god, after ordering the queens to\nassemble in one place. And ninety-nine of those queens did assemble\nin one place, but the queen Gunavar\u00e1 alone was not present there,\nfor she was at that time near the king, who was engaged in praying\nto his god. And when they had assembled, the physician gave them the\nwhole of the elixir to drink mixed with powder, not perceiving the\nabsence of Gunavar\u00e1. Immediately the king returned with his beloved,\nhaving performed his devotions, and perceiving that that drug was\ncompletely finished, he said to the physician--\"What! did you not keep\nany for Gunavar\u00e1? You have forgotten the principal object with which\nthis was undertaken.\" After saying this to the abashed physician,\nthe king said to the cooks--\"Is there any of the flesh of that goat\nleft?\" The cooks said, \"The horns only remain.\" Then the physician\nsaid, \"Bravo! I can make an admirable elixir out of the centre of the\nhorns.\" After saying this, the physician had an elixir prepared from\nthe fleshy part of the horns, and gave it to queen Gunavar\u00e1 mixed with\npowder. Then the ninety-nine wives of the king became pregnant, and\nall in time brought forth sons. But the head queen Gunavar\u00e1 conceived\nlast of all, and afterwards gave birth to a son with more auspicious\nmarks than the sons of all the others. And as he was sprung from the\njuice of the fleshy part of the horns, his father, the king, gave him\nthe name of Sringabhuja, and rejoiced greatly at his birth. He grew up\nwith those other brothers, and though in age he was the youngest of\nall, he was superior to all in good qualities. And in course of time\nthat prince became like the god of Love in beauty, and like Arjuna\nin his skill in archery, and like Bh\u00edma in strength. Accordingly the\nother queens, seeing that queen Gunavar\u00e1, now that she had this son,\nwas more than ever dear to king V\u00edrabhuja, became jealous of her.\n\nThen an evil-minded queen among them, named Ayasolekh\u00e1, deliberated\nwith all the others and entered into a conspiracy; and when the\nking came home one day, she exhibited an assumed sadness in her\nface. The king asked her the reason, and she said with apparent\nreluctance--\"My husband, why do you endure patiently the disgrace\nof your house? you avert disgrace from others, why do you not avert\nit from yourself? You know the young superintendent of the women's\napartments named Surakshita; your queen Gunavar\u00e1 is secretly devoted\nto him. Since no man but he can penetrate into the women's apartments,\nwhich are strictly watched by guards, she associates with him. And this\nis a well-known subject of gossip in the whole harem.\" When she said\nthis to the king, he pondered and reflected; and went and asked the\nother queens one after another in private, and they were faithful to\ntheir treacherous plot, and told him the same story. Then that wise\nking conquered his anger, and reflected--\"This accusation against\nthese two is improbable, and yet such is the gossip. So I must not\nwithout reflecting reveal the matter to any one; but they must by an\nartifice be separated now, to enable me to see the termination of\nthe whole matter.\" Having determined on this, next day he summoned\nSurakshita, the superintendent of the womens' apartments, into his\njudgment-hall, and with assumed anger, said to him--\"I have learned,\nvillain, that you have slain a Br\u00e1hman, so I cannot endure to see\nyour face until you have made a pilgrimage to holy places.\" When he\nheard that, he was amazed and began to murmur--\"How can I have slain a\nBr\u00e1hman, my sovereign?\" But the king went on to say; \"Do not attempt\nto brazen it out, but go to K\u00e1sm\u00edr to wash away your sin, (where are\nthose holy fields, Vijayakshetra, and Nandikshetra the purifying,\nand the kshetra [570] of the Boar), the land which was hallowed by\nVishnu the bow-handed god, where the stream of the Ganges bears the\nname of Vitast\u00e1, where is the famous Mandapakshetra, and where is\nUttaram\u00e1nasa; when your sin has been washed away by a pilgrimage to\nthese holy places, you shall behold my face again, but not till then.\"\n\nWith this speech the king V\u00edrabhuja dismissed the helpless Surakshita,\nsending him to a distance on the pretence of a pilgrimage to holy\nplaces. Then the king went into the presence of that queen Gunavar\u00e1,\nfull of love and anger and sober reflection. Then she, seeing that\nhis mind was troubled, asked him anxiously, \"My husband, why are\nyou seized to-day with a sudden fit of despondency?\" When the king\nheard that, he gave her this feigned answer--\"To-day, queen, a great\nastrologer came to me and said--'King, you must place the queen\nGunavar\u00e1 for some time in a dungeon, and you must yourself live a\nlife of chastity, otherwise your kingdom will certainly be overthrown,\nand she will surely die.' Having said this, the astrologer departed;\nhence my present despondency.\" When the king said this, the queen\nGunavar\u00e1, who was devoted to her husband, distracted with fear\nand love, said to him--\"Why do you not cast me this very day into\na dungeon, my husband? I am highly favoured, if I can benefit you\neven at the sacrifice of my life. Let me die, but let not my lord\nhave misfortune. For a husband is the chief refuge of wives in this\nworld and in the next.\" Having heard this speech of hers, the king\nsaid to himself with tears in his eyes; \"I think there is no guilt\nin her, nor in that Surakshita, for I saw that the colour of his\nface did not change, and he seemed without fear. Alas! nevertheless\nI must ascertain the truth of that rumour.\" After reflecting thus,\nthe king in his grief said to the queen--\"Then it is best that a\ndungeon should be made here, queen!\" She replied--\"Very good\"--so the\nking had a dungeon easy of access made in the women's apartments,\nand placed the queen in it. And he comforted her son Sringabhuja,\n(who was in despair and asked the reason,) by telling him exactly what\nhe told the queen. And she, for her part, thought the dungeon heaven,\nbecause it was all for the king's good. For good women have no pleasure\nof their own; to them their husbands' pleasure is pleasure. [571]\n\nWhen this had been done, that other wife of the king's, named\nAyasolekh\u00e1, said of her own accord to her son, who was named\nNirv\u00e1sabhuja,--\"So, our enemy Gunavar\u00e1 has been thrown into a dungeon,\nand it would be a good thing if her son were banished from this\ncountry. So, my boy, devise a scheme with the help of your other\nbrothers by which Sringabhuja may be quickly banished from the\ncountry.\" Having been addressed in this language by his mother,\nthe jealous Nirv\u00e1sabhuja told his other brothers, and continued to\nponder over a scheme.\n\nAnd one day, as the king's sons were practising with their weapons\nof war, they all saw an enormous crane in front of the palace. And\nwhile they were looking with astonishment at that misshapen bird,\na Buddhist mendicant, who possessed supernatural knowledge, came\nthat way and said to them--\"Princes, this is not a crane, it is\na R\u00e1kshasa named Agnisikha, who wanders about in an assumed shape\ndestroying towns. So pierce him with an arrow, that being smitten he\nmay depart hence.\" When they heard this speech of the mendicant's,\nthe ninety-nine elder brothers shot their arrows, but not one struck\nthe crane. Then that naked mendicant again said to them--\"This younger\nbrother of yours, named Sringabhuja, is able to strike this crane,\nso let him take a bow suitable for the purpose.\" When Nirv\u00e1sabhuja\nheard that, the treacherous one remembered the injunction of his\nmother, an opportunity for carrying out which had now arrived, and\nreflected--\"This will be a means of getting Sringabhuja out of the\ncountry. [572] So let us give him the bow and arrow belonging to\nour father. If the crane is pierced and goes off with our father's\ngolden arrow sticking in it, Sringabhuja will follow it, while we\nare searching for the arrow. And when he does not find, in spite of\nhis search, that R\u00e1kshasa transformed into a crane, he will continue\nto roam about hither and thither, he will not come back without the\narrow.\" Thus reflecting, the treacherous one gave to Sringabhuja\nhis father's bow with the arrow, in order that he might smite the\ncrane. The mighty prince took it and drew it, and pierced that crane\nwith the golden arrow, the notch of which was made of a jewel. The\ncrane, as soon as it was pierced, went off with the arrow sticking in\nits body, and flying away departed with drops of blood falling from\nthe wound. Then the treacherous Nirv\u00e1sabhuja and the other brothers,\ninstigated by his hints, said to the brave Sringabhuja--\"Give us\nback the golden arrow that belongs to our father, otherwise we will\nabandon our bodies before your eyes. For unless we produce it, our\nfather will banish us from this country, and its fellow is not to be\nmade or obtained.\" When Sringabhuja heard that, he said to those crafty\nones--\"Be of good cheer! Do not be afraid--Abandon your terror! I will\ngo and slay that miserable R\u00e1kshasa and bring back the arrow.\" Having\nsaid this, Sringabhuja took his own bow and arrows, and went in the\nsame direction in which the R\u00e1kshasa had gone, quickly following up\nthe track of the drops of blood, that had fallen on the ground. The\nother sons returned delighted to their mothers, and Sringabhuja, as he\nwent on step by step, at last reached a distant forest. Seeking about\nin it, he found in the wood a great city, like the fruit of his own\ntree of merit fallen to him in due time for enjoyment. There he sat\ndown at the root of a tree to rest, and as if in a moment beheld a\nmaiden of wonderful beauty coming there, appearing to have been made\nby the Creator in some strange way of ambrosia and poison; since by\nher absence she deprived of life, and by her presence she bestowed\nit. And when the maiden slowly approached him, and looked at him\nwith an eye raining love, the prince fell in love with her and said\nto her--\"Gazelle-eyed one, what is the name of this city, and to whom\ndoes it belong? Who are you, and why have you come here? tell me.\" Then\nthe pearly-toothed maid turned her face sideways, and fixed her eye\non the ground, and spake to him with sweet and loving voice--\"This\ncity is Dh\u00famapura, the home of all felicity; in it lives a mighty\nR\u00e1kshasa by name Agnisikha; know that I am his matchless daughter,\nR\u00fapasikh\u00e1 by name, who have come here with mind captivated by your\nunparalleled beauty. Now you must tell me who you are, and why you\nhave come here.\" When she said this, he told her who he was, and\nof what king he was the son, and how he had come to Dh\u00famapura for\nthe sake of an arrow. Then R\u00fapasikh\u00e1, having heard the whole story,\nsaid--\"There is no archer like you in the three worlds, since you\npierced even my father with a great arrow, when he was in the form\nof a crane. And I took that golden arrow for my own, by way of a\nplaything. But my father's wound was at once healed by the minister\nMah\u00e1danshtra, who excels all men in knowledge of potent drugs for\ncuring wounds. So I will go to my father, and after I have explained\nthe whole matter, I will quickly introduce you into his presence,\nmy husband; so I call you, for my heart is now fully set upon you.\"\n\nHaving said this, R\u00fapasikh\u00e1 left Sringabhuja there, and immediately\nwent into the presence of her father Agnisikha, and said--\"Father,\nthere has come here a wonderful prince named Sringabhuja, matchless\nfor gifts of beauty, birth, character and age. I feel certain that\nhe is not a man, he is some portion of a god incarnate here below,\nso, if he does not become my husband, I will certainly abandon my\nlife.\" When she said this to him, her father the R\u00e1kshasa said to\nher--\"My daughter, men are our appropriate food, nevertheless, if\nyour heart is set upon it, let it be so; bring your prince here, and\nshew him to me.\" When R\u00fapasikh\u00e1 heard that, she went to Sringabhuja,\nand after telling him what she had done, she took him into the presence\nof her father. He prostrated himself, and Agnisikha, the father of the\nmaiden, after saluting him courteously, said to him--\"Prince, I will\ngive you my daughter R\u00fapasikh\u00e1, if you never disobey my orders.\" When\nhe said this, Sringabhuja, bending low, answered him--\"Good! I will\nnever disobey your orders.\" When Sringabhuja said this to him,\nAgnisikha was pleased and answered--\"Rise up! Go and bathe, and\nreturn here from the bath-room.\" After saying this to him, he said\nto his daughter--\"Go and bring all your sisters here quickly.\" When\nAgnisikha had given these orders to Sringabhuja and R\u00fapasikh\u00e1, they\nboth of them went out, after promising to obey them.\n\nThen the wise R\u00fapasikh\u00e1 said to Sringabhuja--\"My husband, I have a\nhundred sisters, who are princesses, and we are all exactly alike,\nwith similar ornaments and dresses, and all of us have similar\nnecklaces upon our necks. So our father will assemble us in one\nplace, and in order to bewilder you, will say 'Choose your own love\nout of the midst of these.' For I know that such is his treacherous\nintention, otherwise why is he assembling all of us here. So when we\nare assembled, I will put my necklace on my head instead of my neck,\nby that sign you will recognise me; then throw over my neck the garland\nof forest flowers. And this father of mine is somewhat silly, he has\nnot a discerning intellect; besides what is the use against me of\nthose powers which he possesses by being a R\u00e1kshasa? So, whatever he\nsays to entrap you, you must agree to, and must tell it to me, and I\nshall know well enough what further steps to take.\" Having said this,\nR\u00fapasikh\u00e1 went to her sisters, and Sringabhuja, having agreed to do\nwhat she said, went to bathe. Then R\u00fapasikh\u00e1 came with her sisters into\nthe presence of her father, and Sringabhuja returned, after he had been\nwashed by a female servant. Then Agnisikha gave a garland of forest\nflowers to Sringabhuja, saying, \"Give this to that one of these ladies,\nwho is your own love.\" He took the garland and threw it round the neck\nof R\u00fapasikh\u00e1, [573] who had previously placed the necklace on her head\nby way of token. Then Agnisikha said to R\u00fapasikh\u00e1 and Sringabhuja,--\"I\nwill celebrate your marriage ceremony to-morrow morning.\"\n\nHaving said this, he dismissed those two lovers and his other\ndaughters to their apartments, and in a short time he summoned\nSringabhuja and said this to him; \"Take this yoke of oxen, and go\noutside this town, and sow in the earth the hundred kh\u00e1r\u00eds [574]\nof sesame-seed which are piled there in a heap.\" When Sringabhuja\nheard that, he was troubled, and he went and told it to R\u00fapasikh\u00e1,\nand she answered him as follows--\"My husband, you need not be in the\nleast despondent about this, go there at once; I will easily perform\nthis by my magic power.\" When he heard this, the prince went there,\nand, seeing the sesame-seeds in a heap, despondently began to plough\nthe land and sow them, but while he was beginning, he saw the land\nploughed and all the seeds sown in due course by the might of his\nlady-love's magic power, and he was much astonished.\n\nSo he went to Agnisikha, and told him that this task was accomplished;\nthen that treacherous R\u00e1kshasa again said to him--\"I do not want\nthe seeds sown, go and pile them up again in a heap.\" When he heard\nthat, he again went and told R\u00fapasikh\u00e1. She sent him to that field,\nand created innumerable ants, [575] and by her magic power made them\ngather together the sesame-seeds. When Sringabhuja saw that, he went\nand told Agnisikha that the seeds had been piled up again in a heap.\n\nThen the cunning but stupid Agnisikha said to him--\"Only two yojanas\nfrom this place, in a southerly direction, there is an empty temple\nof Siva in a wood. In it lives my dear brother Dh\u00famasikha--go there\nat once, and say this in front of the temple, 'Dh\u00famasikha, I am\nsent by Agnisikha as a messenger to invite you and your retinue:\ncome quickly, for to-morrow the ceremony of R\u00fapasikh\u00e1's marriage is\nto take place.' Having said this, come back here to-day with speed,\nand to-morrow marry my daughter R\u00fapasikh\u00e1.\" When Sringabhuja was thus\naddressed by the rascal, he said--\"So be it\"--and went and recounted\nthe whole to R\u00fapasikh\u00e1. The good girl gave him some earth, some\nwater, some thorns, and some fire, and her own fleet horse, and said\nto him--\"Mount this horse and go to that temple, and quickly repeat\nthat invitation to Dh\u00famasikha as it was told to you, and then you must\nat once return on this horse at full gallop, and you must often turn\nyour head and look round; and if you see Dh\u00famasikha coming after you,\nyou must throw this earth behind you in his way; if in spite of that,\nDh\u00famasikha pursues you, you must in the same manner fling the water\nbehind you in his path; if in spite of that he comes on, you must in\nlike manner throw these thorns in his way. If in spite of them he\npursues, throw this fire in his way; and if you do this, you will\nreturn here without the Daitya; so do not hesitate--go, you shall\nto-day behold the power of my magic.\"--When she said this to him,\nSringabhuja took the earth and the other things and said, \"I will\ndo so,\" and mounting her horse went to the temple in the wood. There\nhe saw an image of Siva, with one of P\u00e1rvat\u00ed on his left and one of\nGanesa on his right, and, after bowing before the Lord of the Universe,\n[576] he quickly addressed to Dh\u00famasikha the form of invitation told\nhim by Agnisikha, and fled from the place at full speed, urging on his\nhorse. And he soon turned his head and looked round, and he beheld\nDh\u00famasikha coming after him. And he quickly threw that earth behind\nhim in his way, and the earth, so flung, immediately produced a great\nmountain. When he saw that the R\u00e1kshasa had, though with difficulty,\nclimbed over that mountain, and was coming on, the prince in the same\nway threw the water behind him. That produced a great river in his\npath with rolling waves: the R\u00e1kshasa with difficulty got across it\nand was coming on, when Sringabhuja quickly strewed those thorns behind\nhim. They produced a dense thorny wood in Dh\u00famasikha's path. When the\nR\u00e1kshasa emerged from it, the prince threw the fire behind him, which\nset on fire the path with the herbs and the trees. When Dh\u00famasikha\nsaw that the fire was hard to cross, like Kh\u00e1ndava, [577] he returned\nhome, tired and terrified. For on that occasion the R\u00e1kshasa was so\nbewildered by the magic of R\u00fapasikh\u00e1 that he went and returned on\nhis feet, he did not think of flying through the air.\n\nThen Sringabhuja returned to Dh\u00famapura, free from fear, commending in\nhis heart that display of his love's magic power. He gave up the horse\nto the delighted R\u00fapasikh\u00e1, and related his adventure, and then went\nin to the presence of Agnisikha. He said, \"I went and invited your\nbrother Dh\u00famasikha.\" When he said this, Agnisikha being perplexed,\nsaid to him--\"If you really went there, mention some peculiarity of\nthe place.\" When the crafty R\u00e1kshasa said this to Sringabhuja, he\nanswered him--\"Listen, I will tell you a token: in that temple there\nis a figure of P\u00e1rvat\u00ed on the left side of Siva, and of Ganesa on his\nright.\" When Agnisikha heard that, he was astonished and thought for a\nmoment--\"What! did he go there, and was my brother not able to devour\nhim? Then he cannot be a mere man, he must be a god, so let him marry\nmy daughter, as he is a fitting match for her.\" After thus reflecting,\nhe sent Sringabhuja as a successful suitor to R\u00fapasikh\u00e1, but he never\nsuspected that there was a traitor in his own family. So Sringabhuja\nwent, eager for his marriage, and after eating and drinking with\nher, managed somehow to get through the night. And the next morning\nAgnisikha gave to him R\u00fapasikh\u00e1 with all the magnificence appropriate\nto his magic power, according to due form, in the presence of the\nfire. Little in common have R\u00e1kshasas' daughters and princes, and\nstrange the union of such! Wonderful indeed are the results of our\ndeeds in a previous state of existence! The prince, after he had\nobtained that beloved daughter of the R\u00e1kshasa, seemed like a swan\nwho had got hold of a soft lotus, sprung from mud. And he remained\nthere with her, who was devoted to him alone, enjoying various dainty\ndelights provided by the magic power of the R\u00e1kshasa.\n\nWhen some days had passed there, he said in secret to the\nR\u00e1kshasa's daughter, \"Come, my beloved, let us return to the city of\nVardham\u00e1na. For that is my capital city, and I cannot endure to be\nbanished from my capital city by my enemies, for people like myself\nhold honour dear as life. So leave for my sake the land of your birth,\nthough it is hard to leave; inform your father, and bring that golden\narrow in your hand.\" When Sringabhuja said this to R\u00fapasikh\u00e1, she\nanswered--\"I must immediately obey your command. I care not for the\nland of my birth, nor for my relatives, you are all those to me. [578]\nGood women have no other refuge than their husbands. But it will\nnever do to communicate our intention to my father, for he would not\nlet us go. So we must depart without that hot-tempered father of mine\nknowing of it. And if he hears from the attendants and comes after us,\nI will bewilder him by my knowledge, for he is senseless and like an\nidiot.\" When he heard this speech of hers, he set out delighted on the\nnext day, with her who gave him the half of her kingdom, and filled\na casket with priceless jewels, and brought that golden arrow; and\nthey both mounted her splendid horse Saravega, [579] having deceived\nthe attendants by representing that they were going for a pleasure\nexcursion in the park, and journeyed towards Vardham\u00e1na.\n\nWhen the couple had gone a long distance, the R\u00e1kshasa Agnisikha\nfound it out, and in wrath pursued after them through the air. And\nhearing afar off the noise produced by the speed of his flight,\nR\u00fapasikh\u00e1 said to Sringabhuja on the road, \"My husband, my father\nhas come to make us turn back, so remain here without fear: see how I\nwill deceive him. For he shall neither see you nor the horse, since I\nshall conceal both by my deluding power.\" After saying this, she got\ndown from the horse and assumed by her deluding power the form of a\nman. [580] And she said to a woodcutter, who had come to the forest\nto cut wood--\"A great R\u00e1kshasa is coming here, so remain quiet for a\nmoment.\" Then she continued to cut wood with his axe. And Sringabhuja\nlooked on with a smile on his face. In the meanwhile that foolish\nR\u00e1kshasa arrived there, and lighted down from the air, on beholding\nhis daughter in the shape of a woodcutter, and asked her whether she\nhad seen a man and woman pass that way. [581] Then his daughter, who\nhad assumed the form of a man, said with great effort as if tired,\n\"We two have not seen any couple, as our eyes are fatigued with\ntoil, for we two woodcutters have been occupied here in cutting a\ngreat quantity of wood to burn Agnisikha the king of the R\u00e1kshasas,\nwho is dead.\" When that silly R\u00e1kshasa heard that, he thought,\n\"What! am I dead? What then does that daughter matter to me? I will\ngo and ask my own attendants at home whether I am dead or not.\" [582]\nThus reflecting, Agnisikha went quickly home, and his daughter set\nout with her husband as before, laughing as she went.\n\nAnd soon the R\u00e1kshasa returned in high spirits, for he had asked his\nattendants, who could not help laughing in their sleeves, whether he\nwas alive, and had learned that he was. Then R\u00fapasikh\u00e1, knowing from\nthe terrible noise that he was coming again, though as yet far off,\ngot down from the horse and concealed her husband as before by her\ndeluding power, and taking letters from the hand of a letter-carrier,\nwho was coming along the road, she again assumed the form of a man.\n\nAnd so the R\u00e1kshasa arrived as before, and asked his daughter, who was\ndisguised as a man--\"Did you see a man and a woman on the road?\" Then\nshe, disguised as a man, answered him with a sigh,--\"I beheld no such\nperson, for my mind was absorbed with my haste, for Agnisikha, who was\nto-day mortally wounded in battle, and has only a little breath left\nin his body, and is in his capital desiring to make over his kingdom,\nhas despatched me as a messenger to summon to his presence his brother\nDh\u00famasikha, who is living an independent life.\" When Agnisikha heard\nthat, he said, \"What! am I mortally wounded by my enemies?\" And\nin his perplexity he returned again home to get information on\nthe point. But it never occurred to him to say to himself--\"Who is\nmortally wounded? Here I am safe and sound.\" Strange are the fools\nthat the Creator produces, and wonderfully obscured with the quality\nof darkness! And when he arrived at home and found that the tale\nwas false, he would not expose himself again to the laughter of the\npeople, tired of being imposed upon, and forgetting his daughter. And\nR\u00fapasikh\u00e1, after deluding him, returned to her husband as before,\nfor virtuous women know of no other good than the good of their\nhusbands. Then Sringabhuja, mounted on the wonderful horse, again\nproceeded rapidly with his wife towards the city of Vardham\u00e1na. Then\nhis father V\u00edrabhuja, having heard that he was returning in company\nwith her, went out much pleased to meet him. The king, when he saw\nhim adorned with that wife, like Krishna with Bh\u00e1m\u00e1, considered that\nhe had gained afresh the bliss of sovereign sway. And when his son\ngot down from his horse, and clung to his feet with his beloved,\nhe raised him up and embraced him, and with his eye, in which stood\nthe water of joyful tears, performed in noble wise the auspicious\nceremony that put an end to his own despondency, and then conducted\nhim into his palace, making high festival. And when he asked his son\nwhere he had been, Sringabhuja told him his whole history from the\nbeginning. And after summoning his brothers, Nirv\u00e1sabhuja and all,\ninto his father's presence, he gave them the golden arrow. Then the\nking V\u00edrabhuja, after what he had heard and seen, was displeased with\nthose other sons, and considered Sringabhuja his only true son.\n\nThen that wise king drew this true conclusion--\"I suspect that, as\nthis son of mine out of spite was banished by these enemies, brothers\nonly in name, though he was all the while innocent, so his mother\nGunavar\u00e1, whom I love so well, was falsely accused by their mothers,\nand was all the while innocent. So what is the use of delay? I will\nfind out the truth of it immediately.\" [583] After these reflections,\nthe king spent that day in performing his duties, and went at night\nto sift his other wife Ayasolekh\u00e1. She was delighted to see him,\nand he made her drink a great quantity of wine, and she in her\nsleep murmured out, while the king was awake--\"If we had not falsely\nslandered Gunavar\u00e1, would the king ever have visited me here?\" [584]\nWhen the king heard this speech of the wicked queen uttered in her\nsleep, he felt he had attained certainty, and rose up in wrath and\nwent out; and going to his own chamber, he had the eunuchs summoned,\nand said to them; \"Take that Gunavar\u00e1 out of the dungeon, and after\nshe has bathed bring her quickly; for the present moment was appointed\nby the astrologer as the limit of her stay in the dungeon for the\npurpose of averting the evil omens.\" When they heard that, they said,\n\"So be it,\" and they went and quickly brought the queen Gunavar\u00e1 into\nthe presence of the king, bathed and adorned. Then that wedded pair,\nhappy in having crossed the sea of separation, spent that night unsated\nwith mutual embraces. Then the king related to the queen with delight\nthat adventure of Sringabhuja's, and told his son the circumstances\nof his mother's imprisonment and release. In the meanwhile Ayasolekh\u00e1,\nwaking up, found out that the king was gone, and guessing that he had\nentrapped her with his conversation, fell into deep despondency. And\nin the morning the king V\u00edrabhuja conducted his son Sringabhuja, with\nhis wife R\u00fapasikh\u00e1, into the presence of Gunavar\u00e1. He came, and was\ndelighted to behold his mother emerged from the dungeon, and with his\nnew wife he worshipped the feet of his parents. Gunavar\u00e1, embracing\nher son, who had returned from his journey, and her daughter-in-law,\nobtained in the way above related, went from joy to joy. Then by the\norder of his father, Sringabhuja related to her at length his own\nadventure, and what R\u00fapasikh\u00e1 did. Then queen Gunavar\u00e1 delighted,\nsaid to him, \"My son, what has not that R\u00fapasikh\u00e1 done for you? For\nshe, a heroine of wonderful exploits, has given up and sacrificed for\nyou her life, her family, her native land, these three. She must be\nsome goddess, become incarnate for your sake by the appointment of\nDestiny. For she has placed her foot on the head of all women that\nare devoted to their husbands.\" When the queen had said this, the\nking applauded her speech, and so did R\u00fapasikh\u00e1 with head modestly\nbent. Just at that moment the superintendent of the womens' apartments,\nSurakshita, who had been long ago slandered by that Ayasolekh\u00e1,\nreturned from visiting all the holy bathing places. He was announced\nby the door-keeper, and bowed delighted at the king's foot, and then\nthe king, who now knew the facts, honoured him exceedingly. And by\nhis mouth he summoned the other queens who were wicked, and said to\nhim--\"Go! fling all these into the dungeon.\" When the queen Gunavar\u00e1\nheard that, and the terrified women were thrown into the dungeon,\nshe said out of compassion to the king, clinging to his feet, \"King,\ndo not keep them for a long time in the dungeon! Have mercy, for I\ncannot bear to see them terrified.\" By thus entreating the king she\nprevented their imprisonment, for the only vengeance that the great\nmake use of against their enemies is compassion. Then those queens,\ndismissed by the king, went ashamed to their houses, and would even\nhave preferred to have been in the embrace of death. And the king\nthought highly of the great-hearted Gunavar\u00e1, and considered, because\nhe possessed that wife, that he must have accomplished virtuous acts\nin a former state of existence. Then the king, determining to banish\nhis other sons by an artifice, had them summoned, and spake to them\nthis feigned speech--\"I have heard that you villains have slain a\nBr\u00e1hman traveller, so go and visit all the holy bathing-places in\nsuccession, do not remain here.\" When the sons heard that, they were\nnot able to persuade the king of the truth, for when a ruler is bent\non violence, who can convince him? Then Sringabhuja, beholding those\nbrothers departing, with his eyes full of tears produced by pity,\nthus addressed his father. \"Father, pity their one fault, have mercy\nupon them.\" Having said this, he fell at the feet of that king. And\nthe king, thinking that that son was able to bear the burden of\nsovereignty, being even in his youth like an incarnation of Vishnu,\nfull of glory and compassion, hiding his real sentiments and cherishing\nhis anger against them, nevertheless did what Sringabhuja asked. And\nall those brothers considered their younger brother as the saviour\nof their lives. And all the subjects, beholding the exceeding virtue\nof Sringabhuja, became attached to him.\n\nThen the next day, his father, king V\u00edrabhuja, anointed as crown-prince\nSringabhuja, who was the oldest in virtue of them all, though he had\nelder brothers. And then Sringabhuja, having been anointed and having\nobtained the leave of his father, went with all his forces to conquer\nthe world. And having brought back the wealth of numerous kings, whom\nhe overcame by the might of his arm, he returned, having diffused\nthe splendour of his glory through all the earth. Then bearing the\nweight of the realm with his submissive brothers, the successful\nprince Sringabhuja, giving pleasure to his parents, who remained in\nthe enjoyment of comfort free from anxiety, and bestowing gifts on\nBr\u00e1hmans, dwelt at ease with R\u00fapasikh\u00e1 as if with incarnate success.\n\n\"Thus virtuous women serve their husbands in every way, devoted\nto them alone, like Gunavar\u00e1, and R\u00fapasikh\u00e1, the mother-in-law and\ndaughter-in-law.\"\n\nWhen Narav\u00e1hanadatta, in the society of Ratnaprabh\u00e1, heard this story\nfrom the lips of Harisikha, he was much delighted and exclaimed,\n\"Bravo!\" Then he rose up, and quickly performed the religious ceremony\nfor the day, and went with his wife into the presence of his father,\nthe king of Vatsa, and after eating, and whiling away the afternoon\nwith singing and playing, he spent the night with his beloved in his\nown private apartments.\n\n\n\nNOTE ON CHAPTER XXXIX.\n\nIn a Norwegian tale, called \"The Widow's Son,\" page 295 of Thorpe's\nYule-Tide Stories, will be found an incident closely resembling\nthe pursuit of Sringabhuja by Dh\u00famasikha. The widow's son has,\ncontrary to the orders of a Troll, in whose house he found himself,\nentered several chambers, in one of which he found a thorn-whip,\nin another a huge stone, and a water-bottle. In the third he found\na boiling copper kettle, with which he scalded his finger, but the\nTroll cured it with a pot of ointment. In the fourth room he found a\nblack horse in a stall, with a trough of burning embers at its head,\nand a basket of hay at its tail. The youth thought this cruel, so he\nchanged their position. The horse, to reward him, informed him that\nthe Troll on his return would certainly kill him, and then continued,\n\"Lay the saddle on me, put on the armour, and take the whip of thorn,\nthe stone, and the water-flask and the pot of ointment, and then we\nwill set out.\" When the youth mounted the horse, it set off at a rapid\nrate. After riding some time, the horse said--\"I think I hear a noise;\nlook round, can you see anything?\" \"A great many are coming after us,\ncertainly a score at least,\" answered the youth. \"Ah! that is the\nTroll,\" said the horse, \"he is coming with all his companions.\" They\ntravelled for a time until their pursuers were gaining on them. \"Throw\nnow the thorn whip over your shoulder,\" said the horse,--\"but throw\nit far away from me.\" The youth did so, and at the same moment there\nsprang up a large thick wood of briars. The youth now rode on a long\nway, while the Troll had to go home to fetch something wherewith to\nhew a road through the wood. After some time the horse again said,\n\"Look back, can you see anything now?\" \"Yes, a whole multitude of\npeople\" said the youth, \"like a church congregation.\" \"That is the\nTroll, now he has got more with him, throw out now the large stone,\nbut throw it far from me.\" When the youth had done what the horse\ndesired, there arose a large stone mountain behind them. So the Troll\nwas obliged to go home after something with which to bore through\nthe mountain; and while he was thus employed, the youth rode on a\nconsiderable way. But now the horse bade him again look back; he then\nsaw a multitude like a whole army, they were so bright, that they\nglittered in the sun. \"Well that is the Troll with all his friends,\"\nsaid the horse. \"Now throw the water-bottle behind you, but take good\ncare to spill none on me.\" The youth did so, but notwithstanding his\ncaution he happened to spill a drop on the horse's loins. Immediately\nthere arose a vast lake, and the spilling of a few drops caused the\nhorse to stand far out in the water; nevertheless he at last swam to\nthe shore. When the Trolls came to the water, they lay down to drink it\nall up, and they gulped and gulped it down till they burst. (Folk-lore\ndemons experience great difficulty in crossing water.) \"Now we are\nquit of them,\" said the horse.\n\nIn Laura von Gonzenbach's Sicilianische M\u00e4rchen, Vol. II, p. 57,\nwe find a similar incident. In the story of Fata Morgana, a prince,\nwho carries off a bottle filled with her perspiration, but imprudently\nwakes her by kissing her, is pursued by her with two lions. He throws\nthree pomegranates behind him: the first produces a river of blood,\nthe second a thorny mountain, the third a volcano. This he does\nby the advice of his horse, who is really Fata Morgana's brother\ntransformed by magic: see also Vol. I, p. 343; cp. also the 79th tale\nin Grimm's Kinder- und Hausm\u00e4rchen (sixteenth edition in one volume)\nDie Wassernixe.\n\nIn Orient und Occident, Vol. II, p. 113, Dr. Reinhold K\u00f6hler, in his\nremarks on the West Highland Stories collected by J. F. Campbell,\ncompares the story of Agnisikha with the second story in Campbell's\ncollection, entitled: \"The Battle of the Birds.\" In this a king's son\nwishes to marry the youngest daughter of a giant. The giant sets him\nthree tasks to do; to clean out a stable, to thatch it with feathers,\nand to fetch eggs from a magpie's nest in the top of a tree more than\nfive hundred feet high. All these tasks he accomplishes by the help\nof the young lady herself. In the last task she makes a ladder of her\nfingers for him to ascend the tree by, but in so doing she loses her\nlittle finger. The giant requires the prince to choose his wife from\namong three sisters similarly dressed. He recognizes her by the loss\nof the little finger. When bed-time came, the giant's daughter told the\nprince that they must fly, or the giant would kill him. They mounted on\nthe gray filly in the stable. But before starting the daughter cut an\napple into nine shares; she put two at the head of the bed, two at the\nfoot, two at the door of the kitchen, two at the house-door, and one\noutside the house. The giant awoke and called \"Are you asleep?\" several\ntimes, and the shares answered \"No.\" At last he went and found the bed\nempty and cold, and pursued the fugitive couple. At the break of day\nthe giant's daughter felt her father's breath burning her back. She\ntold the prince to put his hand in the horse's ear, and fling what\nhe found behind him. He found a sprig of sloe, flung it behind him,\nand produced a wood twenty miles long. The giant had to go back for\nhis axe and wood-knife. In the middle of the day the prince finds\nin the ear of the filly a piece of gray stone. This produces twenty\nmiles of gray rock behind them. The giant has to go back for his lever\nand mattock. The next thing, that the prince finds and flings behind\nhim, is a bladder of water. This produces a fresh-water loch twenty\nmiles broad. In it the giant is happily drowned. The rest of the\nstory has no bearing upon the tale of Sringabhuja. K\u00f6hler compares\na story in William Carleton's stories of the Irish peasantry. Here\nthere is a sprig, a pebble and a drop of water producing a wood,\na rock and a lake. He compares also a Norwegian story, Ashbj\u00f6rnsen,\nNo. 46, and some Swedish stories collected by Hylten Cavallius and\nG. Stephens. The three tasks are very different in the different forms\nof the tale. The ladder of fingers is only found in the Celtic form.\n\nIt is only in the Gaelic and Irish forms that the objects thrown\nbehind to check pursuit are found in the ear of the horse.\n\nIn the latter form of the story of the Mermaid, Thorpe's Yule-Tide\nStories, p. 205, we have the pursuit with much the same incidents as\nin our text. See also Ralston's remarks on the story in our text at\npp. 132 and 143 of his Russian Folk-Tales. Cp. also Veckenstedt's\nWendische Sagen, p. 216. An Indian parallel will be found in Miss\nFrere's Old Deccan Days, pp. 62 and 63. A Modern Greek one in Bernhard\nSchmidt's Griechische M\u00e4rchen, pp. 76-79.\n\n\nCp. also for the tasks the story of Bisara in Kaden's Unter den\nOlivenb\u00e4umen, and that of Die sch\u00f6ne Fiorita. Herr Kaden aptly compares\nthe story of Jason and Medea. Another excellent parallel is furnished\nby the story of Schneeweiss-Feuerroth in the same collection, where\nwe have the pursuit much as in our text.\n\n\nThe pursuit and the tasks are found in the tale called La Montagne\nNoire, on p. 448 of Melusine, a periodical which appeared in the\nyear 1878, and in Branca-flor, No. XIV in Coelho's Contos Populares\nPortuguezes, and in Gaal's M\u00e4rchen der Magyaren, p. 60. The tasks are\nfound in the Pentamerone of Basile, Vol. I, p. 226, and in Vol. II,\np. 186; in Gaal, M\u00e4rchen der Magyaren, p. 182, (the title of the tale\nis Die dankbaren Thiere; some grateful ants are found at page 339;)\nin Gr\u00f6ssler's Sagen aus der Grafschaft Mansfeld, pp. 60 and 61; in\nWaldau's B\u00f6hmische M\u00e4rchen, pp. 18, 142, 262; in Kuhn's Westf\u00e4lische\nM\u00e4rchen, Vol. II. p. 249, frogs, ants, and wasps help the hero. Cp. for\nthe pursuit Liebrecht's translation of the Pentamerone of Basile,\nVol. I, pp. 74-76 and 160.\n\n\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XL.\n\n\nThen, the next morning, when Narav\u00e1hanadatta was in Ratnaprabh\u00e1's\nhouse, Gomukha and the others came to him. But Marubh\u00fati, being a\nlittle sluggish with intoxication produced by drinking spirits,\napproached slowly, decorated with flowers, and anointed with\nunguents. Then Gomukha, with face amused at his novel conception\nof statesman-like behaviour, out of fun ridiculed him by imitating\nhis stammering utterance and staggering gait, and said to him, \"How\ncomes it that you, though the son of Yaugandhar\u00e1yana, do not know\npolicy, that you drink spirits in the morning, and come drunk into\nthe presence of the prince?\" When the intoxicated Marubh\u00fati heard\nthis, he said to him in his anger, \"This should be said to me by the\nprince or some superior. But, tell me, who are you that you take upon\nyou to instruct me, you son of Ityaka?\" When he said this, Gomukha\nreplied to him smiling, \"Do princes reprove with their own mouths\nan ill-behaved servant? Undoubtedly their attendants must remind\nhim of what is proper. And it is true that I am the son of Ityaka,\nbut you are an ox of ministers, [585] your sluggishness alone would\nshow it; the only fault is that you have no horns.\" When Gomukha said\nthis to him Marubh\u00fati answered, \"You too, Gomukha, have much of the\nox-nature about you; but you are clearly of mixed breed, for you are\nnot properly domesticated.\" When all laughed at hearing this, Gomukha\nsaid, \"This Marubh\u00fati is literally a jewel, for who can introduce the\nthread of virtue [586] into that which cannot be pierced even by a\nthousand efforts? But a jewel of a man is a different kind of thing,\nfor that is easily penetrated; as an illustration listen to the story\nof the bridge of sand.\"\n\n\n\nStory of Tapodatta.\n\nThere lived in Pratishth\u00e1na a Br\u00e1hman of the name of Tapodatta. He,\nthough his father kept worrying him, would not learn the sciences\nin his boyhood. Subsequently he found himself censured by all, and\nbeing filled with regret, he went to the bank of the Ganges, in order\nto perform asceticism for the acquisition of knowledge. [587] There\nhe betook himself to severe mortification of the flesh, and while he\nwas thus engaged, Indra, who had beheld him with astonishment, came\nto him to prevent him, disguised as a Br\u00e1hman. And when he had come\nnear him, he kept taking grains of sand from the bank, and throwing\nthem into the billowy water of the Ganges. When Tapodatta saw that,\nhe broke his silence, and asked him out of curiosity--\"Br\u00e1hman, why do\nyou do this unceasingly?\" And Indra, disguised as a Br\u00e1hman, when he\nhad been persistently questioned by him, said, \"I am making a bridge\nover the Ganges for man and beast to cross by.\" Then Tapodatta said,\n\"You fool, is it possible to make a bridge over the Ganges with sand,\nwhich will be carried away at some future time by the current?\" When\nIndra, disguised as a Br\u00e1hman, heard that, he said to him--\"If you\nknow this truth, why do you attempt to acquire knowledge by vows and\nfasting, without reading or hearing lectures? The horn of a hare\n[588] may really exist, and the sky may be adorned with painting,\nand writing may be performed without letters, if learning may be\nacquired without study. If it could be so acquired, no one in this\nworld would study at all.\" When Indra, disguised as a Br\u00e1hman, had\nsaid this to Tapodatta, Tapodatta reflected, and thinking that he\nhad spoken truth, put a stop to his self-mortification, and went home.\n\n\"So, you see, a wise man is easily made to listen to reason, but the\nfoolish Marubh\u00fati cannot be induced to listen to reason, but when\nyou admonish him, he flies into a passion.\" When Gomukha said this,\nHarisikha said before the company--\"It is true, O king, that the wise\nare easily induced to listen to reason.\"\n\n\n\nStory of Vir\u00fapasarman.\n\nFor instance, there lived of old time in Benares a certain excellent\nBr\u00e1hman, named Vir\u00fapasarman, who was deformed and poor. And he, being\ndespondent about his misshapen form and his poverty, went to the\ngrove of ascetics there, and began to practise severe mortification\nof the flesh, through desire for beauty and wealth. Then the king\nof the gods [589] assumed the vile shape of a deformed jackal with\na diseased body, and went and stood in front of him. When he saw\nthat unfortunate [590] creature with its body covered with flies,\nVir\u00fapasarman slowly reflected in his mind,--\"Such creatures are born\ninto the world on account of actions done in a former life, so is it\na small thing for me that I was not made thus by the Creator? Who can\noverstep the lot prescribed by destiny?\" When Vir\u00fapasarman perceived\nthis, he brought his self-mortification to an end and went home.\n\n\"So true is it, O king, that a wise man is instructed with little\neffort, but one, whose mind is void of discernment, is not instructed\neven with great exertion.\" Thus spoke Harisikha, and Gomukha assented,\nbut Marubh\u00fati, who was drunk and did not understand a joke, said\nin great anger, \"There is power in the speech of Gomukha, but there\nis no might in the arms of men like you. A garrulous, quarrelsome,\neffeminate person makes heroes blush.\" When Marubh\u00fati said this, being\neager for a fight, king Narav\u00e1hanadatta, with a smile on his face,\nhimself tried to appease him, and after dismissing him to his house,\nthe king, who loved the friends of his youth, performed the duties of\nthe day, and so spent it in great comfort. And the next day, when all\nthese ministers came, and among them Marubh\u00fati bowed down with shame,\nhis beloved Ratnaprabh\u00e1 spake thus to the prince: \"You, my husband,\nare very fortunate in that you have these pure-hearted ministers bound\nto you by the fetters of a love dating from early childhood, and they\nare happy in possessing such an affectionate master; you have been\ngained by one another through actions in a former state of existence;\nof that there can be no doubt.\" When the queen said this, Tapantaka\nthe son of Vasantaka, the companion in amusements of Narav\u00e1hanadatta,\nremarked--\"It is true; our master has been gained by our actions in\na former life. For every thing depends upon the power of actions in\na former life--Hear in illustration of it the following tale.\"\n\n\n\nStory of king Vil\u00e1sas\u00edla and the physician Tarunachandra.\n\nThere dwelt in a city named Vil\u00e1sapura, the home of Siva, a king\nrightly named Vil\u00e1sas\u00edla. [591] He had a queen named Kamalaprabh\u00e1,\nwhom he valued as his life, and he long remained with her addicted\nto pleasure only. Then in course of time there came upon the king\nold age, the thief of beauty, and when he beheld it, he was sorely\ngrieved. He thought to himself--\"How can I shew to the queen my face\nmarred with grey hairs like a snow-smitten lotus? Alas! it is better\nthat I should die.\" Busied with reflections like these, the king\nsummoned into his hall of audience a physician named Tarunachandra\n[592] and thus spake to him respectfully--\"My good man, because\nyou are clever and devoted to me, I ask you whether there is any\nartifice by which this old age can be averted.\" When Tarunachandra,\nwho was rightly named as being only of the magnitude of one digit,\nand desiring to become a full moon, heard that, the cunning fellow\nreflected--\"I must make my profit out of this blockhead of a king, and\nI shall soon discover the means of doing it.\" Having thus reflected,\nthe physician said to the king: \"If you will remain in an underground\nchamber alone, O king, for eight months, and take this medicine,\nI engage to remove your old age.\" [593] When the king heard this,\nhe had such an underground chamber prepared, for fools intent on\nobjects of sense cannot endure reflection. But the ministers used\narguments like the following with him--\"O king, by the goodness and\nasceticism and self-denial of men of old time, and by the virtue\nof the age, elixirs were produced. But these forest remedies, [594]\nwhich we hear of now, O king, owing to the want of proper materials,\nproduce the opposite effect to that which is intended, and this is\nquite in accordance with the treatises; for rogues do in this way make\nsport with fools. Does time past ever return, O king?\"--Still these\narguments did not penetrate into his soul, for it was encased in the\nthick armour of violent sensual desire. And in accordance with the\nadvice of that physician, he entered that underground chamber alone,\nexcluding the numerous retinue that usually waits upon a king. And\nalone with one servant belonging to that physician, he made himself\na slave to the taking of drugs and the rest of the treatment. And\nthe king remained there in that dark subterranean den, which seemed\nas if it were the overflowing, through abundance, of the ignorance of\nhis heart. And after the king had spent six months in that underground\nchamber, that wicked physician, seeing that his senility had increased,\nbrought a certain young man who resembled him in appearance, with whom\nhe had agreed that he would make him king. Then he dug a tunnel into\nthat underground chamber from a distance, and after killing the king\nin his sleep, he brought his corpse out by the underground passage,\nand threw it into a dark well. All this was done at night. And by\nthe same tunnel he introduced that young man into the underground\nchamber, and closed that tunnel. What audacious wickedness will not\na low fellow, who is held in check by no restraints, commit, when he\ngets a favourable chance of practising upon fools? Then, the next day,\nthe physician said to all the subjects,--\"This king has been made young\nagain by me in six months, and in two months his form will be changed\nagain--So show yourselves to him now at a little distance.\" Thus he\nspake, and brought them all to the door of the underground chamber,\nand shewed them to the young man, telling him at the same time their\nnames and occupations. By this artifice he kept instructing that young\nman in the underground chamber in the names of all the subjects every\nday for two months, not excepting even the inhabitants of the harem.\n\nAnd when a fitting time came, he brought the young man, after he\nhad been well fed, [595] out of the subterranean chamber, saying,\n\"This king has become young again.\" And then the young man was\nsurrounded by the delighted subjects, who exclaimed \"This is our own\nking restored by drugs.\" Then the young man, having thus obtained\nthe kingdom, bathed, and performed with much pleasure by the help of\nhis ministers the kingly duties. And from that time forth he lived\nin much felicity, transacting regal business, and sporting with the\nladies of the harem, having obtained the name of Ajara. [596] And all\nthe subjects considered that he was their former king transformed by\ndrugs, not guessing the truth, and not suspecting the proceedings\nof the physician. And king Ajara, having gained over the subjects\nand the queen Kamalaprabh\u00e1 by kind treatment, enjoyed the royal\nfortune together with his friends. Then he summoned a friend called\nBheshajachandra and another called Padmadarsana, and made both of\nthem like himself, satisfying them with gifts of elephants, horses,\nand villages. And he honoured the physician Tarunachandra on account\nof the advancement he had conferred on him, but he did not repose\nconfidence in him because his soul had fallen from truth and virtue.\n\nAnd once on a time the physician of his own motion said to the king,\n\"Why do you make me of no account and act independently? Have you\nforgotten the occasion on which I made you king?\" When king Ajara heard\nthat, he said to the physician, \"Ha! you are a fool: what man does\nanything for any one, or gives anything to any one? My friend, it is\nour deeds in a former state of existence that give and do. Therefore\ndo not boast yourself, for this elevation I attained by asceticism:\nand I will soon shew you this by ocular proof.\" When he said this to\nthe physician, the latter reflected as one terrified--\"This man is\nnot to be intimidated and speaks like a resolute sage. It is better\nto overawe that master, the secret of whose character is instability,\nbut that cannot be done with this man, so I must submit to him. In the\nmeanwhile let me wait and see what he will shew me so manifestly.\" Thus\nreflecting, the physician said, \"It is true,\" and held his peace.\n\nAnd the next day king Ajara went out to roam about and amuse himself\nwith his friends, waited on by Tarunachandra and others. And as\nhe was strolling, he reached the bank of a river, and in it he saw\nfive golden lotuses come floating down the current. And he made his\nservants bring them, and taking them and looking at them, he said to\nthe physician Tarunachandra, who was standing near him, \"Go up along\nthe bank of this river, and look for the place where these lotuses\nare produced: and when you have seen it, return, for I feel great\ncuriosity about these wonderful lotuses, and you are my skilful\nfriend.\" When he was thus commissioned by the king, the physician,\nnot being able to help himself, said, \"So be it,\" and went the way he\nwas ordered. And the king returned to his capital, but the physician\ntravelled on, and in course of time reached a temple of Siva that\nstood on the bank of that river. And in front of it, on the shore of\na holy bathing-place in that stream, he beheld a great banyan-tree,\nand a man's skeleton suspended on it. And while, fatigued with his\njourney, he was resting after bathing and worshipping the god, a cloud\ncame there and rained. And from that human skeleton, hanging on the\nbranches of the banyan-tree, when rained upon by the cloud, there\nfell drops of water. [597] And when they fell into the water of the\nbathing-place in that river, the physician observed that those golden\nlotuses were immediately produced from them. The physician said to\nhimself, \"Ha! what is this wonder? Whom can I ask in the uninhabited\nwood? Or rather who knows the creation of Destiny that is full of so\nmany marvels? I have beheld this mine of golden lotuses; so I will\nthrow this human skeleton into the sacred water. Let right be done,\nand let golden lotuses grow from its back.\" After these reflections, he\nflung the skeleton down from the top of that tree: and after spending\nthe day there, the physician set out the next day for his own country,\nhaving accomplished the object for which he was sent. And in a few\ndays he reached Vil\u00e1sapura, and went, emaciated and soiled with his\njourney, to the court of king Ajara. The door-keeper announced him,\nand he went in and prostrated himself at the feet of the king; the\nking asked him how he was, and while he was relating his adventure,\nthe king put every one else out of the hall, and himself said; \"So you\nhave seen, my friend, the place where the golden lotuses are produced,\nthat most holy sanctuary of Siva; and you saw there a skeleton on a\nbanyan-tree; know that that is my former body. I hung there in old\ntime by my feet; and in that way performed asceticism, until I dried\nup my body and abandoned it. And owing to the nobility of my penance,\nfrom the drops of rain-water, that fall from that skeleton of mine,\nare produced golden lotuses. And in that you threw my skeleton into\nthe water of that holy bathing-place, you did what was right, for\nyou were my friend in a former birth. And this Bheshajachandra and\nthis Padmadarsana, they also were friends, who associated with me\nin a former birth. So it is owing to the might of that asceticism,\nmy friend, that recollection of my former birth, and knowledge and\nempire have been bestowed on me. By an artifice I have given you\nocular proof of this, and you have described it with a token, telling\nhow you flung down the skeleton; so you must not boast to me, saying,\nthat you gave me the kingdom, and you must not allow your mind to be\ndiscontented, for no one gives anything to any one without the help\nof actions in a former life. From his birth a man eats the fruit\nof the tree of his former actions.\" When the king said this to the\nphysician, he saw that it was true, and he remained satisfied with\nthe king's service, and was never afterwards discontented. And that\nnoble-minded king Ajara, who remembered his former birth, honoured the\nphysician becomingly with gifts of wealth, and lived comfortably with\nhis wives and friends, enjoying the earth conquered by his policy,\nand originally obtained by his good actions, without an opponent.\n\n\"Thus in this world all the good and bad fortune, that befalls all\nmen at all times, is earned by actions in a former life. For this\nreason I think we must have earned you for our lord in a former birth,\notherwise how could you be so kind to us, while there are other men\nin existence?\" Then Narav\u00e1hanadatta, having heard in the company of\nhis beloved from the mouth of Tapantaka this strangely pleasing and\nentertaining tale, rose up to bathe. And after he had bathed, he\nwent into the presence of his father the king of Vatsa, frequently\nraining nectar into the eyes of his mother, and after taking food,\nhe spent that day and that night in drinking and other pleasures with\nhis parents, and his wife, and his ministers.\n\n\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XLI.\n\n\nAnd the next day, as Narav\u00e1hanadatta was in the apartments of\nRatnaprabh\u00e1, talking over various subjects with his ministers,\nhe suddenly heard a sound, which appeared to be like that of a\nman weeping outside in the court-yard of the palace. And when some\none asked--\"What is that?\"--the female attendants came and said,\n\"My lord, the chamberlain Dharmagiri is weeping here. For a foolish\nfriend of his came here just now, and said that his brother, who\nwent on a pilgrimage to holy places, was dead in a foreign land. He,\nbewildered with grief, forgot that he was in the court and began\nto lament, but he has been just now taken outside by the servants\nand conducted to his own house.\" When the prince heard this, he\nwas grieved, and Ratnaprabh\u00e1 moved with pity said in a despondent\ntone--\"Alas! the grief which is produced by the loss of dear relatives\nis hard to bear! Why did not the Creator make men exempt from old age\nand death?\" When Marubh\u00fati heard this speech of the queen's, he said;\n\"Queen, how can mortals ever attain this good fortune? For listen to\nthe following story, which I will tell you, bearing on this question.\"\n\n\n\nStory of king Chir\u00e1yus and his minister N\u00e1g\u00e1rjuna.\n\nIn the city of Chir\u00e1yus there was in old time a king, named Chir\u00e1yus,\n[598] who was indeed long-lived, and the home of all good fortune. He\nhad a compassionate, generous and gifted minister, named N\u00e1g\u00e1rjuna,\nwho was sprung from a portion of a Bodhisattva, who knew the use of all\ndrugs, and by making an elixir he rendered himself and that king free\nfrom old age, and long-lived. One day an infant son of that minister\nN\u00e1g\u00e1rjuna, whom he loved more than any of his other children, died. He\nfelt grief on that account, and by the force of his asceticism and\nknowledge proceeded to prepare out of certain ingredients the Water\nof Immortality, [599] in order to prevent mortals from dying. But\nwhile he was waiting for the auspicious moment in which to infuse\na particular drug, Indra found out what was going on. And Indra,\nhaving consulted with the gods, said to the two Asvins--\"Go and give\nthis message to N\u00e1g\u00e1rjuna on the earth from me--'Why have you, though\na minister, begun this revolutionary proceeding of making the Water\nof Life? Are you determined now to conquer the Creator, who indeed\ncreated men subject to the law of death, since you propose to make\nmen immortal by preparing the Water of Life? If this takes place, what\ndifference will there be between gods and men? And the constitution of\nthe universe will be broken up, because there will be no sacrificer\nand no recipient of sacrifice. So by my advice discontinue this\npreparation of the Water of Life, otherwise the gods will be angry,\nand will certainly curse you. And your son, through grief for whom you\nare engaged in this attempt, is now in Svarga.'\" With this message\nIndra despatched the two Asvins. And they arrived at the house of\nN\u00e1g\u00e1rjuna and, after receiving the argha, [600] told N\u00e1g\u00e1rjuna,\nwho was pleased with their visit, the message of Indra, and informed\nhim that his son was with the gods in heaven. Then N\u00e1g\u00e1rjuna, being\ndespondent, thought; \"Never mind the gods, but if I do not obey the\ncommand of Indra, these Asvins will inflict a curse on me. So let this\nWater of Life go, I have not accomplished my desire; however my son,\non account of my good deeds in a former life, has gone to the abode\nof bliss.\" Having thus reflected, N\u00e1g\u00e1rjuna said to these two gods,\nthe Asvins, \"I obey the command of Indra, I will desist from making\nthe Water of Life. If you two had not come, I should have completed\nthe preparation of the Water of Life in five days, and freed this\nwhole earth from old age and death.\" When N\u00e1g\u00e1rjuna had said this, he\nburied by their advice the Water of Life, which was almost completed,\nin the earth before their eyes. Then the Asvins took leave of him,\nand went and told Indra in heaven that their errand was accomplished,\nand the king of gods rejoiced.\n\nAnd in the meanwhile N\u00e1g\u00e1rjuna's master, the king Chir\u00e1yus, anointed\nhis son J\u00edvahara crown-prince. And when he was anointed, his mother,\nthe queen Dhanapar\u00e1, on his coming in great delight to salute her, said\nto him, as soon as she saw him, \"Why do you rejoice without cause,\nmy son, at having obtained this dignity of crown-prince, for this\nis not a step to the attainment of the kingly dignity, not even by\nthe help of asceticism? For many crown-princes, sons of your father,\nhave died, and not one of them has obtained the throne, they have\nall inherited disappointment. For N\u00e1g\u00e1rjuna has given this king an\nelixir, by the help of which he is now in the eighth century of his\nage. And who knows how many more centuries will pass over the head of\nthis king, who makes his short-lived sons crown-princes.\" When her\nson heard that, he was despondent, and she went on to say to him,\n\"If you desire the throne, adopt this expedient. This minister\nN\u00e1g\u00e1rjuna every day, after he has performed the day's devotions,\ngives gifts at the time of taking food, and makes this proclamation;\n'Who is a suppliant? Who wants anything? To whom can I give anything,\nand what?' At that moment go to him and say, 'Give me your head,'--Then\nhe, being a truthful man, will have his head cut off, and out of sorrow\nfor his death this king will die, or retire to the forest; then you\nwill obtain the crown; there is no other expedient available in this\nmatter.\" When he heard this speech from his mother, the prince was\ndelighted, and he consented, and determined to carry her advice into\neffect, for the lust of sovereign sway is cruel, and overcomes one's\naffection for one's friends. Then that prince went, the next day,\nof his own accord to the house of that N\u00e1g\u00e1rjuna, at the time when\nhe took his food. And when the minister cried out, \"Who requires\nanything, and what does he require?\" he entered and asked him for\nhis head. The minister said, \"This is strange, my son; what can you\ndo with this head of mine? For it is only an agglomeration of flesh,\nbone and hair. To what use can you put it? Nevertheless, if it is of\nany use to you, cut it off, and take it.\" With these words he offered\nhis neck to him. But it had been so hardened by the elixir that, though\nhe struck at it for a long time, he could not cut it, but broke many\nswords over it. In the meanwhile the king, hearing of it, arrived, and\nasked him not to give away his head, but N\u00e1g\u00e1rjuna said to him: \"I can\nremember my former births, and I have given away my head ninety-nine\ntimes in my various births. This, my lord, will be the hundredth time\nof my giving away my head. So do not say anything against it, for no\nsuppliant ever leaves my presence disappointed. So I will now present\nyour son with my head; for this delay was made by me only in order to\nbehold your face.\" Thus he spoke, and embraced that king, and brought\na powder out of his closet, with which he smeared the sword of that\nprince. Then the prince cut off the head of the minister N\u00e1g\u00e1rjuna\nwith a blow of that sword, as a man cuts a lotus from its stalk. Then\na great cry of wailing was raised, and the king was on the point of\ngiving up his own life, when a bodiless voice sounded from the heaven\nin these words--\"Do not do what you ought not, king. You should not\nlament your friend N\u00e1g\u00e1rjuna, for he will not be born again, but has\nattained the condition of a Buddha.\" When king Chir\u00e1yus heard this,\nhe gave up the idea of suicide, but bestowed great gifts, and out\nof grief left his throne, and went to the forest. There in time he\nobtained by asceticism eternal bliss. Then his son J\u00edvahara obtained\nhis kingdom, and soon after his accession he allowed dissension to\narise in his realm, and was slain by the sons of N\u00e1g\u00e1rjuna remembering\ntheir father's murder. Then through sorrow for him his mother's heart\nbroke. How can prosperity befall those who walk in the path trodden by\nthe ignoble? And a son of that king Chir\u00e1yus, born to him by another\nwife, named Sat\u00e1yus, was placed on his throne by his chief ministers.\n\n\"Thus, as the gods would not permit N\u00e1g\u00e1rjuna to carry out the task\nof destroying death, which he had undertaken, he became subject to\ndeath. Therefore it is true that this world of living beings was\nappointed by the Creator unstable, and full of grief hard to ward\noff, and even with hundreds of efforts it is impossible for any one\nto do anything here, which the Creator does not wish him to do.\" When\nMarubh\u00fati had told this story, he ceased speaking, and Narav\u00e1hanadatta\nrose up with his ministers and performed his daily duties.\n\n\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XLII.\n\n\nThen, early the next day, Narav\u00e1hanadatta went off to the forest for\nthe purpose of hunting, surrounded with elephants, in the company\nof his father and his friends; but before going he comforted his\nbeloved Ratnaprabh\u00e1, who was anxious about him, by saying that he\nwould quickly return.\n\nThen the scene of the chase became like a garden adorned with lovely\ncreepers for his delight, for in it the pearls that dropped from the\nclaws of the lions, that had cleft the foreheads of elephants, and now\nfell asleep in death, were sown like seeds; and the teeth of the tigers\nthat were cut out by the crescent-headed arrows were like buds, and\nthe flowing blood of the deer seemed like shoots, and the wild boars,\nin which stuck the arrows adorned with heron feathers, seemed like\nclusters, and the fallen bodies of Sarabhas [601] shewed like fruit,\nand the arrows falling with deep hum appeared like bees. Gradually\nthe prince became wearied, and desisted from the chase, and went on\nhorseback to another wood with Gomukha, who was also riding. There\nhe began to play at ball, and while he was thus engaged, a certain\nfemale ascetic came that way. Then the ball slipped from his hand\nand fell on her head; whereupon the female ascetic laughed a little,\nand said to him--\"If your insolence is so great now, what will it be\nif you ever obtain Karp\u00farik\u00e1 for a wife.\" [602] When Narav\u00e1hanadatta\nheard this, he dismounted from his horse, and prostrating himself\nat the feet of that female ascetic, said to her--\"I did not see you,\nand my ball fell on your head by chance--Reverend one, be propitiated,\nand pardon that fault of mine.\" When the female ascetic heard that,\nshe said, \"My son, I am not angry with you,\" and being victorious over\nher wrath she comforted him with blessings. And then, thinking that\nthe wise truthful ascetic was well disposed to him, Narav\u00e1hanadatta\nrespectfully asked her--\"Who, reverend lady, is this Karp\u00farik\u00e1 spoken\nof by you? Condescend to inform me, if you are pleased with me, for\nI am curious on this head.\" When he said this, bending before her,\nthe female ascetic said to him: \"There is on the other side of the\nsea a city named Karp\u00farasambhava; [603] in it there is a king rightly\nnamed Karp\u00faraka, he has a daughter, a lovely maiden, named Karp\u00farik\u00e1,\nwho appears like a second Lakshm\u00ed, deposited in security there by\nthe ocean, having seen that the first Lakshm\u00ed had been carried\naway by the gods after the churning. And she, as she hates men,\ndoes not desire to be married, but she will desire it, if at all,\nwhen she sees you. So go there, my son, and you shall win that fair\none; nevertheless, while you are going there, you will suffer great\nhardship in the forest. But you must not be perplexed at that, for all\nshall end well.\" When the ascetic had said this, she flew up into the\nair and disappeared. Then Narav\u00e1hanadatta, drawn on by the command\nof Love uttered through her voice, said to his attendant Gomukha,\n\"Come, let us go to Karp\u00farik\u00e1 in the city of Karp\u00farasambhava, for I\ncannot remain a moment without beholding her.\" When Gomukha heard that,\nhe said--\"King, desist from your rashness. Consider how far off you\nare from the sea and from that city, and whether the journey is worth\ntaking for the sake of that maiden? Why, on merely hearing her name,\ndo you abandon celestial wives, and alone run after a mere woman who\nis enveloped in doubt, owing to your not knowing what her intention\nis.\" When Gomukha said this to him, the son of the king of Vatsa said,\n\"The speech of that holy ascetic cannot be false. So I must certainly\ngo to find that princess.\" Having said this, he set out thence on\nhorseback that very moment. And Gomukha followed him silently, though\nit was against his wish: when a lord does not act on the advice of\nhis servants, their only course is to follow him.\n\nIn the meanwhile the king of Vatsa, having finished his hunting,\nreturned to his city, thinking that that son of his was returning\namong his own armed followers. And the prince's followers returned\nwith Marubh\u00fati and the others to the city, supposing that the prince\nwas with the armed followers of his father. When they arrived, the\nking of Vatsa and the others searched for him, and finding that he had\nnot returned, they all went to the house of Ratnaprabh\u00e1. She at first\nwas grieved at that news, but she called up a supernatural science\nand was told by it tidings of her husband, and said to her distressed\nfather-in-law; \"My husband heard the princess Karp\u00farik\u00e1 mentioned by\na female ascetic in the forest, and in order to obtain her he has gone\nto the city of Karp\u00farasambhava. And he will soon have accomplished his\nobject, and will return here with Gomukha. So dismiss anxiety, for this\nI have learned from a science.\" By these words she comforted the king\nof Vatsa and his retinue. And she despatched another science to wait\non her husband during his journey, and dispel his fatigue; for good\nwomen who desire their husband's happiness do not account of jealousy.\n\nIn the meanwhile Narav\u00e1hanadatta performed a long journey on\nhorseback in that forest, accompanied by Gomukha. Then a maiden\nsuddenly came up to him in his path and said to him, \"I am a science\nsent by Ratnaprabh\u00e1, named M\u00e1y\u00e1vat\u00ed, I will guard you on the path\nwithout being seen, so proceed now without fear.\" Having said this,\nthe incarnate science disappeared, as he gazed at it. By virtue of\nit, Narav\u00e1hanadatta continued his journey with his thirst and hunger\nappeased, praising his beloved Ratnaprabh\u00e1. And in the evening he\nreached a wood with a pure lake in it, and with Gomukha he bathed, and\ntook a meal of delicious fruit and water. And at night he tied up the\ntwo horses underneath a large tree, after supplying them with grass,\nand he and his minister climbed up into it to sleep. While reposing\non a broad bough of the tree, he was woke up by the neighings of the\nterrified horses, and saw a lion that had come close underneath. When\nhe saw it, he wished [604] to get down for the sake of the horses,\nbut Gomukha said to him--\"Alas! you are neglecting the safety of\nyour person, and acting without counsel; for kings the first duty\nis the preservation of their persons, and counsel is the foundation\nof rule. How can you desire to contend with wild beasts armed with\nteeth and claws. For it was to avoid these that we just now got up\ninto this tree.\" When the king had been restrained from descending\nby these words of Gomukha's, seeing the lion killing the horse,\nhe immediately threw his sword at it from the tree, and succeeded\nin wounding it with the weapon which was buried in its body. The\nmighty lion, though pierced with the sword, after killing that\nhorse, slew the other also. Then the son of the king of Vatsa took\nGomukha's sword from him, and throwing it, cut the lion in half in\nthe middle. And descending he recovered his sword from the body of\nthe lion, and ascending again to his sleeping place, he passed the\nnight there in the tree. In the morning Narav\u00e1hanadatta got down,\nand set out to find Karp\u00farik\u00e1, accompanied by Gomukha. Then Gomukha,\nbeholding him travelling on foot, as the lion had slain his horse, in\norder to amuse him on the way said; \"Listen, king, I will relate you\nthis story, which is particularly appropriate on the present occasion.\"\n\n\n\nStory of king Parity\u00e1gasena, his wicked wife and his two sons.\n\nThere is in this world a city named Ir\u00e1vat\u00ed, which surpasses Alak\u00e1;\n[605] in it there dwelt a king named Parity\u00e1gasena. And he had two\nbeloved queens, whom he valued as his life. One was the daughter of\nhis own minister and her name was Adhikasangam\u00e1, and the other was of\nroyal race, and was called K\u00e1vy\u00e1lank\u00e1r\u00e1. And with those two the king\npropitiated Durg\u00e1 to obtain a son, and performed penance without food,\nsleeping on darbha grass. Then Bhav\u00e1n\u00ed, who is kind to her votaries,\npleased with his penance, appeared to him in a dream and gave him\ntwo heavenly fruits, and thus commanded him: \"Rise up and give your\ntwo wives these two fruits to eat, and then, king, you will have\nborn to you two heroic sons.\" Having said this, Gaur\u00ed disappeared,\nand the king woke up in the morning and rose delighted at beholding\nthose fruits in his hand. And by describing that dream of his he\ndelighted his wives, and bathed and worshipped the consort of Siva,\nand broke his fast. And at night he first visited that wife of his\nAdhikasangam\u00e1, and gave her one of the fruits, and she immediately ate\nit. Then the king spent the night in her pavilion, out of respect for\nher father, who was his own prime minister. And he placed near the\nhead of his bed the second fruit, which was intended for the other\nqueen. While the king was asleep, the queen Adhikasangam\u00e1 rose up,\nand desiring for herself two similar sons, she took from his head and\nate that second fruit also. For women are naturally envious of their\nrivals. And in the morning, when the king rose up and was looking for\nthat fruit, she said--\"I ate that second fruit also.\" Then the king\nwent away despondent, and after spending the day, he went at night\nto the apartments of the second queen. And when she asked for that\nother fruit, he said to her--\"While I was asleep, your fellow-wife\ntreacherously devoured it.\" Then the queen K\u00e1vy\u00e1lank\u00e1r\u00e1, not having\nobtained that fruit, which was to enable her to give birth to a son,\nremained silently grieved.\n\nIn the course of some days that queen Adhikasangam\u00e1 became pregnant,\nand in due time gave birth to twin sons. And the king Parity\u00e1gasena\nrejoiced and made a great feast, since his desire was fulfilled\nby their birth. And the king gave the name of Ind\u00edvarasena to the\nelder of the two, who was of wonderful beauty and had eyes like a\nblue lotus. And he gave to the younger the name of Anichchhasena,\nbecause his mother ate the second fruit against his wish. Then\nK\u00e1vy\u00e1lank\u00e1r\u00e1, the second wife of that king, on beholding this, was\nangry, and reflected--\"Alas! I have been cheated by this rival wife\nout of having children; so I must without fail revenge myself on\nher; I must destroy these sons of hers by my cunning.\" Having thus\nreflected, she remained thinking over a means of doing this. And as\nfast as those two princes grew, the tree of enmity grew in her heart.\n\nAnd in course of time those two princes, having attained manhood,\nand being mighty of arm, and desirous of conquest, said to their\nfather--\"We have attained manhood and we have been trained in the\nuse of weapons, so how can we remain here endowed to no profit with\nthese mighty arms? Out on the arms and the youth of a Kshatriya\nthat longs not for victory! So let us go now, father, and conquer\nthe regions.\" When the king Parity\u00e1gasena heard this request of his\nsons, he was pleased and consented, and made arrangements for their\nexpedition. And he said to them, \"If ever you are in difficulties,\nyou must think upon the goddess Durg\u00e1 the remover of sorrows, for\nshe gave you to me.\" Then the king sent forth those two sons on\ntheir expedition, accompanied by his troops and feudal chiefs, after\ntheir mother had performed the auspicious ceremonies to ensure them\nsuccess. And he sent after them his own sagacious prime minister,\ntheir maternal grandfather, whose name was Prathamasangama. Then\nthose two mighty princely brothers, with their army, first marched\nin due order to the eastern quarter, and subdued it. Then these two\nirresistible heroes of approved might, to whom many kings had joined\nthemselves, went to the southern quarter to conquer it. And their\nparents rejoiced on hearing these tidings of them, but their second\nmother was consumed with the fire of concealed hate. The treacherous\nqueen then got the following false despatch written in the king's\nname to the chiefs in the princes' camp, by means of the secretary\nfor foreign affairs, whom she had bribed with heaps of treasure--\"My\ntwo sons, having subdued the earth by the might of their arms, have\nformed the intention of killing me and seizing my kingdom; so if\nyou are loyal to me, you must without hesitation put to death both\nthose sons of mine.\"--This letter K\u00e1vy\u00e1lank\u00e1r\u00e1 sent off secretly by\na courier. And the courier went secretly to the camp of those two\nprinces, and gave that letter to the chiefs. And they all, after\nreading it, reflecting that the policy of kings is very cruel, and\nconsidering that that command of their master must not be disobeyed,\nmet and deliberated in the night, and as they saw no way out of the\ndifficulty, determined to kill those two princes, though they had\nbeen fascinated by their virtues. But their maternal grandfather,\nthe minister, who was with them, heard of it from a friend that he\nhad among the chiefs, and after informing the princes of the state\nof affairs, he thereupon mounted them on swift horses, and conveyed\nthem away safely out of the camp.\n\nThe two princes, when conveyed away by the minister at night,\ntravelled along with him, and entered the Vindhya forest out of\nignorance of the true road. Then, after the night had passed, as they\nslowly proceeded on their way, about noon their horses died, overcome\nwith excessive thirst. And that aged maternal grandfather of theirs,\nwhose palate was dry with hunger and thirst, died exhausted with the\nheat before the eyes of those two, who were also weary. Then those\nafflicted brothers exclaimed in their sorrow--\"Why has our father\nreduced to this state us who are innocent, and fulfilled the desire of\nthat wicked second mother of ours?\"--In the midst of their lamentation\nthey thought upon the goddess Ambik\u00e1, [606] whom their father had long\nago pointed out to them as their natural protectress. That moment,\nby force of thinking on that kind protectress, their hunger, thirst\nand fatigue left them, and they were strong. Then they were comforted\nby faith in her, and without feeling the fatigue of the journey, they\nwent to visit that goddess who dwells in the Vindhya forest. And when\nthose two brothers had arrived there, they began a course of fasting\nand asceticism to propitiate her. In the meanwhile those chiefs in\nthe camp assembled together in a band, and went with the intention of\ndoing the princes a mischief; but they could not find them, though they\nsearched everywhere. They said--\"The princes have escaped somewhere\nwith their maternal grandfather,\" and fearing that the whole thing\nwould come out, they went in a fright to the king Parity\u00e1gasena. And\nshewing him the letters, they told him the whole story. He, when\nhe heard it, was agitated and said to them in his anger; \"I did not\nsend this letter, this is some deception. And how comes it that you\ndid not know, you foolish creatures, that I should not be likely\nto put to death two sons obtained by severe austerities? They have\nbeen put to death as far as you are concerned, but they were saved\nby their own merits, and their maternal grandfather has exhibited\na specimen of his statesmanship.\" He said this to the chiefs, and\nthough the secretary who wrote the treacherous letter fled, the king\nquickly had him brought back by his royal power, and after thoroughly\ninvestigating the whole matter, punished him as he deserved. And he\nthrew into a dungeon his wicked wife K\u00e1vy\u00e1lank\u00e1r\u00e1, who was guilty of\nsuch a crime as trying to slay his sons. For how can an evil deed\naudaciously done, the end of which is not considered through the\nmind being blinded with excessive hate, help bringing ruin? And as\nfor those chiefs, who had set out with his two sons and returned,\nthe king dismissed them, and appointed others in their place. And\nwith their mother he continued to seek for tidings of those sons,\nplunged in grief, devoted to righteousness, thinking upon Durg\u00e1.\n\nIn the meanwhile that goddess, who has her shrine in the Vindhya\nmountains, was pleased with the asceticism of the prince Ind\u00edvarasena\nand his younger brother. And she gave Ind\u00edvarasena a sword in a dream,\nand appearing to him, thus addressed him--\"By the power of this sword\nthou shalt conquer enemies hard to overcome, and whatever thou shalt\nthink of thou shalt obtain, and by means of it you shall both gain the\nsuccess you desire.\" When the goddess had said that, she disappeared,\nand Ind\u00edvarasena, waking up, beheld that sword in his hand. Then\nhe comforted his younger brother by shewing him that sword, and\ndescribing to him his dream, and in the morning he and his brother\nbroke their fast on wild fruits. Then he worshipped that goddess,\nand having his fatigue removed by her favour, he departed rejoicing,\nwith the sword in his hand, in the company of his brother. And after\nhe had travelled a long distance, he found a great and splendid city,\nlooking like the peak of Meru on account of its golden houses. There\nhe beheld a terrible R\u00e1kshasa standing at the gate of the high street,\nand the hero asked him what was the name of the town, and who was its\nking. That R\u00e1kshasa said--\"This city is called Sailapura, and it is\npossessed by our lord Yamadanshtra, the slayer of his foes, king of\nthe R\u00e1kshasas.\" When the R\u00e1kshasa said this, Ind\u00edvarasena attempted\nto enter, in order to slay Yamadanshtra, but the R\u00e1kshasa at the door\ntried to prevent him, upon which the mighty Ind\u00edvarasena killed him,\ncutting off his head with one stroke of his sword. After slaying him,\nthe hero entered the royal palace, and beheld inside it the R\u00e1kshasa\nYamadanshtra sitting on his throne, having a mouth terrible with tusks,\nwith a lovely woman at his left hand, and a virgin of heavenly beauty\non his right hand. And when Ind\u00edvarasena saw him, he went with the\nsword given him by Durg\u00e1 in his hand, and challenged him to fight,\nand the R\u00e1kshasa drew his sword and stood up to resist him. And in the\ncourse of the fight Ind\u00edvarasena frequently cut off the R\u00e1kshasa's\nhead, but it grew again. [607] Seeing that magic power of his,\nand having had a sign made to him by the virgin at the R\u00e1kshasa's\nside, who had fallen in love with him at first sight, the prince,\nafter cutting off the head of the R\u00e1kshasa, being quick of hand,\nagain cut it in two with a stroke of his sword. Then the R\u00e1kshasa's\nmagic was baffled by contrary magic, and his head did not grow again,\nand the R\u00e1kshasa died of the wound.\n\nWhen he was slain, the lovely woman and the princess were delighted,\nand the prince with his younger brother sat down, and asked them the\nfollowing questions: \"Why did this R\u00e1kshasa live in such a city as\nthis, guarded by one warder only, and who are you two, and why do\nyou rejoice at his being slain?\" When they heard this, the virgin\nwas the one that answered, and she spoke as follows: \"In this city\nof Sailapura there lived a king of the name of V\u00edrabhuja, and this\nis his wife Madanadanshtr\u00e1, and this R\u00e1kshasa came and devoured him\nby the help of his magic power. And he ate up his attendants, but he\ndid not eat this Madanadanshtr\u00e1, whom alone he spared because she\nwas beautiful, but he made her his wife. Then he became disgusted\nwith this city though beautiful, and building in it houses of gold,\nhe remained here sporting with Madanadanshtr\u00e1, having dismissed his\nretinue. And I am the younger sister of this R\u00e1kshasa, and unmarried,\nbut the moment I saw you, I fell in love with you. Accordingly she is\nglad at his having been slain, and so also am I; so marry me here now,\nmy husband, since love makes me offer myself to you.\"\n\nWhen Khadgadanshtr\u00e1 said this, Ind\u00edvarasena married her then and\nthere by the G\u00e1ndharva form of marriage. And he remained in that\nvery city, having everything brought to him, on his thinking of it,\nby the virtue of the sword of Durg\u00e1, married and accompanied by his\nyounger brother. And once on a time he made a chariot that would fly\nthrough the air, produced by thought through the virtue of his sword,\nthat resembled in its powers the philosopher's stone, and placed in\nit his heroic younger brother Anichchhasena, and sent him off from his\nretreat to bear tidings of him to his parents. Anichchhasena, for his\npart, travelled quickly through the air in that chariot, and reached\nIr\u00e1vat\u00ed that city of his father. There he refreshed his grief-worn\nparents with the sight of him, as the moon refreshes the partridges\nwhen exhausted with severe heat. And he approached them, and fell at\ntheir feet, and was embraced by them, and when they questioned him,\nhe dispelled their apprehensions with good news of his brother. And he\ntold in their presence the whole adventure of himself and his brother,\nwhich in the beginning was sad, but in the end was happy. And there he\nheard the treacherous device, which his wicked second mother had out\nof enmity contrived for his destruction. Then Anichchhasena remained\nthere in tranquillity, in the company of his delighted father and\nhis mother, honoured by the subjects. But after some days had passed,\nhis fears were aroused by a threatening dream, and he yearned to see\nhis brother again, and said to his father; \"I will depart, and by\ntelling my brother Ind\u00edvarasena that you are anxiously awaiting him,\nI will bring him back; give me leave to depart, my father.\" When his\nfather heard that, being anxious for the sight of his son, he and his\nwife gave Anichchhasena leave to depart, and he immediately mounted\nhis chariot, and reached through the air that city of Sailapura. And\nwhen he arrived there, he entered the palace of that brother of\nhis. He saw there his elder brother lying senseless in the presence of\nKhadgadanshtr\u00e1 and Madanadanshtr\u00e1, who were weeping. In his perplexity\nhe asked, \"What does this mean?\" And then Khadgadanshtr\u00e1 said with\nher eyes fixed on the ground, though the other blamed her for it;\n\"When you were away, your brother one day, on my going to bathe,\nhad a secret intrigue with this Madanadanshtr\u00e1. And I, on returning\nfrom bathing, found him with her, and I abused him. Then he tried\nto propitiate me, but I, being exceedingly bewildered by unforgiving\njealousy, that seemed to have possessed me, thought thus with myself,\n'Ah! without taking me into account, he favours another; I believe\nhe shews this insolence confiding in the magic properties of his\nsword, so I will hide this weapon of his.' After thus reflecting,\nin my folly I thrust his sword into the fire at night, while he\nwas asleep. The consequence was that his sword was dimmed and he\nwas reduced to this state. And I am grieved for this myself and\nupbraided by Madanadanshtr\u00e1. So you have come here now when both\nour minds are blinded with grief, and we have resolved on death. So\ntake this sword and kill me with it, since I have proved true to the\ncustoms of my race and acted cruelly.\" When Anichchhasena was thus\nentreated by his brother's wife, he thought that he ought not to\nslay her on account of her repentance, but prepared to cut off his\nown head. But at that moment, he heard the following voice come from\nthe air--\"Do not act thus, prince, your brother is not dead, but he\nhas been struck senseless by Durg\u00e1, who is angry at his not having\ntaken sufficient care of the sword, and you must not impute guilt to\nKhadgadanshtr\u00e1, for this circumstance is the consequence of your all\nhaving been born into this world on account of a curse. And they were\nboth of them your brother's wives in a former life. So propitiate\nDurg\u00e1 in order to gain your object.\" Accordingly Anichchhasena gave\nup his intention of slaying himself. But he mounted that chariot,\nand took that fire-dimmed sword, and went to propitiate the soles of\nthe feet of Durg\u00e1, the dweller in the Vindhya range. There he fasted,\nand was about to propitiate the goddess with the offering of his head,\nwhen he heard this voice from heaven--\"Do not be rash, my son, go;\nthy elder brother shall live, and the sword shall become pure from\nstain, for I am pleased with thy devotion.\" When Anichchhasena heard\nthis speech of the goddess, he immediately saw that the sword in his\nhand had recovered its brightness, and he walked round the goddess,\nkeeping his right hand towards her; and ascending his swift magic\ncar, as if it were his own desire, [608] he returned in a state of\nanxious expectation to that Sailapura. There he saw that his elder\nbrother had just risen up, having suddenly regained consciousness,\nand weeping he seized his feet, and his elder brother threw his arms\nround his neck. And both the wives of Ind\u00edvarasena fell at the feet of\nAnichchhasena and said--\"You have saved the life of our husband.\" Then\nhe told the whole story to his brother Ind\u00edvarasena who questioned\nhim, and he, when he heard it, was not angry with Khadgadanshtr\u00e1,\nbut was pleased with his brother. [609]\n\nAnd he heard from the lips of his brother that his parents were\neager to see him, and of the fraud of his second mother, that had\nbrought about his separation from them; then he took the sword which\nhis brother handed to him, and mounted a large chariot, which came\nto him the moment he thought of it, owing to the virtue of the sword,\nand with his golden palaces, and his two wives, and his younger brother\nInd\u00edvarasena, returned to his own city Ir\u00e1vat\u00ed. There he alighted from\nthe air, beheld with wonder by the subjects, and entered the palace,\nand went with his attendants into the presence of the king. And\nin that condition he beheld his father and his mother, and fell at\ntheir feet with his eyes bathed in streaming tears. And they, the\nmoment they beheld their son, embraced him and his younger brother,\nand having their bodies, as it were, bathed in nectar, they were\nrelieved from their sorrow. And when their daughters-in-law, those\ntwo wives of Ind\u00edvarasena, of heavenly beauty, fell at their feet,\nthey looked on them with delight and welcomed them. And the parents,\nlearning in course of conversation, that they were said by a divine\nvoice to have been appointed in a previous life as his wives, were\nexceedingly delighted. And they rejoiced with astonishment at the power\nof their son, which enabled him to travel through the air, and bring\ngolden palaces and do other things of this kind. Then Ind\u00edvarasena\nremained, with those two wives and his attendants, in the society of\nhis parents, causing delight to the subjects. And once on a time he\ntook leave of his father, king Parity\u00e1gasena, and went forth again\nto conquer the four quarters, accompanied by his younger brother. And\nthe mighty-armed hero conquered the whole earth by the virtue of his\nsword, and came back bringing with him the gold, elephants, horses\nand jewels of conquered kings. And he reached his capital, followed\nout of fear by the conquered earth in the form of the army of dust,\nthat his forces raised. And he entered the palace, where his father\nadvanced to meet him, and he and his brother delighted their mother\nAdhikasangam\u00e1 by their return. And after he had honoured the kings,\nInd\u00edvarasena spent that day in pleasure, accompanied by his wives\nand his followers. And on the next day the prince made over the\nearth to his father by way of tribute from the kings, and suddenly\nrecollected his former birth. Then, like one waking up from sleep,\nhe said to his father--\"Father, I remember my former birth; listen,\nI will tell you all about it. There is a city on the plateau of the\nHim\u00e1layas named Mukt\u00e1pura; in it there lives a king named Mukt\u00e1sena,\na king of the Vidy\u00e1dharas. And by a queen named Kambuvat\u00ed he had\nborn to him in course of time two virtuous sons, Padmasena and\nR\u00fapasena. Then a maiden, named \u00c1dityaprabh\u00e1, the daughter of a chief\nof the Vidy\u00e1dharas, of her own accord, out of love, chose Padmasena\nfor her husband. Hearing of that, a Vidy\u00e1dhara maiden, of the name\nof Chandravat\u00ed, became love-sick also, and came and chose him for her\nhusband. Then Padmasena, having two wives, was continually worried by\nthat wife \u00c1dityaprabh\u00e1, who was jealous of her rival. And so Padmasena\nover and over again importuned his father Mukt\u00e1sena to the following\neffect: 'I cannot endure every day the ill-temper of my wife, who\nis blind with jealousy, let me retire to a wood of ascetics to put\nan end to this misery. Therefore, father, give me permission.' His\nfather, annoyed at his persistence, cursed him and his wives, saying;\n'What need is there of your going to a wood of ascetics? Fall into the\nworld of mortals. There this quarrelsome wife of yours, \u00c1dityaprabh\u00e1,\nshall be born in the race of R\u00e1kshasas, and become your wife again. And\nthis second, Chandravat\u00ed, who is virtuous and attached to you, her\nhusband, shall be the wife of a king, and the paramour of a R\u00e1kshasa,\nand shall obtain you as her beloved. And since this R\u00fapasena has been\nobserved by me to follow you his elder brother with affection, he\nshall be your brother also in that world. There too you shall endure\nsome affliction caused by your wives.' Thus he spoke and ceased, and\nappointed this as the termination of the curse; 'When you, being a\nprince, shall conquer the earth and give it to your father, then you\nand they shall remember your former birth, and be freed from your\ncurse.' When Padmasena had been thus addressed by his own father,\nhe went with those others to the world of mortals. I am that very\nPadmasena, born here as your son, Ind\u00edvarasena by name, and I have\ndone what I was appointed to do. And the other Vidy\u00e1dhara prince,\nR\u00fapasena, has been born as Anichchhasena my younger brother. And as for\nmy wives \u00c1dityaprabh\u00e1 [610] and Chandravat\u00ed, know that they have been\nborn here as these two, Khadgadanshtr\u00e1 and Madanadanshtr\u00e1. And now we\nhave reached that appointed end of our curse. So let us go, father,\nto our own Vidy\u00e1dhara home.\" Having said this, he together with his\nbrother and his wives, who remembered their former existence, abandoned\nthe human and assumed the Vidy\u00e1dhara form. And having worshipped the\nfeet of his father, and taken his two wives in his arms, he went with\nhis younger brother through the air to his own city Mukt\u00e1pura. There\nthe wise prince, gladly welcomed by his father Mukt\u00e1sena, a joy to\nthe eyes of his mother, accompanied by his brother R\u00fapasena, lived\nwith his \u00c1dityaprabh\u00e1, who did not again display jealousy, and with\nChandravat\u00ed in happiness.\n\nThe minister Gomukha, having told this delightful tale on the road,\nagain said to Narav\u00e1hanadatta; \"Thus the great must endure great pains\nand gain great glory, but others have little pain and little glory. But\nyou, protected by the might of the science of queen Ratnaprabh\u00e1,\nshall without difficulty gain that princess Karp\u00farik\u00e1.\"\n\nWhen Narav\u00e1hanadatta heard this from the lips of the eloquent Gomukha,\nhe set out on the path with him, insensible to fatigue. And as he\ntravelled, he came in the evening to a pellucid lake, the lotuses\non which were in full bloom, and which was full of an abundant\nsupply of cold water, delicious as nectar. Its banks were adorned\nwith pomegranate trees, bread-fruit trees, and rows of mango-trees,\nand on it the swans sang sweetly. They bathed in it, and devoutly\nworshipped the beloved [611] of the daughter of Him\u00e1laya and refreshed\nthemselves with various fragrant, sweet-tasting, delightful fruits,\nand then the son of the king of Vatsa and his friend spent the night on\nthe bank of the lake, sleeping on a bed strewn with soft young shoots.\n\n\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XLIII.\n\n\nThe next morning, Narav\u00e1hanadatta rose up from the bank of that lake,\n[612] and setting out on his journey, said to his minister Gomukha;\n\"My friend, I remember, a certain princess of heavenly beauty,\ndressed in white garments, came to me towards the end of last night\nin a dream, and said this to me--'Lay aside your anxiety, dear one,\nfor you will quickly reach a large and wonderful town situated in a\nforest, on the shore of the sea. And after resting there, you shall\nwith ease find that town Karp\u00farasambhava, and then win that princess\nKarp\u00farik\u00e1.' Having said this, she disappeared, and I immediately woke\nup.\" When he said that, Gomukha was delighted and said to him--\"King,\nyou are favoured by the gods; what is difficult to you? So your\nenterprise will certainly succeed without difficulty.\" When Gomukha\nhad said this, Narav\u00e1hanadatta hastened along the path with him. And\nin course of time he reached a city of vast extent on the shore of the\nsea, furnished with lofty mansions resembling the peaks of mountains,\nwith streets, and arches, adorned with a palace all golden like\nmount Meru, looking like a second Earth. He entered that city by the\nmarket-street, and beheld that all the population, merchants, women,\nand citizens were wooden automata, that moved as if they were alive,\nbut were recognised as lifeless by their want of speech. This aroused\nastonishment in his mind. And in due course he arrived with Gomukha\nnear the king's palace, and saw that all the horses and elephants there\nwere of the same material; and with his minister he entered, full of\nwonder, that palace, which was resplendent with seven ranges of golden\nbuildings. There he saw a majestic man sitting on a jewelled throne,\nsurrounded by warders and women, who were also wooden automata, the\nonly living being there, who produced motion in those dull material\nthings, like the soul presiding over the senses. He, for his part,\nseeing that that hero Narav\u00e1hanadatta was of noble form, rose up\nand welcomed him, and made him sit down on his own seat, and sitting\nin front of him, he thus questioned him, \"Who are you; how and why\nhave you come to this uninhabited land with one companion?\" Then\nNarav\u00e1hanadatta told his own story from the beginning, and asked that\nhero, who was prostrating himself before him,--\"Who are you, my good\nsir, and what is this wonderful city of yours? Tell me.\" That man,\nwhen he heard that, began to tell his own story.\n\n\n\nStory of the two brothers Pr\u00e1nadhara and R\u00e1jyadhara.\n\nThere is a city named K\u00e1nch\u00ed possessed of great excellences, [613]\nwhich, like a girdle, well adorns the earth-bride. In it there was a\nfamous king of the name of B\u00e1hubala, who won fortune by the might of\nhis arm, and imprisoned her in his treasury, though she is a gadding\ndame. We were two brothers in his kingdom, carpenters by trade, skilful\nin making ingenious automata of wood and other materials, such as\nMaya [614] first invented. My elder brother was by name Pr\u00e1nadhara,\nand he was infatuated with love for a fickle dame, and I, my lord,\nam named R\u00e1jyadhara, and I was ever devoted to him. That brother of\nmine consumed all my father's property and his own, and some portion\nof what I had acquired, which melted by affection I made over to\nhim. Then he, being much infatuated about the lady, out of desire\nto steal wealth for her sake, made a couple of swans of wood with\nmechanism and strings attached to them. That pair of swans was sent\nout at night by pulling the strings, and entering by means of the\nmechanical contrivance into the king's treasury through a window, they\ntook from it with their beaks jewels placed in a basket, and returned\nto the house of my brother. And my elder brother sold the jewels and\nspent the money so acquired with his paramour, and in that way he\nrobbed the king's treasury every night, and though I tried to prevent\nhim, he would not give up that improper proceeding, for who, when\nblinded by passion, distinguishes between right and wrong? And then\nthe keeper of the treasury, as the king's treasure-house was plundered\nnight after night without the bolt being moved, though there were no\nmice in it, for several days in succession enquired into the matter,\nwithout saying anything, out of fear, and then being exceedingly\nvexed, went and told the whole matter plainly to the king. Then the\nking posted him and some other guards in the treasure-house at night,\nwith orders to keep awake in order to find out the truth of it. Those\nguards went into the treasure-house at midnight, and while there,\nsaw my brother's two swans entering there by the window, impelled\nby strings. The swans moved round by means of their mechanism and\ntook the jewels, then the guards cut the strings, and took the swans\nto shew the king in the morning. And then my elder brother said in a\nstate of bewilderment--\"Brother, my two swans have been seized by the\nguards of the treasury, for the strings have become slack, and the\npin of the mechanism has dropped. So we must both of us leave this\nplace immediately, for the king, when he hears of it in the morning,\nwill punish us as thieves. For we are both known to be skilled in\nmechanical contrivances. And I have here a chariot with a pneumatic\ncontrivance, which quickly goes eight hundred yojanas, if you press\na spring. Let us go by means of it to-day to a distant foreign land,\nthough exile may be disagreeable; for how can an evil deed, that is\ndone in despite of good advice, bring pleasure to any one? This is\nthe mature fruit of my wickedness in not obeying your advice, which\nhas extended to innocent you, as well as to me.\" After saying this, my\nbrother Pr\u00e1nadhara immediately mounted with his family that chariot,\nthat flew through the air. But though he urged me, I would not mount\nit, as it was laden with many people, so he flew up in it to the sky\nand went off to some distant place.\n\nWhen that Pr\u00e1nadhara, [615] who was rightly named, had gone\noff somewhere, I, expecting that in the morning I singly should\nhe exposed to danger at the hands of the king, mounted another\nchariot with a pneumatic mechanism, which I had myself made, and\nquickly travelled two hundred yojanas from that place. Then I again\nstarted that air-travelling chariot, and went another two hundred\nyojanas. Then I left my chariot, terrified at finding that I was near\nthe sea, and travelling on my feet, reached in course of time this\ncity which was empty. And out of curiosity I entered this palace,\nwhich was filled with garments, ornaments, and couches and all the\nother conveniences fit for a king. And in the evening I bathed in the\nwater of the garden-lake, and ate fruits, and going to the royal bed\nreflected alone at night--\"What am I to do in this uninhabited spot? So\nto-morrow I will go hence to some place or other, for I no longer need\nfear danger from king B\u00e1hubala.\" When I had thus reflected, I went\nto sleep, and towards the end of night a hero of divine appearance,\nmounted on a peacock, thus addressed me in a dream; \"You must live\nhere, good sir, you must not depart elsewhere, and at the time of meals\nyou must go up to the middle court of the palace, and wait there.\" Thus\nhe spoke, and disappeared, and I woke up and reflected--\"Undoubtedly\nthis heavenly place has been made by K\u00e1rtikeya, and he has favoured\nme with this dream on account of my merits in a former life. I have\nturned up here because I am to be happy dwelling in this town.\" I\nconceived this hope and rose up, and said the prayer for the day,\nand at the time of eating I went up to the middle court, and while\nI was waiting there, golden dishes were placed in front of me, and\nthere fell into them from heaven food consisting of ghee, milk, rice,\nboiled rice and other things; [616] and any other kinds of food that I\nthought of, came to me as fast as I thought of them. After eating all\nthis, I felt comforted by the favour of the god. So, my lord, I took\nup my abode in this city, with kingly luxuries coming to me every day\nas fast as I wished for them. But I do not obtain wives and retinue\nby thinking of them, so I made all these people of wood. Though I am\na carpenter, since I have come here I enjoy alone all the pleasures\nof a king by the power of Destiny, and my name is R\u00e1jyadhara. [617]\n\n\"So repose, now, a day in this god-built town, and I will attend upon\nyou to the best of my ability.\" After saying this, R\u00e1jyadhara led off\nwith him Narav\u00e1hanadatta and Gomukha to the city garden, there the\nprince bathed in the water of the lake and offered lotuses to Siva,\nand was conducted to the feasting-place in the middle court, and there\nhe and his minister enjoyed viands which were placed before them by\nR\u00e1jyadhara, who stood in front of them, to whom they came as soon as\nhe thought of them. Then the eating-ground was swept by some unseen\nhand, and after they had taken betel, they drank wine and remained\nin great felicity. And after R\u00e1jyadhara had eaten, the prince retired\nto a gorgeous couch, astonished at the wonderful nature of the town,\nwhich resembled the philosopher's stone. And when he could not sleep,\non account of his recently conceived longing for Karp\u00farik\u00e1, R\u00e1jyadhara,\nwho was also in bed, asked her story, and then said to him--\"Why do\nyou not sleep, auspicious sir? You will obtain your desired love. For\na fair woman, like Fortune, of her own accord chooses a man of high\ncourage. I have had ocular proof of this, so hear the story; I will\nrelate it to you.\"\n\n\n\nStory of Arthalobha and his beautiful wife.\n\nThat king of K\u00e1nch\u00ed, B\u00e1hubala, whom I mentioned to you, had a rich\ndoor-keeper, rightly named Arthalobha. [618] He had a beautiful wife\nnamed M\u00e1napar\u00e1. That Arthalobha, being by profession a merchant, and on\naccount of his avarice distrusting his servants, appointed that wife of\nhis to look after his business in preference to them. She, though she\ndid not like it, being obedient to him, made bargains with merchants\nand captivated all men by her sweet form and speech. And Arthalobha,\nseeing that all the sales of elephants, horses, jewels, and garments\nthat she made, brought in a profit, rejoiced exceedingly. And once on\na time there came there from a distant foreign land a merchant, named\nSukhadhana, having a large stock of horses and other commodities. The\nmoment Arthalobha heard that he had come, he said to his wife--\"My\ndear, a merchant named Sukhadhana has arrived from a foreign land,\nhe has brought twenty thousand horses, and innumerable pairs of\nexcellent garments made in China, so please, go and purchase from\nhim five thousand horses and ten thousand pairs of garments, in order\nthat with the thousands of horses I already possess and those other\nfive, I may pay a visit to the king, and carry on my commerce. When\ncommissioned in these words by that villain Arthalobha, M\u00e1napar\u00e1\nwent to Sukhadhana; whose eyes were captivated by her beauty, and who\nwelcomed her gladly. And she demanded from him for a price those horses\nand garments. The merchant, overpowered with love, took her aside\nand said to her--\"I will not give you one horse or garment for money,\nbut if you will remain one night with me, I will give you five hundred\nhorses and five thousand garments.\" After saying this, he solicited\nthat fair one with even a larger amount; who does not fall in love with\nwomen, who are allowed to go about without restraint? Then she answered\nhim--\"I will ask my husband about this, for I know he will send me here\nout of excessive cupidity. [619]\" After saying this, she went home,\nand told her husband what the merchant Sukhadhana had said to her\nsecretly. And that wicked covetous husband Arthalobha said to her;\n\"My dear, if you obtain five hundred horses and five thousand pairs\nof garments for one night, what is the harm in it. So go to him now;\nyou shall return quickly in the morning.\" When M\u00e1napar\u00e1 heard this\nspeech of her mean-spirited husband's, she began to debate in her\nheart, and thus reflected--\"Out on this base spiritless husband\nof mine that sells his honour! By continually meditating on gain\nhe has become all made up of the desire of gain. It is better that\nthe generous man, who buys me for one night with hundreds of horses\nand thousands of pieces of China silk, should be my husband.\" Thus\nreflecting, she took leave of her base husband, saying; \"It is not\nmy fault,\" and went to the house of that Sukhadhana. And he, when he\nsaw that she had come, after questioning her and hearing the whole\nstory from her, was astonished, and considered himself fortunate in\nobtaining her. And he sent off immediately to her husband Arthalobha\nthe horses and garments that were to purchase her, as agreed upon. And\nhe remained that night with her, having all his wishes attained, for\nshe seemed like the fortune which was the fruit of his own wealth,\nincarnate in bodily form, at last obtained by him. And in the morning\nthe base Arthalobha sent, in his shamelessness, servants to summon\nher, whereupon M\u00e1napar\u00e1 said to them, \"How can I again return to be\nthe wife of that man who sold me to another? I am not as shameless as\nhe is. Tell me yourselves if this would be becoming now. So depart,\nthe man that bought me is my husband.\" When the servants were thus\naddressed by her, they went and repeated her words to Arthalobha with\ndowncast faces. The mean fellow, when he heard it, wanted to recover\nher by force; then a friend of the name of Harabala said to him;\n\"You cannot recover her from that Sukhadhana, for he is a hero, and I\ndo not behold in you manliness corresponding to his. For he is moved\nto heroism by a woman that loves him on account of his generosity,\nand he is mighty, and surrounded with other mighty men that have come\nwith him. But you have been deserted by your wife, who separated from\nyou because you sold her out of meanness, and scorn makes you timid,\nand being reproached you have become effeminate. Moreover you are not\nmighty, and you are not surrounded by mighty friends, so how can you\npossibly be capable of vanquishing that rival? And the king will be\nangry with you, when he hears of your crime of selling your wife; so\nkeep quiet, and do not make a ridiculous blunder.\" Though his friend\ntried to dissuade him with these words, Arthalobha went and beset,\nin his anger, the house of Sukhadhana with his retainers. While he was\nthus engaged, Sukhadhana sallied out with his friends and retainers,\nand in a moment easily defeated the whole of Arthalobha's force.\n\nThen Arthalobha fled, and went into the presence of the king. And\nconcealing his own wicked conduct, he said to the king,--\"O king, the\nmerchant Sukhadhana has carried off my wife by force.\" And the king,\nin his rage, wished to arrest that Sukhadhana. Then a minister of the\nname of Sandh\u00e1na said to the king--\"In any case, my lord, you cannot\narrest him, for when his force is increased by that of the eleven\nfriends who have come with him, he will be found to have more than\na hundred thousand excellent horses. And you have not discovered\nthe truth about the matter, for his conduct will turn out to be\nnot altogether without cause. So you had better send a messenger,\nand ask what it is that this fellow here is chattering about.\" When\nking B\u00e1hubala heard this, he sent a messenger to Sukhadhana to\nask about the matter. The messenger went, and asked about the\nmatter by the king's order, and thereupon M\u00e1napar\u00e1 told him her\nstory. When B\u00e1hubala heard that wonderful tale, he came to the house\nof Sukhadhana to behold the beauty of M\u00e1napar\u00e1, being filled with\nexcessive curiosity. There he beheld, while Sukhadhana bent before\nhim, M\u00e1napar\u00e1, who with the wealth of her beauty would astonish even\nthe Creator. She prostrated herself at his feet, and he questioned\nher, and heard from her own mouth how the whole thing happened,\nArthalobha being present and listening. When he heard it, he thought\nit was true, because Arthalobha was speechless, and he asked that\nfair one what was to be done now. Then she said decidedly, \"How can I\nreturn to that spiritless avaricious man, who sold me to another man\nwithout the excuse of distress?\" When the king heard this, he said,\n\"Well said,\" and then Arthalobha bewildered with desire, wrath, and\nshame, exclaimed,--\"King, let him and me fight with our own retainers,\nwithout any auxiliary forces; then let it be seen who is spirited and\nwho is spiritless.\" When Sukhadhana heard this, he said--\"Then let\nus fight in single combat, what need is there of retainers? M\u00e1napar\u00e1\nshall be the prize of the victor.\" When the king heard this, he said,\n\"Good! so let it be!\" Then, before the eyes of M\u00e1napar\u00e1 and the king,\nthey both entered the lists mounted. And in the course of the combat,\nSukhadhana laid Arthalobha on the plain, by his horse's rearing on\naccount of a lance-wound. Then Arthalobha fell three times more on the\nearth, on account of his horse being killed, but Sukhadhana, who was a\nfair fighter, restrained himself and would not slay him. But the fifth\ntime Arthalobha's horse fell upon him, and bruised him, and he was\ncarried off by his servants motionless. Then Sukhadhana was cheered\nby all the spectators with shouts of applause, and the king B\u00e1hubala\nhonoured him as he deserved. And he immediately bestowed a gift of\nhonour upon the lady, and he confiscated the property of Arthalobha,\nwhich had been acquired by unlawful means; and appointing another to\nhis office, he departed pleased to his palace. For good men derive\nsatisfaction from breaking off their connection with the bad. And\nSukhadhana, having maintained his claim by force, remained enjoying\nhimself in the society of M\u00e1napar\u00e1 his loving wife.\n\n\"Thus wives and wealth leave the mean-spirited man, and of their own\naccord come to the high-spirited man from every quarter. So dismiss\nanxiety! Go to sleep! in a short time, my lord, you will obtain that\nprincess Karp\u00farik\u00e1.\" When Narav\u00e1hanadatta heard that sound advice of\nR\u00e1jyadhara's, he and Gomukha went off to sleep.\n\nAnd in the morning, while the prince was waiting awhile after his\nmeal, the wise Gomukha addressed R\u00e1jyadhara as follows: \"Make such\nan ingenious chariot for my master, as that he shall be able by\nmeans of it to reach the city of Karp\u00farasambhava, and obtain his\nbeloved.\" When thus supplicated, that carpenter offered Narav\u00e1hanadatta\nthe chariot with a pneumatic contrivance, that he had made before. He\nascended that sky-travelling chariot, swift as thought, together with\nGomukha, and crossed the deep, the home of monsters, that agitated\nits waves as if exulting to behold his valour, and reached the city\nof Karp\u00farasambhava on its shore. There the chariot descended from the\nsky, and he and Gomukha left it, and out of curiosity wandered about\ninside the town. And by questioning the people he found out that he\nhad indeed without doubt reached the desired city, and delighted he\nwent to the neighbourhood of the palace. There he found a splendid\nhouse occupied by an old woman, and he entered it to stay there,\nand she received him with respect. And eager to hit upon an artifice,\nhe immediately asked that woman, \"Noble lady, what is the name of the\nking here, and what children has he? And tell us of their appearance,\nfor we are foreigners.\" When he said this to the old woman, she, seeing\nthat he was of excessively noble form, answered--\"Listen, illustrious\nsir, I will tell you all. In this city of Karp\u00farasambhava there is a\nking named Karp\u00faraka. And he, having no children, performed penance,\nwith his wife Buddhik\u00e1r\u00ed, fasting, in honour of Siva, in order to\nobtain offspring. After he had fasted for three nights, the god Siva\ncommanded him in a dream--'Rise up, a daughter shall be born to you,\nwho shall be superior to a son, and whose husband shall obtain the\nsovereignty of the Vidy\u00e1dharas.' After receiving this order from\nSiva, the king woke up in the morning; and, after communicating this\ndream to his wife Buddhik\u00e1r\u00ed, he rose up and went off delighted,\nand with his queen broke his fast. And then in a short time that\nqueen conceived by the king, and when the period was completed, she\nbrought forth a daughter beautiful in all her limbs. She surpassed\nin splendour the lights in the lying-in chamber, [620] and they,\nas it were, heaved sighs by discharging lamp-black. And her father\nmade great rejoicings, and gave her the name of Karp\u00farik\u00e1, which\nis his own name made feminine. And gradually that moonlight of the\neyes of the people, the princess Karp\u00farik\u00e1, has grown up, and is now\nin the full bloom of youth. And her father, the king here, desires\nto have her married, but the haughty girl detests men, and will not\nconsent. And when my daughter, who is her friend, put this question\nto her 'My dear, why do you not desire marriage, the only fruit of a\ndaughter's birth?' she answered, 'My dear, I remember my former birth,\nand the cause is something which happened then; hear it.\"\n\n\n\nStory of the princess Karp\u00farik\u00e1 in her birth as a swan.\n\nOn the shore of the ocean there is a great sandal-wood tree. Near it\nthere is a lake adorned with full-blown lotuses. I was a female swan\non that lake on account of my actions in a previous birth. Once on a\ntime, out of fear of the sea, I made a nest in that sandal-wood tree\nwith my husband, who was a male swan. When I was dwelling in that nest,\nI had male offspring born to me, and suddenly a great wave of the sea\ncame and carried them off. When the flood carried away my children,\nout of grief I wept and took no food; and remained in front of a linga\nof Siva on the shore of the sea. Then that male swan, my husband,\ncame to me and said--\"Rise up, why do you lament your children that\nare dead, we shall get other ones. [621] As long as life is preserved,\neverything can be obtained.\" His speech pierced my heart like an arrow,\nand I reflected--\"Alas! males are thus wickedly regardless of their\nyouthful offspring, and show no affection to, or compassion for their\nfemales, though they are attached to them. So of what comfort is this\nhusband to me? Of what use is this body that brings only pain?\" Thus\nreflecting, I prostrated myself before Siva, and devoutly placed him\nin my heart, and then in front of his symbol, before the eyes of the\nswan, my husband, I uttered this prayer; \"May I become in the next\nbirth a princess remembering my former state,\"--and thereupon I flung\nmyself into the sea. Consequently, I have been born in this life such\nas you see. And because I remember the cruelty of that husband in a\nformer birth, my mind does not feel inclined to any suitor. So I do\nnot desire to be married; the rest is in the hands of Destiny. \"This\nis what the princess said then in private to my daughter, and that\ndaughter of mine came and told it to me.\"\n\n\"So, my son, I have told you what you asked me. And that princess\nis undoubtedly destined to be your wife. For she was long ago\ndesignated by the god Siva as the wife of the future emperor\nof the Vidy\u00e1dharas. And I see that you are marked with all the\ndistinguishing signs of an emperor, such as the peculiar freckle, and\nother marks. Perhaps you are some distinguished person brought here by\nProvidence for that very purpose. Rise up, for the present we will see\nwhat there is in my house in the way of provision.\" After the old lady\nhad told him this, she brought him food, and he and Gomukha spent the\nnight there. And in the morning, the prince deliberated in private with\nGomukha as to the steps to be taken, and then he assumed the dress of\na P\u00e1supata ascetic, and accompanied by Gomukha, he went to the king's\ngate, and roamed about in front of it, crying out again and again--\"Ah\nmy female swan! Ah my female swan!\" And the people gazed at him. And\nwhen the maids beheld him thus employed, they went in astonishment\nand said to the princess Karp\u00farik\u00e1; \"Your Highness! we have seen at\nthe royal gate a P\u00e1supata ascetic who, though he has a fellow, is\nunfellowed in beauty, [622] and he continually utters these words,\n'Ah my female swan! Ah my female swan!' which bewilders the minds of\nthe women.\" When the princess heard this, she, as having been a swan\nin a former birth, was filled with curiosity, and had him, just as\nhe was, conducted by her maids into her presence. And she saw that\nhe was adorned with infinite beauty, like a new god of Love that had\ntaken a vow to propitiate Siva. And she said to him, when he looked\nat her with an eye expanded by curiosity, \"What is this that you are\ncontinually saying, 'Ah! my female swan! Ah! my female swan?'\" Though\nshe said this to him, he went on to say--\"Ah! my female swan!\" Then his\ncompanion Gomukha answered her; \"I will explain this in a few words,\nlisten, Your Highness.\n\n\"In a former birth he was a swan on account of his actions in an\nanterior state of existence. Then he built himself a nest in a\nsandal-wood tree, on the bank of a great lake near the shore of\nthe sea, and lived there with his female. And as it happened, their\noffspring in that nest were swept away by a wave, and his female,\ndistracted with grief, threw herself into the sea. Then he, being\ngrieved at separation from her, and disgusted with his bird-nature,\ndesirous of leaving that body, made a pious wish in his heart--'May\nI be in a future life a prince remembering my former state, and may\nthis virtuous female swan be my wife, remembering her former existence\nalso.' Then he thought on Siva, and scorched with the fire of grief,\nflung that body into the water of the sea. So he has been now born,\nmy fair lady, as Narav\u00e1hanadatta, the son of the king of Vatsa in\nKaus\u00e1mb\u00ed, with the power of recollecting his former existence. When he\nwas born, a voice said distinctly from heaven; 'This prince shall be\nthe emperor of all the kings of the Vidy\u00e1dharas.' In course of time,\nwhen he had become crown-prince, he was married by his father to the\ngoddess Madanamanchuk\u00e1 of heavenly appearance, who had been born for\na certain reason as a woman. And then the daughter of a king of the\nVidy\u00e1dharas named Hemaprabha, the maiden Ratnaprabh\u00e1, came of her own\naccord, and chose him for a husband. Nevertheless, thinking on that\nfemale swan, he does not enjoy tranquillity; and he told this to me,\nwho have been his servant from my childhood. Then, while he was out\nhunting, it happened that he and I had a meeting in the forest with a\nholy female hermit. And in the course of conversation she said to him\nwith favouring condescension--'Owing to the effect of his actions the\ngod of Love, my son, became a swan. And a heavenly female, that had\nfallen through a curse, became his dear wife, when he was dwelling,\nas a swan, in a sandal-wood tree on the bank of the sea. But she\nthrew herself into the sea, through grief at her offspring having been\ncarried away by the tide, and then the male swan flung himself into the\nsea also. He has now by the favour of Siva been born as yourself, the\nson of the king of Vatsa, and you know of that former birth of yours,\nmy son, for you remember your former existence. And that female swan\nhas been now born in Karp\u00farasambhava, a city on the shore of the sea,\nas a princess, Karp\u00farik\u00e1 by name. Therefore, go there, my son, and\nwin her to wife.' When the holy female hermit had said this, she flew\nup into the sky and disappeared. And this lord of mine, having heard\nthis information, immediately set out with me to come here. And being\nattracted by love for you, he risked his life, and after traversing\na hundred difficulties, he reached the shore of the sea. There we\nhad an interview with the carpenter, named R\u00e1jyadhara, who dwells in\nHemapura, and who gave us an ingenious chariot. We have mounted on this\nterrible machine, as if it were our courage having taken shape, [623]\nand have crossed the perilous gulf of the sea, and arrived at this\ntown. For this reason, queen, my master wandered about, exclaiming,\n'Ah my female swan!' until he came into your presence. Now, from\nthe pleasing sight of the noble moon of your countenance, he enjoys\nthe removal of the darkness caused by the presence of innumerable\nwoes. Now, honour your noble guest with the blue lotus garland of\nyour look.\" When Karp\u00farik\u00e1 heard this feigned speech of Gomukha's,\nshe thought it was true, relying on the fact that it harmonized with\nher own recollections. And she melted in her soul with love, and she\nthought, \"After all this husband of mine was attached to me, and my\ndespondency was causeless.\" And she said--\"I am in truth that very\nfemale swan, and I am fortunate in that my husband has for my sake\nendured suffering in two births. So now I am your slave, overcome\nby love;\" and saying this, she honoured Narav\u00e1hanadatta with baths\nand other hospitalities. Then she informed her father of all this\nby the mouth of her attendants, and he, the moment he heard it,\ncame to her. Then the king thought himself fortunate, having seen\nthat his daughter had conceived a desire to be married, and that an\nappropriate suitor for her had at length arrived in Narav\u00e1hanadatta,\nwho was marked with all the signs of a great emperor. And he gave, with\nall due honour, his daughter Karp\u00farik\u00e1 to Narav\u00e1hanadatta according\nto the prescribed form. And he gave to that son-in-law of his, at\nevery circumambulation from left to right of the sacred fire, thirty\nmillions of gold-pieces, and as many lumps of camphor, the heaps of\nwhich appeared like the peaks of Meru and Kail\u00e1sa that had witnessed\nthe marriage of P\u00e1rvat\u00ed, come to behold his magnificence. Moreover\nthe king Karp\u00faraka, who had attained his wish, gave Narav\u00e1hanadatta a\nhundred millions of excellent garments and three hundred female slaves\nwell adorned. And Narav\u00e1hanadatta, after his marriage, remained with\nthat Karp\u00farik\u00e1, as if with affection incarnate in bodily form. Whose\nmind was not delighted at the union of that couple, which resembled\nthe marriage of the spring-creeper and the spring-festival?\n\nAnd on the next day Narav\u00e1hanadatta, who had attained his object,\nsaid to his beloved Karp\u00farik\u00e1, \"Come, let us go to Kaus\u00e1mb\u00ed.\" Then\nshe answered him--\"If it is to be so, why should we not go there\nimmediately in this chariot of yours that flies through the air? If\nit is too small, I will furnish another large one, for there is\nliving here a mechanic who makes ingenious chariots, who has come\nfrom a foreign land, Pr\u00e1nadhara by name; I will cause him quickly to\nmake such a chariot.\" After saying this, she called the warder that\nkept the door, and said to him--\"Go and order that chariot-maker\nPr\u00e1nadhara to prepare a large chariot, that will travel through the\nair, for us to start in.\" Then the queen Karp\u00farik\u00e1, having dismissed\nthe warder, informed her father by the mouth of a slave of her desire\nto depart. And while the king, on hearing it, was coming thither,\nNarav\u00e1hanadatta thus reflected; \"This Pr\u00e1nadhara is certainly the\nbrother of R\u00e1jyadhara, whom he described as having run away from his\nnative land through fear of his king.\" While he was thus thinking,\nthe king quickly arrived, and that mechanic Pr\u00e1nadhara came with the\nwarder, and said--\"I have ready-made a very large chariot, which will\neasily carry at this instant thousands of men.\" When the mechanic\nsaid this, Narav\u00e1hanadatta said \"Bravo!\" and asked him courteously;\n\"Are you the elder brother of R\u00e1jyadhara, skilled in various very great\nmechanical contrivances?\" And Pr\u00e1nadhara answered him, bowing before\nhim--\"I am that very brother of his, but how does Your Highness know\nabout us?\" Then Narav\u00e1hanadatta told him what R\u00e1jyadhara had told him,\nand how he had seen him. Then Pr\u00e1nadhara joyfully brought him the\nchariot, and he mounted it with Gomukha, after having been politely\ndismissed by his father-in-law the king, and after bidding farewell\nto him; but first he placed in it the slaves, camphor and gold. And\nhe took with him Pr\u00e1nadhara, whom the king permitted to depart, and\nthat head-warder, and his recently married wife Karp\u00farik\u00e1; and his\nmother-in-law uttered a solemn prayer for a blessing on his journey,\nand from those stores of splendid garments he bestowed gifts on the\nBr\u00e1hmans; and he said to Pr\u00e1nadhara--\"First let us go to R\u00e1jyadhara on\nthe shore of the sea, and then home.\" Then the chariot was driven on\nby Pr\u00e1nadhara, and the king and his wife flew up into the air quickly\nby means of it, as if by his accomplished wish. [624] In a moment\nhe crossed the sea, and reached again that city of Hemapura on its\nshore, the abode of that R\u00e1jyadhara. There R\u00e1jyadhara bowed before\nhim, delighted at beholding his brother, and as he had no female\nslaves, the prince honoured him with the gift of some, at which he\ngreatly rejoiced. And after taking leave of R\u00e1jyadhara, whose tears\nflowed fast, as he could hardly bear to part from his elder brother,\nthe prince reached Kaus\u00e1mb\u00ed in that same chariot. Then the people,\non beholding the prince unexpectedly descend from heaven, riding in\nthat splendid chariot, followed by his retainers, and accompanied by\nhis new bride, were much astonished. And his father, the king of Vatsa,\nhaving gathered from the exultations of the citizens that his son had\narrived, was delighted, and went out to meet him, accompanied by the\nqueen, the ministers, his daughter-in-law, and other persons. And\nthe king, beholding that son prostrate at his feet with his wife,\nreceived him gladly, and thought that the fact, that he was to be\nthe future emperor of the aerial spirits, was clearly revealed by his\ncoming in a flying chariot. His mother V\u00e1savadatt\u00e1, with Padm\u00e1vat\u00ed,\nembraced him, and she shed a tear, which dropped like the knot of pain\nloosened by seeing him. And his wife Ratnaprabh\u00e1 was delighted, and\nMadanamanchuk\u00e1 also, and their jealousy being overcome by love for him,\nthey embraced his feet, and won his heart at the same time. And the\nprince delighted his father's ministers, headed by Yaugandhar\u00e1yana,\nand his own, headed by Marubh\u00fati, when they bowed before him, by\nrewarding them as they severally deserved. And they all, with the\nking of Vatsa at their head, welcomed that new wife Karp\u00farik\u00e1, who\nbowed becomingly before them, like the goddess of Fortune arrived\nsurrounded by a hundred immortal nymphs, even the sister-shape of\nAmrita, [625] openly brought by her husband, having crossed the sea\nadorned with its shore as a garment with a beautiful fringe. And the\nking of Vatsa honoured that warder of her father's, giving him many\ncrores of gold-pieces, garments and lumps of camphor, which had been\nbrought in the chariot. And the king then honoured Pr\u00e1nadhara as the\nbenefactor of his son Narav\u00e1hanadatta, who had pointed him out as the\nmaker of the chariot. And then the king honoured Gomukha, and asked\nhim joyfully, \"How did you obtain this princess? And how did you start\nfrom this place?\" And then Gomukha deftly told the king of Vatsa,\nwith his wives and ministers, in private, the whole adventure, as it\ntook place, beginning with their going to the forest to hunt,----how\nthey met the female hermit, and how they crossed the sea by means of\nthe chariot provided by R\u00e1jyadhara, and how Karp\u00farik\u00e1 was obtained\nwith her female attendants, though she was averse to marriage, and how\nthey returned by the way by which they went, in a chariot which they\nobtained by finding Pr\u00e1nadhara. Then all of them, shaking their heads\nin astonishment and joy, said--\"To think of the concurrence of all\nthese circumstances, the chase, and the female ascetic, the carpenter\nR\u00e1jyadhara skilled in mechanical contrivances found on the shore of\nthe sea, the crossing the ocean in the chariot that he made, and that\nanother maker of these chariots should have previously reached the\nother side of the ocean! The truth is, Destiny takes trouble to provide\nthe fortunate with the means of obtaining prosperous success.\" Then\nall respectfully commended Gomukha for his devotion to his lord. And\nthey praised queen Ratnaprabh\u00e1, who by her knowledge protected her\nlord on his journey, for she produced general satisfaction by acting\nlike a woman devoted to her husband. Then Narav\u00e1hanadatta, having made\nhis party of air-travellers forget the fatigues of their journey,\nentered his palace with his father, and mother, his wives and other\nrelations. Then his treasury was filled with heaps of gold by the\nfriends and relations who came to see him, and whom he honoured, and\nhe loaded Pr\u00e1nadhara and his father-in-law's warder with wealth. And\nPr\u00e1nadhara, immediately after he had taken food, respectfully addressed\nthis petition to him--\"Prince, king Karp\u00farik\u00e1 gave us the following\norder--'You must come back quickly as soon as my daughter has reached\nher husband's palace, in order that I may have early news of her\narrival.' So we must certainly go there quickly this very moment; give\nus a letter from Karp\u00farik\u00e1 to the king written with her own hand. For\notherwise the heart of the king, which is attached to his daughter,\nwill not take comfort. For he, never having mounted an air-chariot,\nfears that we may have fallen from it. So give me the letter, and\npermit this head-warder, who is desirous of ascending the chariot,\nto depart with me. But I will return here, crown-prince, and will\nbring my family, for I cannot abandon the two ambrosial lotuses of\nyour feet.\" When Pr\u00e1nadhara said this firmly, the son of the king of\nVatsa immediately made Karp\u00farik\u00e1 sit down to write that letter. It\nran as follows, \"My father, you must not feel anxious about me,\nsince I share the happiness and possess the love of a good husband;\nwas the goddess Lakshm\u00ed an object of anxiety to the ocean after she\nhad betaken herself to the Supreme Bridegroom?\" When she had written\nthe above letter with her own hand, and given it, the son of the king\nof Vatsa dismissed the warder and Pr\u00e1nadhara with honour. And they\nascended the chariot, and produced astonishment in the minds of all,\nas they were seen going through the air, and crossing the sea they\nwent to the city of Karp\u00farasambhava. There they delighted the king\nKarp\u00faraka by reading out his daughter's letter, which told that she had\nreached her husband's palace. The next day Pr\u00e1nadhara took leave of the\nking, and after visiting R\u00e1jyadhara, repaired with his family into the\npresence of Narav\u00e1hanadatta. Narav\u00e1hanadatta, when he had returned thus\nquickly after accomplishing his mission, gave him a dwelling near his\npalace and an ample allowance. And he amused himself, and his wives,\nby going about in the flying chariots made by him, as if rehearsing\nfuture journeyings in the skies as emperor of the Vidy\u00e1dharas.\n\nThus, having delighted his friends, followers and wives, and obtained\na third wife Karp\u00farik\u00e1 in addition to Ratnaprabh\u00e1 and Madanamanchuk\u00e1,\nthe son of the king of Vatsa spent those days in happiness.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nBOOK VIII.\n\n\nCHAPTER XLIV.\n\n\nVictory to the elephant-headed god, [626] who, reddening the sky\nwith the vermilion dye shaken off by the wind of his flapping ears,\nseems to create sunset, even when it is not due.\n\nThus Narav\u00e1hanadatta, the son of the king of Vatsa, dwelt happily in\nhis father's house, after he had won those wives. And one day, when he\nwas in his father's assembly-hall, he saw a man of heavenly appearance\ncome there, descending from heaven. And after he and his father had\nwelcomed the man, who bowed before him, he immediately asked him,\n\"Who are you and why have you come?\" Then he answered--\"There is a\ncity in this earth on the ridge of Himavat, called Vajrak\u00fata, [627]\nand rightly so called, as being all made of diamond. There I dwelt,\nas a king of the Vidy\u00e1dharas named Vajraprabha, and my name too was\nrightly given me, because my body is framed of diamond. And I received\nthis command from Siva, (who was pleased with my austerities,) \"If thou\nremainest loyal at the appointed time to the emperor created by me,\nthou shalt become by my favour invincible to thy enemies.\" Accordingly\nI have come here without delay to pay my respects to my sovereign:\nfor I have already perceived by means of my science that the son of\nthe king of Vatsa, (who is born of a portion of the god of Love, and\nappointed by the god who wears a digit of the moon,) though a mortal,\nshall be sole emperor over both divisions of our territory. [628]\nAnd though, by the favour of Siva, a prince of the name of S\u00faryaprabha\nwas ruler over us for a kalpa of the gods, still he was only lord in\nthe southern division, but in the northern division a prince called\nSrutasarman was emperor; but your majesty, being destined for great\ngood fortune, shall be sole emperor here over the wanderers of the air,\nand your dominion shall endure for a kalpa.\"\n\nWhen the Vidy\u00e1dhara said this, Narav\u00e1hanadatta, in the presence\nof the king of Vatsa, said to him again out of curiosity: \"How did\nS\u00faryaprabha, being a man, obtain of old time the sovereignty over\nthe Vidy\u00e1dharas? Tell us.\" Then in private, that is to say, in the\npresence of the queens and ministers, the king Vajraprabha began to\ntell that tale.\n\n\n\nStory of S\u00faryaprabha, and how he attained sovereignty over the\nVidy\u00e1dharas.\n\nOf old there was in the country of the people of Madra a town named\nS\u00e1kala; [629] Chandraprabha, the son of Ang\u00e1raprabha, was king of it,\nwhose name expressed his nature, as he delighted the whole world,\nbut he was like fire in that he scorched his enemies. By his wife,\nnamed K\u00edrtimat\u00ed, there was born to that king a son, whose future glory\nwas indicated by his exceedingly auspicious marks. And when he was\nborn, a clear voice sounded from heaven, which rained nectar into the\nears of king Chandraprabha, \"This king, now born, named S\u00faryaprabha,\nis appointed by Siva as the future emperor over the kings of the\nVidy\u00e1dharas. Then that prince S\u00faryaprabha grew up in the house of\nhis father, who was distinguished by the delightful favour of the\nenemy of Pura, [630] and he being very clever, gradually acquired,\nwhile still a child, all knowledge and all the accomplishments by\nsitting at the feet of a teacher; and then, when he was sixteen\nyears old, and captivated the subjects by his virtues, his father\nChandraprabha appointed him crown-prince, and he gave him the sons\nof his own ministers, many in number, Bh\u00e1sa, Prabh\u00e1sa, Siddh\u00e1rtha,\nPrahasta and others. And while he was bearing with them the burden of\na crown-prince's duty, one day a great Asura of the name of Maya came\nthere, and Maya went up in the assembly-hall to king Chandraprabha,\nwho welcomed him, and said to him in the presence of S\u00faryaprabha,\n\"King, this son of yours, S\u00faryaprabha, has been appointed as the\nfuture emperor of the kings of the Vidy\u00e1dharas by Siva; so why does\nhe not acquire the magic sciences that will put him in possession of\nthe dignity? For this reason I am sent here by the god Siva. Permit\nme to take him, and teach him the right method of employing the\nsciences, which will be the cause of his obtaining the sovereignty\nof the Vidy\u00e1dharas. For he has a rival in this business, a lord\nof the sky-goers named Srutasarman; he too has been appointed by\nSiva. But this prince, after acquiring the power of the sciences,\nshall conquer him with our help, and become emperor over the lords of\nthe Vidy\u00e1dharas.\" When Maya said this, king Chandraprabha said--\"We\nare fortunate; let this auspicious one be taken by you wherever you\nwish.\" Then Maya took leave of the king, and quickly carried off\nto P\u00e1t\u00e1la S\u00faryaprabha and his ministers, whom the king permitted to\ndepart. There he taught the prince ascetic practices of such a kind,\nthat by means of them the prince and his ministers quickly acquired\nthe sciences. And he taught him also the art of providing himself with\nmagic chariots, so that he acquired a chariot named Bh\u00fat\u00e1sana. Then\nMaya brought S\u00faryaprabha, mounted on that chariot, with his ministers,\nhaving acquired the sciences, back to his own city from P\u00e1t\u00e1la. And\nafter he had led him into the presence of his parents, he said to\nhim, \"Now I depart, enjoy here all the enjoyments given by your magic\nknowledge until I return.\" After saying this, the Asura Maya departed,\nafter having been duly honoured, and king Chandraprabha rejoiced in\nhis son's having acquired the sciences.\n\nThen S\u00faryaprabha, by virtue of the sciences, was continually roaming\nthrough many countries in his chariot, with his ministers, to amuse\nhimself. And wherever any princess beheld him, she was immediately\nbewildered by love, and chose him for her husband. The first was the\nvirgin daughter of the king of T\u00e1mralipt\u00ed, who was called V\u00edrabhata;\nher name was Madanasen\u00e1, and she was the first beauty of the world. The\nsecond was Chandrik\u00e1vat\u00ed the daughter of Subhata, the emperor of\nthe western border, who had been carried off by the Siddhas and left\nsomewhere else. And the third was the famous daughter of Kumbh\u00edra,\nthe king of the city of K\u00e1nch\u00ed, Varunasen\u00e1 by name, remarkable\nfor her beauty. And the fourth was the daughter of king Paurava,\nsovereign of L\u00e1v\u00e1naka, Sulochan\u00e1 by name, with lovely eyes. And\nthe fifth was the daughter of king Suroha, the lord of the land of\nChina, Vidyunm\u00e1l\u00e1 with charming limbs, yellow as gold. And the sixth\nwas the daughter of king K\u00e1ntisena, ruler in the land of Sr\u00edkantha,\nsurpassing in beauty the Apsarases. And the seventh was Parapusht\u00e1,\nthe daughter of king Janamejaya, the lord of the city of Kaus\u00e1mb\u00ed,\na sweet-voiced maid. And though the relations of these maidens,\nwho were carried off by a surprise, found out what had happened,\nstill, as the prince was confident in the might of his supernatural\nscience, they were pliant as canes. These wives also acquired the\nsciences, and S\u00faryaprabha associated with them all at the same time,\ntaking many bodies by his magic skill. Then he amused himself,\nin the company of these wives, and of the ministers Prahasta and\nothers, with roaming in the air, with concerts, drinking-parties and\nother amusements. Possessing heavenly skill in painting, he drew the\nVidy\u00e1dhara females, and in that way, and by making sportive sarcastic\nspeeches, he enraged those charmers, and he was amused at their faces,\nfurrowed with frowns, and with reddened eyes, and at their speeches,\nthe syllables of which faltered on their trembling lips. And that\nprince went with his wives to T\u00e1mralipt\u00ed, and roaming through the\nair sported in the gardens with Madanasen\u00e1. And having left his\nwives there, he went in the chariot Bh\u00fat\u00e1sana, and accompanied by\nPrahasta only, visited the city called Vajrar\u00e1tra. There he carried\noff the daughter of king Rambha before his eyes, T\u00e1r\u00e1val\u00ed by name,\nwho was enamoured of him, and burning with the fire of love. And he\ncame back to T\u00e1mralipt\u00ed, and there carried off again another maiden\nprincess, by name Vil\u00e1sin\u00ed. And when her haughty brother Sahasr\u00e1yudha\nwas annoyed at it, he paralyzed him by his supernatural power. And he\nalso stupefied Sahasr\u00e1yudha's mother's brother, who came with him,\nand all his retainers, and made his head shorn of hair, because\nhe wished to carry off his beloved ones. But though he was angry,\nhe spared to slay them both, because they were his wife's relatives,\nbut he taunted them, who were downcast on account of the overthrow of\ntheir pride, and let them go. Then S\u00faryaprabha, surrounded by nine\nwives, having been summoned by his father, returned in his chariot\nto his city S\u00e1kala.\n\nAnd then king V\u00edrabhata sent from T\u00e1mralipt\u00ed an ambassador to\nS\u00faryaprabha's father, king Chandraprabha, and gave him the following\nmessage to deliver--\"Your son has carried off my two daughters,\nbut let that be, for he is a desirable husband for them, as he\nis a master of supernatural sciences, but, if you love us, come\nhere now, in order that we may make a friendship based upon the\ndue performance of marriage rites and hospitality.\" Thereupon king\nChandraprabha rewarded the messenger, and determined that he would\nquickly start for that place on the morrow. But he sent Prahasta, as\nan ambassador to V\u00edrabhata, in order to make sure of his sincerity,\nand gave him Bh\u00fat\u00e1sana to travel in. Prahasta went quickly and had an\ninterview with king V\u00edrabhata, and questioned him about the business,\nand was informed and highly honoured by him, [631] and promised him,\nwho smiled graciously, that his masters would come early next morning,\nand then he returned in a moment to Chandraprabha through the air. And\nhe told that king that V\u00edrabhata was ready to receive him. The king,\nfor his part, being pleased, shewed honour to that minister of his\nson's. Then king Chandraprabha with queen K\u00edrtimat\u00ed, and S\u00faryaprabha\nwith Vil\u00e1sin\u00ed and Madanasen\u00e1, mounted that chariot Bh\u00fat\u00e1sana, and\nwent off early next day with retinue and ministers. In one watch only\nof the day they reached T\u00e1mralipt\u00ed, being beheld, as they passed\nthrough the air, by the people with eyes the lashes of which were\nupraised through wonder. And descending from the sky, they entered\nthe city side by side with king V\u00edrabhata, who came out to meet them;\nthe beautiful streets of the town were irrigated at every step with\nsandal-wood water, and seemed to be strewed with blue lotuses by\nmeans of the sidelong glances of the city ladies. There V\u00edrabhata\nhonoured his connexion and his son-in-law, and duly performed the\nmarriage ceremony of his daughters. And king V\u00edrabhata gave at the\nmarriage-altar of those daughters, a thousand loads of pure gold,\nand a hundred camels laden with burdens of ornaments made of jewels;\nand five hundred camels laden with loads of various garments, and\nfifty thousand horses, and five thousand elephants, and a thousand\nlovely women adorned with beauty and jewels. And moreover he gratified\nhis son-in-law S\u00faryaprabha and his parents with valuable jewels and\nterritories. And he duly honoured his ministers, Prahasta and others,\nand he made a feast at which all the people of the city rejoiced. And\nS\u00faryaprabha remained there in the company of his parents, and his\nbeloved wives, enjoying delights, consisting of various dainties,\nwines, and music.\n\nIn the meanwhile an ambassador arrived from Rambha in Vajrar\u00e1tra,\nand in the hall of assembly delivered this message from his master:\n\"The crown-prince S\u00faryaprabha, confiding in the might of his sciences,\nhas insulted us by carrying off our daughter. But to-day we have come\nto know, that he has undertaken to be reconciled to king V\u00edrabhata,\nwhose misfortune is the same as ours. If in the same way you agree\nto be reconciled to us, come here also quickly, if not, we will in\nthis matter salve our honour by death.\" When king Chandraprabha\nheard that, he honoured the ambassador, and said to him, \"Go to\nthat Rambha and give him this message from me: 'Why do you afflict\nyourself without cause? For S\u00faryaprabha is now appointed by Siva the\nfuture emperor of the Vidy\u00e1dharas; and inspired sages have declared\nthat your daughter and others are to be his wives. So your daughter\nhas attained her proper place, but you being stern were not asked for\nher. So be appeased, you are our friend, we will come to your residence\nalso.'\" When Prahasta received this message from the king, he went\nthrough the air, and in a single watch he reached Vajrar\u00e1tra. There he\ntold his message to Rambha, and having been gladly received by him,\nhe returned as he came, and reported it to king Chandraprabha. Then\nChandraprabha sent his minister Prabh\u00e1sa, and had king Rambha's\ndaughter T\u00e1r\u00e1val\u00ed conducted to him from S\u00e1kala. Then he departed in\nthe air-chariot with S\u00faryaprabha, being dismissed with great honour\nby king V\u00edrabhata and all others. And he reached Vajrar\u00e1tra, which\nwas full of people awaiting his arrival, and was met by Rambha, and\nentered his palace. There Rambha, having performed the great feast of\nthe marriage ceremony, gave his daughter countless stores of gold,\nelephants, horses, jewels, and other valuables. And he gratified\nso lavishly his son-in-law S\u00faryaprabha, that he forgot all his own\nluxuries. And while they were remaining there delighted with feasts,\nan ambassador came from the city of K\u00e1nch\u00ed to Rambha. Rambha having\nheard his message, said to king Chandraprabha--\"King, the lord of\nK\u00e1nch\u00ed, named Kumbh\u00edra, is my elder brother; he has to-day sent me a\ntrustworthy messenger to speak this speech; 'S\u00faryaprabha first carried\noff my daughter, then yours. And now you have made friendship with\nhim and his father, as I hear, so bring about my friendship also with\nthem. Let them come to my house, that I may with my own hand give\nmy daughter Varunasen\u00e1 to S\u00faryaprabha.' So grant this request of my\nbrother's.\" When Rambha made this request, Chandraprabha granted it,\nand sent Prahasta and had Varunasen\u00e1 brought quickly from the city of\nS\u00e1kala to her father Kumbh\u00edra. And the next day, he and S\u00faryaprabha\nand Rambha, and V\u00edrabhata and all, with their attendants, went to the\ncity of K\u00e1nch\u00ed. And after they had been met by Kumbh\u00edra, they entered\nthe city of K\u00e1nch\u00ed, as it were the girdle of the earth, full of many\njewels and adorned with excellences. [632] There Kumbh\u00edra bestowed\nhis daughter on S\u00faryaprabha with the usual ceremonies, and gave much\nwealth to the young couple.\n\nAnd when the marriage had taken place, Prahasta, after taking food,\nsaid to Chandraprabha, who was all joyfulness, in the presence of all,\n\"King, in the country of Sr\u00edkantha I had an interview with the king\nof that land; there king K\u00e1ntisena whom I thus happened to see, said\nto me--'Let S\u00faryaprabha come to my house with that daughter of mine,\nwhom he has carried off, I will perform the ceremony for him according\nto rule. If he refuses, I will abandon the body, distracted by love\nfor my daughter.' This is what he then said to me, and I have now\nmentioned it on the proper occasion.\" When Prahasta said this, king\nChandraprabha answered, \"Go then, take K\u00e1ntimat\u00ed to him, we will go\nthere also.\" When the king said this to him, Prahasta went off that\nmoment through the air, and did as he had commanded. And next morning\nChandraprabha and all, with Kumbh\u00edra, went to the land of Sr\u00edkantha in\nthe air-travelling chariot. There king K\u00e1ntisena came to meet them,\nand making them enter his palace, performed the auspicious ceremony\nof his daughter's marriage. Then he gave to K\u00e1ntimat\u00ed and S\u00faryaprabha\nan endless quantity of jewels, which excited the wonder of the kings.\n\nWhile they were all remaining there, enjoying all kinds of pleasures,\na messenger came from Kaus\u00e1mb\u00ed and said--\"King Janamejaya sends this\nmessage to your honours, 'My daughter, of the name of Parapusht\u00e1,\nhas been carried off by some one lately. And I have found out to-day,\nthat she has come into the power of S\u00faryaprabha, so let him come with\nher to my house without fear. I will perform the marriage ceremony\naccording to rule, and so dismiss him with his wife, otherwise you\nwill be my enemies, and I shall be yours.'\" Having thus delivered\nhis master's message, the ambassador remained silent: then king\nChandraprabha said to them apart--\"How can we go to the house of that\nking who sends such haughty messages?\" When the king's minister named\nSiddh\u00e1rtha heard that, he said, \"Do not entertain wrong notions,\nking, for he is justified in using such language. For that king is\nvery generous, learned and sprung of a noble race, a hero, one who\nhas offered the Asvamedha sacrifice, ever unconquered by others. How\ncan he have spoken anything unbecoming in speaking according to\nfacts? And as for the enmity which he threatens, he does that now\non account of Indra. So you must go to his house, for he is a king\nfaithful to his engagements. Nevertheless send some one to find out\nhis intentions.\" When they heard this speech of Siddh\u00e1rtha's, they all\napproved it. Then king Chandraprabha sent Prahasta to sound Janamejaya,\nand honoured his messenger. And Prahasta went, and after making an\nagreement with the king of Kaus\u00e1mb\u00ed, brought a letter from him, and\nsatisfied Chandraprabha. The king quickly sent that Prahasta, and had\nParapusht\u00e1 conducted from S\u00e1kala to Janamejaya. Then Chandraprabha and\nthe other kings, preceded by S\u00faryaprabha, [633] with K\u00e1ntisena, went to\nKaus\u00e1mb\u00ed in the chariot. There the king Janamejaya courteously honoured\nhis son-in-law, and his connexion and all the others, by advancing\nto meet them, and other ceremonies. And after he had performed the\nceremony of the marriage-rite, he gave five thousand elephants and\none hundred thousand excellent horses, and also five thousand camels\nladen with full burdens of jewels, gold, precious apparel, camphor\nand aloes-wood. And he made such a feast, that even the realm of\nPluto was exclusively engaged in dancing and music, a feast in which\nexcellent Br\u00e1hmans were honoured, and all kings gratified.\n\nAnd in the meanwhile the heaven there suddenly became red, as if\nindicating that it would soon be dyed crimson with blood. And the sky\nsuddenly became full of confused hurtling noises, as if terrified\nat beholding a hostile army coming in the air. And a mighty wind\nimmediately began to blow, as if exciting the inhabitants of earth\nto war against the wanderers of the air. And immediately a great\nVidy\u00e1dhara army was seen in the air, illuminating with brightness\nthe circle of the horizon, loud-shouting, impetuous. And in the\nmidst of it S\u00faryaprabha and the others beheld with astonishment a\nvery handsome heavenly youth. And at that moment the herald of the\nVidy\u00e1dharas proclaimed with a loud voice in front of that youth,\nwhose name was D\u00e1modara: \"Victory to the crown-prince D\u00e1modara son\nof king \u00c1sh\u00e1dha! O mortal, dweller on the earth, S\u00faryaprabha, fall\nat his feet. And do homage, O Janamejaya; why have you given your\ndaughter to an undeserver? Propitiate, both of you, this god at once,\notherwise he will not be appeased.\" When S\u00faryaprabha heard this,\nand saw that army, he was wroth, and seizing his sword and shield,\nhe flew up into the heaven by his science. And all his ministers\nflew up after him, with their weapons in their hands, Prahasta, and\nPrabh\u00e1sa, and Bh\u00e1sa, and Siddh\u00e1rtha, and Prajn\u00e1dhya, and Sarvadamana,\nand V\u00edtabh\u00edti and Subhankara. And the Vidy\u00e1dharas fought a great fight\nwith them. And on one side S\u00faryaprabha, and on the other D\u00e1modara\nadvanced, not slaying their enemies with their swords, but receiving\ntheir weapons on their shields. Those men, few in number, and those\nair-roamers, a hundred thousand in number, found equality in battle,\nfighting with one another. And all sword-blades there flashed red\nwith blood, falling on the heads of heroes, like the glances of\nthe god of death. And the Vidy\u00e1dharas fell on the earth with their\nheads and their bodies, in front of Chandraprabha, as if imploring\nprotection out of fear. S\u00faryaprabha shone in the world with the glory\nof the Vidy\u00e1dharas which he had seen. The sky was red with blood,\nas if with vermilion shed abroad. And S\u00faryaprabha at last reached,\nand fought face to face with D\u00e1modara, who was armed with a sword and\na shield. And as he fought, he broke through his enemy's guard by a\nskilful management of his weapons, and laid him on the earth, having\ncleft his shield with his sword. And while he was preparing to cut off\nthe head of his struggling foe, Vishnu came and made a threatening\nsound in the sky. Then S\u00faryaprabha, having heard that sound, and\nhaving beheld Hari, prostrated himself, and out of respect for the god\nspared to slay D\u00e1modara. Hari carried him off somewhere as his votary,\nand saved him from death, for the adorable one delivers in this world\nand the next his faithful followers. And the troops of D\u00e1modara fled\nin different directions. S\u00faryaprabha, for his part, descended from\nheaven to his father's side. And his father Chandraprabha welcomed\nhim, on his returning unwounded with his ministers, and the other\nkings praised him, now that his valour had been seen.\n\nAnd while they were all engaged in joyfully talking over the combat,\nanother ambassador, belonging to Subhata, arrived there. And he\ncame and delivered a letter in the presence of Chandraprabha; and\nSiddh\u00e1rtha, opening it, read it out in the assembly: It ran as follows,\n\"The august king Chandraprabha, the pearl-jewel of a noble race,\nis thus respectfully solicited by king Subhata in the Concan. We\nhave learnt that our daughter, who was carried off by some being\nin the night, has come into the hands of thy son, and we rejoice\nthereat. Make an effort, thou and thy son S\u00faryaprabha, to come with\nher to our house, without raising any objection, in order that we\nmay behold our daughter, returned as it were from the other world,\nand perform for her at once the ceremony required for marriage.\" When\nthis letter was read by Siddh\u00e1rtha, the king Chandraprabha, consenting,\nwelcomed the messenger and rejoiced. And he quickly sent Prahasta to\nthe western border, and had Subhata's daughter Chandrik\u00e1vat\u00ed conducted\ninto her father's presence. And the next morning they all went, with\nS\u00faryaprabha in front, and in company with Janamejaya, in the chariot\nto the western border. There king Subhata, pleased at recovering\nhis daughter, shewed them much honour, and celebrated his daughter's\nmarriage festival. And he bestowed on Chandrik\u00e1vat\u00ed jewels and other\ngifts in such liberal profusion, that V\u00edrabhata and the others were\nashamed at what they had given. Then, while S\u00faryaprabha was remaining\nthere in the house of his father-in-law, there came from L\u00e1v\u00e1naka also\nan ambassador belonging to king Paurava. He delivered to Chandraprabha\nthis message from his master, \"My daughter Sulochan\u00e1 has been carried\noff by the fortunate prince S\u00faryaprabha: that does not grieve me; but\nwhy should he not be brought with her to my house, in order that we may\nperform the marriage ceremony?\" When king Chandraprabha heard that,\nhe honoured the messenger in his joy, and had Sulochan\u00e1 escorted by\nPrahasta into the presence of her father. Then they, Subhata and all,\nin the company of S\u00faryaprabha, went to L\u00e1v\u00e1naka in the chariot, that\ncame as soon as it was thought of. There Paurava performed the joyful\nmarriage ceremony, and bestowed jewels liberally on S\u00faryaprabha and\nSulochan\u00e1, and honoured the kings also. And while they were remaining\nthere in delight, entertained by the king, Suroha, the king of China,\nalso sent an ambassador. That king, like the others, requested by the\nmouth of the ambassador that, as his daughter had been carried off,\nthey would come with her to his palace.\n\nThen king Chandraprabha was delighted, and he had the king of China's\ndaughter, Vidyunm\u00e1l\u00e1, also conducted by Prahasta to her father's\nhouse. And on the next day Chandraprabha and all went, including\nPaurava, together with S\u00faryaprabha and his retinue, to the land of\nChina. There the king came out to meet them, and led them into his\nown treasure-chamber, and there performed the marriage ceremony of\nhis daughter. And he gave to Vidyunm\u00e1l\u00e1 and S\u00faryaprabha an immense\nquantity of gold, elephants, horses, jewels and silk garments. And\nbeing invited by Suroha, Chandraprabha and the others continued there\nfor some days in various enjoyments. And S\u00faryaprabha, who was in the\nprime of youth, was adorned by that Vidyunm\u00e1l\u00e1, [634] as the rainy\nseason, when the clouds abound, is adorned by the lightning-garland.\n\nThus S\u00faryaprabha and his relatives, accompanied by his various\ncharmers, enjoyed delights here and there in the houses of his\nfathers-in-law. Then he took counsel with Siddh\u00e1rtha and his other\nministers, and dismissed one by one to their own lands V\u00edrabhata and\nthe other kings, with numbers of horses, and then took leave of that\nking Suroha, and accompanied by his daughter, with his own parents\nand followers ascended that chariot Bh\u00fat\u00e1sana, and went triumphant\nto his own city of S\u00e1kala. In that city great rejoicing took place\non account of his arrival; in one place there was the occupation of\ndancing, in another the delight of music; in one place the amusement of\ndrinking, in another the toilet-rites of fair-eyed ladies; in another\nthe voice of bards loud in the praise of him who had obtained what\nhe desired. Then he had brought his other wives, who had remained in\ntheir fathers' houses, and with the stores of elephants and horses\nbestowed by their fathers, that were brought with them, and with the\ninnumerable camels bowed down with burdens full of various jewels, he\ndisplayed in sport the wealth obtained by the conquest of the world,\nand aroused the wonder of his subjects.\n\nThen S\u00e1kala, inhabited by that fortunate one, appeared glorious,\nas if the chiefs of the gods, of the followers of Kuvera, and of the\nsnakes, had made in it many deposits of much wealth. Then S\u00faryaprabha\ndwelt there with Madanasen\u00e1, enjoying the pleasures he desired, happy\nin that all blessings were fully bestowed upon him, in the society\nof his parents, with his ministers, accompanied by his other wives,\nexpecting every day Maya, who had made a promise to return.\n\n\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XLV.\n\n\nThen, one day, when king Chandraprabha was in the hall of assembly,\nand S\u00faryaprabha was there accompanied by all his ministers, they\ncalled to mind Maya \u00e0 propos of a remark made by Siddh\u00e1rtha, and\nsuddenly the earth cleft open in the middle of the assembly. Then\nfirst a loud-sounding fragrant breeze ascended from the aperture in\nthe earth, and afterwards the Asura Maya rose up from it, looking\nlike a mountain in the night, for his hair gleamed upon his black\nlofty head like the potent herbs upon the mountain peaks, and his\ncrimson robe resembled the flowing streams of cinnabar. And the king\nof the D\u00e1navas, after having been duly honoured by king Chandraprabha,\nspake from his seat on a jewelled throne--\"You have enjoyed these\ndelights of earth, and now it is time for you to enjoy others; set\nyourselves now to prepare for acquiring them. Send out ambassadors,\nand collect your subordinate kings, and your friends and connexions;\nthen we will unite with Sumeru, prince of the Vidy\u00e1dharas, and we will\nconquer Srutasarman, and win the sovereignty of the sky-goers. And\nSumeru is our ally, considering us as friends, for he received at the\noutset a command from Siva, to support S\u00faryaprabha and give him his\nown daughter. When the Asura Maya said this, Chandraprabha sent, as\nambassadors to all the kings, Prahasta and the other ministers that\ntravelled through the air; and, by the advice of Maya, S\u00faryaprabha\ncommunicated the magic sciences to all his wives and ministers,\non whom they had not been bestowed already.\n\nAnd while they were thus engaged, the hermit N\u00e1rada arrived, descending\nfrom the sky, illuminating the whole horizon with brightness. And after\nhe had received the argha, he sat down and said to Chandraprabha, \"I\nam sent here by Indra, and he sends this message to your Highness--'I\nhave learned that, by the instigation of Siva, you purpose, with the\nassistance of the Asura Maya, being all of you deluded by ignorance,\nto obtain for this S\u00faryaprabha, of mortal frame, the great dignity of\nemperor of all the chiefs of the Vidy\u00e1dharas: that is improper, for\nI have conferred it on Srutasarman, and besides it is the hereditary\nright of that moon of the sea of the Vidy\u00e1dhara race. And as for what\nyou are doing in a spirit of opposition to me, and contrary to what\nis right, it will certainly result in your destruction. Moreover,\nbefore, when your Highness was offering a sacrifice to Rudra, I told\nyou first to offer an Asvamedha sacrifice, but you did not do it. So\nthe haughty enterprise you are engaged in, without regard to the gods,\nrelying upon Siva alone, will not turn out to your happiness.'\" When\nN\u00e1rada had delivered in these words the message of Indra, Maya\nlaughed and said to him; \"Great hermit, the king of gods has not\nspoken well. For what he says about the fact of S\u00faryaprabha being\na mortal is beside the point; for who was not aware of that fact,\nwhen he met D\u00e1modara in fight? For mortals who possess courage can\nobtain all powers. Did not Nahusha and others of old time obtain the\ndignity of Indra? And as for his saying that he bestowed the empire on\nSrutasarman, and that it is his hereditary right, that also is absurd,\nfor where Siva is the giver, who has any authority? Besides, did not\nhe himself take away the sovereignty of the gods from Hirany\u00e1ksha,\nthough it descended to him as the elder? And as for his other remark\nabout opposition, and our acting contrary to what is right, that is\nfalse, for he violently puts himself in opposition to us out of selfish\nmotives, and wherein, pray, are we acting contrary to what is right,\nfor we are only striving to conquer our rival, we are not carrying off\na hermit's wife, we are not killing Br\u00e1hmans? And what he says about\nthe necessity of first performing an Asvamedha sacrifice, and about\ncontempt of the gods, is untrue, for when sacrifice to Siva has been\nperformed, what need is there of other sacrifices? [635] And when Siva\nthe god of gods is worshipped, what god is not worshipped? And as for\nhis remark that exclusive attention to Rudra [636] is not becoming,\nI answer--Of what importance are the hosts of the other gods, where\nSiva is in arms? When the sun has risen, do the other luminaries give\nlight? So you must tell all this to the king of the gods, O hermit,\nand we shall continue to carry out what we are engaged in, let him\ndo what he can.\" When the rishi N\u00e1rada had been thus addressed by the\nAsura Maya, he said \"I will do so,\" and took back to the king of the\ngods that answer to his message. When that hermit had departed, the\nAsura Maya thus spake to king Chandraprabha, who was apprehensive on\naccount of the message of Indra, \"You must not be afraid of Indra;\neven if he is on the side of Srutasarman in fight, with the hosts\nof the gods, out of hostility to us, still we Daityas and D\u00e1navas\nare countless in number, and under the leadership of Prahl\u00e1da we are\nranged together on your side. And if the destroyer of Tripura [637]\nfavours us and is active on our side, what other miserable creature\nin the three worlds has any power? So set about this expedition,\nheroes.\" When Maya said this, all those there were pleased, and\nconsidered that it was as he said.\n\nThen in accordance with the messages carried by the ambassadors,\nin course of time all the kings, V\u00edrabhata and the others, assembled\nthere, and all the other friends and relatives of Chandraprabha. When\nthese kings with their armies had been duly honoured, the Asura\nMaya again said to Chandraprabha, \"Perform to-night, O king, a\ngreat sacrifice in honour of Siva; afterwards you shall do all as\nI direct.\" When he heard this speech of Maya's, king Chandraprabha\nimmediately had preparations made for a sacrifice to Siva. Then he went\nto the forest at night, and under the instructions of Maya, himself\nperformed devoutly a sacrifice to Rudra. And while the king was engaged\nin the fire-offering, there suddenly appeared there Nandin the prince\nof the host of Bh\u00fatas. He was honoured duly by the delighted king,\nand said--\"The god Siva himself sends this command by me, 'Through\nmy favour thou needst not fear even a hundred Indras; S\u00faryaprabha\nshall become emperor of the sky-goers.'\" After he had delivered this\nmessage, Nandin received a portion of the offering and disappeared\nwith the hosts of Bh\u00fatas. Then Chandraprabha became confident in\nthe future elevation of his son, and after completing the sacrifice,\nat the end of the fire-offering, re-entered the city with Maya.\n\nAnd the next morning, when king Chandraprabha was sitting in secret\nconclave together with the queen, his son, the kings and his ministers,\nthe Asura Maya said to him--\"Listen, king, I will to-day tell you a\nsecret long guarded; you are a D\u00e1nava, Sun\u00edtha by name, my mighty son,\nand S\u00faryaprabha is your younger brother, named Sumund\u00edka; after you\nwere slain in the war of the gods, you were born here as father and\nson. That D\u00e1nava body of yours has been preserved by me skilfully\nembalmed with heavenly drugs and ghee. Therefore you must enter a\ncavern and visit P\u00e1t\u00e1la, and then return to your own body by a charm\nwhich I will teach you. And when you have entered that body, you will\nbe so much superior in spirit and strength, that you will conquer in\nfight the wanderers of the air. But S\u00faryaprabha, who is an incarnation\nof Sumund\u00edka, with this same beautiful body which he now possesses,\nshall soon become lord of the sky-goers. When king Chandraprabha heard\nthis from Maya, he was delighted and agreed to it, but Siddh\u00e1rtha\nsaid this--\"O excellent D\u00e1nava, what ground of confidence have we,\nif this doubt should arise, 'Why has the king entered another body,\nhas he then died?' And moreover will he forget us when he enters\nanother body, like a man gone to the other world? Who is he, and\nwho are we?\" When the Asura Maya heard this speech of Siddh\u00e1rtha's,\nhe answered--\"You yourselves must come and see him with your own\neyes entering another body, of his own free will, by the employment\nof a charm. And hear the reason why he will not forget you. A man,\nwho does not die of his own free will, and is born in another womb,\ndoes not remember anything, as his memory is destroyed by old age and\nother afflictions, but whoever of his own free will enters another\nbody, penetrating by the employment of magic the internal organ and\nthe senses, without his mind and intellect being impaired, and passes,\nas it were, from one house to another, that prince among Yogins has\nsupernatural knowledge and remembers all. So do not feel doubtful;\nso far from there being any reason for it, this king will obtain a\ngreat divine body free from old age and sickness. Moreover you are all\nD\u00e1navas, and by merely entering Ras\u00e1tala, [638] and drinking nectar,\nyou will obtain divine bodies free from sickness.\" When the ministers\nheard this speech of Maya's, they all said, \"So be it,\" and consented\nto his proposal, abandoning their apprehensions out of the confidence\nthey reposed in him. And by his advice, Chandraprabha, with all the\nkings, went on the next day to the confluence of the Chandrabh\u00e1g\u00e1\nand the Air\u00e1vat\u00ed. [639] There Chandraprabha left the kings outside,\nand committed to their care the wives of S\u00faryaprabha, and then he\nentered in company with S\u00faryaprabha, the queen, and the ministers\nwith Siddh\u00e1rtha at their head, an opening in the water pointed out\nby Maya, and after entering he travelled a long distance, and beheld\na heavenly temple, and entered it with all of them.\n\nAnd in the meanwhile the Vidy\u00e1dharas descended with troops on those\nkings, who were remaining there outside the opening; and paralyzing the\nkings by supernatural arts, they carried off the wives of S\u00faryaprabha,\nand immediately a voice was heard from the sky--\"Wicked Srutasarman,\nif you touch these wives of the emperor, you shall immediately perish\nwith your host. So guard them respectfully, treating them like your\nmother; there is a reason for my not immediately slaying you and\nsetting them free; so let them remain as they are at present.\" And\nwhen the kings, V\u00edrabhata and the others, saw them carried off, they\nprepared to die by fighting with one another. But a voice from heaven\nforbade their attempt, saying, \"No harm will befall these daughters\nof yours, you shall obtain them again, so you must not act rashly,\nprosperity befall you!\" So the kings remained waiting there. In the\nmeantime Chandraprabha was in the temple in P\u00e1t\u00e1la surrounded by all\nhis companions, and there Maya said to him, \"King, listen attentively\nto this wonderful thing; I will shew you the supernatural art of\nentering another body.\" He said this, and recited the S\u00e1nkhya and\nthe Yoga doctrine with its secrets, and taught him the magic art of\nentering another body; and that chief of Yogins said--\"This is the\nfamous supernatural power, and the independence of knowledge, the\ndominion over matter that is characterized by lightness and the other\nmystic properties. The chief of the gods, possessing this power, do\nnot long for liberation; in order to obtain this power others endure\nthe hardship of muttering prayers and performing asceticism. Men of\nlofty soul do not love the pleasures of heaven even when attained. And\nlisten, I will tell you a story in illustration of this.\"\n\n\n\nStory of the Br\u00e1hman K\u00e1la.\n\nIn a former Kalpa [640] there was a certain Br\u00e1hman, of the name of\nK\u00e1la. He went to the holy bathing-place Pushkara and muttered prayers\nday and night. While he was muttering, two myriads of years of the\ngods passed away. Then there appeared a great light inseparable from\nhis head, which, streaming forth in the firmament like ten thousand\nsuns, [641] impeded the movement of the Siddhas and others there, and\nset the three worlds on fire. Then Brahm\u00e1, Indra and the other gods\ncame to him and said--\"Br\u00e1hman, these worlds are on fire with your\nbrightness. Receive whatever boon you desire.\" He answered them--\"Let\nme have no other pleasure than muttering prayers, this is my boon,\nI choose nothing else.\" When they importuned him, that mutterer of\nprayers went far off and remained on the north side of the Him\u00e1layas,\nmuttering prayers. When this extraordinary brightness of his gradually\nbecame intolerable even there, Indra sent heavenly nymphs to tempt\nhim. That self-restrained man did not care a straw about them,\nwhen they endeavoured to seduce him. Then the gods sent him Death as\nplenipotentiary. He came to him and said--\"Br\u00e1hman, mortals do not live\nso long, so abandon your life; do not break the law of nature.\" When\nthe Br\u00e1hman heard this, he said--\"If the limit of my life is attained,\nwhy do you not take me? What are you waiting for? But I will not of\nmyself abandon my life, O thou god with the noose in hand; indeed, if\nI were wilfully to abandon my life, I should be a self-murderer.\" When\nhe said this, and Death found that he could not take him on account\nof his power, he turned away from him and returned as he came. Then\nIndra repenting seized that K\u00e1la, [642] who had conquered Time the\ndestroyer, in his arms, and took him up to heaven by force. There\nhe remained averse to the sensual enjoyments of the place, and he\ndid not cease from muttering prayers, so the gods made him descend\nagain, and he returned to the Him\u00e1layas. And while all the gods were\ntrying to induce him there to take a boon, the king Ikshv\u00e1ku came\nthat way. When he heard how affairs stood, he said to that mutterer\nof prayers, \"If you will not receive a boon from the gods, receive\none from me.\" When the mutterer of prayers heard that, he laughed,\nand said to the king--\"Are you able to grant me a boon, when I will\nnot receive one even from the gods?\" Thus he spoke, and Ikshv\u00e1ku\nanswered the Br\u00e1hman--\"If I am not able to grant you a boon, you can\ngrant me one; so grant me a boon.\" Then the mutterer said--\"Choose\nwhatever you desire, and I will grant it.\" When the king heard this,\nhe reflected in his mind: \"The appointed order is that I should give,\nand that he should receive; this is an inversion of the due order,\nthat I should receive what he gives.\" Whilst the king was delaying, as\nhe pondered over this difficulty, two Br\u00e1hmans came there disputing;\nwhen they saw the king they appealed to him for a decision. The\nfirst said, \"This Br\u00e1hman gave me a cow with a sacrificial fee:\nwhy will he not receive it from my hand, when I offer to give it\nback to him?\" Then the other said, \"I did not receive it first, and\nI did not ask for it, then why does he wish to make me receive it by\nforce?\" When the king heard this, he said--\"This complainant is not\nin the right; why, after receiving the cow, do you try to compel the\nman, who gave it, to take it back from you?\" When the king said this,\nIndra, having found his opportunity, said to him--\"King, if you hold\nthis view of what is right, then, after you have asked the Br\u00e1hman,\nwho mutters prayers, for a boon, why do you not take it from him when\nit is granted?\" Then the king, being at a loss for an answer, said\nto that muttering Br\u00e1hman--\"Revered sir, give me the fruit of half\nyour muttering as a boon.\" Then the muttering Br\u00e1hman said--\"Very\nwell, receive the fruit of half my muttering,\" and so he gave the\nking a boon. By means of that boon the king obtained access to all\nthe worlds, and that muttering Br\u00e1hman obtained the world of the\ngods called Sivas. [643] There he remained for many kalpas, and then\nreturned to earth, and by mystic contemplation obtained independence,\nand gained everlasting supernatural power.\n\n\"Thus this supernatural power is desired by wise men, who are averse\nto heaven and such low enjoyments; and you have obtained it, O king,\nso, being independent, enter your own body.\" When Maya said this to\nking Chandraprabha, after communicating to him the doctrine of mystic\ncontemplation giving supernatural power, [644] he and his wife and\nhis son and his ministers rejoiced exceedingly.\n\nThen the king, with his son and companions, was led by Maya to a second\nunder-world, and made to enter a splendid city. And there they saw a\ngigantic hero, reclining at full length upon a beautiful couch, as if\nasleep, anointed with potent herbs and ghee, awful from the ghastly\ntransformation of his features, surrounded by the daughters of the\nkings of the Daityas, with their lotus-faces full of melancholy. Then\nMaya said to Chandraprabha:--\"This is your body, surrounded by\nyour former brides, enter it.\"--The king had recourse to the magic\ncontemplation taught by Maya, and entered the body of that hero,\nabandoning his own frame. [645] Then the hero yawned slowly, opened\nhis eyes, and rose up from the bed, as if awaking out of sleep. Then\na shout arose from the delighted Asura brides, \"Happy are we, that our\nhusband, the god Sun\u00edtha, is to-day restored to life.\" But S\u00faryaprabha\nand the others were immediately despondent, beholding the body of\nChandraprabha lying lifeless. But Chandraprabha-Sun\u00edtha, appearing as\nif risen from a refreshing sleep, saw Maya, and falling at his feet\nhonoured his father. That father too embraced him and asked him in the\npresence of all,--\"Do you remember both your lives, my son?\" He said;\n\"I do remember them,\" and related what had happened to him in his life\nas Chandraprabha, and also what had happened to him in his life as\nSun\u00edtha, and he comforted one by one S\u00faryaprabha and the others, and\nalso his queens, mentioning each by name, and also the D\u00e1nava ladies,\nhis wives in his first life. And he preserved the body, which he had\nas Chandraprabha, carefully laid by, embalmed by means of drugs and\nghee, saying, \"It may possibly be useful to me.\" Then S\u00faryaprabha\nand the others, tranquil now that they had gained confidence, bowed\nbefore him, and joyfully congratulated him.\n\nThen Maya, having conducted all of them in high delight out of that\ncity, led them to another city adorned with gold and jewels. When\nthey entered it, they beheld a lake of the appearance of beryl, filled\nwith nectar, and they all sat down on the bank of it. And they drank\nthat nectarous draught there, more excellent than the water of life,\nin curiously ornamented cups formed of jewels, which were brought to\nthem by the wives of Sun\u00edtha. And by that draught they all rose up,\nas from a sleep of intoxication, and became possessed of divine bodies,\nand of great strength and courage.\n\nThen the Asura Maya said to Chandraprabha-Sun\u00edtha, \"Come, my son, let\nus go, and see your mother after so long a separation.\" And Sun\u00edtha\nsaid \"So be it,\" and prepared to go conducted by Maya, and so proceeded\nto the fourth under-world with S\u00faryaprabha and the others. There they\nbeheld curious cities made of various metals, and at last they all\nreached a city built entirely of gold. There, on a pillar composed\nof jewels adorned with every luxury, they beheld that mother of\nSun\u00edtha, the wife of Maya, by name L\u00edl\u00e1vat\u00ed, surpassing in beauty the\nnymphs of heaven, surrounded with Asura maidens, and adorned with all\nornaments. The moment she beheld that Sun\u00edtha, she rose up in a state\nof excitement, and Sun\u00edtha, after saluting her, fell at her feet. Then\nshe embraced with gushing tears the son, whom she once more held in\nher arms after so long an interval, and again praised her husband\nMaya, who was the cause of her regaining him. Then Maya said--\"Queen,\nyour other son Sumund\u00edka has been born again as the son of your son,\nand here he is, S\u00faryaprabha by name. He has been appointed by the\ngod Siva the future emperor of the Vidy\u00e1dharas, and is destined to\nrule over them in the body which he now possesses.\" When S\u00faryaprabha\nheard this, and saw her look at him with an eye of longing affection,\nhe and his ministers fell at her feet. And L\u00edl\u00e1vat\u00ed gave him her\nblessing, and said to him--\"My darling, you do not require the body\nof Sumund\u00edka, in this you are sufficiently glorious.\" When his sons\nwere thus triumphant, Maya called to mind his daughter Mandodar\u00ed,\nand Vibh\u00edshana, and when called to mind, they came. And Vibh\u00edshana,\nwelcomed with triumphant rejoicings, said to him--\"O prince of the\nD\u00e1navas, if you will listen to my advice, I will give it you. You\nare among the D\u00e1navas singularly virtuous and prosperous, so you\nought not to take up a causeless enmity against the gods. For you\nwill gain nothing but death from your hostility to them. For Asuras\nhave been slain in battle by the gods, but not gods by Asuras.\" When\nMaya heard this, he said--\"We are not forcing on war, but if Indra\nviolently makes war on us, tell me, how can we remain passive? And\nas for those Asuras who were slain by the gods, they were reckless,\nbut did the gods slay Bali and others who were not infatuated?\" That\nking of the R\u00e1kshasas having, with his wife Mandodar\u00ed, been addressed\nwith these and similar speeches by Maya, took leave of him, and went\nto his own dwelling.\n\nThen Sun\u00edtha, with S\u00faryaprabha and the others, was conducted to the\nthird under-world to visit king Bali. In that world, which surpassed\neven heaven, they all beheld Bali, adorned with chain and tiara,\nsurrounded with Daityas and D\u00e1navas. Sun\u00edtha and his companions fell\nat his feet in due order, and he honoured them with appropriate\nwelcome. And Bali was delighted with the tidings related by Maya,\nand he quickly had summoned Prahl\u00e1da and the other D\u00e1navas. Sun\u00edtha\nand the others honoured them also by falling at their feet, and\nthey, being full of joy, congratulated them, as they bent before\nthem. Then Bali said, \"Sun\u00edtha became Chandraprabha on the earth,\nand now is restored to life for us by regaining his body. And we have\nalso gained S\u00faryaprabha, who is an incarnation of Sumund\u00edka. And he\nhas been appointed by Siva the future emperor of the Vidy\u00e1dharas: and\nby the power of the sacrifice offered by Chandraprabha my bonds have\nbeen relaxed. So without doubt we have gained prosperity by recovering\nthese.\" When Sukra, the spiritual adviser of the D\u00e1navas, heard this\nspeech of Bali's, he said, \"In truth those who act according to right\nnever fail of prosperity in any matter; so act according to right,\nand do on this occasion also what I bid you.\" When the D\u00e1navas,\nthe princes of the seven under-worlds, who were assembled there,\nheard that, they agreed to it and bound themselves so to act. And\nBali made a feast there, out of joy at the recovery of Sun\u00edtha.\n\nIn the meanwhile the hermit N\u00e1rada arrived there again, and after\ntaking the argha, he sat down, and said to those D\u00e1navas, \"I have been\nsent here by Indra, and he in truth says this to you, 'I am exceedingly\ndelighted at the fact that Sun\u00edtha has come back to life; so you must\nnot take up a causeless enmity against me, and you must not fight\nagainst my ally Srutasarman.'\" When the hermit had thus delivered\nIndra's message, Prahl\u00e1da said to him, \"Of course Indra is pleased\nthat Sun\u00edtha has come back to life, how could it be otherwise? But we\nat any rate are not taking up causeless hostility. This very day we\nall took an engagement that we would not do so, in the presence of\nour spiritual adviser. But if Indra makes himself a partizan [646]\nof Srutasarman, and violently opposes us, how are we to be blamed\nfor it? For S\u00faryaprabha's ally, Siva, the god of gods, has long ago\nappointed him, because he propitiated him first. So what have we to do\nwith this matter which has been settled by the lord Siva? It is clear\nthat this, which Indra says, is without cause, and not right.\" When\nPrahl\u00e1da, the king of the D\u00e1navas said this to N\u00e1rada, he blamed Indra\nby expressing his agreement with it, and disappeared. When he had gone,\nUsanas [647] said to the kings of the D\u00e1navas--\"Indra is evidently\ndetermined to oppose us in this matter. But, as Siva has decidedly\ngirded up his loins to shew us favour, what is his power, or what\nwill his reliance upon Vishnu do?\" The D\u00e1navas heard and approved\nthis speech of Sukra's, and taking leave of Bali and Prahl\u00e1da, went\nto their own homes. Then Prahl\u00e1da went to the fourth under-world,\nhis habitation, and king Bali, rising up from the assembly, retired\nwithin. And Maya and Sun\u00edtha and the others, S\u00faryaprabha and all,\nbowed before Bali, and went to their own habitations. After they had\neaten and drunk there sufficiently, L\u00edl\u00e1vat\u00ed, the mother of Sun\u00edtha,\ncame to him and said, \"My son, you know that these wives of yours\nare the daughters of mighty ones, Tejasvat\u00ed being the daughter of\nthe god of wealth, Mangal\u00e1vat\u00ed of Tumburu; and as for K\u00edrtimat\u00ed,\nthat wife that you married in your existence as Chandraprabha, her\nyou know to be the daughter of the Vasu Prabh\u00e1va, so you must look\nupon these three with an equal eye, my son.\" After saying this,\nshe commended to him his three principal wives. Then, that night,\nSun\u00edtha entered his sleeping apartment with the eldest, Tejasvat\u00ed.\n\nBut S\u00faryaprabha, in another chamber, with his ministers, reclined\non a couch without any of his wives that night. And the goddess of\nsleep did not come to him, who remained continually alone, saying to\nherself, \"What is the use of this unloving man, who leaves his wives\noutside?\" And she would not approach Prahasta out of jealousy, as he\nwas so exclusively in love with the cares of his official duties, but\nthe other ministers around S\u00faryaprabha went to sleep comfortably. In\nthe meanwhile S\u00faryaprabha and Prahasta beheld an incomparable maiden\nentering, accompanied by a female friend. She was so beautiful that\nProvidence seemed, after creating her, to have placed her in the\nlower regions in order that the nymphs of heaven, also his creation,\nmight not be eclipsed by her. And while S\u00faryaprabha was debating\nwho she might be, she approached each of his friends, one by one,\nand looked at them; and as they did not possess the distinguishing\nmarks of emperors, she left them, and seeing that S\u00faryaprabha possessed\nthem, she approached him, who was lying in the midst of them; and she\nsaid to her friend--\"Here he is, my friend; so touch him on the feet,\nwake him up with those hands of yours cool as water.\" When her friend\nheard that, she did so, and S\u00faryaprabha ceased to feign sleep, and\nopened his eyes, and beholding those maidens, he said--\"Who are you,\nand why do you come here?\" When the friend of the lady heard that,\nshe said to him--\"Listen, king, in the second under-world there is\na victorious king named Am\u00edla, a chieftain of the Daityas, the son\nof Hirany\u00e1ksha; this is his daughter Kal\u00e1vat\u00ed whom he loves more\nthan life. Her father came back to-day from the court of Bali, and\nsaid--'I am fortunate in that I have to-day beheld Sun\u00edtha once more\nrestored to life; and I have also seen the young man S\u00faryaprabha,\nan incarnation of Sumund\u00edka, who has been brought into the world by\nSiva as the future emperor of the Vidy\u00e1dharas. So I will now offer a\ncongratulatory tribute to Sun\u00edtha,----I will give my daughter Kal\u00e1vat\u00ed\nto S\u00faryaprabha, for she cannot be given to Sun\u00edtha because she belongs\nto the same family; but S\u00faryaprabha is his son in his birth as a king,\nnot in his birth as an Asura, and any honour paid to his son will\nbe paid to him.' When my friend heard this speech of her father's,\nher mind being attracted by your virtues, she came here out of a\ncuriosity to see you.\" When that friend of the lady's said this,\nS\u00faryaprabha pretended to be asleep in order to discover the real\nobject of her wish. The maiden slowly approached the sleepless\nPrahasta, and after telling him all by the mouth of her friend,\nwent out. And Prahasta advanced towards S\u00faryaprabha and said--\"King,\nare you awake or not?\" And he, opening his eyes, said to him, \"My\nfriend, I am awake, for how could I sleep to-day being alone? But I\nwill tell you a strange fact; listen, for what can I hide from you? I\nsaw a moment ago a maiden enter here with her friend; her equal is not\nbeheld in these three worlds. And she departed in a moment, taking my\nheart with her. So look for her at once, for she must be somewhere\nhereabout.\" When S\u00faryaprabha said this to him, Prahasta went out,\nand seeing the maiden there with her friend, he said to her--\"I, to\nplease you, have again woke up my master here, so you, to please me,\nmust once more grant him an interview. Behold once more his form that\ngives satisfaction to your eyes, [648] and let him, who was overpowered\nby you as soon as he saw you, behold you again. For when he woke up,\nhe said to me speaking of you, 'Bring her from some place or other,\nand shew her to me, otherwise I cannot survive.' Then I came to you,\nso come and behold him yourself.\" When she was thus addressed by\nPrahasta, she hesitated to go in boldly, owing to the modesty natural\nto a maiden, and reflected, and then Prahasta, seizing her hand,\nled her into the presence of S\u00faryaprabha. And S\u00faryaprabha, when he\nsaw that Kal\u00e1vat\u00ed had come near him, said--\"Fair one, was this right\nof you to come in to-day and steal away my heart, as you did, when I\nwas asleep? So, thief, I will not leave you unpunished to-day.\" When\nher sly friend heard this, she said to him; \"Since her father knew of\nit before, and determined to assign this thief to you for punishment,\nwho can forbid you to punish her. Why do you not inflict on her to your\nheart's content the punishment due for thieving?\" When S\u00faryaprabha\nheard that, he wanted to embrace her, but Kal\u00e1vat\u00ed being modest,\nsaid, \"Do not, my husband, I am a maiden.\" Then Prahasta said to her;\n\"Do not hesitate, my queen, for the G\u00e1ndharva marriage is the best of\nall marriages in the world.\" When Prahasta had said this, he went out\nwith all the rest, and S\u00faryaprabha that very moment made Kal\u00e1vat\u00ed,\nthe maiden of the under-world, his wife.\n\nAnd when the night came to an end, Kal\u00e1vat\u00ed went to her own dwelling,\nand S\u00faryaprabha went to Sun\u00edtha and Maya. They all assembled and went\ninto the presence of Prahl\u00e1da, and he, seated in the hall of audience,\nafter honouring them appropriately, said to Maya: \"We must do something\nto please Sun\u00edtha on this day of rejoicing, so let us all feast\ntogether.\" Maya said--\"Let us do so, what harm is there in this?\" And\nthen Prahl\u00e1da invited by means of messengers the chiefs of the Asuras,\nand they came there in order from all the under-worlds. First came\nking Bali accompanied by innumerable great Asuras. Close behind him\ncame Am\u00edla and the brave Dur\u00e1roha and Sum\u00e1ya, and Tantukachchha, and\nVikat\u00e1ksha and Prakampana, and Dh\u00famaketu and Mah\u00e1m\u00e1ya, and the other\nlords of the Asuras; each of these came accompanied by a thousand\nfeudal chiefs. The hall of audience was filled with the heroes who\nsaluted one another, and after they had sat down in order of rank,\nPrahl\u00e1da honoured them all. And when the time of eating arrived,\nthey all, with Maya and the others, after bathing in the Ganges,\nwent to a great hall to dine. It was a hundred yojanas wide, and\nhad a pavement of gold and jewels, and was adorned with jewelled\npillars, and full of curiously wrought jewelled vessels. There the\nAsuras, in the company of Prahl\u00e1da, and with Sun\u00edtha and Maya, and\nwith S\u00faryaprabha accompanied by his ministers, ate heavenly food of\nvarious kinds, containing all the six flavours, solid, liquid, and\nsweetmeats, and then drank the best of wine. And after they had eaten\nand drunk, they all went to another hall, which was made of jewels,\nand beheld the skilful dance of the Daitya and D\u00e1nava maidens. On\nthat occasion S\u00faryaprabha beheld the daughter of Prahl\u00e1da, named\nMahallik\u00e1, who came forward to dance by order of her father. She\nilluminated the world with her beauty, rained nectar into his eyes,\nand seemed like the moon-goddess [649] come to the under-world out of\ncuriosity. She had her forehead ornamented with a patch, beautiful\nanklets on her feet, and a smiling face, and seemed as if all made\nof dancing by the Creator. With her curling hair, her pointed teeth,\nand her breasts that filled up the whole of her chest, she seemed\nas it were to be creating a new style of dance. And that fair one,\nthe moment she was beheld by S\u00faryaprabha, forcibly robbed him of his\nheart, though it was claimed by others. Then she also beheld him from a\ndistance, sitting among the Asura princes, like a second god of Love\nmade by the Creator, when the first god of love had been burnt up by\nSiva. And when she saw him, her mind was so absorbed in him, that her\nskill in the expression of sentiments by gesture forsook her, as if\nin anger at beholding her want of modesty. And the spectators beheld\nthe emotion of those two, and brought the spectacle to an end, saying,\n\"The princess is tired.\" Then Mahallik\u00e1 was dismissed by her father,\nlooking askance at S\u00faryaprabha, and after she had bowed before the\nprinces of the Daityas, she went home. And the princes of the Daityas\nwent to their respective houses, and S\u00faryaprabha too went to his\ndwelling at the close of day.\n\nAnd when the night came, Kal\u00e1vat\u00ed again came to visit him, and\nhe slept secretly within with her, with all his followers sleeping\noutside. In the meanwhile Mahallik\u00e1 also came there, eager to see him,\naccompanied by two confidantes. Then a minister of S\u00faryaprabha's,\nnamed Prajn\u00e1dhya, who happened at that moment to have his eyes\nforsaken by sleep, saw her attempting to enter. And he, recognising\nher, rose up and said--\"Princess, remain here a moment until I enter\nand come out again.\" She alarmed, said--\"Why are we stopped, and why\nare you outside?\" Prajn\u00e1dhya again said to her--\"Why do you enter\nin this sudden way when a man is sleeping at his ease? Besides, my\nlord sleeps alone to-night on account of a vow.\" Then the daughter\nof Prahl\u00e1da, being ashamed, said, \"So be it, enter,\" and Prajn\u00e1dhya\nwent inside. Seeing that Kal\u00e1vat\u00ed was asleep, he woke up S\u00faryaprabha\nand himself told him that Mahallik\u00e1 had arrived. And S\u00faryaprabha,\nhearing of it, gently rose up, and went out, and beholding Mahallik\u00e1\nwith two others, he said--\"This person has been supremely blessed\nby your arrival, let this place be blessed also, take a seat.\" When\nMahallik\u00e1 heard this, she sat down with her friends, and S\u00faryaprabha\nalso sat down, with Prajn\u00e1dhya by his side. And when he sat down,\nhe said--\"Fair one, although you shewed contempt for me by seeming\nto look on others in the assembly with respect, nevertheless, O\nrolling-eyed one, my eyes were blessed as soon as they beheld your\ndancing as well as your beauty.\" When S\u00faryaprabha said this, the\ndaughter of Prahl\u00e1da answered him--\"This is not my fault, noble sir,\n[650] he is in fault, who made me ashamed in the hall of assembly\nby putting me beside my part in the pantomime.\" When S\u00faryaprabha\nheard this, he laughed and said--\"I am conquered.\" And then that\nprince seized her hand with his, and it perspired and trembled, as\nif afraid of the rough seizure. And she said--\"Let me go, noble sir,\nI am a maiden under my father's control,\"--then Prajn\u00e1dhya said to\nthat daughter of the chief of the Asuras, \"Is not there not such\na thing as the G\u00e1ndharva marriage of maidens? And your father,\nwho has seen your heart, will not give you to another, moreover\nhe will certainly do some honour to this prince here; so away with\ntimidity! Let not such a meeting be thrown away!\" While Prajn\u00e1dhya\nwas saying this to Mahallik\u00e1, Kal\u00e1vat\u00ed woke up within. And not seeing\nS\u00faryaprabha on the bed, after waiting a long time, she was terrified\nand apprehensive and went out. And seeing her lover in the company\nof Mahallik\u00e1, she was angry and ashamed and terrified. Mahallik\u00e1\ntoo, when she saw her, was terrified and angry and ashamed, and\nS\u00faryaprabha stood motionless like a painted picture. Kal\u00e1vat\u00ed came\nto his side, thinking--\"Now that I have been seen, how can I escape,\nshall I display shame or jealousy?\" And she said with a spiteful\nintonation to Mahallik\u00e1--\"How are you, my friend, how comes it that\nyou have come here at night?\" Then Mahallik\u00e1 said--\"This is my house;\nas you have arrived here from another mansion of the under-world, you\nare to-day my guest here.\" When Kal\u00e1vat\u00ed heard that, she laughed and\nsaid--\"Yes, it is clearly the case that you entertain with appropriate\nhospitality every guest, as soon as he arrives here.\" When Kal\u00e1vat\u00ed\nsaid this, Mahallik\u00e1 answered--\"When I spoke to you kindly, why do\nyou answer in such an unkind and spiteful way, shameless girl? Am I\nlike you? Did I, without being bestowed in marriage by my parents,\ncome from a distance, and in a strange place sleep in the bed of a\nstrange man alone at night? I came to see my father's guest, as he\nwas going away, in accordance with the duty of hospitality, a moment\nago, accompanied by two female friends. When this minister entered,\nafter first reproaching me, I guessed the real state of the case; you\nhave now of yourself revealed it.\" When thus addressed by Mahallik\u00e1,\nKal\u00e1vat\u00ed departed, looking askance at her beloved with an eye red\nwith anger. Then Mahallik\u00e1 too said to S\u00faryaprabha in wrath, \"Now I\nwill depart, man of many favourites,\" and went away. And S\u00faryaprabha\nremained in heartless despondency, as was reasonable, for his heart,\ndevoted to his loved ones, went with them.\n\nThen he woke up his minister Prabh\u00e1sa, and sent him to discover\nwhat Kal\u00e1vat\u00ed had done, after she had separated from him in anger;\nand in the meanwhile he sent Prahasta to find out about Mahallik\u00e1,\nand he remained with Prajn\u00e1dhya awaiting their report. Then Prabh\u00e1sa\nreturned from investigating the proceedings of Kal\u00e1vat\u00ed, and being\nquestioned, he said as follows: \"From this place I went to the private\napartment of Kal\u00e1vat\u00ed in the second under-world, concealing myself by\nmy science. And outside it I heard the conversation of two maids. The\none said, 'My friend, why is Kal\u00e1vat\u00ed distressed to-day?' Then the\nsecond said--'My friend, hear the reason. There is at present in the\nfourth under-world an incarnation of Sumund\u00edka, named S\u00faryaprabha,\nwho in beauty surpasses the god of Love; she went secretly and gave\nherself to him. And when she had repaired to him to-day of her own\naccord at night-fall, Mahallik\u00e1, the daughter of Prahl\u00e1da, chose to\ncome there too. Our mistress had a jealous quarrel with her, and was in\nconsequence preparing to slay herself, when, she was seen by her sister\nSukh\u00e1vat\u00ed and saved. And then she went inside, and flinging herself\ndown on a bed, she remained with that sister, who was despondent\nwhen she had learnt by enquiry what had taken place.' When I had\nheard this conversation of the two maids, I entered the apartment,\nand beheld Kal\u00e1vat\u00ed and Sukh\u00e1vat\u00ed, who resembled one another exactly.\"\n\nWhile Prabh\u00e1sa was saying this to S\u00faryaprabha in private, Prahasta\nalso came there, and being questioned, he said as follows--\"When I\narrived from this place at the private apartment of Mahallik\u00e1, she\nentered despondent with her two intimate friends. And I entered also\ninvisible by the employment of magic science, and I saw there twelve\nfriends like her; and they sat round Mahallik\u00e1, who reclined on a sofa\nornamented with splendid jewels; and then one said to her, 'My friend,\nwhy do you seem to be suddenly cast down to-day? What is the meaning\nof this despondency when your marriage is about to come off?' When the\ndaughter of Prahl\u00e1da heard that, she answered her friend pensively,\n'What marriage for me? To whom am I betrothed? Who told you?' When she\nsaid that, they all exclaimed, 'Surely your marriage will take place\nto-morrow, and you are betrothed, my friend, to S\u00faryaprabha. And\nyour mother, the queen, told us to-day when you were not present,\nand ordered us to decorate you for the marriage ceremony. So you are\nfortunate, in that you will have S\u00faryaprabha for a husband, through\nadmiration for whose beauty the ladies of this place cannot sleep at\nnight. But this is a source of despondency to us--What a gulf there\nwill now be between you and us! When you have obtained him for a\nhusband, you will forget us.' When Mahallik\u00e1 heard this from their\nmouth, she said, 'Has he been seen by you, and is your heart attached\nto him?' When they heard that, they said to her--'We saw him from the\ntop of the palace, and what woman is there that a sight of him would\nnot captivate?' Then she said, 'Then I will persuade my father to\ncause all of you to be given to him. [651] So we shall live together,\nand not be separated.' When she said this, the maidens were shocked,\nand said to her, 'Kind friend, do not do so. It would not be proper,\nand would make us ashamed.' When they said this, the daughter of the\nking of the Asuras answered them, 'Why is it not proper? I am not to\nbe his only wife: all the Daityas and D\u00e1navas will give him their\ndaughters, and there are other princesses on the earth whom he has\nmarried, and he will also marry many Vidy\u00e1dhara maidens. What harm can\nit do to me that you should be married among these? So far from it,\nwe shall live happily in mutual friendship; but what intercourse can\nI hold with those others who will be my enemies? And why should you\nhave any shame about the matter? I will arrange it all.' While these\nladies were thus conversing, with hearts devoted to you, I came out at\nmy leisure and repaired to your presence.\" When S\u00faryaprabha had heard\nthis from the mouth of Prahasta, he passed that night in happiness,\nthough he remained sleepless in his bed.\n\nIn the morning he went to the court of Prahl\u00e1da, the king of the\nAsuras, with Sun\u00edtha and Maya and his ministers, to visit him. Then\nPrahl\u00e1da said to Sun\u00edtha after showing him respect--\"I will give to\nthis S\u00faryaprabha my daughter Mahallik\u00e1, for I must shew him some\nhospitable entertainment which will be agreeable to you.\" Sun\u00edtha\nreceived with joy this speech of Prahl\u00e1da's. Then Prahl\u00e1da made\nS\u00faryaprabha ascend an altar-platform, in the middle of which a fire was\nburning, and which was adorned with lofty jewelled pillars illuminated\nby the brightness of the flame, and there gave him his daughter,\nwith splendour worthy of the imperial throne of the Asuras. And he\ngave to his daughter and her bridegroom heaps of valuable jewels,\nobtained by his triumph over the gods, resembling the summit of mount\nMeru. And then Mahallik\u00e1 boldly said to Prahl\u00e1da--\"Father, give me also\nthose twelve companions whom I love.\" But he answered her--\"Daughter,\nthey belong to my brother, for they were taken captive by him, and I\nhave no right to give them away.\" And S\u00faryaprabha, after the marriage\nfeast was ended, entered at night the bridal chamber with Mahallik\u00e1.\n\nAnd the next morning, when Prahl\u00e1da had gone to the hall of assembly\nwith his followers, Am\u00edla, the king of the D\u00e1navas, said to Prahl\u00e1da\nand the others--\"To-day you must all come to my house, for I intend\nto entertain there this S\u00faryaprabha, and I will give him my daughter\nKal\u00e1vat\u00ed, if you approve.\" This speech of his they all approved,\nsaying, \"So be it.\" Then they all went in a moment to the second\nunder-world, where he dwelt, with S\u00faryaprabha, Maya and others. There\nAm\u00edla gave by the usual ceremony to S\u00faryaprabha his daughter, who\nhad previously given herself. S\u00faryaprabha went through the marriage\nceremony in the house of Prahl\u00e1da, and surrounded by the Asuras who had\nfeasted, spent the day in tasting the enjoyments which they provided\nfor him.\n\nOn the next day, Dur\u00e1roha, a prince of the Asuras, invited and\nconducted them all to his own under-world, the fifth. There, by way\nof hospitality, he gave to S\u00faryaprabha his own daughter Kumud\u00e1vat\u00ed, as\nthe others had done, in the prescribed manner. There S\u00faryaprabha spent\nthe day in enjoyment with all these united. And at night he entered\nthe apartment of Kumud\u00e1vat\u00ed. There he spent that night in the society\nof that lovely and loving woman, the beauty of the three worlds.\n\nAnd the next morning, Tantukachchha invited and conducted him,\nsurrounded with his companions, headed by Prahl\u00e1da, to his palace in\nthe seventh under-world. There that king of the Asuras gave him his\ndaughter Manovat\u00ed, adorned with splendid jewels, bright as molten\ngold. There S\u00faryaprabha spent a highly agreeable day, and passed the\nnight in the society of Manovat\u00ed.\n\nAnd the next day, Sum\u00e1ya, a prince of the Asuras, after presenting\nan invitation, conducted him with all his friends to his under-world,\nthe sixth; there he too gave him his daughter by name Subhadr\u00e1, with\nbody black as a stalk of durb\u00e1 grass, like a female incarnation of the\ngod of Love; and S\u00faryaprabha spent that day with that black maiden,\nwhose face was like a full moon.\n\nAnd the next day, king Bali, followed by the Asuras, in the same\nway led that S\u00faryaprabha to his own under-world, the third. There he\ngave him his own daughter named Sundar\u00ed, with complexion lovely as a\nyoung shoot, and resembling a cluster of m\u00e1dhav\u00ed flowers. S\u00faryaprabha\nthen spent that day with that pearl of women in heavenly enjoyment\nand splendour.\n\nThe next day, Maya also in the same way re-conducted the prince,\nwho was in the fourth under-world, to his own palace, which possessed\ncuriously adorned jewelled terraces, was constructed by his own magic\npower, and on account of its refulgent splendour seemed to be new every\nmoment. There he gave him his own daughter, named Sum\u00e1y\u00e1, whose beauty\nwas the wonder of the world, who seemed to be his own power incarnate,\nand he did not think that she ought to be withheld from him on account\nof his being a mere mortal. The fortunate S\u00faryaprabha remained there\nwith her. Then the prince divided his body by his magic science,\nand lived at the same time with all those Asura ladies, but with\nhis real body he lived principally with his best beloved Mahallik\u00e1,\nthe daughter of the Asura Prahl\u00e1da.\n\nAnd one night, when he was happy in her presence, he asked the noble\nMahallik\u00e1 in the course of conversation--\"My dear, those two female\nfriends, who came with you, where are they? I never see them. Who are\nthey, and where have they gone?\" Then Mahallik\u00e1 said--\"You have done\nwell to remind me. My female friends are not two only, but twelve\nin number, and my father's brother carried them off from Indra's\nheaven. The first is named Amritaprabh\u00e1, the second Kesin\u00ed, these\nare the auspiciously marked daughters of the hermit Parvata. And the\nthird is K\u00e1lind\u00ed, and the fourth Bhadrak\u00e1, and the fifth is the noble\nKamal\u00e1 with beautiful eyes. These three are the daughters of the great\nhermit Devala. The sixth is named Saud\u00e1min\u00ed and the seventh Ujjval\u00e1,\nthese are both of them daughters of the Gandharva H\u00e1h\u00e1. The eighth is\nby name P\u00edvar\u00e1, the daughter of the Gandharva H\u00fah\u00fa. And the ninth is\nby name Anjanik\u00e1, the daughter of the mighty K\u00e1la. And the tenth is\nKesar\u00e1val\u00ed, sprung from the Gana Pingala. And the eleventh is M\u00e1lin\u00ed\nby name, the daughter of Kambala, and the twelfth is Mand\u00e1ram\u00e1l\u00e1 the\ndaughter of a Vasu. They are all heavenly nymphs, born from Apsarases,\nand, when I was married, they were taken to the first under-world, and\nI must bestow them on you, in order that I may be always with them. And\nthis I promised them, for I love them. I spoke too to my father, but he\nrefused to give them, out of regard for his brother.\" When S\u00faryaprabha\nheard this, he said to her with a downcast expression--\"My beloved,\nyou are very magnanimous, but how can I do this?\" When S\u00faryaprabha said\nthis to her, Mahallik\u00e1 said in anger--\"In my presence you marry others,\nbut my friends you do not desire, separated from whom I shall not be\nhappy even for one moment.\" When she said this to him, S\u00faryaprabha\nwas pleased and consented to do it. Then that daughter of Prahl\u00e1da\nimmediately took him to the first under-world and gave him those twelve\nmaidens. Then S\u00faryaprabha married those heavenly nymphs in order,\ncommencing with Amritaprabh\u00e1. And after asking Mahallik\u00e1's leave, he\nhad them taken by Prabh\u00e1sa to the fourth under-world and concealed\nthere. And S\u00faryaprabha himself went there secretly with Mahallik\u00e1,\nbut he went to the hall of Prahl\u00e1da, as before, to take his meals.\n\nThere the king of the Asuras said to Sun\u00edtha and Maya--\"Go all of\nyou to visit the two goddesses Diti and Danu.\" They said \"So be it,\"\nand immediately Maya, Sun\u00edtha and S\u00faryaprabha left the lower world,\naccompanied by the Asuras in order of precedence, and ascended\nthe chariot Bh\u00fat\u00e1sana, which came to them on being thought of, and\nrepaired to the hermitage of Kasyapa situated on a ridge of mount\nSumeru. There they were announced by hermits who shewed them all\ncourtesy, and after entering they beheld in due order Diti and Danu\ntogether, and bowed their heads at their feet. And those two mothers\nof the Asuras cast a favourable look upon them and their followers,\nand after shedding tears and kissing them joyfully upon their heads,\n[652] and bestowing their blessing upon them, said to Maya: \"Our eyes\nare to-day blessed, having seen this thy son Sun\u00edtha restored to\nlife, and we consider thee one whose merits have procured him good\nfortune. And beholding with heart-felt satisfaction this prosperous\nSumund\u00edka, born again in the character of S\u00faryaprabha, possessed of\nheavenly beauty and of extraordinary virtue, destined to be successful\nand glorious, abounding in unmistakeable marks of future greatness,\nwe openly adore him here with our bodies. Therefore rise up quickly,\ndarlings, and visit Praj\u00e1pati here, our husband; from beholding him you\nshall obtain success in your objects, and his advice will be helpful\nto you in your affairs.\" When Maya and the others received this order\nfrom the goddesses, they went as they were commanded, and beheld the\nhermit Kasyapa in a heavenly hermitage. He was like pure molten gold\nin appearance, full of brightness, the refuge of the gods, wearing\nmatted locks yellow as flame, irresistible as fire. And approaching,\nthey fell at his feet with their followers, in order; then the hermit\ngave them the customary blessing, and after making them sit down,\nout of delight at their arrival said to them--\"I am exceedingly glad\nthat I have beheld all you my sons; thou art to be praised, Maya,\nwho, without diverging from the good path, art a treasure-house of\nall sciences; and thou art fortunate, Sun\u00edtha, who hast recovered thy\nlife though lost, and thou, O S\u00faryaprabha, art fortunate, who art\ndestined to be the king of the sky-goers. So you must all continue\nnow in the path of righteousness, and hearken to my word, by means\nof which you will obtain the highest fortune, and taste perpetual\njoys, and by which you will not again be conquered by your enemies;\nfor it was those Asuras, that transgressed law, that became a prey\nfor the discus of the vanquisher of Mura. And those Asuras, Sun\u00edtha,\nthat were slain by the gods, are incarnate again as human heroes. He\nwho was thy younger brother Sumund\u00edka, has been born indeed now as\nS\u00faryaprabha. And the other Asuras, who were your companions, have been\nborn as his friends; for instance, the great Asura, named Sambara,\nhas been born as his minister Prahasta. And the Asura, named Trisiras,\nhas been born as his minister named Siddh\u00e1rtha. And the D\u00e1nava, named\nV\u00e1t\u00e1pi, is now his minister Prajn\u00e1dhya. And the D\u00e1nava, named Ul\u00faka,\nis now his companion named Subhankara, and his present friend V\u00edtabh\u00edti\nwas in a former birth a foe of the gods, named K\u00e1la. And this Bh\u00e1sa,\nhis minister, is an incarnation of a Daitya by name Vishaparvan, and\nhis minister Prabh\u00e1sa is an incarnation of a Daitya named Prabala. He\nwas a great-hearted Daitya with a frame composed of jewels, who, when\nasked by the gods, though they were his enemies, hewed his body to\npieces, and so passed into another state of existence, and from that\nbody of his all the jewels in the world have originated. The goddess\nDurg\u00e1 was so pleased at that, that she granted him a boon accompanied\nby another body, by virtue of which he has now been born as Prabh\u00e1sa,\nmighty, and hard to be overcome by his enemies. And those D\u00e1navas,\nwho formerly existed under the names of Sunda and Upasunda, have been\nborn as his ministers Sarvadamana and Bhayankara. And the two Asuras,\nwho used to be called Vikat\u00e1ksha and Hayagr\u00edva, have been born as\nhis two ministers here, Sthirabuddhi and Mah\u00e1buddhi. And the others\nconnected with him, these fathers-in-law, ministers and friends of his,\nare also incarnations of Asuras, who have often vanquished Indra and\nhis crew. So your party has again gradually acquired strength. Be of\ngood courage; if you do not depart from the right, you shall obtain\nthe highest prosperity.\" While the rishi Kasyapa was saying this,\nall his wives, the daughters of Daksha, headed by Aditi, arrived at\nthe time of the mid-day sacrifice. When they had given their blessing\nto Maya and the others, who bowed before them, and had performed their\nhusband's orders for the day, Indra also came there with the Lokap\u00e1las\n[653] to visit the sage. And Indra, after saluting the feet of Kasyapa\nand his wives and after having been saluted by Maya and the others,\nlooking angrily at S\u00faryaprabha, said to Maya,--\"This is the boy,\nI suppose, that is desirous of becoming emperor of the Vidy\u00e1dharas;\nhow is he satisfied with so very little, and why does he not desire the\nthrone of heaven?\" When Maya heard this, he said, \"The throne of heaven\nwas decreed to you by Siva, and to him was appointed the sovereignty\nof the sky-goers.\" [654] When Indra heard this, he said with an angry\nlaugh--\"This would be but a small matter for this comely shape of a\nyouth who is furnished with such auspicious marks.\" Then Maya answered\nhim--\"If Srutasarman deserves the sovereignty of the Vidy\u00e1dharas, then\nsurely this shape of his deserves the throne of heaven.\" When Maya said\nthis, Indra was angry, and rose and uplifted his thunderbolt, and then\nthe hermit Kasyapa made a threatening noise of anger. And Diti and\nthe other wives became enraged, and their faces were red with anger,\nand they loudly cried, \"Shame!\" Then Indra, afraid of being cursed,\nwithdrew his weapon, and sat down with bowed head. Then Indra fell\nat the feet of that hermit Kasyapa, the sire of gods and Asuras,\nwho was surrounded by his wives, and after striving to appease him,\nmade the following representation with hands folded in supplication:\n\"O reverend one, this S\u00faryaprabha is attempting to take away from\nSrutasarman the sovereignty of the Vidy\u00e1dharas, which I bestowed\non him. And Maya is exerting himself in every way to procure it for\nS\u00faryaprabha.\" When Praj\u00e1pati heard that, he said, seated with Diti and\nDanu,--\"Thou lovest Srutasarman, O Indra, but Siva loves S\u00faryaprabha,\nand his love cannot be fruitless, and he long ago ordered Maya to do\nwhat he has done. So, what is all this outcry that thou art making\nagainst Maya, what offence has he committed herein? For he is one\nwho abides in the path of right, wise, discreet, submissive to his\nspiritual superior. The fire of my wrath would have reduced thee\nto ashes, if thou hadst committed that sin, and thou hast no power\nagainst him; dost thou not recognise his might?\" When that hermit\nwith his wives said that, Indra was abashed with shame and fear,\nand Aditi said--\"What is that Srutasarman like? Let him be brought\nhere and shown to us.\" When Indra heard this, he sent M\u00e1tali, [655]\nand had brought there immediately that Srutasarman, the prince of the\nsky-goers. The wives of Kasyapa, when they had seen that Srutasarman,\nwho prostrated himself, looked at S\u00faryaprabha and said to the hermit\nKasyapa--\"Which of these two is the richer in beauty and in auspicious\nmarks?\" Then that chief of hermits said, \"Srutasarman is not even equal\nto his minister Prabh\u00e1sa, much less is he equal to that incomparable\none. For this S\u00faryaprabha is furnished with various heavenly marks\nof such excellence, that, if he were to make the attempt, he would\nfind even the throne of Indra easy to obtain.\" When they heard that\nspeech of Kasyapa's, all there approved it, and said--\"So it is.\" Then\nthe hermit gave Maya a boon in the hearing of great Indra--\"Because,\nmy son, thou didst remain undaunted, even when Indra lifted up his\nweapon to strike, therefore thou shalt remain unharmed by the plagues\nof sickness and old age, which are strong as the thunderbolt. Moreover\nthese two magnanimous sons of thine, who resemble thee, shall always\nbe invincible by all their enemies. And this son of mine Suv\u00e1sakum\u00e1ra,\nresembling in splendour the autumn moon, shall come when thou thinkest\nof him, and assist thee in the night of calamity. When the hermit had\nthus spoken, his wives and the rishis and the Lokap\u00e1las in the same way\ngave boons to them, to Maya and the rest, in the assembly. Then Aditi\nsaid to Indra--\"Desist, Indra, from thy improper conduct, conciliate\nMaya, for thou hast seen to-day the fruit of discreet conduct, in\nthat he has obtained boons from me.\" When Indra heard that, he seized\nMaya by the hand and propitiated him, and Srutasarman, eclipsed by\nS\u00faryaprabha, was like the moon in the day. Then the king of the gods\nimmediately prostrated himself before Kasyapa his spiritual guide,\nand returned as he came, accompanied by all the Lokap\u00e1las; and Maya\nand the others, by the order of that excellent hermit, departed from\nhis hermitage to meet success in their proposed undertaking.\n\n\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XLVI.\n\n\nThen Maya and Sun\u00edtha and S\u00faryaprabha, all of them, left that hermitage\nof Kasyapa, and reached the junction of the Chandrabh\u00e1g\u00e1 and Air\u00e1vat\u00ed,\nwhere the kings, the friends and connexions of S\u00faryaprabha, were\nawaiting him. And the kings who were there, when they saw S\u00faryaprabha\narrived, rose up weeping in despair, eager to die. S\u00faryaprabha,\nthinking that their grief arose from not seeing Chandraprabha, told\nthem the whole occurrence as it happened. Then, as they still remained\ndespondent, he questioned them, and they reluctantly related how his\nwives had been carried off by Srutasarman. And they also told him how\nthey were preparing to commit suicide through grief at that outrage,\nwhen they were forbidden by a heavenly voice. Then S\u00faryaprabha in\nwrath made this vow--\"Even if Brahm\u00e1 and all the other gods protect\nSrutasarman, I will certainly overthrow him, a villain who carries off\nthe wives of others, addicted to treacherous insolence.\" And having\nmade this vow, he appointed a moment fixed by the astrologers on the\nseventh day, for marching to his overthrow. Then Maya, perceiving\nthat he was determined, and had made up his mind to conquer his enemy,\nagain confirmed him with his speech, and said to him--\"If you really\nhave made up your mind, then I will tell you this; it was I that on\nthat occasion carried off your wives by magic, and I placed them\nin the under-world, thinking that thus you would set about your\nvictorious expedition in an impetuous manner, for a fire does not\nof itself burn so fiercely, as it does when fanned by a breeze. So\ncome, let us go to the under-world; I will shew you those wives of\nyours.\" When they heard that speech of Maya's, they all rejoiced,\nand they entered again by the same opening as before, and went to\nthe fourth under-world, Maya leading the way. There Maya brought\nthose wives of S\u00faryaprabha's out of a dwelling-house, and delivered\nthem over to him. Then S\u00faryaprabha, after receiving those wives, and\nthe others, the daughters of the Asuras, went by the advice of Maya\nto visit Prahl\u00e1da. He, having heard from Maya that S\u00faryaprabha had\nobtained boons, and being desirous of proving him, took up his weapon,\nand said with feigned anger as he bowed before him,--\"I have heard,\nwicked one, that you have carried off the twelve maidens captured\nby my brother, so, I will slay you now; behold me.\" When S\u00faryaprabha\nheard that, he said to him, without changing countenance,--\"My body\nis at your disposal; punish me, for I have acted improperly.\" When\nhe said this, Prahl\u00e1da laughed and said to him--\"As far as I have\ntested you, you have not a drop of pride in you. Choose a boon,\nI am pleased with you.\" When S\u00faryaprabha heard this, he consented,\nand chose as his boon devotion to his superiors and to Siva. Then,\nall being satisfied, Prahl\u00e1da gave to S\u00faryaprabha a second daughter\nof his, named Y\u00e1min\u00ed, and that prince of the Asuras gave him two of\nhis sons as allies. Then S\u00faryaprabha went with all the rest into the\npresence of Am\u00edla. He too was pleased on hearing that he had obtained\nthe boons, and gave him Sukh\u00e1vat\u00ed his second daughter, and two of\nhis sons to help him. Then S\u00faryaprabha remained there during those\ndays, accompanied by his wives, inducing other kings of the Asuras\nto make common cause with him. And he heard, in the company of Maya\nand the others, that the three wives of Sun\u00edtha and his own wives,\nthe daughters of the kings, had all become pregnant, and when asked\nwhat they longed for, they all said, to see that great battle, and\nthe Asura Maya rejoiced at it, perceiving that the Asuras, who were\nslain in old time, had been conceived again in them--\"This,\" said he,\n\"is the cause of their desire.\"\n\nSo six days passed, but on the seventh S\u00faryaprabha and the others,\nwith their wives and all, set out from the under-world. Delusive\nportents, which their rivals displayed to impede them, were\ndissipated by Suv\u00e1sakum\u00e1ra, who came when thought of. Then they\nanointed Ratnaprabha, the son of Chandraprabha, king of the earth,\nand ascended the chariot Bh\u00fat\u00e1sana, [656] and went all of them, by\nthe advice of Maya, to a wood of ascetics on the bank of the eastern\nGanges, the dwelling of Sumeru the king of the Vidy\u00e1dharas. There\nSumeru received them with all honour, as they had come on a friendly\nvisit, having been told the whole story by Maya, and remembering the\nprevious command of Siva. And while Chandraprabha and the others were\nin that place, they summoned each of them all their own forces, and\nalso their relations and friends. First came those princes, the sons\nof the fathers-in-law of S\u00faryaprabha, who had acquired from Maya the\nrequired sciences, eager for the fray. They were sixteen in number,\nheaded by Haribhata, and each was followed by a force consisting of\na myriad of chariots, and two myriads of footmen. After them came\nthe Daityas and D\u00e1navas true to their agreement, brothers-in-law,\nfathers-in-law, friends and other connexions of S\u00faryaprabha.\n\nHrishtaroman, and Mah\u00e1m\u00e1ya, and Sinhadanshtra and Prakampana,\nand Tantukachehha and Dur\u00e1roha, and Sum\u00e1ya, and Vajrapanjara,\nand Dh\u00famaketu, and Pramathana, and the D\u00e1nava Vikat\u00e1ksha, and many\nothers came from as low down as the seventh under-world. One came\nwith seven myriads of chariots, another with eight, another with\nsix, and another with three, and the least powerful of all with one\nmyriad. One brought three hundred thousand footmen, another two hundred\nthousand, another one hundred thousand, and the pettiest potentate\nof all fifty thousand. And each brought a corresponding number of\nhorses and elephants. And another innumerable host came belonging to\nMaya and Sun\u00edtha. And S\u00faryaprabha's own countless army also arrived,\nand those of Vasudatta and the other kings, and that of Sumeru.\n\nThen the Asura Maya addressed this question to the hermit Suv\u00e1sakum\u00e1ra,\nwho came to him when thought of, in the presence of S\u00faryaprabha and\nthe others--\"Reverend sir, we cannot review this army here because\nit is scattered; so tell me where we could get a view of the whole\narmy at once extended in long array.\" The hermit answered--\"Not\nmore than a yojana from here there is a place called Kal\u00e1pagr\u00e1ma;\ngo there and behold it drawn up in line.\" When the hermit said that,\nall the princes went with him and Sumeru to Kal\u00e1pagr\u00e1ma. There they\nmade the armies of the Asuras and the kings take up their positions,\nand going to an elevated spot they reviewed them separately. Then\nSumeru said--\"Srutasarman has the larger force, for he has under him\na hundred and one chiefs of the Vidy\u00e1dharas. And every single one\nof those chiefs is lord of two and thirty kings. Never mind! I will\ndraw away some and make them join you. So let us go in the morning\nto the place named Valm\u00edka. For to-morrow is the eighth lunar day of\nthe black fortnight of Ph\u00e1lguna, which is a high day. And on that day\nthere is produced there a sign to show the future emperor, and for that\nreason the Vidy\u00e1dharas are going there in a great hurry on that day.\n\nWhen Sumeru gave that opinion with regard to the army, they spent that\nday in accordance with the law, and went on the morrow to Valm\u00edka in\nchariots with their army. There they encamped with shouting forces\non the southern plateau of the Him\u00e1layas, and beheld many Vidy\u00e1dhara\nkings that had arrived. And those Vidy\u00e1dharas had lighted fires\nthere in fire-cavities, and were engaged in sacrificing, and some\nwere occupied with muttering prayers. Then, where S\u00faryaprabha made\na fire-cavity, the fire burst forth of itself, owing to the power\nof his magic science. When Sumeru saw it, he was pleased, but envy\narose in the breasts of the Vidy\u00e1dharas at the sight; then one said to\nhim--\"For shame, Sumeru! why do you abandon your rank as a Vidy\u00e1dhara,\nand follow this inhabitant of earth named S\u00faryaprabha?\" When Sumeru\nheard this, he angrily rebuked him. And when S\u00faryaprabha asked his\nname, he said--\"There is a Vidy\u00e1dhara of the name of Bh\u00edma, and Brahm\u00e1\nloved his wife at will; from this connexion he sprang. Since be sprang\nfrom Brahm\u00e1 in a secret way, he is called Brahmagupta. Hence he speaks\nin a style characteristic of his birth.\"\n\nAfter saying this, Sumeru also made a fire-cavity. And in it\nS\u00faryaprabha sacrificed with him to the god of Fire. And in a moment\nthere suddenly rose from the hole in the ground an enormous and\nterrible serpent. In his arrogance, that chief of the Vidy\u00e1dharas,\nnamed Brahmagupta, by whom Sumeru was blamed, ran to seize it. That\nserpent thereupon sent forth a hissing wind from its mouth, which\ncarried Brahmagupta a hundred feet, and flung him down with such\nviolence that he fell like a withered leaf. Then a chief of the\nVidy\u00e1dharas, named Tejahprabha, ran to seize it; he was flung away\nby it in the same manner. Then a lord of the Vidy\u00e1dharas, named\nDushtadamana, approached it; he was hurled back like the others by\nthat blast from its mouth. Then a prince of the sky-goers, named\nVir\u00fapasakti, approached it; he too was flung away as easily as a\nblade of grass by that breath. Then two kings, named Ang\u00e1raka and\nVijrimbhaka, ran towards it together; and it flung them to a distance\nwith its breath. Thus all the princes of the Vidy\u00e1dharas were flung\naway one after another, and rose up with difficulty, with their limbs\nbruised with stones. Then Srutasarman, in his pride, went forward\nto seize the serpent; but it hurled him back with the blast of its\nbreath like the others. He fell at a short distance, and rose up again,\nand ran again towards it; when it carried him a greater distance with\nits breath, and flung him to earth. Then Srutasarman rose up abashed,\nwith bruised limbs, and Sumeru sent S\u00faryaprabha to lay hold of the\nserpent. And then the Vidy\u00e1dharas ridiculed him, saying, \"Look! he too\nis trying to catch the snake! O! these men, thoughtless as monkeys,\nimitate whatever they see another doing.\" Even while they were mocking\nhim, S\u00faryaprabha went and seized the serpent, whose mouth was quiet,\nand dragged it out of the hole. But at that moment the serpent became\na priceless quiver, and a rain of flowers fell from the sky on his\nhead. And a heavenly voice sounded aloud--\"S\u00faryaprabha, thine is\nthis imperishable quiver equal to a magic power, so take it.\" Then\nthe Vidy\u00e1dharas were cast down, S\u00faryaprabha seized the quiver, and\nMaya and Sun\u00edtha and Sumeru were delighted.\n\nThen Srutasarman departed, accompanied by the host of the Vidy\u00e1dharas,\nand his ambassador came to S\u00faryaprabha and said; \"The august lord\nSrutasarman thus commands--'Give me that quiver, if you value\nyour life.'\" Then S\u00faryaprabha said; \"Ambassador, go and tell him\nthis--'Your own body shall become a quiver, bristling all over with\nmy arrows.'\" When the ambassador heard this speech, he turned and\nwent away, and all laughed at that furious message of Srutasarman's\n[657], and Sumeru, joyfully embracing S\u00faryaprabha, said to him--\"I\nam delighted that that speech of Siva's has without doubt been\nfulfilled, for now that you have acquired this excellent quiver,\nyou have practically acquired sovereign empire; so come and obtain\nnow a splendid bow with calm intrepidity.\"\n\nWhen they heard Sumeru say this, and he himself led the way, they all,\nS\u00faryaprabha and the others, went to the mountain Hemak\u00fata. And on the\nnorth side of it they reached a beautiful lake named M\u00e1nasa, which\nseemed to have been the first assay of the Creator's skill when making\nthe sea, which eclipsed with its full-blown golden lotuses shaken by\nthe wind, the faces of the heavenly nymphs sporting in the water. And\nwhile they were contemplating the beauty of the lake, Srutasarman and\nall the others came there. And then S\u00faryaprabha made a sacrifice with\nlotuses and ghee, and immediately a terrible cloud rose up from that\nlake. That cloud filled the heaven, and poured down a great rain,\nand among the rain-drops fell from the cloud a black serpent. By the\norder of Sumeru, S\u00faryaprabha rose up, and seized that serpent with a\nfirm grasp, though it resisted, thereupon it became a bow. When it\nbecame a bow, a second snake fell from the cloud, through fear of\nthe fiery poison of which all the sky-goers fled. That serpent too,\nwhen seized by S\u00faryaprabha, like the first, became a bowstring,\nand the cloud quickly disappeared. And after a rain of flowers,\na voice was heard from heaven,--\"S\u00faryaprabha, you have won this\nbow Amitabala and this string which cannot be cut, so take these\npriceless treasures.\" And S\u00faryaprabha took that excellent bow with\nthe string. Srutasarman, for his part, went despondent to his wood\nof ascetics, and S\u00faryaprabha, and Maya and the others were delighted.\n\nThen they asked Sumeru about the origin of the bow, and he said--\"Here\nthere is a great and marvellous wood of bamboo canes; whatever\nbamboos are cut from it and thrown into this lake, become great and\nwonderful bows; and these bows have been acquired by several of the\ngods before yourself, and by Asuras and Gandharvas, and distinguished\nVidy\u00e1dharas. They have various names, but the bows appropriated to\nemperors are all called Amitabala, and were in old time deposited\nin the lake by the gods. And they are obtained, through the favour\nof Siva, with these exertions, by certain men of virtuous conduct\ndestined to be emperors. Hence it comes that S\u00faryaprabha has to-day\nprocured this great bow, and these companions of his shall procure\nbows suited to them. For they, being heroes who have acquired the\nsciences, are appropriate recipients for them, for they are still\nprocured by worthy men, as is right.\"\n\nWhen the companions of S\u00faryaprabha, Prabh\u00e1sa and the others, heard this\nspeech of Sumeru's, they went to the bamboo-grove, and after defeating\nthe king Chandradatta, who guarded it, they brought the bamboos, and\nthrew them into the lake. And these heroic men, by fasting on the\nbank of the lake, and muttering prayers, and sacrificing, obtained\nbows in seven days. When they returned and told their adventure,\nS\u00faryaprabha returned with them and Maya and the others to that\nwood of ascetics, in which Sumeru dwelt. Then Sumeru said to him:\n\"It is strange that your friends have conquered Chandradatta, the\nking of the bamboo-wood, though he is invincible. He possesses a\nscience called the bewildering science, for that reason he is hard to\nconquer. Surely he must have been keeping it to use against a more\nimportant enemy. For this reason he did not employ it against these\ncompanions of yours on the present occasion, for it only can succeed\nonce in his hands, not repeatedly. For he employed it once against\nhis spiritual preceptor to try its force, thereupon he laid upon him\nthis curse. So this matter should be thought upon, for the might of\nsciences is hard to overcome, and for that reason you should consult\nthe revered Maya. What can I say in his presence? Of what avail\nis a candle in the face of the sun?\" When Sumeru had said this to\nS\u00faryaprabha, Maya said; \"Sumeru has told you the truth in few words,\nlisten to this which I now say--From undeveloped matter there spring\nin this world various powers, and subordinate powers. Among them\nthe sound expressed by Anusv\u00e1ra arises from the power of breathing,\nand becomes a spell of force in magic sciences, when accompanied\nwith the doctrine of the highest truth. And of those sciences which\ndeal with spells, and which are acquired by supernatural knowledge,\nor austerity, or the holy command of holy men, the power is hard to\nresist. So, my son, you have obtained all the sciences, except two,\nin which you are deficient, namely, the science of bewildering,\nand that of counteracting. But Y\u00e1jnavalkya knows them, therefore\ngo and ask him to bestow them on you.\" When thus advised by Maya,\nS\u00faryaprabha went into the presence of that rishi.\n\nThat hermit made him dwell for seven days in the serpent-lake, and\nordered him to perform austerities for three days in the midst of\nthe fire. And he gave him the bewildering power when he had endured\nfor seven days the bite of the snakes, and the counteracting power\nwhen he had resisted for three days the force of the fire. [658]\nAnd when he had obtained these sciences, that hermit ordered him\nagain to enter the fire-cavity, and he consented and did it. And\nimmediately there was bestowed on S\u00faryaprabha a chariot in the\nform of a white lotus, that moved at the will of the possessor, and\ntravelled through the air, which was furnished with a hundred and\neight wings, and the same number of dwellings, and constructed of\nprecious jewels of various kinds. And a voice from heaven addressed\nthat resolute one,--\"You have obtained this chariot suitable for an\nemperor, and you must place your wives in all these dwellings, in\norder that they may be safe from your enemies.\" Then he, bending low,\naddressed this petition to his preceptor Y\u00e1jnavalkya--\"Tell me what\nfee I am to pay.\" The hermit answered him--\"Remember me at the time\nwhen you are anointed emperor, this in itself will be sufficient fee;\nin the meanwhile go to your army.\" Then he bowed before that hermit,\nand ascended that chariot, and went to his army, that was encamped\nin the place where Sumeru dwelt. There he told his story, and Maya\nand the others, with Sun\u00edtha and Sumeru, congratulated him, now that\nhe had obtained a magic chariot.\n\nThen Sun\u00edtha called to mind that Suv\u00e1sakum\u00e1ra, and he came and said\nto Maya and the others, with the kings; \"S\u00faryaprabha has obtained a\nchariot and all the magic sciences; so why do you even now remain\nindifferent about conquering your enemies?\" When Maya heard that,\nhe said, \"Reverend sir, you have spoken rightly, but first let an\nambassador be sent, and let policy be employed.\" When Maya said\nthis, the hermit's son said--\"So be it! What harm can this do? Let\nthis Prahasta be sent. He is discerning, eloquent, and understands\nthe nature of business and occasions, and he is stern and enduring,\nhe possesses all the qualities of an ambassador.\" All approved this\nspeech of his, and after giving Prahasta instructions, they sent him\noff as ambassador to Srutasarman.\n\nWhen he had gone, S\u00faryaprabha said to all his followers,--\"Hear the\nstrange wonderful vision that I have had--I remember, I saw toward the\nend of last night, that we were all carried away by a great stream of\nwater, and while we were swept away, we kept dancing, we did not sink\nat all. Then that stream was turned back by a contrary breeze. Then\na certain man of fiery brightness drew us out, and threw us into the\nfire, and we were not burned by the fire. Then a cloud rained a stream\nof blood, and that blood filled the whole sky, then my sleep came to\nan end with the night.\" When he said this, Suv\u00e1sakum\u00e1ra said to him,\n\"This dream indicates success preceded by a struggle. The stream of\nwater is battle, it is due to valour that you did not sink but danced,\nand were carried along by the water; the wind, that turned back the\nwater for you, is some saviour to whom men resort for protection;\nand the man of fiery brightness, who drew you out of it, is Siva\nin bodily form. And that he threw you into the fire, means that you\nare cast into a great war; and that the clouds arose, that means the\nreturning again of fear; and the rain of a stream of blood, that means\nthe destroying of fear, and the filling of all the quarters with blood,\nthat means great success for you. Now dreams are of many kinds, [659]\nthe rich-sensed, the true-sensed, and the senseless. A dream which\nquickly reveals its meaning, is called rich-sensed, a dream in which a\npropitious god gives a command, is called true-sensed, and one which is\nbrought about by deep meditation and anxiety, they call senseless. For\na man under the influence of sleep, with mind bewildered by the quality\nof passion and withdrawn from outward objects, sees a dream on account\nof various causes. And it depends upon the time, when it is seen,\nwhether it is fulfilled soon or late, but this kind of dream which\nis seen at the end of the night is quickly fulfilled. [660]\" When\nS\u00faryaprabha and his companions heard this from the hermit's son, they\nwere much pleased, and rising up they performed the duties of the day.\n\nIn the meanwhile Prahasta returned from the court of Srutasarman, and,\nwhen asked by Maya and the others, he described his adventures. \"I\nwent rapidly hence to the city named Trik\u00fatapat\u00e1k\u00e1, situated on\nthe mountain Trik\u00fata, built of gold. And being introduced by the\ndoor-keeper, I entered, and beheld Srutasarman surrounded by various\nVidy\u00e1dhara kings, by his father Trik\u00fatasena, and also by Vikramasakti\nand Dhurandhara and other heroes, D\u00e1modara among them. And sitting\ndown, I said to Srutasarman, 'I am sent to visit you by the august\nS\u00faryaprabha: and he commissioned me to give you this command. By\nthe favour of Siva I have obtained precious sciences, and wives and\nallies. So come and join my army, together with those chiefs of the\nsky-goers; I am the slayer of those that oppose, but the saviour of\nthose that bend. And as for your carrying off from her relations the\nmaiden K\u00e1mach\u00fad\u00e1mani, the daughter of Sun\u00edtha, who ought not to be\napproached, set her at liberty, for that is a deed of shame.' When\nI said this they all exclaimed in wrath,--'Who is he that sends us\nthis haughty command? Let him give commands to mortals, but who is\nhe compared with Vidy\u00e1dharas? Since he assumes such airs, though he\nis a miserable mortal, he should be destroyed.'\n\n\"When I heard that, I said, 'What, what? Who is he? Listen, he has\nbeen created by Siva as your future emperor. If he is a mortal,\nthen mortals have attained divinity, and the Vidy\u00e1dharas have seen\nthe valour of that mortal; moreover, if he comes here, we shall\nsoon see which party will be destroyed.' When I said this in wrath,\nthat assembly was disturbed. And Srutasarman and Dhurandhara rushed\nforward to slay me. And I said to them--'Come now, let me see your\nvalour!' Then D\u00e1modara rose up, and restrained them, exclaiming\n'Peace! an ambassador and a Br\u00e1hman must not be slain.' Then\nVikramasakti said to me--'Depart, ambassador, for we, like your\nmaster, are all created by Siva. So let him come, and we will see\nwhether we are able to entertain him or not.' When he said this in a\nhaughty manner, I laughed and said, 'The swans utter their cries in\nthe lotus-bower and enjoy themselves much, until they see the cloud\nthat comes darkening the heaven.' After saying this I rose up in a\ncontemptuous manner, left the court, and came here.\" When Maya and\nothers heard this from Prahasta, they were pleased. And they all,\nS\u00faryaprabha and the rest, determined on preparing for battle, and\nmade Prabh\u00e1sa, the impetuous in war, their general. And receiving\nthe command from Suv\u00e1sakum\u00e1ra, they all prepared that day with strict\nvows to consecrate themselves for the combat. [661]\n\nAnd at night, S\u00faryaprabha, as he was lying sleepless, saw a wonderful\nand beautiful maiden enter the chamber, in which he was occupying a\nsolitary couch in accordance with his vow. She came boldly up to him,\nwho pretended to be asleep, with his ministers sleeping round him,\nand said to her confidante, who was with her; \"If he possesses such\nglorious beauty, when he is asleep, and all the graceful motion of\nhis body is still, what must it be, my friend, when he is awake? So\nlet be! we must not wake him up. I have gratified the curiosity of my\neyes. Why should I fix my heart too fondly on him? For he will have\na battle with Srutasarman, and who can say what will befall either\nparty in it? For the feast of battle is for consuming the lives of\nheroes. And should he not be fortunate, we shall have to take some\nother resolve. [662] And how could one like me captivate the soul of a\nman who, when roaming in the air, beheld K\u00e1mach\u00fad\u00e1mani?\" When she said\nthis, her confidante answered, \"Why do you say this? Why, fair one,\nis it your duty not to allow your heart to attach itself to him? Why\nshould not he, the sight of whom captivated the heart of K\u00e1mach\u00fad\u00e1mani,\ncaptivate the heart of any other lady, were she even Arundhat\u00ed in\nbodily presence? And do you not know that he will prosper in fight by\nthe force of science? And when he is emperor, you, and K\u00e1mach\u00fad\u00e1mani,\nand Suprabh\u00e1 of the same family, are to be his wives, so say the holy\nsages, and in these very days he has married Suprabh\u00e1. So, how can\nhe be unsuccessful in fight? For the predictions of the sages are\nnever falsified. And will you not captivate the heart of the man,\nwhose heart was captivated by Suprabh\u00e1? For you, blameless one,\nexceed her in beauty. And if you hesitate through regard for your\nrelations, that is not right, for good women have no relations but\ntheir husband.\" That excellent maiden, when she heard this speech of\nher confidante's, said--\"You have spoken truth, my friend, I need no\nother relations. And I know my husband will conquer in fight by his\nscience. He has obtained jewels and sciences, but my mind is grieved\nbecause up to the present time he has not obtained the virtuous\nherbs. Now they are all in a cave of the mountain Chandrap\u00e1da. But\nthey are to be obtained by an emperor possessing virtue. So, if he\nwere to go there and procure those mighty drugs, it would be well, for\nhis great struggle is nigh at hand, even to-morrow.\" When S\u00faryaprabha\nheard this, he flung off all his feigned sleep, and rising up, said\nrespectfully to that maiden--\"Lovely-eyed one, you have shewn great\nfavour to me, so I will go there, tell me who you are.\" When the maiden\nheard that, she was abashed with shame, and silent, thinking that he\nhad heard all, but her friend said--\"This is a maiden named Vil\u00e1sin\u00ed,\nthe daughter of Sumeru, the prince of the Vidy\u00e1dharas, who was desirous\nof beholding you.\" When her friend said this, Vil\u00e1sin\u00ed said to her,\n\"Come, let us go now,\" and went out of the room.\n\nThen S\u00faryaprabha woke up his ministers, Prabh\u00e1sa and the rest, and\ntold them of that method of procuring the drugs, which the lady spoke\nof. And he sent Prabh\u00e1sa, a fit person to accomplish that, to tell it\nto Sun\u00edtha and Sumeru and Maya. And when they came and approved of it,\nS\u00faryaprabha, accompanied by his ministers, went with them in the night\nto the mountain Chandrap\u00e1da. And as they were gradually advancing,\nthe Yakshas, Guhyakas, and Kumbh\u00e1ndas, being alarmed, rose up to bar\ntheir way, armed with numerous weapons. Some of them S\u00faryaprabha\nand his friends bewildered with weapons, some they paralysed by\nscience, and at last they reached that mountain Chandrap\u00e1da. When\nthey reached the mouth of the cavern in that mountain, the Ganas\nof Siva prevented them from entering, assuming strange deformed\ncountenances. Then Suv\u00e1sakum\u00e1ra said to S\u00faryaprabha and the others,\n\"We must not fight with these, for the revered god Siva might be\nangry. Let us praise that giver of boons by his eight thousand names,\nand that will make the Ganas [663] favourably disposed to us.\" Then\nthey all agreed, and praised Siva; and the Ganas, pleased at hearing\ntheir master praised, said to them; \"We abandon this cave to you,\ntake its potent simples. But S\u00faryaprabha must not enter it himself;\nlet Prabh\u00e1sa enter it, for it will be easy for him to enter.\" They\nall said \"So be it,\" and acceded to the advice of the Ganas. Then\nthat cave, as soon as Prabh\u00e1sa entered it, though before enveloped\nin darkness, became irradiated with light. And four very terrible\nR\u00e1kshasas, who were servants there, rose up, and bending before him,\nsaid to him \"Enter.\" Then Prabh\u00e1sa entered, and collected those seven\ndivine herbs, and coming out, gave them all to S\u00faryaprabha. And that\nmoment a voice was heard from heaven, saying, \"S\u00faryaprabha, of great\npower are these seven drugs which you have obtained to-day.\" When\nS\u00faryaprabha and the others heard that, they were delighted, and\nquickly returned to the dwelling of Sumeru to greet their army. Then\nSun\u00edtha asked that Suv\u00e1sakum\u00e1ra; \"Hermit, why was Prabh\u00e1sa allowed\nby the Ganas to enter the cave, and not S\u00faryaprabha, and why was he\nalso welcomed by the servants?\" When the hermit heard that, he said\nin the hearing of all, \"Listen, I will explain this--Prabh\u00e1sa is a\ngreat benefactor to S\u00faryaprabha, being a second self to him, there is\nno difference between them. Moreover, no one is equal in might and\ncourage to Prabh\u00e1sa, and this cave belongs to him on account of his\ngood deeds in a former life, and listen, I will tell you what sort\nof a person he was in a former existence.\"\n\n\n\nStory of the generous D\u00e1nava Namuchi.\n\nIn old times there was an excellent D\u00e1nava named Namuchi, who\nwas devoted to charity and very brave, and did not refuse to give\nanything to anybody that asked, even if he were his enemy. He practised\nasceticism as a drinker of smoke for ten thousand years, and obtained\nas a favour from Brahm\u00e1, that he should be proof against iron, stone,\nand wood. Then he frequently conquered Indra and made him flee,\nso the rishi Kasyapa entreated him, and made him make peace with\nthe gods. Then the gods and Asuras, as their enmity was at an end,\ndeliberated together, and went to the ocean of milk, and churned it\nwith the mountain Mandara. And as Vishnu and the other gods received\nLakshm\u00ed and other things as their shares, so Namuchi gained the horse\nUchchhaihsravas; and the other gods and Asuras received other various\nshares, appointed by Brahm\u00e1, of the things that rose from the sea, when\nchurned. And the amrita at last came up at the end of the churning,\nand the gods stole it, so a quarrel again took place between them\nand the Asuras. Then, as fast as the gods killed an Asura in their\nlight with them, the horse Uchchhaihsravas immediately restored him\nto life by smelling him. The consequence was that the gods found it\nimpossible to conquer the Daityas and D\u00e1navas. Then Vrihaspati said\nin secret to Indra, who was in despair: \"There is only one expedient\nleft, adopt it without delay; go to Namuchi yourself, and ask him for\nthat excellent horse, for he will certainly give it to you, though\nyou are his enemy, sooner than mar the glory of open-handedness,\nwhich he has been accumulating since his birth.\" When the preceptor\nof the gods said that to him, great Indra went with the gods and\ncraved as a boon that horse Uchchhaihsravas from Namuchi. Then the\ngreat-hearted Namuchi reflected, \"I never turn back a suppliant, so\nI will not turn back Indra; and how can I, as long as I am Namuchi,\nrefuse to give him the horse? If the glory of generosity, which I\nhave long been acquiring in the worlds, were to wither, what would\nbe the use to me of prosperity, or life?\" Accordingly he gave the\nhorse to Indra, although Sukra warned him not to do it. Then Indra,\nafter he had given the horse, lulled him to security, and as he could\nnot be slain by any other weapon, killed him with foam of the Ganges,\nin which he had placed a thunderbolt. Alas! terrible in the world\nis the thirst for enjoyment, carried away by which even gods do not\nshrink from unbecoming and infamous conduct. When Danu, the mother of\nNamuchi, heard this, being afflicted with grief, she made by virtue\nof her asceticism a solemn resolve for the allaying of her sorrow,\n\"May that mighty Namuchi be again born in my womb, and may he again\nbecome invincible by the gods in battle.\" Then he was again conceived\nin her womb, and born as an Asura composed all of jewels, named\nPrabala on account of his strength. Then he performed asceticism,\nand satisfying supplicants even with his life, became successful,\nand as prince of the D\u00e1navas conquered Indra a hundred times. Then\nthe gods took counsel together, and came to him, and said to him:\n\"By all means give us your body for a human sacrifice.\" [664] When he\nheard that, he gave them his own body, although they were his enemies;\nnoble men do not turn their backs on a suppliant, but bestow on him\neven their lives. Then that D\u00e1nava Prabala was cut to pieces by the\ngods, and he has been again born in the world of men with the body\nof Prabh\u00e1sa.\n\n\"So Prabh\u00e1sa was first Namuchi, and then he was Prabala, and then\nhe became Prabh\u00e1sa, therefore on account of his merit he is hard\nfor his enemies to conquer. And that cave of herbs, which belonged\nto that Prabala, is for that reason the property of Prabh\u00e1sa,\nand is at his command with its servants. And below it there is in\nP\u00e1t\u00e1la [665] the mansion of Prabala, and in it there are his twelve\nhead-wives beautifully adorned, and various jewels, and many kinds\nof weapons, and a wishing-stone, and a hundred thousand warriors,\nand also horses. This all belongs to Prabh\u00e1sa, and was acquired by\nhim in a former life. Such a hero is Prabh\u00e1sa; in him nothing is\nwonderful.\" When they heard this from the hermit's son, S\u00faryaprabha\nand his followers, with Maya and Prabh\u00e1sa, went immediately to that\ncavern belonging to Prabh\u00e1sa, that led down to P\u00e1t\u00e1la, for the purpose\nof securing the jewels. Prabh\u00e1sa alone went in by that entrance,\nand secured his former wives, and the wishing-stone, and the horses,\nand the Asura warriors, and coming out again with all his wealth,\nhe gave great satisfaction to S\u00faryaprabha. Then that S\u00faryaprabha,\nhaving quickly obtained what he wished, returned to his own camp with\nMaya and Sun\u00edtha and Prabh\u00e1sa, followed by Sumeru and the other kings\nand the ministers. There, after the Asuras and kings and others had\ngone to their own quarters, he again was consecrated for the fight,\nrestraining his passions, and spent the rest of the night on a bed\nof kusa grass.\n\n\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XLVII.\n\n\nEarly the next morning, S\u00faryaprabha set out from the hermitage of\nSumeru with his forces to conquer Srutasarman. And arriving near\nthe mountain of Trik\u00fata his dwelling place, he encamped, driving\naway the enemies' army with his own force, which was established\nthere. And while he was encamped there with Sumeru, Maya, and others,\nand was in the hall of council, an ambassador came from the lord of\nTrik\u00fata. And when he came, he said to Sumeru the Vidy\u00e1dhara prince;\n\"The king, the father of Srutasarman, sends you this message. 'We\nhave never entertained you, as you were far off; now you have arrived\nin our territory with guests, so now we will shew you appropriate\nhospitality.'\" When Sumeru heard this scoffingly ambiguous message,\nhe said in answer: \"Bravo! you will not get another guest such a fit\nobject of hospitality as we are. Hospitality will not bear its fruit\nin the next world, its fruit is in this. So here we are, entertain\nus.\" When Sumeru said this, the ambassador returned to his master as\nhe came.\n\nThen S\u00faryaprabha and the others, established upon an elevated place,\nsurveyed their armies encamped separately. Then Sun\u00edtha said to his\nfather-in-law the Asura Maya: \"Explain to me the arrangement of the\nwarriors in our army.\" Then that all-knowing prince of the D\u00e1navas\nsaid, \"I will do so, listen;\" and pointing them out with his finger,\nhe began to say--\"These kings Sub\u00e1hu, Nirgh\u00e1ta, Mushtika, and Gohara,\nand Pralamba, and Pram\u00e1tha, and Kankata, and Pingala, and Vasudatta\nand others, are considered half-power warriors. [666] And Ankurin,\nand Suvis\u00e1la, and Dandin, and Bh\u00fashana, and Somila, and Unmattaka,\nand Devasarman, and Pitrisarman, and Kum\u00e1raka, and Haridatta and\nothers are all full-power warriors. And Prakampana, and Darpita,\nand Kumbh\u00edra, and M\u00e1trip\u00e1lita, and Mah\u00e1bhata, and V\u00edrasv\u00e1min,\nand Sur\u00e1dhara, and Bh\u00e1nd\u00edra, and Sinhadatta and Gunavarman, with\nK\u00edtaka and Bh\u00edma and Bhayankara, these are all warriors of double\npower. And Virochana, and V\u00edrasena, and Yajnasena, and Khujjara,\nand Indravarman, and Sevaraka, and Kr\u00farakarman, and Nir\u00e1saka, these\nprinces are of triple power, my son. And Susarman, and B\u00e1hus\u00e1lin,\nand Vis\u00e1kha, and Krodhana, and Prachanda,--these princes are warriors\nof fourfold power. And Junjarin, and V\u00edrasarman, and Prav\u00edravara, and\nSupratijna and Mar\u00e1r\u00e1ma, and Chandadanta, and J\u00e1lika, and the three,\nSinhabhata, Vy\u00e1ghrabhata, and Satrubhata, these kings and princes are\nwarriors of fivefold power. But this prince Ugravarman is a warrior\nof sixfold power. And the prince Visoka, and Sutantu, and Sugama, and\nNarendrasarman are considered warriors of sevenfold power. And this\nking Sahasr\u00e1yu is a great warrior. But this Sat\u00e1n\u00edka is lord of a host\nof great warriors. And Subh\u00e1sa, Harsha, and Vimala, the companions of\nS\u00faryaprabha, Mah\u00e1buddhi and Achalabuddhi, Priyankara and Subhankara are\ngreat warriors, as also Yajnaruchi and Dharmaruchi. But Visvaruchi,\nand Bh\u00e1sa, and Siddh\u00e1rtha, these three ministers of S\u00faryaprabha,\nare chiefs of hosts of great warriors. And his ministers Prahasta and\nMah\u00e1rtha are leaders of hosts of transcendent warriors. And Prajn\u00e1dhya\nand Sthirabuddhi are leaders of hosts of hosts of warriors; and the\nD\u00e1nava Sarvadamana, and Pramathana here, and Dh\u00famaketu, and Pravahana,\nand Vajrapanjara, and K\u00e1lachakra, and Marudvega are leaders of warriors\nand transcendent warriors. Prakampana and Sinhan\u00e1da are leaders of\nhosts of leaders of hosts of warriors. And Mah\u00e1m\u00e1ya, and K\u00e1mbalika,\nand K\u00e1lakampana here, and Prahrishtaroman, these four lords of the\nAsuras, are kings over chiefs of hosts of transcendent warriors. And\nthis Prabh\u00e1sa, the general of the army, who is equal to S\u00faryaprabha,\nand this son of Sumeru, Kunjarakum\u00e1ra, these two are leaders of hosts\nof chiefs of hosts of great warriors. Such heroes are there in our\narmy, and others besides, girt with their followers. There are more\nin the hostile army, but Siva being well disposed towards us, they\nwill not be able to resist our host.\n\nWhile the Asura Maya was saying this to Sun\u00edtha, another ambassador\ncame from the father of Srutasarman, and said thus to him; \"The king\nof Trik\u00fata sends this message to you; 'This is a great feast for\nheroes--the feast, which goes by the name of battle. This ground\nis narrow for it, therefore let us leave it, and go to a place\nnamed Kal\u00e1pagr\u00e1ma, where there is a wide space.'\" When Sun\u00edtha and\nthe other chiefs with their soldiers heard this, they agreed, and\nall of them went with S\u00faryaprabha to Kal\u00e1pagr\u00e1ma. And Srutasarman\nand his partizans also, eager for battle, went to that same place,\nsurrounded with the hosts of the Vidy\u00e1dharas. When S\u00faryaprabha and his\nchiefs saw elephants in the army of Srutasarman, they summoned their\ncontingent of elephants, which was conveyed in the chariot that flew\nthrough the air. Then D\u00e1modara, that excellent Vidy\u00e1dhara, drew up his\narmy in the form of a large needle; Srutasarman himself took up his\nposition on the flank with his ministers, and D\u00e1modara was in front,\nand other great warriors in other places. And Prabh\u00e1sa, the leader of\nS\u00faryaprabha's army, arranged it in the form of a crescent; he himself\nwas in the centre, and Kunjarakum\u00e1ra and Prahasta at the two horns;\nand S\u00faryaprabha, and Sun\u00edtha and the other chiefs, all remained in\nthe rear. And Sumeru with Suv\u00e1sakum\u00e1ra stood near him. Thereupon the\nwar-drums were beaten in both armies.\n\nAnd in the meanwhile the heaven was filled with the gods, come\nto see the battle, together with Indra, and the Lokap\u00e1las, and\nthe Apsarases. And Siva, the lord of all, came there with P\u00e1rvat\u00ed,\nfollowed by deities, and the Ganas, and demons, and the mothers. [667]\nAnd holy Brahm\u00e1 came accompanied by the Vedas incarnate in bodily\nform, beginning with the G\u00e1yatr\u00ed, and the S\u00e1stras and all the\ngreat Rishis. And the god Vishnu came, riding on the king of birds,\nbearing his weapon the discus, accompanied by goddesses, of whom the\ngoddesses of Fortune, Glory, and Victory were the chief. And Kasyapa\ncame with his wives, and the \u00c1dityas and the Vasus, and the chiefs of\nthe Yakshas, R\u00e1kshasas and snakes, and also the Asuras with Prahl\u00e1da\nat their head. The sky was obscured with them, and the battle of those\ntwo armies began, terrible with the clashing of weapons, accompanied\nwith loud shouts. The whole heaven was darkened by the dense cloud of\narrows, through which the flashes, made by the arrows striking against\none another, played like lightning, and rivers of blood flowed, swollen\nwith the gore of many elephants and horses wounded with weapons, in\nwhich the bodies of heroes moved like alligators. That battle gave\ngreat delight to heroes, jackals, and goblins, that danced, waded,\nand shouted in blood.\n\nWhen the confused m\u00eal\u00e9e, in which countless soldiers fell, had abated,\nS\u00faryaprabha, and the other chiefs, gradually began to perceive the\ndistinction between their own army and that of the enemy, and heard in\norder from Sumeru the names and lineage of the chiefs fighting in front\nof the enemies' host. Then first took place a single combat between\nking Sub\u00e1hu and a chief of the Vidy\u00e1dharas, named Attah\u00e1sa. Sub\u00e1hu\nfought a long time, until Attah\u00e1sa, after riddling him with arrows,\ncut off his head with a crescent-headed shaft. When Mushtika saw that\nSub\u00e1hu was slain, he rushed forward in wrath; he too fell smitten\nby Attah\u00e1sa with an arrow in the heart. When Mushtika was slain,\na king named Pralamba in wrath rushed on, and attacked Attah\u00e1sa with\nshowers of arrows, but Attah\u00e1sa slew his retainers, and striking the\nhero Pralamba with an arrow in a mortal place, laid him low on the\nseat of his chariot. A king named Mohana, when he saw Pralamba dead,\nengaged with Attah\u00e1sa and smote him with arrows. Then Attah\u00e1sa cut his\nbow and slew his charioteer, and laid him low, slain with a terrific\nblow. When the host of Srutasarman saw that the dexterous Attah\u00e1sa\nhad slain those four warriors, expecting the victory, they shouted\nfor joy. When Harsha, the companion of S\u00faryaprabha, saw that, he was\nwroth, and with his followers attacked Attah\u00e1sa and his followers;\nand with shafts he repelled his shafts, and he slew his followers,\nand killed his charioteer, and two or three times cut his bow and\nhis banner, and at last he cleft asunder his head with his arrows,\nso that he fell from his chariot on the earth, pouring forth a stream\nof blood. When Attah\u00e1sa was slain, there was such a panic in the\nbattle, that in a moment only half the two armies remained. Horses,\nelephants and footmen fell down there slain, and only the trunks of\nslaughtered men remained standing in the van of battle.\n\nThen a chief of the Vidy\u00e1dharas, named Vikritadanshtra, angry at\nthe slaughter of Attah\u00e1sa, showered arrows upon Harsha. But Harsha\nrepelled his arrows, struck down his chariot-horses, and his banner and\nhis charioteer, and cut off his head with its trembling earrings. But\nwhen Vikritadanshtra was killed, a Vidy\u00e1dhara king, named Chakrav\u00e1la,\nin wrath attacked Harsha; he slew Harsha still fighting on, though\nfatigued with combat, after his bow had been frequently cut asunder,\nand his other weapons damaged. Angry at that, king Pram\u00e1tha attacked\nhim, and he too was slain by that Chakrav\u00e1la in fight. In the same\nway four other distinguished kings, who attacked him one by one,\nwere slain one after another by that Chakrav\u00e1la, namely, Kankata,\nand Vis\u00e1la, and Prachanda and Ankurin. When king Nirgh\u00e1ta saw that,\nhe was wroth, and attacked Chakrav\u00e1la, and those two, Chakrav\u00e1la\nand Nirgh\u00e1ta, fought for a long time, and at last they broke one\nanother's chariots to pieces, and so became infantry soldiers, and\nthe two, rushing furiously together, armed with sword and discus,\ncleft with sword-strokes one another's heads, and fell dead on\nthe earth. Then the two armies were dispirited, seeing those two\nwarriors dead, but nevertheless a king of the Vidy\u00e1dharas, named\nK\u00e1lakampana, stepped forward to the front of the fight. And a prince,\nnamed Prakampana, attacked him, but he was in a moment struck down\nby that K\u00e1lakampana. When he was struck down, five other warriors\nattacked K\u00e1lakampana, namely J\u00e1lika, and Chandadatta, and Gopaka,\nand Somila, and Pitrisarman; all these let fly arrows at him at the\nsame time. But K\u00e1lakampana deprived all five of their chariots, and\nslew them at the same time, piercing the five with five arrows in\nthe heart. That made the Vidy\u00e1dharas shout for joy, and the men and\nAsuras despond. Then four other warriors rushed upon him at the same\ntime, Unmattaka and Prasasta, Vilambaka and Dhurandhara; K\u00e1lakampana\nslew them all easily, in the same way he killed six other warriors\nthat ran towards him, Tejika, and Geyika, and Vegila, and S\u00e1khila,\nand Bhadrankara and Dandin, great warriors with many followers. And\nagain he slew five others that met him in fight, Bh\u00edma, Bh\u00edshana,\nKumbh\u00edra, Vikata, and Vilochana. And a king, named Sugana, when he\nsaw the havoc that K\u00e1lakampana had made in the battle, ran to meet\nhim. K\u00e1lakampana fought with him until both had their horses and\ncharioteers killed, and were compelled to abandon their chariots;\nthen K\u00e1lakampana, reduced to fight on foot, laid Sugana, who was\nalso fighting on foot, low on the earth with a sword-cut. Then the\nsun, having beheld that surprising struggle of Vidy\u00e1dharas with men,\nwent grieved to rest. [668] Not only did the field of battle become\nred, filled with streaming blood, but the heaven also became red,\nwhen evening set her foot-prints there. Then the corpses and demons\nbegan their evening dance, and both armies, stopping the battle,\nwent to their camps. In the army of Srutasarman were slain that day\nthree heroes, but thirty-three distinguished heroes were slain in\nthe army of S\u00faryaprabha.\n\nThen S\u00faryaprabha, grieved at the slaughter of his kinsmen and friends,\nspent that night apart from his wives. And eager for the fight, he\npassed that night in various military discussions with his ministers,\nwithout going to sleep. And his wives, grieved on account of the\nslaughter of their relations, met together in one place that night,\nhaving come for the sake of mutual condolence. But even on that\nmelancholy occasion they indulged in miscellaneous conversation;\nthere is no occasion on which women are not irrelevant in their\ntalk. In the course of this conversation, one princess said--\"It is\nwonderful! How comes it that to-night our husband has gone to sleep\nwithout any of his wives?\" Hearing that, another said--\"Our husband\nis to-day grieved on account of the slaughter of his followers in\nbattle, so how can he take any pleasure in the society of women?\" Then\nanother said, \"If he were to obtain a new beauty, he would that instant\nforget his grief.\" Then another said--\"Do not say so; although he is\ndevoted to the fair sex, he would not behave in this way on such a\nsad occasion.\" While they were thus speaking, one said with wonder;\n\"Tell me why our husband is so devoted to women, that, though he has\ncarried off many wives, he is perpetually marrying new princesses\nand is never satisfied.\" One of the wives, a clever woman of the\nname of Manovat\u00ed, said when she heard this,--\"Hear why kings have\nmany loves. The good qualities of lovely women are different, varying\nwith their native land, their beauty, their age, their gestures, and\ntheir accomplishments, no one woman possesses all good qualities. The\nwomen of Karn\u00e1ta, of L\u00e1ta, of Saur\u00e1shtra and Madhyadesa, please by\nthe peculiar behaviour of their various countries. Some fair ones\ncaptivate by their faces like an autumn moon, others by their breasts\nfull and firm like golden ewers, and others by their limbs, charming\nfrom their beauty. One has limbs yellow as gold, another is dark like\na priyangu, another, being red and white, captivates the eyes as soon\nas seen. One is of budding beauty, another of full-developed youth,\nanother is agreeable on account of her maturity, and distinguished by\nincreasing coquetry. One looks lovely when smiling, another is charming\neven in anger, another charms with gait resembling that of an elephant,\nanother with swan-like motion. One, when she prattles, irrigates the\nears with nectar; another is naturally beautiful, when she looks at\none with graceful contraction of the eyebrows. One charms by dancing,\nanother pleases by singing, and another fair one attracts by being\nable to play on the lyre and other instruments. One is distinguished\nfor good temper, another is remarkable for artfulness; another enjoys\ngood fortune from being able to understand her husband's mind. But,\nto sum up, others possess other particular merits; so every lovely\nwoman has some peculiar good point, but of all the women in the\nthree worlds none possesses all possible virtues. So kings, having\nmade up their minds to experience all kinds of fascinations, though\nthey have captured many wives for themselves, are for ever seizing\nnew ones. [669] But the truly noble never, under any circumstances,\ndesire the wives of others. So this is not our husband's fault, and we\ncannot be jealous.\" When the head-wives of S\u00faryaprabha, beginning with\nMadanasen\u00e1, had been addressed in this style by Manovat\u00ed, they made\none after another remarks to the same effect. Then, in their merriment,\nthey laid aside all the ties of reserve, and began to tell one another\nall kinds of secrets. For unfortunately there is nothing which women\nwill not let out, when they are met together in social intercourse,\nand their minds are interested in the course of the conversation. At\nlast that long conversation of theirs was somehow or other brought\nto an end, and in course of time the night passed away, during which\nS\u00faryaprabha was longing to conquer the host of his enemies, for he\nwas alone, intently waiting for the time when the darkness should\ndepart. [670]\n\n\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XLVIII.\n\n\nThe next morning, S\u00faryaprabha and his party, and Srutasarman and\nhis supporters, again went to the field of battle armed, with their\nforces. And again the gods and Asuras, with Indra, Brahm\u00e1, Vishnu,\nand Rudra, and with the Yakshas, snakes, and Gandharvas, came to see\nthe fight. D\u00e1modara drew up the troops of Srutasarman in the form of a\ndiscus, and Prabh\u00e1sa drew up the troops of S\u00faryaprabha in the form of a\nthunderbolt. Then the battle of those two armies went on, deafening the\nhorizon with drums and the shouts of champions, and the sun hid himself\nin flights of arrows, as if out of fear that the warriors smitten with\nweapons would certainly pierce his disk. Then Prabh\u00e1sa, by command of\nS\u00faryaprabha, broke the discus-arrangement of the enemy's host, hard\nfor another to break, and entered alone. And D\u00e1modara himself came\nand defended that opening in the line, and Prabh\u00e1sa fought against\nhim unaided. And S\u00faryaprabha, seeing that he had entered alone, sent\nfifteen great warriors to follow him, Prakampana, and Dh\u00famraketu,\nand K\u00e1lakampana, and Mah\u00e1m\u00e1ya, and Marudvega, and Prahasta, and\nVajrapanjara, and K\u00e1lachakra, and Pramathana, and Sinhan\u00e1da, and\nKambala, and Vikat\u00e1ksha, and Pravahana, and Kunjarakum\u00e1raka, and\nPrahrishtaroman the heroic Asura prince: all those great warriors\nrushed forward to the opening in the line; then D\u00e1modara exhibited\nhis wonderful heroism, in that alone he fought with those fifteen.\n\nWhen Indra saw that, he said to the hermit N\u00e1rada, who was at his side,\n\"S\u00faryaprabha and the others of his party are incarnations of Asuras,\nbut Srutasarman is a portion of me, and all these Vidy\u00e1dharas are\nportions of the gods, so observe, hermit, this is a disguised fight\nbetween the gods and Asuras. And observe, in it Vishnu is, as ever,\nthe ally of the gods, for D\u00e1modara, who is a portion of him, is\nfighting here.\"\n\nWhile Indra was saying this, fourteen great warriors came to assist\nthe general D\u00e1modara,--Brahmagupta and V\u00e1yubala, and Yamadanshtra,\nand Suroshana, and Rosh\u00e1varoha, and Atibala, and Tejahprabha, and\nDhurandhara, and Kuveradatta, and Varunasarman, and K\u00e1mbalika, and\nthe hero Dushtadamana, and Dohana and \u00c1rohana. And those fifteen\nheroes, joined with D\u00e1modara, fighting in front of the line, kept\noff the followers of S\u00faryaprabha. Then single combats took place\nbetween them; Prakampana carried on a missile fight with D\u00e1modara, and\nDh\u00famraketu fought with Brahmagupta, and Mah\u00e1m\u00e1ya fought with Atibala,\nthe D\u00e1nava K\u00e1lakampana fought with Tejahprabha, and the great Asura\nMarudvega with V\u00e1yubala, and Vajrapanjara fought with Yamadanshtra,\nand the heroic Asura K\u00e1lachakra with Suroshana; Pramathana fought\nwith Kuveradatta, and the king of the Daityas, named Sinhan\u00e1da, with\nVarunasarman. Pravahana fought with Dushtadamana, and the D\u00e1nava\nPrahrishtaroman fought with Rosh\u00e1varoha; and Vikat\u00e1ksha fought with\nDhurandhara, Kambala fought with K\u00e1mbalika, and Kunjarakum\u00e1raka with\n\u00c1rohana, and Prahasta with Dohana, who was also called Mahotp\u00e1ta.\n\nWhen these pairs of warriors were thus fighting in the front of the\nline, Sun\u00edtha said to Maya, \"Alas! observe, our heroic warriors,\nthough skilled in the use of many weapons, have been prevented by\nthese antagonists from entering the enemies' line; but Prabh\u00e1sa\nentered before recklessly alone, so we do not know what will become\nof him there.\" When Suv\u00e1sakum\u00e1ra heard this, he said, \"All the gods,\nAsuras, and men in the three worlds are not a match for this Prabh\u00e1sa\nunaided, much less then are these Vidy\u00e1dharas. So why do you fear\nwithout reason, though you know this well enough?\"\n\nWhile the hermit's son was saying this, the Vidy\u00e1dhara K\u00e1lakampana came\nto meet Prabh\u00e1sa in fight. Then Prabh\u00e1sa said to him, \"Ha! Ha! you\nhave rendered me a great service, so let me now see your valour\nhere.\" Saying this, Prabh\u00e1sa let fly at him a succession of arrows,\nand K\u00e1lakampana in return showered sharp arrows upon him. Then that\nVidy\u00e1dhara and that man fought together with arrows and answering\narrows, making the worlds astonished. Then Prabh\u00e1sa with a sharp\narrow struck down the banner of K\u00e1lakampana, with a second he killed\nhis charioteer, with four more his four horses, and with one more\nhe cut his bow in half, with two more he cut off his hands, with\ntwo more his arms, and with two more his two ears, and with one\nsharp-edged arrow he cut off the head of his foe, and thus displayed\nwonderful dexterity. Thus Prabh\u00e1sa, as it were, chastised K\u00e1lakampana,\nbeing angry with him because he had slain so many heroes in his own\narmy. And the men and Asuras, when they saw that Vidy\u00e1dhara chief\nslain, raised a shout, and the Vidy\u00e1dharas immediately proclaimed\ntheir despondency. [671]\n\nThen a king of the Vidy\u00e1dharas, named Vidyutprabh\u00e1, lord of the hill\nof K\u00e1lanjara, in wrath attacked Prabh\u00e1sa. When he was fighting with\nPrabh\u00e1sa, Prabh\u00e1sa first cut asunder his banner, and then kept cutting\nhis bows in two, as fast as he took them up. Then the Vidy\u00e1dhara,\nbeing ashamed, by his delusive power flew up invisible into the sky,\nand rained swords, clubs, and other weapons upon Prabh\u00e1sa. Prabh\u00e1sa,\nfor his part, swept away his succession of missiles with others,\nand by the illuminating weapon made that Asura manifest, and then\nemploying the weapon of fire, he burned up Vidyutprabh\u00e1 with its blaze,\nand bringing him down from the heaven, laid him dead on the earth.\n\nWhen Srutasarman saw this, he said to his warriors, \"Observe, this\nman has slain two chiefs of hosts of great warriors. Now why do you\nput up with it? Join together and slay him.\" When they heard that,\neight warriors in anger surrounded Prabh\u00e1sa. One was a king of the\nVidy\u00e1dharas named \u00dardhvaroman, a lord of hosts of warriors, dwelling\nin the great mountain named Vankataka. And the second warrior was\na chief of the Vidy\u00e1dharas named Vikrosana, the king of the rock\nDharan\u00eddhara. And the third was the hero Indram\u00e1lin, a prince of the\nVidy\u00e1dharas, lord of a host of distinguished warriors, and his home\nwas the mountain L\u00edl\u00e1. And the fourth was an excellent Vidy\u00e1dhara\nnamed king K\u00e1kandaka, a chief of a host of warriors, and his dwelling\nwas in the mountain Malaya. And the fifth was Darpav\u00e1ha by name, lord\nof the hill Niketa, and the sixth was Dh\u00fartavyayana the lord of the\nmountain Anjana, and both these Vidy\u00e1dharas were chiefs of excellent\nwarriors. And the seventh one, whose chariot was drawn by asses,\nwas named Var\u00e1hasv\u00e1min, king of the mount Kumuda, and he was chief\nof a host of great warriors. And the eighth warrior was like him,\nMedh\u00e1vara king of Dundhubhi. Prabh\u00e1sa repelled the numerous arrows,\nwhich these eight came and discharged, and he pierced them all at\nthe same time with arrows. And he slew the horse of one, and of one\nthe charioteer, and he cut in half the banner of one, and he cleft\nthe bow of another. But Medh\u00e1vara he struck at the same time with\nfour arrows in the heart, and at once laid him dead on the earth. And\nthen he fought with the others, and cut off with an anjalika [672] the\nhead of \u00dardhvaroman with its curled and plaited hair, and of the other\nsix he killed the horses and charioteers, and at last laid themselves\nlow, cutting off their heads with crescent-headed arrows. And then a\nrain of flowers fell on his head from heaven, encouraging the kings\nof the Asuras, and discouraging the Vidy\u00e1dharas. Then four more\ngreat warriors, armed with bows, sent by Srutasarman, surrounded\nPrabh\u00e1sa; one was named K\u00e1charaka, the lord of the mountain Kuranda;\nthe second Dindim\u00e1lin, whose home was the hill of Panchaka, and the\nthird was Vibh\u00e1vasu, king of the mountain Jayapura, the fourth was\nnamed Dhavala, the ruler of Bh\u00famitundika. Those excellent Vidy\u00e1dharas,\nchiefs of hosts of great warriors, let fly five hundred arrows at the\nsame time at Prabh\u00e1sa. But Prabh\u00e1sa easily disposed of all, one by\none, each with eight arrows; with one arrow he cut down the banner,\nwith one cleft the bow, with one he killed the charioteer, with four\nthe horses, and with one more he cut off the head of the warrior,\nand then shouted triumphantly.\n\nThen another four Vidy\u00e1dharas, by the order of Srutasarman, assembled\nin fight against Prabh\u00e1sa. The first was named Bhadrankara, dark as the\nblue water-lily, sprung from Mercury in the house [673] of Visv\u00e1vasu,\nbut the second was Niyantraka like the fire in brightness, sprung\nfrom Mars in the house of Jambaka, and the third was called K\u00e1lakopa,\nvery black in hue, with tawny hair, sprung from Saturn in the house of\nD\u00e1modara. And the fourth was Vikramasakti, like gold in brightness,\nsprung from the planet Jupiter in the house of the Moon. The three\nfirst were lords of hosts of lords of hosts of transcendent warriors,\nbut the fourth was a great hero surpassing the rest in valour. And\nthose haughty chiefs attacked Prabh\u00e1sa with heavenly weapons. Prabh\u00e1sa\nrepelled their weapons with the weapon of N\u00e1r\u00e1yana, and easily cut\nasunder the bow of each eight times; then he repelled the arrows and\nclubs which they hurled, and slaying their horses and charioteers,\ndeprived them all of their chariots. When Srutasarman saw that,\nhe quickly sent other ten lords of the Vidy\u00e1dharas, chiefs of lord\nof hosts of lords of hosts of warriors, two called Dama and Niyama,\nwho exactly resembled one another in appearance, two sons born to\nthe Asvins in the house of the lord of Ketum\u00e1l\u00e1, and Vikrama and\nSankrama, and Par\u00e1krama and \u00c1krama, and Sammardana and Mardana,\nand Pramardana and Vimardana, the eight similar sons of the Vasus\nborn in the house of Makaranda. And when they came, the previous\nassailants mounted other chariots. Wonderful to say, though all those\nfourteen joined together, and showered arrows on Prabh\u00e1sa, he alone\nfought with them fearlessly. Then, by the order of S\u00faryaprabha,\nKunjarakum\u00e1ra and Prahasta left the m\u00eal\u00e9e and flying up from the\nfront of the line, weapons in hand, white and black in hue, came to\nthe aid of Prabh\u00e1sa, like R\u00e1ma and Krishna over again. They, though\nfighting on foot, harassed Dama and Niyama, by cutting asunder their\nbows and killing their charioteers. When they, in their fear, soared\nup to heaven, Kunjarakum\u00e1ra and Prahasta soared up also, weapons in\nhand. When S\u00faryaprabha saw that, he quickly sent them his ministers\nMah\u00e1buddhi and Achalabuddhi to act as charioteers. Then Prahasta and\nKunjarakum\u00e1ra discovered, by employing magic collyrium, those two sons\nof the Vidy\u00e1dharas, Dama and Niyama, though they had made themselves\ninvisible by magic power, and riddled them so with showers of arrows\nthat they fled. And Prabh\u00e1sa, fighting with the other twelve, cleft\nall their bows asunder, though they kept continually taking fresh\nones. And Prahasta came and killed at the same time the charioteers of\nall, and Kunjarakum\u00e1ra slew their horses. Then those twelve together,\nbeing deprived of their chariots, and finding themselves smitten by\nthree heroes, fled out of the battle.\n\nThen Srutasarman, beside himself with grief, anger and shame, sent\ntwo more Vidy\u00e1dharas, captains of hosts of warriors and distinguished\nwarriors; one was called Chandragupta born in the house of the lord\nof the great mountain Chandrakula, beautiful as a second moon, and\nthe second was his own minister named Narangama, of great splendour,\nborn in the house of the lord of the mountain Dhurandhara. They also,\nafter discharging a shower of arrows, were in a moment deprived of\ntheir chariots by Prabh\u00e1sa and his comrades, and disappeared.\n\nThen the men and Asuras shouted for joy; but thereupon Srutasarman\ncame himself, with four great warriors of mighty force, named Mahaugha,\n\u00c1rohana, Utp\u00e1ta and Vetravat, the sons respectively of Tvashtri, [674]\nBhaga, Aryaman and P\u00fashan, born in the houses of the four Vidy\u00e1dhara\nkings, Chitrapada and others, that ruled over mount Malaya. And\nSrutasarman himself, blinded with furious anger, was the fifth, and\nthey all fought against Prabh\u00e1sa and his two companions. Then the host\nof arrows, which they shot at one another, seemed like a canopy spread\nin the sky by the Fortune of war in the full blaze of the sun. Then\nthose other Vidy\u00e1dharas, who had been deprived of their chariots,\nand had fled from the battle, came back into the fight.\n\nThen S\u00faryaprabha, seeing many of them assembled in fight, under the\nleadership of Srutasarman, sent other great warriors of his own to\nsupport Prabh\u00e1sa and his comrades, his own friends with Prajn\u00e1dhya\nat their head, and the princes of whom Sat\u00e1n\u00edka and V\u00edrasena were\nthe chief. They flew through the air, and S\u00faryaprabha sent the other\nwarriors also through the air in the chariot Bhut\u00e1s\u00e1na. When all those\narchers had gone chariot-borne, the other Vidy\u00e1dhara kings, who were on\nthe side of Srutasarman, also came up. Then a fight took place between\nthose Vidy\u00e1dhara princes on the one side, and Prabh\u00e1sa and his comrades\non the other, in which there was a great slaughter of soldiers. And in\nthe single combats between the two hosts, many warriors were slain on\nboth sides, men, Asuras, and Vidy\u00e1dharas. V\u00edrasena slew Dh\u00famralochana\nand his followers; but having been deprived of his chariot, he was in\nhis turn killed by Harisarman. Then the Vidy\u00e1dhara hero Hirany\u00e1ksha\nwas killed by Abhimanyu, but Abhimanyu and Haribhata were slain\nby Sunetra. And Sunetra was killed by Prabh\u00e1sa, who cut off his\nhead. And Jv\u00e1l\u00e1m\u00e1lin and Mah\u00e1yu killed one another. But Kumbh\u00edraka\nand Nir\u00e1saka fought with their teeth, after their arms were cut\noff, and so did Kharva and the mighty Susarman. And the three,\nSatrubhata, Vy\u00e1ghrabhata, and Sinhabhata were slain by Pravahana,\nthe Vidy\u00e1dhara king. Pravahana was killed by the two warriors Suroha\nand Viroha, and those two were slain by Sinhabala, the dweller in\nthe cemetery. That very Sinhabala, whose chariot was drawn by ghosts,\nand Kapilaka, and Chitr\u00e1p\u00edda the Vidy\u00e1dhara king, and Jagajjvara, and\nthe hero K\u00e1nt\u00e1pati, and the mighty Suvarna, and the two Vidy\u00e1dhara\nkings K\u00e1maghana and Krodhapati, and king Baladeva and Vichitr\u00e1p\u00edda,\nthese ten were slain by the prince Sat\u00e1n\u00edka. When these heroes had\nbeen slain, Srutasarman, beholding the slaughter of the Vidy\u00e1dharas,\nhimself attacked Sat\u00e1n\u00edka in his anger. Then a terrible fight took\nplace between those two, lasting to the close of the day, and causing\na great slaughter of soldiers, exciting the wonder even of the gods,\nand it continued until hundreds of corpses, rising up all round, laid\nhold of the demons as their partners, when the time arrived for the\njoyous evening dance. At the close of day the Vidy\u00e1dharas, depressed\nat the great slaughter of their army, and grieved at the death of\ntheir friends, and the men and Asuras having won the victory by sheer\nforce stopped the combat, and went each of them to their own camps.\n\nAt that time two Vidy\u00e1dharas, chiefs of captains of bands of warriors,\nwho had deserted the cause of Srutasarman, came, introduced by\nSumeru, and said to S\u00faryaprabha, after bowing before him: \"We are\nnamed Mah\u00e1y\u00e1na and Sum\u00e1ya, and this Sinhabala was the third of us;\nwe had obtained magic power by having the rule of a great cemetery,\nand were unassailable by the other Vidy\u00e1dharas. While we, such as\nyou have heard, were once taking our ease in a corner of the great\ncemetery, there came to us a good witch named Sarabh\u00e1nan\u00e1, of great\nand godlike power, who is always well disposed towards us. We bowed\nbefore her and asked her, 'Where have you been, honoured lady, and what\nhave you seen there strange?' She thereupon related this adventure.\"\n\n\n\nAdventure of the witch Sarabh\u00e1nan\u00e1.\n\n'I went with the witches to visit my master, the god Mah\u00e1k\u00e1la, [675]\nand while I was there, a king of the Vet\u00e1las came and reported:\n\"See, O master, the chiefs of the Vidy\u00e1dharas have killed our\ncommander-in-chief named Agnika, and one named Tejahprabha is swiftly\ncarrying off his lovely daughter. But the holy sages have foretold that\nshe shall be the wife of the emperor of the Vidy\u00e1dharas, so grant us\na boon, and have her released before he forcibly carries her off to\na distance.\" When the god heard this speech of the afflicted Vet\u00e1la,\nhe said to me--\"Go and set her free,\" then I went through the air\nand came up with the maiden. Tejahprabha said, \"I am carrying off\nthe girl for our rightful emperor Srutasarman,\" but I paralyzed\nhim by my magic power, and bringing back the maiden, gave her to\nmy master. And he made her over to her own family. I in truth went\nthrough this strange adventure. Then I remained there some days,\nand after taking a reverent farewell of the god I came here.'\n\n\"When that witch Sarabh\u00e1nan\u00e1 had said this, we said to her--'Tell us,\nwho is to be the future emperor of the Vidy\u00e1dharas? You in truth know\nall.' She said--'S\u00faryaprabha will certainly be.' Whereupon Sinhabala\nsaid to us--'This is untrue, for have not the gods and Indra girded up\ntheir loins to support the cause of Srutasarman?' When the noble woman\nheard that, she said to us--'If you do not believe this, listen; I tell\nyou that soon there will be war between S\u00faryaprabha and Srutasarman,\nand when this Sinhabala shall be slain before your eyes by a man\nin battle, you will recognise this token, and will know that this\nspeech of mine is true.' When that witch had said this, she departed,\nand those days passed away, and now we have seen with our own eyes,\nthat in truth this Sinhabala has been slain. Relying upon that, we\nthink that you are indeed appointed emperor of all the Vidy\u00e1dharas,\nand submitting ourselves to your rule, we have repaired to your two\nlotus-like feet.\" When the Vidy\u00e1dharas Mah\u00e1y\u00e1na and Sum\u00e1yaka said\nthis, S\u00faryaprabha, in concert with Maya and the rest, received them\ninto confidence and honoured them, and they rejoiced. When Srutasarman\nheard that, he was in great consternation, but Indra comforted him by\na message, sending to him Visv\u00e1vasu, and commissioning him to say--\"Be\nof good cheer! To-morrow I will aid thee with all the gods in the\nvan of battle.\" This he said to him out of love, to comfort him. And\nS\u00faryaprabha, having been encouraged by beholding the breaking of his\nenemies' line, and having seen in the front of battle the slaughter\nof his rival's partisans, again forwent the society of his charmers,\nand entered his dwelling at night surrounded by his ministers.\n\n\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XLIX.\n\n\nThen S\u00faryaprabha, lying on his couch at night, eager for battle,\napart from his wives, said to his minister V\u00edtabh\u00edti--\"I cannot sleep,\nso tell me, my friend, some strange story of courage and endurance,\nto amuse me during the night.\" When V\u00edtabh\u00edti heard this request of\nS\u00faryaprabha's, he answered--\"I will obey your order,\" and he told\nthis story.\n\n\n\nStory of king Mah\u00e1sena and his virtuous minister Gunasarman.\n\nThere is a city Ujjayin\u00ed, the ornament of this earth, full of\nnumberless jewels of pellucid water. In that city there lived a king\nnamed Mah\u00e1sena, beloved by the virtuous, an unequalled treasury of\naccomplishments, having the beauty both of the sun and moon. He had a\nwife named Asokavat\u00ed, whom he loved as his life, there was not another\nwoman in the three worlds equal to her in beauty. The king ruled his\nrealm with her for consort, and he had besides a friend, a Br\u00e1hman\nnamed Gunasarman, whom he respected and loved. And that Br\u00e1hman was\nbrave and very handsome, and, though young, had thoroughly mastered\nthe lore of the Vedas, and knew the accomplishments, the S\u00e1stras,\nand the use of weapons, and was always in attendance on the king.\n\nAnd one day, as he was within the palace, a conversation arose\nabout dancing, and the king and queen said to Gunasarman, who was\nin attendance,--\"You know everything, there is no doubt about that;\nso we have a curiosity to see you dancing; if you know how to dance,\nkindly exhibit your skill.\" When Gunasarman heard this, he said with\na smile on his face; \"I know how to dance, but dancing is a thing not\nbecoming in the king's court; foolish dancing is generally ridiculous\nand is censured in the S\u00e1stras. And far from me be shame here in the\npresence of the king and queen.\" When Gunasarman said that, the king\nanswered him, being urged on to it by the queen out of curiosity--\"This\nwill not be like a dance on the stage, or in such places, which would\nmake a man feel ashamed, but merely a private display of skill in\nthe society of friends. And at present I am not your king, I am your\nfriend without ceremony, so rest assured that I will not eat to-day,\nuntil I have seen your skill in dancing.\" When the king pressed him\nin this style, the Br\u00e1hman consented to do it. For how can servants\nrefuse the request of an importunate lord? Then that Gunasarman danced\nso skilfully with his body, that the hearts of both the king and queen\ndanced for joy. And, at the end of it, the king gave him a lyre to\nplay upon, and the moment he tested its tones, he said to the king,\n\"This lyre is not in good order, so give me another one, there is a\npuppy inside this, your Majesty,--I know that by the indications of\nthe twanging of the strings.\" Saying this, Gunasarman let go the lyre\nfrom under his arm. Then the king sprinkled it, and unscrewed and\nexamined it, and a puppy came out of it. Then king Mah\u00e1sena praised\nGunasarman's omniscience, and was much astonished, and had another\nlyre brought. He played on that lyre which, like the Ganges that flows\nin three worlds, [676] was charming from its swift stream of music,\n[677] and purged the ear by its sound. Then in presence of the king,\nwho with his wife looked on astonished, he exhibited in turn his skill\nin the nobler studies. Then the king said to him, \"If you are skilled\nin fighting, then shew me a specimen of the art of binding the enemy's\nlimbs with your own hands unarmed.\" The Br\u00e1hman answered him--\"King,\ntake your weapons and strike at me, that I may shew you a specimen of\nmy skill.\" Then, as fast as the king took a sword or other weapon and\nstruck at him, Gunasarman, by that artifice of fettering the limbs\nimmediately disarmed him with ease, and frequently fettered his hand\nand body, without receiving a wound. Then the king, seeing that he\nwas capable of aiding him in his political affairs, praised that\nexcellent Br\u00e1hman of transcendent ability, and honoured him highly.\n\nBut queen Asokavat\u00ed, having beheld again and again the beauty and\nabilities of that Br\u00e1hman, suddenly fell in love with him. She\nthought to herself, \"If I cannot obtain him, of what use is my life\nto me.\" Then she artfully said to the king--\"Do me a kindness,\nmy husband, and order this Gunasarman to teach me to play on the\nlyre. For when I beheld to-day his skill in playing on the lyre,\nI took a desperate fancy to the instrument.\" When the king heard\nthis, he said to Gunasarman--\"By all means teach the queen to play\non the lyre.\" Then Gunasarman said, \"I will do so, my sovereign, we\nwill begin the practising on an auspicious day.\" Then he took leave\nof the king and went home. But he put off for many days beginning to\nteach the queen the lyre, seeing the changed expression of the queen,\nand afraid of some mischief.\n\nOne day he was standing near the king when he was eating, and when\nthe cook was giving him some condiment, he prevented him, saying,\n\"Stop! stop!\" The king asked what this meant, then the discreet\nman said, \"This sauce is poisoned, and I detected it by certain\nindications. For when the cook was giving you the sauce, he looked\nat my face, trembling with fear, and with an eye that rolled\napprehensively. And we can at once find out whether I am right;\nlet this sauce be given to some one to eat, and I will counteract\nthe effect of the poison.\" When he said this, the king made the\ncook eat the sauce, and immediately after he had eaten it, he became\nsenseless. Then Gunasarman counteracted the effect of the poison on\nthe cook by a spell, and when the king asked the cook the truth of\nthe whole matter, he said this--\"King, your enemy king Vikramasakti,\nsovereign of Gauda, sent me here to give you poison. I introduced\nmyself to your majesty as a foreigner skilful in the culinary art, and\nentered your kitchen. So to-day I have been discovered by that shrewd\nman in the act of giving you poison in sauce; your majesty knows what\nto do now.\" When the cook said this, the king punished him, and being\nmuch pleased, gave Gunasarman a thousand villages for saving his life.\n\nAnd the next day, as the queen kept vigorously pressing him, the\nking made Gunasarman begin to teach her the lyre. Then, while he was\nteaching her the lyre, the queen Asokavat\u00ed indulged in perpetual\ncoquetry, laughter, and mirth. One day, wounded with the arrow\nof love, she scratched him with her nails frequently in secret,\nand said to the chaste Gunasarman, who entreated her to desist,\n\"It was yourself that I asked for, handsome man, under the pretext\nof learning to play the lute, for I am desperately in love with you,\nso consent to my wishes.\" When she said this, Gunasarman answered\nher, \"Do not talk so, for you are my master's wife, and such a one\nas I am should not commit such treason, desist from this reckless\nconduct.\" When Gunasarman said this, the queen continued, \"Why do\nyou possess in vain this beauty and skill in accomplishments? How\ncan you look with a passionless eye on me who love you so much?\" When\nGunasarman heard this, he answered sarcastically, \"You are right. What\nis the use of that beauty and skill, which is not tarnished with infamy\nby seducing the wife of another, and which does not in this world and\nthe next cause one to fall into the ocean of hell?\" When he said this,\nthe queen said to him, pretending to be angry, \"I am determined to\ndie, if you do not do what I say, so being despised by you, I will\nslay you before I die.\" Then Gunasarman said, \"By all means, let it\nbe so. For it is better to live for one moment, bound by the bonds\nof righteousness, than to live unrighteously for hundreds of crores\nof kalpas. And it is far preferable for me to die without reproach,\nhaving done no wrong, than for me to have done wrong, and to be put\nto death by the king, with reproach attaching to my name.\" When the\nqueen heard that, she went on to say to him--\"Do not commit treason\nagainst yourself and me; listen, I will tell you something. The king\ndoes not neglect to do what I tell him, even if it is impossible;\nso I will ask him and get territories given to you, and I will have\nall your servants made barons, so you will become a king, for you\nare distinguished for good qualities. So what have you to fear? Who\ncan overpower you and how? So grant my wishes fearlessly, otherwise\nyou will not live.\" When the king's wife said this, seeing that she\nwas determined, Gunasarman said to her artfully, in order to put her\noff for a moment,--\"If you are persistently set on this, then I will\nobey your command, but it will not be advisable to do so immediately,\nfor fear it should get abroad; wait for some days; believe that what\nI say is true; what object have I in incurring your enmity which would\nensure my destruction?\" Thus Gunasarman comforted her with that hope,\nand agreed to her request, and then departed with heart lightened.\n\nThen, in the course of some days, king Mah\u00e1sena went and surrounded\nking Somaka in his treasure-city. And when the king of Gauda,\nVikramasakti, knew that he had arrived there, he went and surrounded\nking Mah\u00e1sena; then king Mah\u00e1sena said to Gunasarman--\"While we are\noccupied in besieging one enemy we are besieged by another, so now\nhow are we to fight with two enemies, as we are unequal in force? And\nhow long, being brave men, can we remain without fighting a battle? So\nwhat are we to do in this difficulty?\" When Gunasarman, who was at the\nside of the king, was asked this question, he answered--\"Be of good\ncourage, my sovereign; I will devise a stratagem that will enable us\nto get out of this situation, difficult as it is.\" He comforted the\nking with these words, and put on his eyes an ointment that rendered\nhim invisible, and at night went, without any one seeing him, to the\ncamp of Vikramasakti. And he entered into his presence, and woke him\nup while asleep, and said, \"Know, O king, that I am come a messenger\nfrom the gods. Make peace with king Mah\u00e1sena and depart quickly,\notherwise you will certainly be destroyed here with your army. And\nif you send an ambassador, he will agree to your proposals of peace;\nI have been sent by the holy Vishnu to tell you this. For you are a\nvotary of his, and he watches over the safety of his votaries.\" When\nking Vikramasakti heard this, he thought, \"Certainly this is true, if\nhe were any other, how could he enter this carefully guarded tent? This\nis not what a mere mortal could accomplish.\" When the king had gone\nthrough these reflections, he said--\"I am fortunate in receiving such\na command from the god, I will do what he bids me.\" When the king said\nthat, Gunasarman disappeared by the help of his magic collyrium, thus\nconfirming the king's confidence in him, and went away. And he came\nand told king Mah\u00e1sena what he had done; he threw his arms round his\nneck, and hailed him as the preserver of his life and throne. And the\nnext morning Vikramasakti sent an ambassador to Mah\u00e1sena, and after\nmaking peace with him, returned home with his army. But Mah\u00e1sena\nconquered Somaka, and having obtained elephants and horses, returned\nto Ujjayin\u00ed a victor, thanks to Gunasarman. And while he was there,\nGunasarman saved him from a crocodile while bathing in the river,\nand from the poison of a snake-bite while in his garden.\n\nThen, after some days had passed, king Mah\u00e1sena, having got together\nan army, went to attack his enemy Vikramasakti. And that king, as\nsoon as he heard of his approach, marched out to meet him in fight,\nand a great battle took place between the two. And in the course of\nit, the two kings met in single combat, and disabled one another's\nchariots. Then, in their fury, they rushed forward sword in hand,\nand king Mah\u00e1sena through carelessness stumbled and fell on the\nearth. Then the king Vikramasakti tried to strike him on the ground,\nbut Gunasarman cut off his arm with a discus, sword and all, and\nstriking him again in the heart with an iron mace laid him low. And\nking Mah\u00e1sena rose up, and was pleased when he saw his enemy dead,\nand said repeatedly to Gunasarman--\"What am I to say? This is the\nfifth time that you have saved my life, heroic Br\u00e1hman.\" Then Mah\u00e1sena\nconquered the army and kingdom of Vikramasakti, who had been slain by\nGunasarman, and after overcoming other kings by the aid of Gunasarman,\nhe returned to Ujjayin\u00ed and dwelt there in happiness.\n\nBut queen Asokavat\u00ed did not cease from importunately soliciting\nGunasarman day and night. But he would never consent to that crime;\ngood men prefer death to immodest conduct. Then Asokavat\u00ed, finding\nout that he was resolved, one day out of enmity to him affected to\nbe unhappy, and remained with tearful countenance. Then Mah\u00e1sena,\ncoming in, and seeing her in that condition, said--\"What is this, my\nbeloved? Who has offended you? Tell me the name of the man whose life\nand property I am to take by way of punishment?\" Then the unforgiving\nqueen said with affected reluctance to the king, who had thus addressed\nher, \"You have no power to punish the man who has injured me; he is not\na man you can chastise, so what is the good of revealing the injury to\nno purpose?\" When she said this, the king pressed her, and she said\ndeceitfully--\"My husband, if you are very anxious to know, listen,\nI will tell you. Gunasarman, who pretends to be a loyal servant,\n[678] made an agreement with the King of Gauda, and in order to get\nmoney from him, undertook to do you an injury. The wicked Br\u00e1hman\nsecretly sent his confidential messenger to Gauda, to make the king\nhand over treasure and so on. Then a confidential servant, seeing\nthe king despondent, said to him--'I will manage this affair for you,\ndo not waste your wealth.' When the king of Gauda heard this, he had\nthat messenger of Gunasarman's cast into prison, [679]----\n\n\n\nand the cook who was to administer the poison came here, carefully\nkeeping the secret. In the meanwhile Gunasarman's messenger escaped\nfrom prison, and came here to him. And he, knowing the whole story,\nrevealed it all, and pointed out to Gunasarman [680] that cook, who\nhad entered into our kitchen. Then that scoundrelly Br\u00e1hman detected\nthe cook in the act of administering the poison, and denounced him to\nyou, and so had him put to death. Then the mother and the wife and the\nyounger brother of that cook came here to find out what had become of\nhim, and the sagacious Gunasarman, finding it out, put to death his\nwife and mother, but his brother escaped somehow or other and entered\nmy palace. While he was imploring my protection and telling me the\nwhole story, Gunasarman entered my apartment. When the brother of that\ncook saw Gunasarman and heard his name, he went out and fled from my\npresence, whither I know not. Gunasarman, for his part, when he saw him\nwho had been previously pointed out to him by his servants, was abashed\nand seemed to be thinking over something. And I, wanting to know what\nit was, said to him in private, 'Gunasarman, why do you seem to be\naltered to-day?' And he, being anxious to win me over to his side,\nas he was afraid of the matter being revealed, said to me--'Queen,\nI am consumed with passion for you, so consent to my wishes, otherwise\nI cannot live; bestow on me life as a Br\u00e1hman's fee.' When he had said\nthis, as the room was empty, he fell at my feet. Then I drew away my\nfoot and rose up in bewilderment, and he, rising up, embraced me,\na weak woman, by force. And my maid Pallavik\u00e1 came in at that very\nmoment. The instant he saw her, he fled out alarmed. If Pallavik\u00e1\nhad not come in, the villain would certainly have outraged me. [681]\nThis is the injury he has done me to-day.\" When the queen had told\nthis false tale, she stopped and wept. For in the beginning wicked\nwomen sprang from Lying Speech. And the moment the king heard it,\nhe was all on fire with anger, for reliance upon the words of women\ndestroys the discrimination even of the great. And he said to his dear\nwife, \"Be comforted, fair one, I will certainly punish that traitor\nwith death. But he must be slain by artifice, otherwise we might\nbe disgraced, for it is well known that five times he has saved my\nlife. And we must not proclaim abroad his crime of offering violence\nto you.\" When the king said this to the queen, she answered--\"If that\ncrime may not be published, may that other one of his be published,\nthat out of friendship for the king of Gauda he attempted treason\nagainst his master?\" When she said this, he answered--\"You are quite\nright\"--and so king Mah\u00e1sena went to his hall of audience.\n\nThen all the kings, and princes, and barons came to visit the king. And\nin the meanwhile Gunasarman left his house to go to court, and on\nthe way he saw many unfavourable omens. There was a crow on his left\nhand, a dog ran from the left to the right, a snake appeared on his\nright, and his left arm and shoulder throbbed. [682] He thought to\nhimself, \"These evil omens indicate calamity to me without doubt,\nso whatever happens to me, I hope no misfortune may befall the king\nmy master.\" With these thoughts he entered the hall of audience, and\nprayed loyally that nothing untoward might befall the palace. But when\nhe bowed and took his seat, the king did not salute him as before,\nbut looked askance at him with an eye glowing with anger. And when\nGunasarman was alarmed as to what it might mean, the king rose up from\nthe seat of justice, and sat at his side, and said to the astonished\ncourtiers, \"Hear what Gunasarman has done to me; [683] then Gunasarman\nsaid--\"I am a servant, you are my master, so how can our suit be\nequal, ascend your seat of judgment, and afterwards give what order\nyou like.\" When the resolute man said this, the king, by the advice of\nthe other ministers, ascended the seat of judgment, and said again to\nhis courtiers--\"You know, that I made this Gunasarman equal to myself,\npreferring him to my hereditary ministers. Now hear what treason he\nattempted to commit against me, after making an agreement with the\nking of Gauda by sending messengers to and fro.\" After saying this,\nthe king related to them all the fictitious account of the matter which\nAsokavat\u00ed had given him. And the king also told to his confidential\nministers, after dismissing the crowd, the lying tale of an attempt to\noutrage her, which she had told against Gunasarman. Then Gunasarman\nsaid--\"King, who told you such a falsehood, who painted this aerial\npicture?\" When the king heard that, he said, \"Villain, if it is not\ntrue, how did you know that the poison was in the dish of rice?\" When\nGunasarman said--\"Everything is known by wisdom,\" the other ministers,\nout of hatred to him, said, \"That is impossible.\" Then Gunasarman said,\n\"King, you have no right to speak thus without enquiring into the truth\nof the matter, and a king devoid of discrimination is not approved\nof by those who understand policy.\" When he repeated this over and\nover again, the king exclaimed that he was an insolent wretch, and\naimed a sword-cut at him. But he avoided that blow by employing his\ntrick of fence, and then the other followers of the king struck at\nhim. And he eluded their swords by his artifices of fence, and baffled\nthe exertions of them all. And he fettered them, binding them with\none another's hair, shewing wonderful skill in the employment of his\ntrick of disarming. And he made his way out by force from that hall\nof assembly of the king, and he killed about a hundred warriors,\nwho pursued him. Then he put on his eyes that ointment serving to\nrender him invisible, which he had in the corner of his garment, and\nimmediately left that country without being seen. And he made towards\nthe Dekhan, and as he was going along, he thus reflected on the way:\n\"Surely that foolish king was set on by that Asokavat\u00ed. Alas! women\nwhose love is slighted are worse than poison! Alas! kings who do not\ninvestigate the truth are not to be served by the good!\" While engaged\nin such reflections, Gunasarman came at last to a village, there\nhe saw a worthy Br\u00e1hman under a banyan-tree teaching his pupils. He\nwent up to him and hailed him. And the Br\u00e1hman, after welcoming him,\nimmediately asked him, \"O Br\u00e1hman, what recension of the Vedas do you\nrecite, tell me.\" Then Gunasarman answered that Br\u00e1hman,--\"Br\u00e1hman,\nI recite twelve recensions, two of the S\u00e1maveda, two of the Rigveda,\nseven of the Yajurveda, and one of the Atharvaveda.\" Then the Br\u00e1hman\nsaid--\"You must be a god,\" and he went on to say to Gunasarman, whose\nshape revealed his excellence; \"Tell me, what country and what family\ndid you adorn by being born in them? What is your name and how did\nyou learn so much?\" When Gunasarman heard this, he said to him:\n\n\n\nStory of \u00c1dityasarman the father of Gunasarman.\n\nIn the city of Ujjayin\u00ed there was a Br\u00e1hman's son named \u00c1dityasarman,\nand when he was a child, his father died, and his mother entered\nthe fire with her husband. Then \u00c1dityasarman grew up in that city,\nin his uncle's house, reading the Vedas, and the books of knowledge,\nand also the treatises on accomplishments. And after he had acquired\nknowledge, and was engaged in a vow of muttering prayers, he struck up\na friendship with a certain wandering hermit. That wandering hermit\nwent with his friend \u00c1dityasarman, and performed a sacrifice in a\ncemetery to get a Yakshin\u00ed into his power. Then a heavenly maiden,\nbeautifully adorned, appeared to him in a chariot of gold, surrounded\nwith beautiful maidens. She said to him in a sweet voice, \"Mendicant,\nI am a Yaksh\u00ed named Vidyunm\u00e1l\u00e1, and these others are Yakshin\u00eds. Take\na suitable wife from my following according to your pleasure. So much\nhave you obtained by your employment of spells; you have not discovered\nthe perfect spell for obtaining me; so, as I am obtained by that\nonly, do not take any further trouble to no purpose.\" When the Yaksh\u00ed\nsaid this to him, the mendicant consented, and chose one Yakshin\u00ed\nfrom her retinue. Then Vidyunm\u00e1l\u00e1 disappeared, and \u00c1dityasarman\nasked that Yakshin\u00ed, whom the hermit had obtained, \"Is there any\nYakshin\u00ed superior to Vidyunm\u00e1l\u00e1?\" When the Yakshin\u00ed heard that, she\nanswered, \"Yes, handsome man, there is. Vidyunm\u00e1l\u00e1, Chandralekh\u00e1,\nand Sulochan\u00e1 the third, are the best among the Yakshin\u00eds, and among\nthese Sulochan\u00e1.\" After saying that, the Yakshin\u00ed departed, to return\nat the appointed time; and the mendicant went with \u00c1dityasarman to\nhis house. There the loving Yakshin\u00ed every day visited the hermit\nat the appointed time, and granted him all that he desired. One day\n\u00c1dityasarman asked her this question by the mouth of that mendicant:\n\"Who knows the proper spell for attracting Sulochan\u00e1?\" And the Yakshin\u00ed\nsent him this message by the mouth of the mendicant--\"There is a\nplace called Jambuvana in the south. There is a mendicant there,\nnamed Vishnugupta, who has made his dwelling on the banks of the\nVen\u00ed; he is the best of Buddhist mendicants, and knows the spell\nat full length.\" When \u00c1dityasarman learned this from the Yakshin\u00ed,\nhe went in all eagerness to that country, followed by the mendicant\nout of love. There he duly searched for the Buddhist mendicant, and\nafter he had approached him, he served him devotedly for three years,\nand waited upon him continually. And by the help of that Yakshin\u00ed,\nwho was at the beck and call of the first mendicant, his friend,\nhe provided him with heavenly luxuries, ministered seasonably. Then\nthat Buddhist mendicant, being pleased, gave to that \u00c1dityasarman the\nspell for obtaining Sulochan\u00e1, which he desired, together with the\nprescribed rites to accompany it. Then \u00c1dityasarman, having obtained\nthat spell, and having duly employed it, went into a solitary place and\nperformed there the final sacrifice according to the prescribed ritual,\nleaving no ceremony out. Then the Yakshin\u00ed Sulochan\u00e1 appeared to\nhim in an air-chariot, with world-enchanting beauty, and said to him,\n\"Come! come! I have been won by you, but you must not make me your wife\nfor six months, great hero, if you wish to have by me a son, who will\nbe a favourite of fortune, marked with auspicious marks, all-knowing\nand invincible.\" When she said this, \u00c1dityasarman consented, and\nshe took him off in her chariot to Alak\u00e1. And \u00c1dityasarman remained\nthere, looking at her ever near him, with his suspense and doubts at\nan end, and performed for six months a vow as difficult as standing\non the edge of a sword. Then the god of wealth, being pleased, himself\ngave that Sulochan\u00e1 to \u00c1dityasarman according to a heavenly ritual. I\nwas born as that Br\u00e1hman's son by her, and I was named Gunasarman by\nmy father on account of my good qualities. Then in that very place I\nlearned in succession the Vedas, the sciences, and the accomplishments,\nfrom a prince of the Yakshas named Manidara.\n\nThen, once upon a time, it happened that Indra came to the god of\nwealth, and all who sat there rose up when they saw him. But as Fate\nwould have it, \u00c1dityasarman my father was at that time thinking of\nsomething else, and did not rise up in a hurry. Then Indra, being\nangry, cursed him, and said--\"Out, fool! go to your own world of\nmortals, you are out of place here.\" Then Sulochan\u00e1 fell at his feet,\nand propitiated him, and Indra answered, \"Then let him not go to\nthe world of mortals himself, but let this son of his go, for one's\nson is said to be a second self. Let not my word have been spoken\nin vain.\" When Indra had said so much, he was satisfied. Then my\nfather took me and deposited me in my uncle's house in Ujjayin\u00ed. For\nwhat is ordained to be a man's lot must be. There, as it happened,\nI struck up a friendship with the king of that place. And listen,\nI will tell you what happened to me there afterwards.\n\nAfter saying this, he described to him what happened from the very\nbeginning, and what Asokavat\u00ed did, and what the king did, ending\nup with his fight. And he went on to say to him--\"Br\u00e1hman, thus\nI have fled away to go to a foreign land, and on my way, as I was\njourneying along, I have seen you.\" When the Br\u00e1hman heard that, he\nsaid to Gunasarman--\"And thus I have become fortunate by your visit,\nmy lord. So now come to my house, and know that I am Agnidatta by name,\nand this village is my grant from the king; be at ease here.\" After\nsaying this, Agnidatta made Gunasarman enter his splendid mansion,\nin which were many cows, buffaloes, and horses. There he honoured that\nguest with bath and unguents, and robes and ornaments, and with various\nkinds of food. And he shewed him his daughter, Sundar\u00ed by name, whose\nbeauty was to be desired even by the gods, on the pretence of getting\nhim to inspect her marks. And Gunasarman, for his part, seeing that\nshe was unsurpassed in beauty, said \"She will have rival wives. She\nhas a mole on her nose, and consequently I assert that she must have\na second one on her breast; and men say that such is the result of\nspots in these two localities.\" When he said this, her brother, by\ncommand of her father, uncovered her breast, and beheld there a mole.\n\nThen Agnidatta said in astonishment to Gunasarman, \"You are\nall-knowing, but these moles of hers portend good fortune to us. For\nwives generally have many rivals when the husband is fortunate, a poor\n[684] man would find it difficult to support one, much more to support\nmany.\" When Gunasarman heard this, he answered him--\"It is as you say;\nhow could ill fortune befall a shape with such auspicious marks?\" When\nhe had said this, Agnidatta took occasion to ask him concerning the\nmeaning of moles and other marks; and he told him what moles and other\nmarks portended on every single limb, both in men and women. [685]\n\nThen Sundar\u00ed, the moment she beheld Gunasarman, longed eagerly to\ndrink him in with her eyes, as the female partridge longs to drink\nthe moon. Then Agnidatta said in private to Gunasarman, \"Illustrious\none, I give you this my daughter Sundar\u00ed. Do not go to a foreign land,\nremain at ease in my house.\" When Gunasarman heard this speech of his,\nhe said to him--\"True, I should be happy enough to do so, but as I have\nbeen on a false charge scorched with the fire of the king's contempt,\nit does not please me. A lovely woman, the rising of the moon, and\nthe fifth note of a lute, these delight the happy but afflict the\nmiserable. And a wife, who falls in love of her own accord with a man,\nis sure to be chaste, but if she is given away by her father against\nher will, she will be like Asokavat\u00ed. Moreover, the city of Ujjayin\u00ed is\nnear to this place, so the king may perhaps hear of my whereabouts and\noppress me. So I will wander round to holy places, and will wash off\nthe stains of sin contracted ever since my birth, and will abandon this\nbody, then I shall be at rest.\" When he said this, Agnidatta answered\nhim, smiling, \"If even you show so much infatuation, what are we to\nexpect from others? What annoyance can you, a man of pure character,\nderive from the contempt of a fool? Mud thrown at the heaven falls\nupon the head of the thrower. The king will soon reap the fruit of\nhis want of discrimination, for Fortune does not long wait upon a\nman blind with infatuation and wanting in discrimination. Besides,\nif you are disgusted with women from your experience of Asokavat\u00ed,\ndo you not feel respect for them on beholding a good woman, for you\nknow signs? And even though Ujjayin\u00ed be near to this place where\nyou now are, I will take steps to prevent any one's knowing that you\nare here. But if you desire to make a pilgrimage to sacred places,\nthen I say--that is approved by the wise only for a man, who cannot,\naccording to the scriptures, attain happiness by performing the actions\nenjoined by the Vedas; but he who can acquire merit by offerings to\nthe gods, to the manes of deceased ancestors, and to the fire, by\nvows, and muttering prayers, what is the use of his wandering about\non pilgrimages? A pilgrim whose pillow is his arm, who sleeps upon\nthe ground, and lives on alms, and drinks only water, is not free\nfrom cares, even though he has attained equality with hermits. And as\nfor your desiring to abandon the body, [686] in this also you are led\nastray, for in the next world suicides suffer more severe pains than\nhere. An unbecoming fault and folly is not to be committed by one\nso young and wise: decide for yourself: you must certainly do what\nI tell you. I will have made for you here a spacious and beautiful\nsubterranean dwelling; marry Sundar\u00ed and live at ease in it.\" When he\nwas thus diligently schooled by Agnidatta, Gunasarman agreed to his\nproposal, and said to him, \"I accept your offer, for who would abandon\na wife like Sundar\u00ed? [687] But I will not marry this your daughter till\nI have accomplished my ends. In the meanwhile I will propitiate some\ngod with strict asceticism, in order that I may be revenged on that\nungrateful monarch.\" When he said this, Agnidatta gladly consented,\nand Gunasarman rested there in comfort during the night. And the\nnext day Agnidatta had a secret subterranean dwelling constructed\nfor his comfort, called P\u00e1t\u00e1lavasati. [688] And while he was there,\nGunasarman said in secret to Agnidatta: \"Tell me, what god, granting\nboons to his worshippers, shall I propitiate here by performing vows,\nand what spell shall I use?\" When the brave man said that, Agnidatta\nanswered him, \"I have a spell for propitiating the god Sv\u00e1mikum\u00e1ra,\nwhich was told me by a teacher; so with that propitiate the general of\nthe gods, the foe of T\u00e1raka, desiring whose birth the gods, oppressed\nby their enemies, sent K\u00e1ma to Siva, (and he, after burning him up,\ndecreed that henceforth he should be born in the mind;) whose origin\nthey say was various, from Siva, from the fire-cavity, from fire,\nfrom the thicket of reeds and from the Krittik\u00e1s; and who, as soon as\nhe was born, made the whole world bend by his irresistible might, and\nslew the unconquered Asura T\u00e1raka.\" Then Gunasarman said, \"Tell me that\nspell.\" And Agnidatta gave Gunasarman that spell. With it Gunasarman\npropitiated Skanda in the subterranean dwelling, unremitting in his\nvow, waited upon by Sundar\u00ed. Then the six-faced god appeared to him in\nvisible form, and said, \"I am pleased with you, choose a boon,-- [689]\n\n\n\nYou shall possess an inexhaustible treasury and, after conquering\nMah\u00e1sena, you shall, my son, advance irresistibly and rule the\nearth.\" After giving him this great boon, Skanda disappeared, and\nGunasarman obtained inexhaustible treasure. Then the successful hero\nmarried, according to the prescribed rites, with splendour suited to\nhis greatness, the daughter of the Br\u00e1hman Agnidatta, who fell more in\nlove with him every day, like his future good fortune in affairs come\nto him in bodily form. And then having collected, by virtue of his\nsurpassing accumulation of inexhaustible treasure, an army consisting\nof many horses, elephants and foot-soldiers, he marched to Ujjayin\u00ed,\noverrunning the earth with the forces of all the kings that crowded\nto his banner out of gratitude for his gifts. And after proclaiming\nthere to the subjects that immodest conduct of Asokavat\u00ed, and after\nconquering the king Mah\u00e1sena in battle, and deposing him from the\nthrone, he obtained the dominion of the earth. And king Gunasarman\nmarried many daughters of kings, besides Sundar\u00ed, and his orders were\nobeyed even on the shores of the sea, and with Sundar\u00ed as his consort\nhe long enjoyed pleasures to his heart's content.\n\n\"Thus king Mah\u00e1sena, in old time, suddenly incurred calamity through\nbeing unable to discriminate the characters of men, being a man of\ndull intellect, but the clear-headed Gunasarman, with the help of\nhis own resolute character alone, obtained the highest prosperity.\"\n\nAfter S\u00faryaprabha had heard this chivalrous tale at night from the\nmouth of his minister V\u00edtabh\u00edti, the royal hero, who was longing\nto traverse the great sea of battle, gained great confidence, and\ngradually dropped off to sleep.\n\n\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER L.\n\n\nThen S\u00faryaprabha and his ministers rose up early in the morning,\nand accompanied by all the troops of the D\u00e1navas and their allies,\nwent to the field of battle. And Srutasarman came surrounded by all\nthe forces of the Vidy\u00e1dharas; and all the gods, Asuras, and others\nagain came to look on. Both armies adopted the crescent formation, then\nthere took place a battle between those two armies. The swift arrows,\n[690] winged with feathers, clashing against one another and cutting\none another in pieces, also fought. The long sword-blades issued from\nthe mouths of the scabbards, and drinking blood, and waving to and fro,\nappeared like the tongues of Death. The field of battle seemed like\na lake, the full-blown lotuses of which were the faces of heroes; on\nthese the shower of discuses descended like a flight of Brahmany ducks,\nand so ruined the kingly swans. The combat appeared, with the severed\nheads of heroes flying up and down, like a game of ball, with which\nDeath was amusing himself. When the arena of combat was cleared from\nthe obscuring dust by the sprinkling of bloody drops, there took place\non it the single combats of furious champions. There S\u00faryaprabha fought\nwith Srutasarman, and Prabh\u00e1sa fought with D\u00e1modara, and Siddh\u00e1rtha\nfought with Mahotp\u00e1ta, and Prahasta with Brahmagupta, and V\u00edtabh\u00ed with\nSangama, and Prajn\u00e1dhya with Chandragupta, and Priyankara with \u00c1krama,\nand Sarvadamana fought with Atibala, and Kunjarakum\u00e1raka fought with\nDhurandhara, and other great champions fought with others respectively.\n\nThen first Mahotp\u00e1ta silenced the arrows of Siddh\u00e1rtha with his arrows,\nand after cleaving his bow, slew his horses and charioteer. Siddh\u00e1rtha,\nthough deprived of his chariot, charged him angrily, and with a large\niron mace broke in pieces his chariot and horses. Then Siddh\u00e1rtha\nfought on foot with Mahotp\u00e1ta also on foot, and in a wrestling-bout\nhurled him to the ground. But while he was trying to crush him, that\nVidy\u00e1dhara was delivered by his father Bhaga, and flying up into the\nair left the battle-field. And Prahasta and Brahmagupta destroyed\none another's chariots, and then fought with swords, shewing various\narts of fence; and Prahasta cleft his foe's shield in the course of\ntheir sword-play, and with a dexterous sleight laid him low on the\nearth; but when he was about to cut off his head, as he lay on the\nground, he was forbidden by his father Brahm\u00e1 himself by a sign from\na distance; then all the D\u00e1navas laughed the gods to scorn, saying,\n\"You gods have come to save your sons, not to behold the fray.\" In\nthe meanwhile V\u00edtabhaya, after cutting in two the bow of Sankrama,\nand slaying his charioteer, slew him by piercing his heart with the\nweapon of K\u00e1ma. And Prajn\u00e1dhya, fighting on foot with Chandragupta,\nsword to sword, after both their chariots had been destroyed, killed\nhim by cutting off his head. Then the Moon, angry at the death of his\nson, himself came and fought with Prajn\u00e1dhya, and the two combatants\nwere evenly matched. And Priyankara, who had lost his chariot, fighting\nwith \u00c1krama, who had also had his chariot destroyed, cut him in two\nwith one blow of his sword. And Sarvadamana easily killed Atibala\nin fight, for when his bow was cleft, he threw his elephant-hook and\nsmote him in the heart.\n\nThen Kunjarakum\u00e1ra in a contest, in which missiles were opposed by\nanswering missiles, frequently deprived Dhurandhara of his chariot,\nand as frequently Vikramasakti brought him a chariot, and defended him\nin sore straits, repelling weapons with weapons; then Kunjarakum\u00e1ra\nin wrath rushed forward, and swiftly hurled a great rock on to the\nchariot of Vikramasakti, and, when Vikramasakti retired with broken\nchariot, he crushed Dhurandhara with that very stone. [691]\n\n\n\nThen S\u00faryaprabha, while fighting with Srutasarman, being angry\non account of the slaughter of Virochana, killed Dama with one\narrow. Enraged at that, the two Asvins descended to the combat,\nbut Sun\u00edtha received them with showers of arrows, and a great fight\ntook place between him and them. And Sthirabuddhi slew Par\u00e1krama in\nfight with a javelin, and then fought with the eight Vasus enraged\non account of his death. And Prabh\u00e1sa, seeing Bh\u00e1sa deprived of his\nchariot, though himself engaged in fighting with D\u00e1modara, killed\nMardana with one arrow. The D\u00e1nava Prakampana killed Tejahprabha in\na missile combat, and then fought with the god of Fire enraged on\naccount of his death. And when Dh\u00famraketu had slain Yamadanshtra\nin fight, he had a terrible combat with the enraged Yama. [692]\nAnd Sinhadanshtra, having crushed Suroshana with a stone, fought\nwith Nirriti, [693] enraged on account of his death. K\u00e1lachakra\nalso cut V\u00e1yubala in two with a discus, and then fought with V\u00e1yu\n[694] inflamed with rage thereat. And Mah\u00e1m\u00e1ya slew Kuveradatta,\nwho deluded his foes by assuming the forms of a snake, a mountain,\nand a tree, assuming himself the forms of Garuda, of the thunderbolt,\nand of fire. Then Kuvera [695] himself fought with him in wrath. In\nthe same way all the gods fought, angry on account of the slaughter\nof their sons. And then various other princes of the Vidy\u00e1dharas were\nslain by various men and D\u00e1navas, darting forward from time to time.\n\nAnd in the meanwhile a conflict went on between Prabh\u00e1sa and D\u00e1modara,\nterrible from its unceasing exchange of missiles. Then D\u00e1modara,\nthough his bow was cleft asunder, and his charioteer slain, took\nanother bow and fought on, holding the reins in his own hands. And\nwhen Brahm\u00e1 applauded him, Indra said to him, \"Revered one, why are\nyou pleased with one who is getting the worst of it?\" Then Brahm\u00e1\nanswered him,--\"How can I help being pleased with one, who fights for\nso long with this Prabh\u00e1sa? Who but D\u00e1modara, who is a portion of Hari,\nwould do this? For all the gods would be a scant match for Prabh\u00e1sa in\nfight. For that Asura Namuchi, who was so hard for the gods to subdue,\nand who was then born again as Prabala, one entire and perfect jewel,\nhas now been born as the invincible Prabh\u00e1sa son of Bh\u00e1sa, and Bh\u00e1sa\ntoo was in a former birth the great Asura K\u00e1lanemi, who afterwards\nbecame Hiranyakasipu and then Kapinjala. And S\u00faryaprabha is the\nAsura who was called Sumund\u00edka. And the Asura who was before called\nHirany\u00e1ksha is now this Sun\u00edtha. And as for Prahasta and others, they\nare all Daityas and D\u00e1navas; and since the Asuras slain by you have\nbeen born again in these forms, the other Asuras, Maya and others,\nhave espoused their cause. And see, Bali has come here to look on, for\nhis bonds have been broken by virtue of the great sacrifice to Siva,\nduly performed by S\u00faryaprabha and the others, but keeping his promise\nfaithfully, he remains content with the realm of P\u00e1t\u00e1la until your\nallotted period of rule is at an end, and then he will be Indra. These\nare now favoured by Siva, so it is not now a time of victory for you,\nmake peace with your foes.\" While Brahm\u00e1 was saying this to the king\nof the gods, Prabh\u00e1sa sent forth the great weapon of Siva. When Vishnu\nsaw that terrible all-destroying weapon let loose, he also sent forth,\nout of regard for his son, his discus called Sudarsana. Then there took\nplace between those divine weapons, which had assumed visible shapes,\na struggle which made the three worlds dread a sudden destruction of\nall creatures. Then Hari said to Prabh\u00e1sa--\"Recall your weapon and I\nwill recall mine,\" and Prabh\u00e1sa answered him,--\"My weapon cannot be\nlaunched in vain, so let D\u00e1modara turn his back, and retire from the\nfight, and then I will recall my weapon.\" When Prabh\u00e1sa said that,\nVishnu answered--\"Then do you also honour my discus, let not either\nof these weapons be fruitless.\" When Vishnu said this, Prabh\u00e1sa who\npossessed tact, said \"So be it, let this discus of thine destroy my\nchariot.\" Vishnu agreed, and made D\u00e1modara retire from the fight, and\nPrabh\u00e1sa withdrew his weapon, and the discus fell on his chariot. Then\nhe mounted another chariot and went to S\u00faryaprabha, and then D\u00e1modara,\nfor his part, repaired to Srutasarman.\n\nAnd then the single combat between Srutasarman, who was puffed\nup by being a son of Indra, and S\u00faryaprabha, became exceedingly\nfierce. Whatever weapon Srutasarman vigorously employed, S\u00faryaprabha\nimmediately repelled with opposing weapons. And whatever delusion\nSrutasarman employed, was overmastered by S\u00faryaprabha with\nopposing delusion. Then Srutasarman in fierce wrath sent forth\nthe weapon of Brahm\u00e1, and the mighty S\u00faryaprabha let loose the\nweapon of Siva. That mighty weapon of Siva repelled the weapon of\nBrahm\u00e1, and being irresistible, was overpowering Srutasarman, when\nIndra and the other Lokap\u00e1las, being indignant, sent forth their\ntremendous weapons beginning with thunderbolts. But the weapon of\nSiva conquered all those weapons, and blazed exceedingly, eager to\nslay Srutasarman. Then S\u00faryaprabha praised that great weapon, and\nentreated it not to kill Srutasarman, but to take him prisoner and\nhand him over to himself. Then all the gods speedily prepared for\nfight, and the other Asuras also, who had come to look on, did the\nsame, being eager to conquer the gods. Then a Gana named V\u00edrabhadra,\nsent by Siva, came and delivered this order of his to Indra and the\nother gods: \"You came to look on, so what right have you to fight\nhere? Moreover, your overstepping the bounds of propriety will produce\nother bad results.\" When the gods heard that, they said--\"All of us\nhave sons here that have been slain, or are being slain, so how can\nwe help fighting? [696] Love for one's offspring is a feeling hard\nto lay aside, so we must certainly revenge ourselves on their slayers\nto the utmost of our power; what impropriety is there in this?\" When\nthe gods said this, V\u00edrabhadra departed, and a great fight took place\nbetween the gods and the Asuras: Sun\u00edtha fought with the two Asvins,\nand Prajn\u00e1dhya fought with the Moon, and Sthirabuddhi with the Vasus,\nand K\u00e1lachakra with V\u00e1yu, and Prakampana with Agni, and Sinhadanshtra\nwith Nirriti, and Pramathana with Varuna, and Dh\u00famraketu with Yama,\nand then Mah\u00e1m\u00e1ya fought with the god of wealth, and other Asuras\n[697] at the same time fought with other gods, with missiles and\nopposing missiles. And finally, whatever mighty weapon any god sent\nforth, Siva immediately destroyed with an angry roar. But the god\nof wealth, when his club was uplifted, was restrained by Siva in a\nconciliatory manner, while various other gods, their weapons having\nbeen broken, fled from the field of battle. Then Indra himself, in\nwrath, attacked S\u00faryaprabha, and let fly a storm of arrows at him and\nvarious other weapons. And S\u00faryaprabha repelled those weapons with\nease, and kept striking Indra with hundreds of arrows drawn back to\nthe ear. Then the king of the gods, enraged, seized his thunderbolt,\nand Siva made an angry noise and destroyed that thunderbolt. Then\nIndra turned his back and fled, and N\u00e1r\u00e1yana himself, in wrath,\nattacked Prabh\u00e1sa with sharp-edged [698] arrows. And he fearlessly\nfought with him, opposing those and other missiles with his own\nmissiles, and when his horses were slain, and he was deprived of his\nchariot, he ascended another, and still fought with that enemy of the\nDaityas on equal terms. Then the god enraged sent forth his flaming\ndiscus. And Prabh\u00e1sa sent forth a heavenly sword, after consecrating\nit with magic formulas. While those two weapons were contending,\nSiva, seeing that the sword was gradually being overpowered by the\ndiscus, made an angry roar. That caused the discus and sword to be\nboth destroyed. Then the Asuras rejoiced, and the gods were cast\ndown, as S\u00faryaprabha had obtained the victory, and Srutasarman was\ntaken prisoner. Then the gods praised and propitiated Siva, and the\nhusband of Ambik\u00e1, being pleased, gave this command to the gods--\"Ask\nany boon but that promised to S\u00faryaprabha; who can set aside what\nhas been once promised at a burnt-sacrifice?\" The gods said--\"But,\nLord, let that also which we promised to Srutasarman be fulfilled,\nand let not our sons perish.\" Then they ceased, and the Holy Lord\nthus commanded them, \"When peace is made, let that be so, and this\nis the condition of peace;----let Srutasarman with all his retinue do\nhomage to S\u00faryaprabha. Then we will issue a decree which shall be for\nthe weal of both.\" The gods acquiesced in this decision of Siva's,\nand made Srutasarman do homage to S\u00faryaprabha. Then they renounced\ntheir enmity and embraced one another, and the gods and Asuras\nalso laid aside their enmity and made peace with one another. Then,\nin the hearing of the gods and Asuras, the holy Siva said this to\nS\u00faryaprabha: \"You must rule yourself in the southern half-vedi, but\nthe northern half-vedi give to Srutasarman. For you are destined, my\nson, soon to receive the fourfold sovereignty of all the sky-goers,\nKinnaras and all. And when you receive this, as you will be in a\ndistinguished position, you must also give the southern half-vedi\nto Sr\u00edkunjarakum\u00e1ra.\" And as for the heroes slain on both sides in\nthe battle, let them all rise up alive with unwounded limbs. After\nsaying this, Siva disappeared, and all those heroes, who were slain\nin that battle, rose up unwounded, as if they had awaked from sleep.\n\nThen S\u00faryaprabha, the tamer of his foes, intent on observing the\ncommand of Siva, went to a remote extensive plain, and sitting in\nfull court, himself made Srutasarman, who came to him, sit down\non half of his throne. And his companions, headed by Prabh\u00e1sa, and\nSrutasarman's companions, headed by D\u00e1modara, sat at the side of the\ntwo princes. And Sun\u00edtha and Maya, and the other D\u00e1navas, and the kings\nof the Vidy\u00e1dharas too sat on seats in order of precedence. Then the\nDaityas, who were kings of the seven P\u00e1t\u00e1las, headed by Prahl\u00e1da,\nand the kings of the D\u00e1navas came there out of joy. And Indra came\nwith the Lokap\u00e1las, preceded by Vrihaspati, and the Vidy\u00e1dhara Sumeru\nwith Suv\u00e1sakum\u00e1ra. And all the wives of Kasyapa came, headed by Danu,\nand the wives of S\u00faryaprabha in the chariot Bh\u00fat\u00e1sana. When they had\nall sat down, after shewing one another affection, and going through\nthe prescribed courtesies, a friend of Danu's, named Siddhi, spoke\nto them as from her: \"O gods and Asuras, the goddess Danu says this\nto you--'Say, if you have ever felt before the joy and satisfaction\nwhich we all feel in this friendly meeting! so you ought not to wage\nagainst one another war, which is terrible on account of the sorrow\nit produces. Hirany\u00e1ksha and those other elder Asuras, who waged it\nto obtain the empire of heaven, have passed away, and Indra is now\nthe eldest, so what cause is there for enmity?\n\n\"'So let your mutual antagonism drop, and be happy, in order that I\nmay be pleased, and the prosperity of the worlds may be ensured.'\" When\nthey had heard this address of the revered Danu, uttered by the mouth\nof Siddhi, Vrihaspati, Indra having looked him in the face, said to\nher--\"The gods entertain no design against the Asuras, and are willing\nto be friends with them, unless they display a treacherous animosity\nagainst the gods.\" When the preceptor of the gods said this, Maya the\nking of the D\u00e1navas said--\"If the Asuras entertained any animosity,\nhow could Namuchi have given to Indra the horse Uchchhaihsravas that\nresuscitates the dead? And how could Prabala have given his own body\nto the gods? And how could Bali have given the three worlds to Vishnu,\nand himself have gone to prison? Or how could Ayodeha have given his\nown body to Visvakarman? What more shall I say? The Asuras are ever\ngenerous, and if they are not treacherously injured, they cherish\nno animosity.\" When the Asura Maya had said this, Siddhi made a\nspeech, which induced the gods and Asuras to make peace and embrace\none another.\n\nIn the meanwhile a female warder, named Jay\u00e1, sent by Bhav\u00e1n\u00ed,\ncame there and was honoured by all, and she said to Sumeru, \"I am\nsent by the goddess Durg\u00e1 to you, and she gives you this order--'You\nhave an unmarried daughter named K\u00e1mach\u00fad\u00e1mani; give her quickly to\nS\u00faryaprabha, for she is a votary of mine.'\" When Jay\u00e1 said this to\nSumeru, he bowed, and answered her--\"I will do as the goddess Durg\u00e1\ncommands me, for this is a great favour to me, and this very thing was\nlong ago enjoined on me by the god Siva.\" When Sumeru answered Jay\u00e1 on\nthis wise, she said to S\u00faryaprabha--\"You must set K\u00e1mach\u00fad\u00e1mani above\nall your wives, and she must be respected by you more than all the\nothers; this is the order given to you to-day by the goddess Gaur\u00ed,\nbeing propitious to you.\" When Jay\u00e1 had said this, she disappeared,\nafter having been honoured by S\u00faryaprabha. And Sumeru quickly fixed\nupon an auspicious moment in that same day for the marriage, and\nhe had an altar made there, with pillars and pavement of refulgent\njewels, furnished with fire that seemed, as it were, eclipsed by\ntheir rays. And he summoned there his daughter K\u00e1mach\u00fad\u00e1mani, whose\nbeauty was greedily drunk in by the eager eyes of gods and Asuras. Her\nloveliness was like that of Um\u00e1, and no wonder, for if P\u00e1rvat\u00ed was the\ndaughter of Him\u00e1laya, she was the daughter of Sumeru. Then he made\nher ascend the altar, fully adorned, resplendent from the ceremony\nof the marriage-thread, and then S\u00faryaprabha took the lotus-hand\nof K\u00e1mach\u00fad\u00e1mani, on which bracelets had been fastened by Danu,\nand the other ladies. And when the first handful of parched grain\n[699] was thrown into the fire, Jay\u00e1 immediately came and gave her\nan imperishable celestial garland sent by Bhav\u00e1n\u00ed, and then Sumeru\nbestowed priceless jewels, and an excellent elephant of heavenly breed,\ndescended from Air\u00e1vata. And at the second throwing of parched grain,\nJay\u00e1, bestowed a necklace, of such a kind that, as long as it is upon\na person's neck, hunger, thirst and death cannot harm them; and Sumeru\ngave twice as many jewels as before, and a matchless horse descended\nfrom Uchchhaihsravas. And at the third throwing of grain, Jay\u00e1 gave\na single string of jewels, such that, as long as it is on the neck,\nyouth does not wither, and Sumeru gave a heap of jewels three times\nas large as the first, and gave a heavenly pearl that bestowed all\nkinds of magic powers upon its possessor.\n\nThen the wedding being over, Sumeru said to all present; \"Gods,\nAsuras, Vidy\u00e1dharas, mothers of the gods, and all. To-day all of you\nmust eat in my house, you must do me this honour, I entreat you with\npalms folded above my head.\" They all were inclined to refuse Sumeru's\ninvitation, but in the meanwhile Nandin arrived; he said to them, who\nbowed humbly before him, \"Siva commands you to feast in the house of\nSumeru, for he is the god's servant, and if you eat his food, you will\nbe satisfied for ever.\" All of them, when they heard this from Nandin,\nagreed to it. Then there came there innumerable Ganas sent by Siva,\nunder the leadership of Vin\u00e1yaka, Mah\u00e1k\u00e1la, V\u00edrabhadra and others. They\nprepared a place fit for dining, and caused the guests to sit down in\norder, gods, Vidy\u00e1dharas and men. And the divine beings V\u00edrabhadra,\nMah\u00e1k\u00e1la, Bhringin and others, ministered to them viands produced by\nSumeru by magic, and others supplied by the cow K\u00e1madhenu ordered to\ndo so by Siva, and they waited upon every single guest according to\nhis rank, and then there was a concert, charming on account of the\ndancing of heavenly nymphs, and in which the bards of the Vidy\u00e1dharas\nkept continually joining out of delight. And at the end of the feast,\nNandin and the others gave them all celestial garlands, robes, and\nornaments. After they had thus honoured the gods and others, all the\nchiefs of the Ganas, Nandin and the others, departed with all the Ganas\nas they had come. Then all the gods and Asuras, and those mothers of\ntheirs, and Srutasarman and his followers took leave of Sumeru, and\nwent each to his own place. But S\u00faryaprabha and his wife, accompanied\nby all his former wives, went in the chariot first to that ascetic\ngrove of Sumeru. And he sent his companion Harsha to announce his\nsuccess to the kings and to his brother Ratnaprabha. And at the close\nof day he entered the private apartments of his wife K\u00e1mach\u00fad\u00e1mani,\nin which were splendid jewelled couches, and which were admirably\nbuilt. There he flattered her by saying to her, \"Now other women\ndwell outside of me, but you alone live in my heart.\" Then the night\nand his sleep gradually came to an end.\n\nAnd in the morning S\u00faryaprabha got up, and went and paid compliments\nto his head-wives, who were all together. And while they were rejecting\nhim, as being in love with a new wife, with playfully sarcastic, sweet,\naffectionate, and bashful turns of speech, a Vidy\u00e1dhara named Sushena\ncame, announced by the warder, and after doing homage, said to that\ntriumphant king--\"Your highness, I have been sent here by all the\nprinces of the Vidy\u00e1dharas, the lord of Trik\u00fata and others, and they\nmake this representation to your highness--'It is auspicious that your\ncoronation should take place on the third day at the mountain Rishabha,\nlet this be announced to all, and let the necessary preparations be\nmade.'\" When S\u00faryaprabha heard that, he answered the ambassador--\"Go,\nand say to the king of Trik\u00fata and the other Vidy\u00e1dharas from me--'Let\nyour honours begin the preparations, and say yourselves what further\nis to be done; I for my part am ready. But I will announce the day\nto all, as is fitting.'\" Then Sushena departed, taking with him this\nanswer. But S\u00faryaprabha sent off his friends Prabh\u00e1sa and the others,\none by one, to invite all the gods, and the hermits, Y\u00e1jnavalkya and\nothers, and the kings, and the Vidy\u00e1dharas, and the Asuras to the\ngreat festival of his coronation.\n\nHe himself went alone to Kail\u00e1sa the monarch of mountains, in order\nto invite Siva and Ambik\u00e1. And as he was ascending that mountain,\nhe saw that it gleamed white as ashes, looking like a second Siva\nto be adored by the Siddhas, Rishis, and gods. After he had got\nmore than half-way up it, and had seen that further on it was\nhard to climb, he beheld on one side a coral door. When he found\nthat, though gifted with supernatural power, he could not enter,\nhe praised Siva with intent mind. Then a man with an elephant's\nface opened the door, and said--\"Come! enter! the holy Ganesa is\nsatisfied with you.\" Then S\u00faryaprabha entered, inly wondering, and\nbeheld the god seated on a broad slab of jyot\u00edrasa, [700] with one\ntusk, and an elephant's proboscis, in brightness like twelve suns,\nwith pendent stomach, with three eyes, with flaming axe and club,\nsurrounded by many Ganas with the faces of animals, and falling\nat his feet, he adored him. The vanquisher of obstacles, being\npleased, asked him the cause of his coming, and said to him with\nan affectionate voice--\"Ascend by this path.\" S\u00faryaprabha ascended\nby that path another five yojanas, and saw another great door of\nruby. And not being able to enter there either, he praised the god\nSiva by his thousand names with intent mind. Then the son of Skanda,\ncalled Vis\u00e1kha, himself opened the door, proclaiming who he was,\nand introduced the prince into the interior. And S\u00faryaprabha,\nhaving entered, beheld Skanda of the brightness of burning fire,\naccompanied by his five sons like himself, S\u00e1kha, Vis\u00e1kha and their\nbrothers, surrounded by inauspicious planets, and infant planets,\n[701] that submitted to him as soon as he was born, and by ten\nmillions of Ganesas, prostrate at his feet. That god K\u00e1rtikeya also,\nbeing pleased, asked the cause of his coming, and shewed him the\npath by which to ascend the mountain. In the same manner he passed\nfive other jewel-doors in succession, kept by Bhairava, Mah\u00e1k\u00e1la,\nV\u00edrabhadra, Nandin, and Bhringin severally, each with his attendants,\nand at last he reached on the top of the mountain an eighth door of\ncrystal. Then he praised Siva, and he was introduced courteously by\none of the Rudras, and beheld that abode of Siva that excelled Svarga,\nin which blew winds of heavenly fragrance, in which the trees ever\nbore fruit and flowers, [702] in which the Gandharvas had begun their\nconcert, which was all joyous with the dancing of Apsarases. Then,\nin one part of it, S\u00faryaprabha beheld with joy the great god Siva,\nseated on a throne of crystal, three-eyed, trident in hand, in hue\nlike unto pure crystal, with yellow matted locks, with a lovely\nhalf-moon for crest, adored by the holy daughter of the mountain,\nwho was seated at his side. And he advanced, and fell at the feet of\nhim and the goddess Durg\u00e1. Then the adorable Hara placed his hand on\nhis back, and made him rise up, and sit down, and asked him why he had\ncome. And S\u00faryaprabha answered the god, \"My coronation is nigh at hand,\ntherefore I desire the Lord's presence at it.\" Then Siva said to him,\n\"Why have you gone through so much toil and hardship? Why did you not\nthink of me where you were, in order that I might appear there. Be it\nso, I will be present.\" The god, who is kind to his votaries, said\nthis, and calling a certain Gana who stood near him, gave him the\nfollowing command: \"Go and take this man to the Rishabha mountain, in\norder that he may be crowned emperor, for that is the place appointed\nfor the grand coronation of emperors such as he is.\" When the Gana\nhad received this command from the holy god, he took in his lap with\nall respect S\u00faryaprabha, who had circumambulated Siva. And he carried\nhim and placed him on the Rishabha mountain by his magic power that\nvery moment, and then disappeared. And when S\u00faryaprabha arrived there,\nhis companions came to him, and his wives with K\u00e1mach\u00fad\u00e1mani at their\nhead, and the kings of the Vidy\u00e1dharas, and the gods with Indra,\nand the Asuras with Maya at their head, and Srutasarman, and Sumeru\nwith Suv\u00e1sakum\u00e1ra. And S\u00faryaprabha honoured them all in becoming\nfashion, and when he told the story of his interview with Siva, they\ncongratulated him. Then Prabh\u00e1sa and the others brought the water\nof consecration with their own hands, mixed with various herbs, in\npitchers of jewels and gold, taking it from male and female rivers,\nseas and holy bathing places. In the meanwhile the holy Siva came\nthere, accompanied by Durg\u00e1; and the gods, and Asuras and Vidy\u00e1dharas,\nand kings, and great rishis adored his foot. And while all the gods,\nand D\u00e1navas, and Vidy\u00e1dharas uttered loud cries of \"Blessed be this\nday,\" the rishis made S\u00faryaprabha sit on the throne, and pouring all\nthe waters over him, declared him emperor of the Vidy\u00e1dharas. And the\ndiscreet Asura Maya joyfully fastened on his turban and diadem. And\nthe drum of the gods, preceded by the dancing of lovely Apsarases,\nsounded joyfully in heaven, in unison with the cymbals of earth. And\nthat assembly of great rishis poured the water of consecration over\nK\u00e1mach\u00fad\u00e1mani also, and made her the appropriate queen consort of\nS\u00faryaprabha. Then, the gods and Asuras having departed, S\u00faryaprabha,\nthe emperor of the Vidy\u00e1dharas, protracted his great coronation feast\nwith his relations, friends, and companions. And in a few days he\ngave to Srutasarman that northern half vedi mentioned by Siva, and\nhaving obtained his other beloved ones, he enjoyed for a long time,\ntogether with his companions, the fortune of king of the Vidy\u00e1dharas.\n\n\"Thus by virtue of the favour of Siva, S\u00faryaprabha, though a man,\nobtained of yore the empire of the Vidy\u00e1dharas.\"\n\nHaving told this story in the presence of the king of Vatsa, and\nhaving bowed before Narav\u00e1hanadatta, Vajraprabha, the king of the\nVidy\u00e1dharas, ascended to heaven. And after he had gone, that hero,\nking Narav\u00e1hanadatta, together with his queen Madanamanchuk\u00e1, remained\nin the house of his father the king of Vatsa, waiting to obtain the\nrank of emperor of the Vidy\u00e1dharas.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nBOOK IX.\n\n\nCHAPTER LI.\n\n\nWe bow before that Ganesa before whom, when dancing, even the mountains\nseem to bow, for they are made to stoop, owing to the earth being\nbent by the weight of Nisumbha.\n\nThus Narav\u00e1hanadatta, the son of the king of Vatsa, dwelt in Kaus\u00e1mb\u00ed\nin the palace of his father, having heard with astonishment of the\nreign of the king of the Vidy\u00e1dharas. And once on a time, having gone\nout hunting, he dismissed his army, and entered a great forest, with\nGomukha as his only companion. There the throbbing of his right eye\nindicated the approach of good fortune, and he soon heard the sound of\nsinging mixed with the notes of a heavenly lyre. After going a short\ndistance to find whence the sound proceeded, he beheld a Svayambh\u00fa\n[703] temple of Siva, and after tying up his horse, he entered it. And\nthere he beheld a heavenly maiden, surrounded by many other lovely\nmaidens, praising Siva with the harp. As soon as he saw her, with the\neffluent streams of her loveliness she disturbed his heart, as the orb\nof the moon disturbs the heart of the sea. She too looked on him with\nimpassioned, loving, and bashful eye, and had her mind solely fixed on\nhim, and forgot to pour forth her notes. Then Gomukha, who read his\nmaster's soul, began to ask her attendants--\"Who is she, and whose\ndaughter is she?\" But in the meanwhile a Vidy\u00e1dhar\u00ed of mature age,\nresembling her in feature, descended from heaven, preceded by a gleam\nred as gold. And she came down, and sat by the side of that maiden,\nand then the maiden rose up, and fell at her feet. And that mature\ndame blessed that girl, saying, \"Obtain without impediment a husband,\nwho shall be king of all the Vidy\u00e1dharas.\" Then Narav\u00e1hanadatta came\nto that gentle-looking Vidy\u00e1dhar\u00ed, and bowed before her, and after\nshe had given him her blessing, he slowly said to her: \"Who is this\nmaiden of thine, mother, tell me?\" then that Vidy\u00e1dhar\u00ed said to him\n\"Listen, I will tell you.\"\n\n\n\nStory of Alank\u00e1ravat\u00ed.\n\nThere is on the mountain-heights of the father of Gaur\u00ed, [704]\na city named Sr\u00edsundarapura, and in it there dwells a king of the\nVidy\u00e1dharas, named Alank\u00e1ras\u00edla. That lofty-souled king had a wife\nnamed K\u00e1nchanaprabh\u00e1, and in course of time a son was born to the\nking by her. And, when Um\u00e1 announced to his father in a dream that he\nshould be devoted to religion, he named him Dharmas\u00edla. And in course\nof time that son Dharmas\u00edla grew up to be a young man, and the king,\nhaving had him taught the sciences, appointed him Crown-prince. Then\nDharmas\u00edla, when appointed Crown-prince, being exclusively devoted to\nvirtue, and self-controlled, delighted the subjects even more than\ndid his father. Then the queen K\u00e1nchanaprabh\u00e1, the consort of king\nAlank\u00e1ras\u00edla, became pregnant again, and gave birth to a daughter. Then\na heavenly voice proclaimed, \"This daughter shall be the wife of\nthe emperor Narav\u00e1hanadatta.\" Then her father gave her the name of\nAlank\u00e1ravat\u00ed, and the girl gradually grew like a digit of the moon. And\nin course of time she attained mature youth, and learned the sciences\nfrom her own father, and through devotion to the god Siva, began to\nroam from temple to temple of his. In the meanwhile that brother of\nhers, Dharmas\u00edla, who was saintly, though in the bloom of youth, said\nin secret to his father Alank\u00e1ras\u00edla--\"My father, these enjoyments,\nthat vanish in a moment, do not please me; for what is there in this\nworld which is not distasteful at the last? Have you not heard on\nthis point the saying of the hermit Vy\u00e1sa? 'All aggregations end in\ndissolution, all erections end in a fall, all unions end in separation,\nand life ends in death.' So what pleasure can wise men take in these\nperishable objects? Moreover, neither enjoyments nor heaps of wealth\naccompany one into the other world, but virtue is the only friend that\nnever moves a step from one's side. Therefore I will go to the forest,\nand perform a severe penance, in order by it to attain everlasting\nsupreme felicity.\" When the king's son Dharmas\u00edla said this, his father\nAlank\u00e1ras\u00edla was perturbed, and answered him with tears in his eyes;\n\"My son, what is this sudden delusion that has overtaken you while\nstill a boy? For good men desire a life of retirement after they\nhave enjoyed their youth. This is the time for you to marry a wife,\nand rule your kingdom justly, and enjoy pleasures, not to abandon the\nworld.\" When Dharmas\u00edla heard this speech of his father's, he answered:\n\"There is no period for self-control or absence of self-control fixed\nby age; any one, even when a child, attains self-control, if favoured\nby the Lord, but no bad man attains self-control even when old. And I\ntake no pleasure in reigning, nor in marrying a wife; the object of my\nlife is to propitiate Siva by austerities.\" When the prince said this,\nhis father Alank\u00e1ras\u00edla, seeing that he could not be turned from his\npurpose even by the greatest efforts, shed tears, and said; \"If you,\nwho are young, my son, display such freedom from passion, why should\nnot I, who am an old man? I too will go to the forest.\" He said this,\nand went to the world of men, and bestowed on Br\u00e1hmans and the poor a\nmyriad loads of gold and jewels. And returning to his city, he said to\nhis wife K\u00e1nchanaprabh\u00e1: \"You must, if you wish to obey my commands,\nremain here in your own city, and take care of this daughter of ours,\nAlank\u00e1ravat\u00ed, and when a year has past, there will be on this very\nday an auspicious moment for her marriage. And then I will give her in\nmarriage to Narav\u00e1hanadatta, and that son-in-law of mine shall be an\nemperor, and shall come to this city of ours.\" Having said this to his\nwife, the king made her take an oath, and then made her return weeping\nwith her daughter, and himself went with his son to the forest. But\nhis wife K\u00e1nchanaprabh\u00e1 lived in her own city with her daughter;\nwhat virtuous wife would disobey her husband's commands? Then her\ndaughter Alank\u00e1ravat\u00ed wandered about to many temples together with\nher mother, who accompanied her out of affection. And one day the\nscience named Prajnapti said to her, \"Go to the holy places in Kasm\u00edra\nnamed Svayambh\u00fa, and there offer worship, for then you will obtain\nwithout difficulty for a husband, Narav\u00e1hanadatta, the sole emperor\nof all the Vidy\u00e1dhara kings.\" After hearing this from the science,\nshe went with her mother to Kasm\u00edra and worshipped Siva in all the\nholy places, in Nandikshetra, in Mah\u00e1devagiri, in Amaraparvata, in\nthe mountains of Suresvar\u00ed, and in Vijaya, and Kapatesvara. After\nworshipping the husband of P\u00e1rvat\u00ed in these and other holy places,\nthat princess of the Vidy\u00e1dharas and her mother returned home.\n\nKnow, auspicious youth, that this is that very maiden Alank\u00e1ravat\u00ed,\nand that I am her mother K\u00e1nchanaprabh\u00e1. And to-day she came to\nthis temple of Siva without telling me. Then I, perceiving it by the\nPrajnapti science, came here, and I was told by the same science that\nyou had come here also. So marry this daughter of mine who has been\nordained your wife by the god. And to-morrow arrives the day of her\nmarriage appointed by her father, so return for this day, my son,\nto Kaus\u00e1mb\u00ed your own city. And we will go hence, but to-morrow the\nking Alank\u00e1ras\u00edla will come from the grove of asceticism, and himself\ngive you this daughter of his.\n\nWhen she said this, Alank\u00e1ravat\u00ed and Narav\u00e1hanadatta were thrown into\na strange state of distraction, for their eyes were full of tears,\nsince their hearts could not bear that they should be separated from\none another even for a night, and they were like chakrav\u00e1kas when the\nend of the day is near. When K\u00e1nchanaprabh\u00e1 saw them in such a state,\nshe said: \"Why do you show such a want of self-restraint because\nyou are to be separated for one night. People, who possess firmness,\nendure for a long time mutual separation to which no termination is\nassigned; hear in proof of this the tale of R\u00e1mabhadra and S\u00edt\u00e1.\"\n\n\n\nStory of R\u00e1ma and S\u00edt\u00e1.\n\nLong ago king Dasaratha, the sovereign of Ayodhy\u00e1, had a son, named\nR\u00e1ma, the elder brother of Bharata, Satrughna and Lakshmana. He was a\npartial incarnation of Vishnu for the overthrow of R\u00e1vana, and he had\na wife named S\u00edt\u00e1, the daughter of Janaka, the lady of his life. As\nfate would have it, his father handed over the kingdom to Bharata, and\nsent R\u00e1ma to the forest with S\u00edt\u00e1 and Lakshmana. There R\u00e1vana carried\noff his beloved S\u00edt\u00e1 by magic, and took her to the city of Lank\u00e1,\nhaving slain Jat\u00e1yus on the way. Then R\u00e1ma, in his bereaved state,\nmade Sugr\u00edva his friend by killing B\u00e1lin, and by sending Hanum\u00e1n to\nLank\u00e1, obtained news of his wife. And he crossed the sea by building\na bridge over it, and slew R\u00e1vana, and gave the sovereignty of Lank\u00e1\nto Vibh\u00edshana and recovered S\u00edt\u00e1. Then he returned from the forest,\nand while he was ruling his kingdom, that Bharata had made over to\nhim, S\u00edt\u00e1 became pregnant in Ayodhy\u00e1. And while the king was roaming\nthrough the city at leisure, with a small retinue, to observe the\nactions of his subjects, he beheld a certain man turning his wife,\nwhom he held by the hand, out of his house, and giving out that her\nfault was going to the house of another man. [705] And king R\u00e1ma heard\nthe wife saying to her husband,--\"King R\u00e1ma did not desert his wife,\nthough she dwelt in the house of the R\u00e1kshasa; this fellow is superior\nto him, for he abandons me for going to the house of a relation.\" So\nhe went home afflicted; and afraid of the slander of the people,\nhe abandoned S\u00edt\u00e1 in the forest; a man of reputation prefers the\nsorrow of separation to ill-repute. And S\u00edt\u00e1, languid with pregnancy,\nhappened to reach the hermitage of V\u00e1lm\u00edki, and that rishi comforted\nher, and made her take up her abode there. And the other hermits there\ndebated among themselves; \"Surely this S\u00edt\u00e1 is guilty, otherwise how\ncould her husband have deserted her? So, by beholding her, everlasting\npollution will attach to us; but V\u00e1lm\u00edki does not expel her from the\nhermitage out of pity, and he neutralizes by means of his asceticism\nthe pollution produced by beholding her, so come, let us go to some\nother hermitage.\" When V\u00e1lm\u00edki perceived that, he said; \"Br\u00e1hmans,\nyou need not have any misgivings about the matter, I have perceived\nher by my meditation to be chaste. When even then they exhibited\nincredulity, S\u00edt\u00e1 said to them; \"Reverend sirs, test my purity by any\nmeans that you know of, and if I turn out to be unchaste, let me be\npunished by having my head cut off.\" When the hermits heard that,\nthey experienced an emotion of pity, and they said to her, \"There\nis a famous bathing-place in this forest, called T\u00edthibhasaras, for\na certain chaste woman named T\u00edthibh\u00ed, being falsely accused by her\nhusband, who suspected her of familiarity with another man, in her\nhelplessness invoked the goddess Earth and the Lokap\u00e1las, and they\nproduced it for her justification. There let the wife of R\u00e1ma clear\nherself for our satisfaction.\" When they said that, S\u00edt\u00e1 went with\nthem to that lake. And the chaste woman said--\"Mother Earth, if my\nmind was never fixed even in a dream on any one besides my husband,\nmay I reach the other side of the lake,\"--and after saying this,\nshe entered the lake, and the goddess Earth appeared, and, taking\nher in her lap, carried her to the other side. Then all the hermits\nadored that chaste woman, and enraged at R\u00e1ma's having abandoned her,\nthey desired to curse him. But S\u00edt\u00e1, who was devoted to her husband,\ndissuaded them, saying,--\"Do not entertain an inauspicious thought\nagainst my husband, I beg you to curse my wicked self.\" The hermits,\npleased with that conduct of hers, gave her a blessing which enabled\nher to give birth to a son, and she, while dwelling there, in good\ntime did give birth to a son, and the hermit V\u00e1lm\u00edki gave him the\nname of Lava. [706] One day she took the child and went to bathe, and\nthe hermit, seeing that it was not in the hut, thought--\"She is in\nthe habit, when she goes to bathe, of leaving her child behind her,\nso what has become of the child? Surely it has been carried off by a\nwild beast. I will create another, otherwise S\u00edt\u00e1, on returning from\nbathing, will die of grief.\" Under this impression, the hermit made\na pure babe of kusa grass, resembling Lava, and placed him there,\nand S\u00edt\u00e1 came, and seeing it, said to the hermit, \"I have my own boy,\nso whence came this one, hermit?\" When the hermit V\u00e1lm\u00edki heard this,\nhe told her exactly what had taken place, and said, \"Blameless one,\nreceive this second son named Kusa, because I by my power created him\nout of kusa grass.\" When he said this to her, S\u00edt\u00e1 brought up those\ntwo sons Kusa and Lava, for whom V\u00e1lm\u00edki performed the sacraments. And\nthose two young princes of the Kshatriya race, even when children,\nlearned the use of all heavenly weapons, and all sciences from the\nhermit V\u00e1lm\u00edki.\n\nAnd one day they killed a deer belonging to the hermitage, and ate\nits flesh, and made use of a linga, which V\u00e1lm\u00edki worshipped, as a\nplaything. The hermit was offended thereby, but at S\u00edt\u00e1's intercession\nhe appointed for those youths the following expiatory penance:\n\"Let this Lava go quickly and bring from the lake of Kuvera golden\nlotuses, and mand\u00e1ra [707] flowers from his garden, then worship,\nboth of you brothers, this linga with those flowers; in this way\nthis crime of those two will be atoned for.\" When Lava heard this,\nhe went, though a boy, to Kail\u00e1sa, and invaded that lake and garden\nof Kuvera, and after killing the Yakshas, brought back the lotuses\nand the flowers, and as he was returning, being tired, he rested in\nthe way under a tree. And in the meanwhile Lakshmana came that way,\nseeking a man with auspicious marks for R\u00e1ma's human sacrifice. [708]\nHe, according to the custom of Kshatriyas, challenged Lava to fight,\nand paralyzed him by the stupefying weapon, and taking him prisoner,\nled him to the city of Ayodhy\u00e1. And in the meanwhile V\u00e1lm\u00edki comforted\nS\u00edt\u00e1, who was anxious about the return of Lava, and said to Kusa\nin his hermitage, \"Lakshmana has taken prisoner the child Lava and\nhas carried him off to Ayodhy\u00e1; go and deliver him from Lakshmana,\nafter conquering him with these weapons.\" When the sage said this,\nand gave to Kusa a heavenly weapon, he went and with it attacked\nand besieged the sacrificial enclosure in Ayodhy\u00e1, and he conquered\nin fight Lakshmana, who advanced to repel him, by the help of those\nheavenly weapons; then R\u00e1ma advanced to meet him; and when he could\nnot, though exerting himself to the utmost, conquer with weapons that\nKusa, owing to the might of V\u00e1lm\u00edki, he asked him who he was, and why\nhe came. Then Kusa said, \"Lakshmana has taken my elder brother prisoner\nand brought him here; I have come here to set him at liberty. We\ntwo are Kusa and Lava the sons of R\u00e1ma, this is what our mother,\nthe daughter of Janaka, says.\" Thereupon he told her story. Then\nR\u00e1ma burst into tears, and summoned Lava and embraced both, saying,\n\"I am that same wicked R\u00e1ma.\" Then the citizens assembled and praised\nS\u00edt\u00e1, beholding those two heroic youths, and R\u00e1ma recognised them as\nhis sons. And then he summoned the queen S\u00edt\u00e1 from the hermitage of\nV\u00e1lm\u00edki, and dwelt with her in happiness, transferring to his sons\nthe burden of the empire.\n\n\"Thus heroic souls endure separation for so long a time, and how\ncan you find it difficult to endure it for only one night?\" When\nK\u00e1nchanaprabh\u00e1 had said this to her daughter Alank\u00e1ravat\u00ed, who was\neager to be married, and to Narav\u00e1hanadatta, she departed through\nthe air with the intention of returning again, and took her daughter\nwith her: and Narav\u00e1hanadatta, for his part, returned despondent to\nKaus\u00e1mb\u00ed.\n\nThen, as he could not sleep at night, Gomukha said to him to amuse\nhim--\"Prince, hear this story of Prithv\u00edr\u00fapa, which I will relate\nto you.\"\n\n\n\nStory of the handsome king Prithv\u00edr\u00fapa.\n\nThere is in the Dekhan a city named Pratishth\u00e1na, in it lived a very\nhandsome king, named Prithv\u00edr\u00fapa. Once on a time two discerning\nBuddhist hermits came to him, and seeing that that king was very\nhandsome, they said to him, \"King, we have travelled through the\nworld, and we have nowhere seen a man or woman equal to you in beauty,\nexcept the daughter of king R\u00fapadhara and queen Hemalat\u00e1, in the isle\nof Muktipura, R\u00fapalat\u00e1 by name, and that maiden alone is a match for\nyou, and you alone are a match for her; if you were to be united in\nmarriage, it would be well.\" With these words of the hermit, which\nentered by his ears, the arrows of Love entered also and stuck in\nhis heart. Then king Prithv\u00edr\u00fapa, being full of longing, gave this\norder to his admirable painter, Kum\u00e1ridatta by name; \"Take with you my\nportrait, accurately painted on canvas, and with these two mendicants\ngo to the isle of Muktipura, and there shew it by some artifice to\nthe king R\u00fapadhara and his daughter R\u00fapalat\u00e1. Find out if that king\nwill give me his daughter or not, and take a likeness of R\u00fapalat\u00e1,\nand bring it back.\" When the king had said this, he made the painter\ntake his likeness on canvas, and sent him with the mendicants to that\nisland. And so the painter and the mendicants set out, and in course\nof time reached a city named Putrapura on the shore of the sea. There\nthey embarked on a ship, and going across the sea, they reached in\nfive days that island of Muktipura. There the painter went and held\nup at the gate of the palace a notice, to the effect that there was\nno painter like him in the world. When the king R\u00fapadhara heard of\nthat, he summoned him, and the painter entered the palace, and bowing,\nhe said: \"O king, though I have travelled all over the earth, I have\nnever seen my match as a painter, so tell me, whom I am to paint of\ngods, mortals, and Asuras.\" When the king heard that, he summoned his\ndaughter R\u00fapalat\u00e1 into his presence, and gave him the following order:\n\"Make a portrait of this daughter of mine, and shew it me.\" Then the\npainter Kum\u00e1ridatta made a portrait of the princess on canvas and\nshewed it, and it was exactly like the original. Then king R\u00fapadhara\nwas pleased, and thinking him clever, he asked that painter, in his\ndesire to obtain a son-in-law, \"My good fellow, you have travelled\nover the earth: so tell me if you have anywhere seen a woman or a\nman equal to my daughter in beauty.\" When the king said this, the\npainter answered him, \"I have nowhere in the world seen a woman or a\nman equal to her, except a king in Pratishth\u00e1na, named Prithv\u00edr\u00fapa,\nwho is a match for her; if she were married to him, it would be\nwell. Since he has not found a princess equal in beauty, he remains,\nthough in his fresh youth, without a wife. And I, your majesty, having\nbeheld that king, dear to the eyes, took a faithful likeness of him,\nout of admiration of his beauty.\" When the king heard that, he said:\n\"Have you that portrait with you?\" And the painter said, \"I have,\"\nand showed the portrait. Thereupon the king R\u00fapadhara, beholding\nthe beauty of that king Prithv\u00edr\u00fapa, found his head whirl round\nwith astonishment. And he said, \"Fortunate are we to have beheld\nthat king even in a picture; I felicitate those who behold him in\nthe flesh. When R\u00fapalat\u00e1 heard this speech of her father's, and saw\nthe king in the picture, she was full of longing, and could neither\nhear nor see anything else. Then the king R\u00fapadhara, seeing that his\ndaughter was distracted with love, said to that painter Kum\u00e1ridatta,\n\"Your pictures exactly correspond to the original, so that king\nPrithv\u00edr\u00fapa must be an appropriate husband for my daughter. So take\nthis portrait of my daughter, and set off immediately, and shew\nmy daughter to king Prithv\u00edr\u00fapa; and tell the whole incident as it\ntook place, and if he pleases, let him come here quickly, to marry\nher.\" Thus the king spake, and honoured the painter with gifts,\nand sent him off with his ambassador, in the company of the mendicants.\n\nThe painter, the ambassador, and the mendicants crossed the sea,\nand all reached the court of Prithv\u00edr\u00fapa in Pratishth\u00e1na. There they\ngave the present to that king, and told him the whole transaction,\nas it took place, and the message of R\u00fapadhara. And then that painter\nKum\u00e1ridatta shewed to that king his beloved R\u00fapalat\u00e1 in a painting. As\nthe king gazed, [709] his eye was drowned in that sea of beauty\nher person, so that he could not draw it out again. For the king,\nwhose longing was excessive, could not be satisfied with devouring\nher form, which poured forth a stream of the nectar of beauty, as\nthe partridge cannot be satisfied with devouring the moonlight. And\nhe said to the painter, \"My friend, worthy of praise is the Creator\nwho made this beauty, and yourself who copied it. So I accept the\nproposal of king R\u00fapadhara; I will go to the island of Muktipura and\nmarry his daughter.\" After saying this, the king honoured the painter,\nthe ambassador, and the hermits, and remained looking at the picture.\n\nAnd afflicted with the sorrow of absence, the king spent that day in\ngardens and other places, and set out the next day on his expedition,\nafter ascertaining a favourable moment. And the king mounted the\ngreat elephant Mangalaghata, and proceeded on his way with many horses\nand elephants, with chiefs and R\u00e1jp\u00fats, and with the painter and the\nhermits, together with the ambassador of R\u00fapadhara, and in a few days\nhe reached the entrance of the Vindhya forest, and encamped there in\nthe evening. The next day, the king Prithv\u00edr\u00fapa mounted an elephant\nnamed Satrumardana, and going on entered that forest. And as he was\nslowly proceeding, he beheld his army, which was marching in front\nof him, suddenly fleeing. And while he was perplexed as to what it\ncould mean, a R\u00e1jp\u00fat named Nirbhaya, mounted on an elephant, came up\nand said to him, \"King, a very large army of Bhillas attacked us in\nfront there; in the fight that ensued those Bhillas slew with their\narrows just fifty of our elephants, and a thousand of our footmen, and\nthree hundred horses; but our troops laid low two thousand Bhillas,\nso that for every single corpse seen in our host two were seen in\ntheirs. Then our forces were routed, galled with their arrows, which\nresemble thunderbolts.\" When the king heard that, he was angry, and\nadvancing he slew the army of the Bhillas, as Arjuna slew that of\nthe Kauravas. Then the other bandits were slain by Nirbhaya and his\ncomrades, [710] and the king cut off with one crescent-headed arrow the\nhead of the commander of the Bhillas. The king's elephant Satrumardana,\nwith the blood flowing from arrow-wounds, resembled a mountain of\ncollyrium pouring forth streams coloured with cinnabar. Then his\nwhole army, that had been dispersed, returned, finding themselves\nvictorious, and those Bhillas, that had escaped slaughter, fled in\nall directions. And the king Prithv\u00edr\u00fapa, having brought the fight\nto an end, had his might extolled by the ambassador of R\u00fapadhara,\nand being victorious, encamped in that very forest district, on the\nbank of a lake, to recruit the strength of his wounded troops.\n\nAnd in the morning the king set out thence, and slowly advancing\nhe reached that city of Putrapura on the shore of the sea. There he\nrested for a day, being entertained in becoming fashion by the king\nof that place, named Ud\u00e1racharita. And he crossed the sea in ships\nsupplied by him, and in eight days reached the isle of Muktipura.\n\nAnd the king R\u00fapadhara, hearing of it, came to meet him delighted, and\nthe two kings met and embraced one another. Then the king Prithv\u00edr\u00fapa\nentered his city with him, being, so to speak, drunk in by the eyes of\nthe ladies of the city. Then the queen Hemalat\u00e1 and the king R\u00fapadhara,\nseeing that he was a suitable husband for their daughter, rejoiced. And\nthat king Prithv\u00edr\u00fapa remained there, and R\u00fapadhara honoured him with\nentertainment in accordance with his own magnificence.\n\nAnd the next day, the long-desiring R\u00fapalat\u00e1 ascended the altar in\nan auspicious moment, and he with exultation received her hand in\nmarriage. And when they beheld one another's beauty, the expanded\neye of each was extended to the ear, as if to inform that organ that\nthe report it had heard before was true. When the parched grain was\nthrown, R\u00fapadhara gave jewels in such abundance to the happy couple,\nthat men thought he was a perfect mine of jewels. And after his\ndaughter's marriage had taken place, he honoured the painter and\nthe two mendicants with dresses and ornaments, and bestowed gifts\non all the others. Then that king Prithv\u00edr\u00fapa, remaining in that\ncity with his attendants, enjoyed the best meat and drink the isle\ncould produce. The day was spent in singing and dancing, and at night\nthe eager king entered the private apartments of R\u00fapalat\u00e1, in which\njewelled couches were spread, which was adorned with jewelled pavement,\nthe circuit of which was propped on jewelled pillars, and which was lit\nup with jewel-lamps. And in the morning he was woke up by the bards and\nheralds reciting, and he rose up and remained as the moon in heaven.\n\nThus king Prithv\u00edr\u00fapa remained ten days in that island, amusing\nhimself with ever-fresh enjoyments furnished by his father-in-law. On\nthe eleventh day, the king, with the consent of the astrologers, set\nout with R\u00fapalat\u00e1, after the auspicious ceremony had been performed\nfor him. And he was escorted by his father-in-law as far as the\nshore of the sea, and accompanied by his retainers, he embarked\non the ships with his wife. He crossed the sea in eight days, and\nhis army, that was encamped on the shore, joined him, and the king\nUd\u00e1racharita came to meet him, and then he went to Putrapura. There\nking Prithv\u00edr\u00fapa rested some days, and was entertained by that king,\nand then he set out from that place. And he mounted his beloved\nR\u00fapalat\u00e1 on the elephant Jayamangala, and he himself mounted an\nelephant named Kaly\u00e1nagiri. And the king, proceeding by continual\nstages, in due course reached his good city of Pratishth\u00e1na, where\nflags and banners were waving. Then, after beholding R\u00fapalat\u00e1, the\nladies of the city lost at once all pride in their own beauty, and\ngazed on her with eyes unwinking from wonder. Then king Prithv\u00edr\u00fapa\nentered his palace, making high festival, and he gave to that painter\nvillages and wealth, and he honoured those two hermits with wealth\nas they deserved, and gave complimentary presents to the chiefs,\nministers and R\u00e1jp\u00fats. Then that king, having attained his object,\nenjoyed there this world's happiness in the society of R\u00fapalat\u00e1.\n\nAfter the minister Gomukha had told Narav\u00e1hanadatta this tale\nwith the object of amusing him, he went on to say to the impatient\nprince,--\"Thus the resolute endure painful separation for a long\ntime, but how is it that you cannot endure it even for one night,\nO king? For to-morrow your Highness shall marry Alank\u00e1ravat\u00ed.\" When\nGomukha had said this, Marubh\u00fati the son of Yaugandhar\u00e1yana came up at\nthat instant, and said, \"What stuff will you not prate, being ungalled,\nand never having felt the agony of love? A man possesses firmness and\ndiscernment and morality, only so long as he does not come within\nthe range of the arrows of Love. Happy in the world are Sarasvat\u00ed,\nSkanda, and Buddha, these three, who have brushed off and flung away\nlove, like a blade of grass clinging to the skirt of the robe.\" When\nMarubh\u00fati said this, Narav\u00e1hanadatta, perceiving that Gomukha was\ndistressed, said in order to comfort him,--\"What Gomukha said to me\nwas appropriate, and it was said to amuse me, for what loving friend\nexults over one in the agony of separation? One afflicted by the\npain of separation should be comforted by his friends to the best\nof their ability, and the sequel should be left to the disposal of\nthe five-arrowed god.\" Talking in this style, and hearing various\ntales from his attendants, Narav\u00e1hanadatta somehow managed to get\nthrough that night. And when morning came, he rose up and performed\nhis necessary duties, and saw K\u00e1nchanaprabh\u00e1 descending from heaven,\naccompanied by her husband Alank\u00e1ras\u00edla, and her son Dharmas\u00edla,\nand that Alank\u00e1ravat\u00ed her daughter; and they all descended from\nthe chariot and came near him, and he welcomed them as was fitting,\nand they saluted him in like manner. And in the meanwhile thousands\nof other Vidy\u00e1dharas descended from heaven, carrying loads of gold,\njewels, and other valuables; and after hearing of this occurrence,\nthe king of Vatsa came there with his ministers and his queens,\ndelighted at the advancement of his son. After the king of Vatsa had\nperformed the rites of hospitality duly, the king Alank\u00e1ras\u00edla said\nto him, bowing graciously,--\"King, this is my daughter Alank\u00e1ravat\u00ed,\nand when she was born, she was declared by a voice, that came from\nheaven, to be destined to be the wife of this thy son Narav\u00e1hanadatta,\nthe future emperor of all the Vidy\u00e1dhara kings. So I will give her to\nhim, for this is a favourable moment for them; for this reason I have\ncome here with all these.\" The king of Vatsa welcomed that speech of\nthe Vidy\u00e1dhara sovereign's, saying, \"It is a great favour that you do\nme.\" Then the ruler of the Vidy\u00e1dharas sprinkled with water, produced\nin the hollow of his hand by virtue of his science, the ground of\nthe courtyard. Immediately there was produced there an altar of gold,\ncovered with a heavenly cloth, and a pavilion, not made with hands,\nfor the preliminary ceremony, composed of various jewels. Then the\nsuccessful king Alank\u00e1ras\u00edla said to Narav\u00e1hanadatta--\"Rise up, the\nfavourable moment has arrived--bathe.\" After he had bathed, and had\nthe marriage-thread put on, the king Alank\u00e1ras\u00edla, being delighted,\ngave him with all his heart his daughter, after bringing her to\nthe altar in her bridal dress. And when the grain was thrown into\nthe fire, he and his son gave to his daughter thousands of loads of\njewels, gold, garments and ornaments, and heavenly nymphs. And after\nthe marriage was over, he honoured them all, and then took his leave\nof them, and with his wife and son departed, as he came, through the\nair. Then the king of Vatsa, seeing his son destined to advancement,\nbeing honoured by the bending kings of the Vidy\u00e1dharas, was delighted,\nand prolonged that feast to a great length. And Narav\u00e1hanadatta, having\nobtained Alank\u00e1ravat\u00ed, charming on account of her good conduct, and of\nnoble virtues, like a skilful poet who has obtained a style, charming\non account of its excellent metre, and of splendid merits, remained\ndelighted with her. [711]\n\n\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER LII.\n\n\nThen Narav\u00e1hanadatta, the son of the king of Vatsa, being united\nto Alank\u00e1ravat\u00ed his new wife, remained in the house of his father,\npleased with the heavenly dancing and singing of her maids, and\nenjoying banquets with his ministers.\n\nAnd one day his mother-in-law K\u00e1nchanaprabh\u00e1, the mother of\nAlank\u00e1ravat\u00ed, came to him and said, after he had hospitably\nentertained her--\"Come to our palace, behold that city of Sundarapura,\nand take your delight in its gardens with Alank\u00e1ravat\u00ed.\" When\nhe heard this, he consented, and he informed his father, and by his\nadvice took Vasantaka with him, and with his wife and his minister,\nhe ascended a splendid chariot created by his mother-in-law by her\nscience, and set out through the air, and while in the chariot,\nhe looked down from heaven, and beheld the earth of the size of a\nmound, and the seas small as ditches, and in due course he reached\nthe Him\u00e1layas with his mother-in-law, wife, and attendants, and it\nresounded with the songs of the Kinnar\u00eds, and was adorned with the\ncompanies of heavenly nymphs. There he saw a great many wonderful\nsights, and then he reached the city of Sundarapura. It was adorned\nwith many palaces of gold and jewels, and, thus, though it was on\nthe Him\u00e1layas, it made the beholder suppose that he was looking on\nthe peaks of mount Meru. [712] And he descended from the heaven, and\ngetting out of the carriage entered that city, which, as it were,\ndanced with the waving silk of its banners, in its joy at having\nonce more a king. And he entered that palace, with the auspicious\nceremony performed for him by his mother-in-law, accompanied by\nAlank\u00e1ravat\u00ed, and with his favourites and Vasantaka. There the\nfortunate prince spent the day in his father-in-law's palace,\nin enjoyments which were provided for him by the power of his\nmother-in-law. And on the next day his mother-in-law K\u00e1nchanaprabh\u00e1\nsaid to him; \"There is in this city an image of the holy self-existent\nhusband of Um\u00e1. [713] He, if visited and worshipped, gives enjoyment\nand even salvation. Around it the father of Alank\u00e1ravat\u00ed made\na great garden, and brought down to it a holy water, rightly named\nthe Ganges-pool: go there to-day to worship the god and to amuse\nyourselves.\" When his mother-in-law said this to him, Narav\u00e1hanadatta,\naccompanied by his wife Alank\u00e1ravat\u00ed, and followed by his attendants,\nwent to that garden of Siva. It looked lovely with its golden-trunked\ntrees, which were charming with their branches of jewels, the clear\nwhite flowers of which were clusters of pearls, and the shoots of\nwhich were coral. [714] There he bathed in the Ganges-pool and\nworshipped Siva, and wandered round the tanks that were adorned\nwith ladders of jewels and lotuses of gold. And, accompanied\nby his attendants, he amused himself with Alank\u00e1ravat\u00ed on their\ncharming banks, and in bowers of the wish-granting creeper. And in\nthose he delighted his soul with heavenly banquets and concerts,\nand amusing jokes caused by the simplicity of Marubh\u00fati. And so\nNarav\u00e1hanadatta dwelt a month there, amusing himself in gardens,\nthanks to the resources of his mother-in-law. Then that K\u00e1nchanaprabh\u00e1\nbestowed on him, his wife, and his ministers, garments and ornaments\nfit for gods, and with his mother-in-law and his attendants, he\nreturned in that same chariot to Kaus\u00e1mb\u00ed, accompanied by his wife,\nand he gladdened the eyes of his parents.\n\nThere Alank\u00e1ravat\u00ed was thus addressed by her mother in the presence\nof the king of Vatsa; \"You must never by jealous anger make your\nhusband unhappy, for the fruit of that fault, my daughter, is\nseparation that causes great affliction. Because I was jealous in\nold time and afflicted my husband, I am now consumed with remorse,\nas he has gone to the forest.\" After saying this, she embraced her\ndaughter with eyes blinded with tears, and flying up into the air\nwent to her own city.\n\nThen, that day having come to an end, the next morning Narav\u00e1hanadatta,\nhaving performed the appropriate duties, was sitting with his\nministers, when a woman rushed into the presence of Alank\u00e1ravat\u00ed\nand said--\"Queen, I am a woman in the utmost terror, protect me,\nprotect me! For there is a Br\u00e1hman come to slay me, and he is standing\noutside; through fear of him I have fled and come in here to implore\nprotection.\" The queen said, \"Do not fear. Tell your tale. Who is\nhe? Why does he wish to slay you?\" When thus questioned, the woman\nbegan to say:--\n\n\n\nStory of Asokam\u00e1l\u00e1.\n\nMy sovereign, I am the daughter of a Kshatriya in this city,\nnamed Balasena, and my name is Asokam\u00e1l\u00e1. When I was a virgin,\nI was demanded from my father by a rich Br\u00e1hman named Hathasarman,\nwho was captivated by my beauty. And I said to my father; \"I do not\nlike this ugly grim-visaged man for a husband; if you give me to him,\nI will not remain in his house.\" Though Hathasarman heard that, he\nsat in dharna at the door of my father's house, until he gave me to\nhim, being afraid of causing the death of a Br\u00e1hman. Then the Br\u00e1hman\nmarried me and carried me off reluctant, and I deserted him, and fled\nto another man, the son of a Kshatriya. But that Hathasarman managed\nto crush him by the power of his wealth, and then I went to another\nKshatriya, who was well off. Then this Br\u00e1hman went at night and\nset his house on fire. Then he abandoned me, and I went to a third\nKshatriya, and this Br\u00e1hman burnt his house also at night. Then\nI was abandoned by him also, and I became a fugitive, flying in\nterror, as the sheep flies from the jackal, from that Hathasarman,\nwho wishes to slay me, and follows me step by step. In this very city\nI entered the service of the mighty V\u00edrasarman your servant, a R\u00e1jp\u00fat\nwho protects the helpless. When the wicked Hathasarman found that\nout, he was miserable at having no hope of recovering me, and being\nafflicted with separation, he was reduced to skin and bone. But the\nR\u00e1jp\u00fat V\u00edrasarman, when disposed to imprison him for my protection,\nwas prevented by me, O queen. To-day it chanced that I went outside\nthe house, and Hathasarman, seeing me, drew his sword and rushed on\nme to kill me, but I thereupon fled here, and the female warder,\nmelted with compassion, opened the door and let me enter, but he,\nI know, is waiting for me outside.\n\nWhen she said this, the king had the Br\u00e1hman Hathasarman summoned\ninto his presence; he looked at Asokam\u00e1l\u00e1 with an eye inflamed with\nanger, his form was distorted, he held a sword in his hand, and\nthe joints of his limbs trembled with rage. The king said to him,\n\"Wicked Br\u00e1hman, do you try to kill a woman, and for her sake set\non fire your neighbours' houses? Why are you so wicked?\" When the\nBr\u00e1hman heard that, he said, \"She is my lawful wife. She has left\nmy protection and gone elsewhere, how could I endure that?\" When he\nsaid this, Asokam\u00e1l\u00e1, in distress, exclaimed, \"O guardians of the\nworld, tell me this; did he not in your presence marry me and carry\nme off by force against my own will? And did I not say at the time,\n'I will not dwell in his house?'\" When she said this, a heavenly voice\nsaid, \"The statement of Asokam\u00e1l\u00e1 is true. But she is not a woman;\nhear the truth about her. There is a heroic king of the Vidy\u00e1dharas\nnamed Asokakara. He had no sons, and once on a time it happened that a\ndaughter was born to him, and she grew up in the house of her father,\nunder the name of Asokam\u00e1l\u00e1. And when she arrived at an adult age,\nand he, desiring to perpetuate his race, offered her in marriage,\nshe would not take any husband, through exceeding pride in her own\nbeauty. For that reason her father, vexed with her obstinacy, denounced\nthis curse on her; 'Become a mortal, and in that state thou shalt\nhave the same name. And an ugly Br\u00e1hman shall marry thee by force;\nthou shalt abandon him, and in thy fear resort to three husbands in\nsuccession. Even then he shall persecute thee, and thou shalt take\nrefuge with a mighty Kshatriya as his slave, but even then the Br\u00e1hman\nshall not desist from persecuting thee. And he shall see thee, and run\nafter thee, with the object of killing thee, but thou shalt escape,\nand entering the king's palace, shalt be delivered from this curse.'\n\nAccordingly that very Vidy\u00e1dhar\u00ed, Asokam\u00e1l\u00e1, who was in old time cursed\nby her father, has now been born as a woman under the same name. And\nthis appointed end of her curse has now arrived. She shall now repair\nto her Vidy\u00e1dhara home, and enter her own body which is there. There\nshe, remembering her curse, shall live happily with a Vidy\u00e1dhara\nprince, named Abhiruchita, who shall become her husband.\" When the\nheavenly voice had said this, it ceased, and immediately that Asokam\u00e1l\u00e1\nfell dead on the ground. But the king and Alank\u00e1ravat\u00ed, when they\nsaw that, had their eyes suffused with tears, and so had their\ncourtiers. But in Hathasarman grief overpowered anger, and he wept,\nblinded with passion. Then his eyes suddenly became expanded with\njoy. All of them thereupon said to him,--\"What does this mean?\" Then\nthat Br\u00e1hman said, \"I remember my former birth, and I will give an\naccount of it, listen.\"\n\n\n\nStory of Sth\u00falabhuja.\n\nOn the Him\u00e1layas there is a splendid city, named Madanapura; in it\ndwelt a Vidy\u00e1dhara prince, named Pralambabhuja. He had born to him,\nmy lord, a son named Sth\u00falabhuja, and he in course of time became a\nhandsome prince in the flower of youth. Then a king of the Vidy\u00e1dharas,\nnamed Surabhivatsa, came with his daughter to the palace of that\nking Pralambabhuja, and said to him: \"I give this daughter of mine,\ncalled Surabhidatt\u00e1, to your son Sth\u00falabhuja; let the accomplished\nyouth marry her now.\" When Pralambabhuja heard this, he approved it,\nand summoning his son, he communicated the matter to him. Then his\nson Sth\u00falabhuja, out of pride in his beauty, said to him, \"I will\nnot marry her, my father, for she is not a first-class beauty.\" His\nfather thereupon said to him, \"What does her plainness matter? For\nshe is of high lineage and must be honoured on that account, and\nher father offered her to me for you, and I have accepted her, so do\nnot refuse.\" Although Sth\u00falabhuja was thus entreated a second time\nby his father, he would not consent to marry her. Then his father,\nin his anger, denounced against him the following curse--\"On account\nof this your pride in your good looks, be born as a man, and in that\nstate you shall be ugly and with a large mouth. And you shall acquire\nby force a wife named Asokam\u00e1l\u00e1, also fallen by a curse, and she,\nnot liking you, shall leave you, and you shall experience the grief of\nseparation. And as she shall be attached to another, you shall commit\nfor her sake arson and other crimes, being maddened with passion and\nemaciated with grief.\" When Pralambabhuja had uttered this curse, that\nvirtuous Surabhidatt\u00e1 clung to his feet, weeping, and entreated him,\n\"Pronounce a curse on me also, let our lot be the same, let not my\nhusband alone suffer calamity owing to my fault.\" When she said this,\nPralambabhuja was pleased, and, in order to comfort that virtuous\nwoman, he appointed for her this end to his son's curse: \"Whenever\nAsokam\u00e1l\u00e1 shall be released from her curse, then he shall remember\nhis birth and be released from this curse, and he shall regain his\nown body, and remembering his curse, he shall be free from pride,\nand soon marry you; then he shall live with you in happiness.\" When\nthe virtuous woman was thus addressed by him, she managed to recover\nher self-composure.\n\n\"Know that I am that very Sth\u00falabhuja, fallen here by a curse, and\nI have experienced this great grief owing to the fault of pride. How\ncan proud men have happiness in a previous or in a present state of\nexistence? And that curse of mine is now at an end.\" After saying this,\nHathasarman abandoned that body, and became a Vidy\u00e1dhara youth. And\nhe took by the might of his science the body of Asokam\u00e1l\u00e1, and flung\nit, without its being seen, into the Ganges, out of compassion. And\nhe sprinkled immediately the chamber of Alank\u00e1ravat\u00ed all round with\nwater of the Ganges, brought by the might of his science, and after\nbending before Narav\u00e1hanadatta, his future lord, he flew up into the\nheaven to his destined prosperity.\n\nAll being astonished, Gomukha told this story of Anangarati, which\nwas appropriate to the incident--\n\n\n\nStory of Anangarati and her four suitors.\n\nThere is on the earth a city, rightly named S\u00farapura, [715] and\nin it there lived a king named Mah\u00e1var\u00e1ha, the destroyer of his\nfoes. That king had a daughter named Anangarati, born to him by his\nwife Padmarati, owing to his having propitiated Gaur\u00ed, and he had no\nother children. And in course of time she attained womanhood, and proud\nof her beauty, she did not wish to have any husband, though kings asked\nher in marriage. But she said decidedly; \"I must be given to a man\nwho is brave and handsome, and knows some one splendid accomplishment.\n\nThen there came from the Dekhan four heroes, who, having heard\ntidings of her, were eager to obtain her, and they were furnished\nwith the qualities which she desired. They were announced by the\nwarder and introduced, and then king Mah\u00e1var\u00e1ha asked them in the\npresence of Anangarati; \"What are your names? what is your descent,\nand what do you know?\" When they heard this speech of the king's,\none of them said--\"I am Panchaphuttika by name, a S\u00fadra; I possess a\npeculiar talent; I weave every day five pairs of garments, one of them\nI give to a Br\u00e1hman, and the second I offer to Siva, and the third I\nwear myself, and as for the fourth, if I had a wife, I would give it\nto her, and the fifth I sell, and live upon the proceeds.\" Then the\nsecond said, \"I am a Vaisya named Bh\u00e1sh\u00e1jna; I know the language of\nall beasts and birds.\" [716]\n\nThen the third said, \"I am a Kshatriya named Khadgadhara, and no\none surpasses me in fighting with the sword.\" And the fourth said,\n\"I am an excellent Br\u00e1hman named J\u00edvadatta; by means of the sciences\nwhich I possess by the favour of Gaur\u00ed, I can raise to life a dead\nwoman.\" [717] When they had thus spoken, the S\u00fadra, the Vaisya, and\nthe Kshatriya one after another praised their own beauty, courage\nand might, but the Br\u00e1hman praised his might and valour, and said\nnothing about his beauty.\n\nThen king Mah\u00e1var\u00e1ha said to his door-keeper--\"Take all these\nnow and make them rest in your house.\" The door-keeper, when he\nheard the order, took them to his house. Then the king said to his\ndaughter Anangarati, \"My daughter, which of these four heroes do you\nprefer?\" When Anangarati heard that, she said to her father; \"Father,\nI do not like any one of the four; the first is a S\u00fadra and a weaver,\nwhat is the use of his good qualities? The second is a Vaisya, and what\nis the use of his knowing the language of cattle, and so on? How can\nI give myself to them, when I am a Kshatriya woman? The third indeed\nis a meritorious Kshatriya, equal to me in birth, but be is a poor\nman and lives by service, selling his life. As I am the daughter of a\nking, how can I become his wife? The fourth, the Br\u00e1hman J\u00edvadatta,\nI do not like; he is ugly and is addicted to unlawful arts, and, as\nhe has deserted the Vedas, he has fallen from his high position. You\nought to punish him, why do you offer to give me to him? For you, my\nfather, being a king, are the upholder of the castes and the various\nstages of life. And a king, who is a hero in upholding religion,\nis preferred to a king, who is only a hero with the sword. A hero in\nreligion will be the lord of a thousand heroes with the sword.\" When\nhis daughter had said this, the king dismissed her to her own private\napartments, and rose up to bathe and perform his other duties.\n\nAnd the next day, the four heroes went out from the house of the\ndoor-keeper, and roamed about in the town out of curiosity. And at that\nvery time a vicious elephant, named Padmakabala, broke his fastening,\nand in his fury rushed out from the elephant-stable, trampling down the\ncitizens. And that great elephant, when he saw the four heroes, rushed\ntowards them to slay them, and they too advanced towards him with\nuplifted weapons. Then the one Kshatriya among them, named Khadgadhara,\nputting aside the other three, alone attacked that elephant. And he\ncut off with one blow the protended trunk of that roaring elephant,\nwith as much ease as if it had been a lotus-stalk. And after showing\nhis agility by escaping between his feet, he delivered a second blow\non the back of that elephant. And with the third he cut off both his\nfeet. Then that elephant gave a groan and fell down and died. All the\npeople were astonished when they beheld that valour of his, and king\nMah\u00e1var\u00e1ha was also amazed when he heard of it.\n\nThe next day, the king went out to hunt, mounted on an elephant,\nand the four heroes, with Khadgadhara at their head, accompanied\nhim. There the king with his army slew tigers, deer, and boars,\nand the lions rushed out upon him in anger, hearing the trumpeting\nof the elephants. Then that Khadgadhara cleft in twain, with one\nblow of his sharp sword, the first lion that attacked them, and\nthe second he seized with his left hand by the foot, and dashing it\non the earth, deprived it of life. And in the same way Bh\u00e1sh\u00e1jna,\nand J\u00edvadatta, and Panchaphuttika, each dashed a lion to pieces on\nthe earth. Thus in turn those heroes killed on foot many tigers, and\nlions, and other animals, with ease, before the eyes of the king. Then\nthat king, being pleased and astonished, after he had finished his\nhunting, entered his city, and those heroes went to the house of the\ndoor-keeper. And the king entered the harem, and though tired, had\nhis daughter Anangarati quickly summoned. And after describing the\nvalour of those heroes, one by one, as he had seen it in the chase,\nhe said to her who was much astonished--\"Even if Panchaphuttika and\nBh\u00e1sh\u00e1jna are of inferior caste, and J\u00edvadatta, though a Br\u00e1hman,\nis ugly and addicted to forbidden practices, what fault is there in\nthe Kshatriya Khadgadhara, who is handsome, and of noble stature, and\nis distinguished for strength and valour; who slew such an elephant,\nand who takes lions by the foot and crushes them on the ground, and\nslays others with the sword? And if it is made a ground of reproach\nagainst him that he is poor and a servant, I will immediately make\nhim a lord to be served by others: so choose him for a husband,\nif you please, my daughter.\" When Anangarati heard this from her\nfather, she said to him--\"Well then, bring all those men here, and\nask the astrologer, and let us see what he says.\" When she said this\nto him, the king summoned those heroes, and in their presence he,\naccompanied by his wives, said to the astrologer with his own mouth:\n\"Find out with which of these Anangarati has conformity of horoscope,\nand when a favourable moment will arrive for her marriage.\" When the\nskilful astrologer heard that, he asked the stars under which they were\nborn, and after long considering the time, he said to that king--\"If\nyou will not be angry with me, king, I will tell you plainly. Your\ndaughter has no conformity of lot with any one of them. And she will\nnot be married on earth, for she is a Vidy\u00e1dhar\u00ed fallen by a curse;\nthat curse of hers will be at an end in three months. So let these\nwait here three months, and if she is not gone to her own world then,\nthe marriage shall take place.\" All those heroes accepted the advice\nof that astrologer, and remained there for three months.\n\nWhen three months had passed, the king summoned into his presence\nthose heroes, and that astrologer, and Anangarati. And the king, when\nhe saw that his daughter had suddenly become exceedingly beautiful,\nrejoiced, but the astrologer thought that the hour of her death\nhad arrived. And while the king was saying to the astrologer--\"Now\ntell me what it is proper to do, for those three months are gone,\"\nAnangarati called to mind her former birth, and covering her face with\nher garment, she abandoned that human body. The king thought--\"Why\nhas she put herself in this position?\" But when he himself uncovered\nher face, he saw that she was dead, like a frost-smitten lotus-plant,\nfor her eyes like bees had ceased to revolve, the lotus-flower of her\nface was pale, and the sweet sound of her voice had ceased, even as\nthe sound of the swans departs. Then the king suddenly fell to earth\nmotionless, smitten by the thunderbolt of grief for her, crushed by the\nextinction of his race. [718] And the queen Padmarati also fell down\nto the earth in a swoon, and with her ornaments fallen from her like\nflowers, appeared like a cluster of blossoms broken by an elephant.\n\nThe attendants raised cries of lamentation, and those heroes were\nfull of grief, but the king, immediately recovering consciousness,\nsaid to that J\u00edvadatta, \"In this matter those others have no power,\nbut now it is your opportunity; you boasted that you could raise to\nlife a dead woman; if you possess power by means of science, then\nrecall my daughter to life; I will give her, when restored to life,\nto you as being a Br\u00e1hman.\" When J\u00edvadatta heard this speech of the\nking's, he sprinkled that princess with water, over which charms had\nbeen said, and chanted this \u00c1ry\u00e1 verse: \"O thou of the loud laugh,\nadorned with a garland of skulls, not to be gazed on, Ch\u00e1mund\u00e1, the\nterrible goddess, assist me quickly.\" When, in spite of this effort of\nJ\u00edvadatta's, that maiden was not restored to life, he was despondent,\nand said--\"My science, though bestowed by the goddess that dwells in\nthe Vindhya range, has proved fruitless, so what is the use to me of\nmy life that has become an object of scorn?\" When he had said this, he\nwas preparing to cut off his head with a great sword, when a voice came\nfrom the sky--\"O J\u00edvadatta, do not act rashly, listen now. This noble\nVidy\u00e1dhara maiden, named Anangaprabh\u00e1, has been for so long a time\na mortal owing to the curse of her parents. She has now quitted this\nhuman body, and has gone to her own world, and taken her own body. So\ngo and propitiate again the goddess that dwells in the Vindhya hills,\nand by her favour you shall recover this noble Vidy\u00e1dhara maiden. But\nas she is enjoying heavenly bliss, neither you nor the king ought to\nmourn for her.\" When the heavenly voice had told this true tale, it\nceased. Then the king performed his daughter's rites, and he and his\nwife ceased to mourn for her, and those other three heroes returned\nas they had come.\n\nBut hope was kindled in the breast of J\u00edvadatta, and he went and\npropitiated with austerities the dweller in the Vindhya hills, and\nshe said to him in a dream:\n\n\"I am satisfied with thee, so rise up and listen to this that I am\nabout to tell thee.\"\n\n\n\nStory of Anangarati in a former birth when she was a Vidy\u00e1dhar\u00ed\nnamed Anangaprabh\u00e1.\n\nThere is a city on the Him\u00e1layas named V\u00edrapura; and in it there\ndwells a sovereign of Vidy\u00e1dharas named Samara. He had a daughter,\nnamed Anangaprabh\u00e1, born to him by his queen Anangavat\u00ed. When, in\nthe pride of her youth and beauty, she refused to have any husband,\nher parents, enraged at her persistence, cursed her--\n\n\"Become a human being, and even in that state you shall not enjoy the\nhappiness of married life. When you are a maiden of sixteen years,\nyou shall abandon the body and come here. But an ugly mortal, who\nhas become such by a curse, on account of his falling in love with\nthe daughter of a hermit, and who possesses a magic sword, shall then\nbecome your husband, and he shall carry you off against your will to\nthe world of mortals. There you, being unchaste, shall be separated\nfrom your husband. Because that husband in a former life carried\noff the wives of eight other men, he shall endure sorrow enough for\neight births. And you, having become a mortal by the loss of your\nsupernatural science, shall endure in that one birth the sufferings\nof eight births. [719] For to every one the association with the evil\ngives an evil lot, but to women the union with an evil husband is\nequivalent to evil. And having lost your memory of the past, you shall\nthere take many mortal husbands, because you obstinately persisted in\ndetesting the husband fitted for you. That Vidy\u00e1dhara Madanaprabha,\nwho, being equal in birth, demanded you in marriage, shall become\na mortal king and at last become your husband. Then you shall be\nfreed from your curse, and return to your own world, and you shall\nobtain that suitable match, who shall have returned to his Vidy\u00e1dhara\nstate.\" So that maiden Anangaprabh\u00e1 has become Anangarati on the earth,\nand returning to her parents, has once more become Anangaprabh\u00e1.\n\n\"So go to V\u00edrapura and conquer in fight her father, though he is\npossessed of knowledge and protected by his high birth, and obtain that\nmaiden. Now take this sword, and as long as you hold it in your hand,\nyou will be able to travel through the air, and moreover you will be\ninvincible.\" Having said this, and having given the sword to him, the\ngoddess vanished, and he woke up, and beheld in his hand a heavenly\nsword. Then J\u00edvadatta rose up delighted and praised Durg\u00e1, and all\nthe exhaustion produced by his penance was removed by the refreshment\ncaused by the nectar of her favour. And he flew up into the air with\nhis sword in his hand, and after roaming all round the Him\u00e1layas, he\nfound that prince of the Vidy\u00e1dharas Samara in V\u00edrapura. He conquered\nhim in fight, and then the king gave him his daughter Anangaprabh\u00e1,\nand he married her, and lived in heavenly felicity. And after he had\nremained there some time, he said to his father-in-law Samara and to\nhis beloved Anangaprabh\u00e1, \"Let us two go to the world of men, for\nI feel a longing for it, for one's native land is exceedingly dear\nto living beings, even though it may be an inferior place.\" [720]\nWhen the father-in-law heard that, he consented, but the far-seeing\nAnangaprabh\u00e1 was with difficulty induced to consent; then J\u00edvadatta\ndescended from heaven to the world of mortals, taking that Anangaprabh\u00e1\nin his arms. And Anangaprabh\u00e1, beholding there a pleasant mountain,\nbeing wearied, said to him--\"Let us immediately rest here.\" Then he\nconsented, and descending there with her, he produced food and drink\nby the power of the various sciences. Then J\u00edvadatta, being impelled\nby fate, said to Anangaprabh\u00e1--\"Dear one, sing some sweet song.\" When\nshe heard that, she began to sing devoutly the praise of Siva, and\nwith that sound of her singing the Br\u00e1hman was sent to sleep.\n\nIn the meanwhile a king, named Harivara, wearied out with hunting, came\nthat way in search of spring-water; he was attracted by hearing the\nsound of that singing, as deer are attracted, and, leaving his chariot,\nhe went there alone. The king first had happiness announced by omens,\nand then he beheld that Anangaprabh\u00e1 like the real brightness of the\ngod of love. Then, as his heart was distracted with her song and her\nbeauty, the god of love cleft it at will with his arrows. Anangaprabh\u00e1\ntoo, seeing that he was handsome, came within the range of the god\nof the flowery bow, and said to herself--\"Who is this? is he the\ngod of love, without his flowery bow? Is he the incarnation of the\nfavour of Siva towards me, he being pleased with my song?\" Then\nmaddened with love, she asked him--\"Who are you, and how have you\ncome to this forest, tell me.\" Then the king told her who he was,\nand why he had come; then he said to her, \"Tell me, who are you,\nfair one? And who is this, O lotus-faced one, who is sleeping\nhere?\" When he asked these questions, she answered him briefly:\n\"I am a Vidy\u00e1dhar\u00ed, and this is my husband, who possesses a magic\nsword, and now I have fallen in love with you at first sight. So\ncome, let us quickly go to your city, before he awakes; then I will\ntell my story at length.\" When the king heard that, he agreed, and\nfelt as much delighted as if he had obtained the sovereignty of the\nthree worlds. And Anangaprabh\u00e1 hurriedly thought in her heart, \"I will\ntake this king in my arms, and quickly fly up to the heaven,\" but in\nthe meanwhile her knowledge was stripped from her by her treachery\nto her husband; and remembering her father's curse, she became at\nonce despondent. When the king saw that, he asked the cause, and then\nsaid to her--\"This is not the time for despondency; your husband here\nmay awake. And you ought not to lament, my beloved, over this matter\nwhich depends on destiny. For who can escape from the shadow of his\nown head, or the course of destiny? So come, let us depart.\" When\nthe king Harivara said this, she consented to his proposal, and he\ntook her quickly up in his arms. Then he went off quickly thence, as\ndelighted as if he had obtained a treasure, and ascended his chariot,\nwelcomed with joy by his servants. And he reached his city in that\nchariot, which travelled swift as thought, accompanied by his beloved,\nand he aroused curiosity in his subjects. Then king Harivara remained\nin heavenly enjoyments in that city, which was named after him, in\nthe society of that Anangaprabh\u00e1. And Anangaprabh\u00e1 remained there\ndevotedly attached to him, forgetting all her supernatural power,\nbewildered by the curse.\n\nIn the meanwhile J\u00edvadatta woke up on the mountain, and saw that not\nonly Anangaprabh\u00e1 was gone, but his sword also. He thought \"Where is\nthat Anangaprabh\u00e1? Alas! Where is that sword? Has she gone off with\nit? Or were they both carried off by some being?\" In his perplexity,\nhe made many surmises of this sort, and he searched that mountain\nfor three days, being consumed with the fire of love. Then he came\ndown, and wandered through the forests for ten days, but did not\nfind a trace of her anywhere. He kept crying out--\"Alas spiteful\nfortune, how did you carry off, together with the magic power of\nthe sword, my beloved Anangaprabh\u00e1, both which you granted with\ndifficulty?\" Thus employed he wandered about without food, and at\nlast reached a village, and there he entered the opulent mansion of\na Br\u00e1hman. There the handsome and well-dressed mistress of the house,\nPriyadatt\u00e1 by name, made him sit down on a seat, and immediately gave\nthis order to her maids--\"Wash quickly the feet of this J\u00edvadatta, for\nto-day is the thirteenth day that he has gone without food on account\nof his separation.\" When J\u00edvadatta heard that, he was astonished,\nand reflected in his own mind--\"Can Anangaprabh\u00e1 have come here, or is\nthis woman a witch?\" Thus he reflected, and after his feet were washed,\nand he had eaten the food that she gave, he humbly asked Priyadatt\u00e1\nin his great grief--\"Tell me one thing: how do you know my history,\nblameless one? And tell me another thing, where are my sword and\nmy beloved gone?\" When the devoted wife Priyadatt\u00e1 heard that, she\nsaid--\"No one but my husband has any place in my heart even in a dream,\nmy son, and I look on all other men as brothers, and no guest leaves\nmy house without entertainment; by virtue of that I know the past,\nthe present and the future. And that Anangaprabh\u00e1 of yours has been\ncarried off by a king named Harivara, living in a town named after him,\nwho, as destiny would have it, came that way, while you were asleep,\nattracted by her song. And you cannot recover her, for that king is\nvery powerful; moreover that unchaste woman will in turn leave him\nand go to another man. And the goddess Durg\u00e1 gave you that sword only\nthat you might obtain that lady; having accomplished that, the weapon,\nin virtue of its divine nature, has returned to the goddess, as the\nlady has been carried off. Moreover, how have you forgotten what the\ngoddess was pleased to tell you, when she told the story of the curse\nof Anangaprabh\u00e1? So why are you so distracted about an event, which was\ndestined to take place? Abandon this chain of sins, which again and\nagain produces extreme sorrow. And of what profit can be to you now,\nmy brother, that wicked female, who is attached to another, and who\nhas become a mortal, having lost her science by her treachery against\nyou?\" When that virtuous woman said this to J\u00edvadatta, he abandoned\nall passion for Anangaprabh\u00e1, being disgusted with her fickleness, and\nthus answered the Br\u00e1hman lady--\"Mother, my delusion has been brought\nto an end by this true speech of thine; whom does not association with\npersons of virtuous conduct benefit? This misfortune has befallen\nme in consequence of my former crimes, so I will abandon jealousy,\nand go to holy places to wash them out. What can I gain by taking up\nan enmity with others on account of Anangaprabh\u00e1? For one, who has\nconquered anger, conquers this whole world.\" While he was saying this,\nthe righteous husband of Priyadatt\u00e1, who was hospitable to guests,\nreturned to the house. The husband also welcomed him, and made him\nforget his grief, and then he rested, and taking leave of them both,\nstarted on his pilgrimage to holy places.\n\nThen, in course of time, he roamed round to all the holy bathing-places\non the earth, enduring many toils in difficult ways, living on roots\nand fruits. And after visiting holy bathing-places, he went to the\nshrine of the dweller in the Vindhya hills; there he went through\na severe penance, without food, on a bed of kusa grass. And Ambik\u00e1,\nsatisfied with his asceticism, said to him, appearing to him in bodily\nform--\"Rise up, my son, for you four are four ganas of mine. Three\nare Pancham\u00fala, Chaturvaktra, and Mahodaramukha, and thou art the\nfourth, last in order, and thy name is Vikatavadana. You four once\nwent to the sand of the Ganges to amuse yourselves, and saw there a\nhermit's daughter bathing. She was called Ch\u00e1palekh\u00e1, the daughter\nof Kapilajata. And she was solicited by all of you, distracted\nwith love. When she said 'I am a maiden, go away all of you,' the\nthree others remained quiet, but thou didst forcibly seize her by\nthe arm. And she cried out--'Father, Father, deliver me.' Then the\nhermit, who was near, came up in wrath. Then thou didst let go her\narm; then he immediately cursed you, saying--'Wicked ones, be born,\nall of you, as human beings.' Then you asked the hermit that the\ncurse might end, and he said--'When the princess Anangarati shall be\ndemanded in marriage by you, and shall go to the Vidy\u00e1dhara world,\nthen three of you shall be released from your curse. But when she\nhas become a Vidy\u00e1dhar\u00ed, then thou, Vikatavadana, shalt gain her,\nand lose her again, and then thou shalt suffer great sorrow. But\nafter propitiating the goddess Durg\u00e1 for a long time, thou shalt be\nreleased from this curse. This will happen to thee, because thou didst\ntouch the hand of this Ch\u00e1palekh\u00e1, and also because thou hast much\nguilt attaching to thee, on account of having carried off the wives\nof others.' You four ganas of mine, whom that hermit thus cursed,\nbecame four heroes in the Dekhan, Panchaphuttika, and Bh\u00e1sh\u00e1jna, and\nKhadgadhara, these three friends, and you the fourth J\u00edvadatta. Now the\nfirst three, when Anangarati returned to her own place, came here, and\nby my favour were freed from their curse. And thou hast propitiated me\nnow, therefore thy curse is at an end. So take this fiery meditation,\nand abandon this body; and consume at once the guilt, which it would\ntake eight births to exhaust.\" When the goddess Durg\u00e1 had said this,\nshe gave him the meditation, and disappeared. And with that meditation\nhe burned up his wicked mortal body, and at last was freed from the\ncurse, and became once more an excellent gana. When even gods have\nto endure so much suffering by associating with the wives of others,\nwhat must be the result of it to inferior beings?\n\nIn the meanwhile Anangaprabh\u00e1 became head-queen in Harivara, the city\nof the king Harivara. And the king remained day and night with his\nmind fixed on her, and entrusted the great burden of his kingdom\nto his minister named Sumantra. And once on a time there came to\nthat king from Madhyadesa, [721] a fresh teacher of dancing, named\nLabdhavara. The king, having seen his skill in music and dancing,\nhonoured him, and made him the instructor in dancing of the ladies\nof the harem. He brought Anangaprabh\u00e1 to such excellence in dancing,\nthat she was an object of admiration even to her rival wives. And from\nassociating with the professor of dancing, and from the delight she\ntook in his teaching, she fell in love with him. And the professor\nof dancing, attracted by her youth and beauty, gradually learnt a\nnew strange [722] dance, thanks to the god of Love. And once she\napproached the professor of dancing secretly in the dancing-hall,\nand being desperately in love with him, said to him--\"I shall not be\nable to live for a moment without you, and the king Harivara, when he\nhears of it, will not tolerate it, so come, let us depart elsewhere,\nwhere the king will not find us out. You have wealth in the form of\ngold, horses, and camels, given by the king, pleased with your dancing,\nand I have ornaments. So let us quickly go and dwell where we shall be\nsecure.\" The professor of dancing was pleased with her proposal, and\nconsented to this. Then she put on the dress of a man, and went to the\nhouse of the professor of dancing, accompanied by one female servant,\nwho was exceedingly devoted to her. Thence she started on horseback,\nwith that teacher of dancing, who placed his wealth on the back of a\ncamel. First she abandoned the splendour of the Vidy\u00e1dharas, then of a\nthrone, and now she put herself under the shelter of a bard's fortune;\nalas! fickle is the mind of women! And so Anangaprabh\u00e1 went with the\nteacher of dancing, and reached a distant city named Viyogapura. There\nshe dwelt in happiness with him, and the distinguished dancer thought\nthat by obtaining her his name of Labdhavara [723] had been justified.\n\nAnd in the meanwhile king Harivara, finding out that his beloved\nAnangaprabh\u00e1 had gone somewhere or other, was ready to abandon the\nbody out of grief. Then the minister Sumantra said to the king to\ncomfort him, \"Why do you appear as if you do not understand the\nmatter? Consider it yourself? How, my sovereign, could you expect\nthat a woman, who deserted a husband, that had by means of his sword\nobtained the power of a Vidy\u00e1dhara, and repaired to you as soon as\nshe saw you, would be faithful even to you? She has gone off with\nsomething that she has managed to get, having no desire for anything\ngood, as one to whom a blade of grass is a sprout of jewels, falling in\nlove at sight with a blade of grass. Certainly the teacher of dancing\nhas gone off with her, for he is nowhere to be seen. And I hear that\nthey both were in the concert-hall in the morning. So tell me, king;\nwhy are you so persistent about her, though you know all this? The\ntruth is, a fickle dame is like a sunset, momentarily aglow for every\none.\" When the minister said this to him, the king fell into a musing,\nand thought--\"Yes, that wise man has told me the truth. For a fickle\ndame is like human life; connexion with her is unstable, she changes\nevery moment, and is terrible, bringing disgust at the end. The\nwise man never falls into the power of deep rivers or of women,\nboth which drown him who falls into their power, while they exhibit\nwanton sportfulness. Those men are truly masters of themselves,\nwho are free from excitement about pleasures, who are not puffed\nup in prosperity, and who are unshrinking in dangers; such men have\nconquered the world.\" After saying this, king Harivara abandoned his\ngrief by the advice of his minister, and remained satisfied with the\nsociety of his own wives.\n\nAnd after Anangaprabh\u00e1 had dwelt some time with the teacher of dancing,\nin the city named Viyogapura, he, as fate would have it, struck up an\nacquaintance with a young gambler named Sudarsana; then the gambler,\nbefore the eyes of Anangaprabh\u00e1, soon stripped the teacher of dancing\nof all his wealth. Then Anangaprabh\u00e1 deserted her husband, who was\nstripped of all his fortune, as if in anger on that account, and threw\nherself into the arms of Sudarsana. Then the teacher of dancing,\nhaving lost his wife and his wealth, having no refuge, in disgust\nwith the world, matted his hair in a knot, and went to the banks of\nthe Ganges to practise mortification of the flesh. But Anangaprabh\u00e1,\nwho was ever taking new paramours, remained with that gambler. But\none night, her lord Sudarsana was robbed of all that he had by some\nrobbers, who entered his house in the darkness. Then Sudarsana, seeing\nthat Anangaprabh\u00e1 was uncomfortable and unhappy on account of their\npoverty, said to her: \"Come and let us borrow something from a rich\nfriend of mine, named Hiranyagupta, a distinguished merchant.\" After\nsaying this, he, being deprived of his senses by destiny, went with\nhis wife, and asked that great merchant Hiranyagupta to lend him some\nmoney. And the merchant, when he saw her, immediately fell in love\nwith her, and she also with him, the moment that she beheld him. And\nthe merchant said politely to Sudarsana--\"To-morrow I will give you\ngold, but dine here to-day.\" When Sudarsana heard this, beholding the\naltered bearing of those two, he said--\"I did not come here to-day to\ndine.\" Then the great merchant said--\"If this be the case, at any rate\nlet your wife dine here, my friend, for this is the first time that\nshe has visited my house.\" When Sudarsana was thus addressed by him,\nhe remained silent in spite of his cunning, and that merchant went\ninto his house with Anangaprabh\u00e1. There he indulged in drinking and\nother pastimes with that fair one, unexpectedly thrown in his way,\nwho was merry with all the wantonness of wine. But Sudarsana, who\nwas standing outside, waiting for her to come out, had the following\nmessage brought to him by the merchant's servants, in accordance\nwith their master's orders: \"Your wife has dined and gone home; you\nmust have failed to see her going out. So what are you doing here so\nlong? Go home.\" He answered--\"She is within the house, she has not\ncome out, and I will not depart.\" Thereupon the merchant's servants\ndrove him away from the house with kicks. Then Sudarsana went off,\nand sorrowfully reflected with himself: \"What! has this merchant,\nthough my friend, robbed me of my wife? Or rather, in this very birth\nthe fruit of my sin has in such a form fallen to my lot. For what I\ndid to one, another has done to me. Why should I then be angry with\nanother, when my own deeds merit anger? So I will sever the chain of\nworks, so that I may not be again humiliated.\" Thus reflecting, the\ngambler abandoned his anger, and going to the hermitage of Badarik\u00e1,\n[724] he proceeded to perform such austerities as would cut the bonds\nof mundane existence.\n\nAnd Anangaprabh\u00e1, having obtained that exceedingly handsome merchant\nfor a dear husband, was as pleased as a bee that has lighted on a\nflower. And in course of time she attained undisputed control over\nthe wealth, as well as over the heart of that opulent merchant,\nwho was deeply in love with her. But the king V\u00edrab\u00e1hu, though he\nheard of the matchless beauty residing there, did not carry her off,\nbut remained strictly within the limits of virtue. And in course of\ntime, the wealth of the merchant began to diminish, on account of\nthe expenditure of Anangaprabh\u00e1; for, in a house presided over by\nan unchaste woman, Fortune pines as well as virtuous women. Then the\nmerchant Hiranyagupta got together wares, and went off to an island\nnamed Suvarnabh\u00fami to trade, and he took that Anangaprabh\u00e1 with him,\nout of fear of being separated from her, and journeying on his way,\nhe at last reached the city of S\u00e1garapura. There he fell in with\na chief of fishermen, a native of that place, S\u00e1garav\u00edra by name,\nwhom he found in that city near the sea. He went with that sea-faring\nman to the shore of the sea, and with his beloved embarked on a ship\nwhich he provided. And after the merchant had travelled in anxiety\nfor some days over the sea, in that ship, accompanied by S\u00e1garav\u00edra,\none day a terrible black cloud of doom appeared, with flashing eyes\nof lightning, filling them with fear of destruction. Then that ship,\nsmitten by a mighty wind, with a violent shower of rain, began to\nsink in the waves. That merchant Hiranyagupta, when the crew raised\na cry of lamentation, and the ship began to break up like his own\nhopes, fastened his cloak round his loins, and looking at the face of\nAnangaprabh\u00e1, exclaimed \"Ah! my beloved, where art thou,\" and threw\nhimself into the sea. And he oared himself along with his arms, and,\nas luck would have it, he reached a merchant-ship, and he caught hold\nof it, and climbed up into it.\n\nBut that S\u00e1garav\u00edra tied together some planks with a cord, and quickly\nplaced Anangaprabh\u00e1 upon them. And he himself climbed up upon them,\nand comforted that terrified woman, and went paddling along in the sea,\nthrowing aside the water with his arms. And as soon as the ship had\nbeen broken to pieces, the clouds disappeared from the heaven, and the\nsea was calm, like a good man whose wrath is appeased. But the merchant\nHiranyagupta, after climbing up into the ship, which was impelled by\nthe wind, as fate would have it, reached in five days the shore of\nthe sea. Then he went on shore, grieved at the loss of his beloved,\nbut he reflected that the dispensations of Destiny were irremediable;\nand he went slowly home to his own city, and being of resolute soul,\nhe recovered his self-command, and again acquired wealth, and lived\nin great comfort.\n\nBut Anangaprabh\u00e1, seated on the plank, was piloted to the shore\nof the sea in one day by S\u00e1garav\u00edra. And there that chief of the\nfishermen, consoling her, took her to his own palace in the city of\nS\u00e1garapura. There Anangaprabh\u00e1, reflecting that that chief of the\nfishermen was a hero who had saved her life, and was equal to a king\nin opulence, and in the prime of youth and good looks, and obedient\nto her orders, made him her husband: a woman who has lost her virtue\ndoes not distinguish between high and low. Then she dwelt with that\nchief of fishermen, enjoying in his house his wealth that he put at\nher disposal.\n\nOne day she saw from the roof of the palace a handsome Kshatriya youth,\nnamed Vijayavarman, going along the high street of the town. Falling\nin love with his good looks, she went up to him, and said--\"Receive\nme, who am in love with you, for my mind has been fascinated by\nthe sight of you.\" And he gladly welcomed that fairest woman of the\nthree worlds, who had fallen to him, as it were, from the sky, and\ntook her home to his house. But S\u00e1garav\u00edra, finding that his beloved\nhad gone somewhere or other, abandoned all, and went to the river\nGanges, intending to leave the body by means of ascetic practices;\nand no wonder that his grief was great, for how could a man of servile\ncaste ever have expected to obtain such a Vidy\u00e1dhar\u00ed? But Anangaprabh\u00e1\nlived at ease in that very town with Vijayavarman, free from restraint.\n\nThen, one day the king of that place, named S\u00e1garavarman, mounted a\nfemale elephant and went out to roam round his city. And while the king\nwas looking at that well-built city named after him, he came along\nthe street where the house of Vijayavarman was. And Anangaprabh\u00e1,\nfinding out that the king was coming that way, went up to the top of\nthe house, out of curiosity to behold him. And, the moment she saw the\nking, she fell so desperately in love with him, that she insolently\nexclaimed to the elephant-driver--\"Mahout, I never in my life have\nridden on an elephant, so give me a ride on yours, and let me see how\npleasant it is.\" When the elephant-driver heard this, he looked at\nthe face of the king, and in the meanwhile the king beheld her, like\nthe splendour of the moon fallen from heaven. And the king, drinking\nher in with insatiate eye like a partridge, having conceived the hope\nof gaining her, said to his elephant-driver--\"Take the elephant near\nand comply with her wish, and without delay seat this moon-faced dame\non the elephant.\" When the king said this, the elephant-driver at\nonce brought that elephant close under the house. When Anangaprabh\u00e1\nsaw that the elephant had come near, she immediately flung herself\ninto the lap of the king S\u00e1garavarman. How came it that, though at\nfirst she was averse to a husband, she now showed such an insatiable\nappetite for husbands? Surely her father's curse made her exhibit a\ngreat change of character. And she clasped the king round the neck,\nas if afraid of falling, and he, when his limbs were irrigated with\nthe nectar of her touch, was much delighted. And the king quickly\ncarried off to his own palace her, who had surrendered herself by\nan artifice, being desirous of being kissed. There he made that\nVidy\u00e1dhar\u00ed enter his harem, and after she had told him her story, he\nmade her his principal wife. And then that young Kshatriya, finding\nout that she had been carried off by the king, came and attacked the\nking's servants outside the palace, and there he left his corpse,\nnot turning his back in fight, for brave men do not submit to insult\non account of a woman. And it seemed as if he was carried off to the\nabode of the gods by the nymphs of heaven, saying--\"What have you to\ndo with this contemptible woman? Come to Nandana and court us.\"\n\nAs for that Anangaprabh\u00e1, when she had come into the possession of\nthe king S\u00e1garavarman, she roamed no more, but remained faithful to\nhim, as rivers are at rest in the bosom of the sea. And owing to the\nforce of destiny, she thought herself fortunate in having obtained\nthat husband, and he thought that his life was complete by his having\nobtained her for a wife.\n\nAnd in some days Anangaprabh\u00e1, the queen of that king S\u00e1garavarman,\nbecame pregnant, and in due time gave birth to a son. And the king\nmade a great feast on account of the birth of a noble son, and\ngave the boy the name of Samudravarman. And when that son attained\nhis full stature, and became a young man distinguished for might,\nthe king appointed him crown-prince. Then he brought to his court\nKamalavat\u00ed the daughter of a certain king named Samaravarman, to be\nmarried to him. And when that son Samudravarman was married, the king,\nbeing impressed by his virtues, gave him his own kingdom. That brave\nson Samudravarman, being thoroughly acquainted with the duties of\nKshatriyas, when he had obtained the kingdom, said to his father,\nbowing before him: \"Father, give me leave to depart; I am setting\nout to conquer the regions. A lord of earth, that is not intent on\nconquest, is to be blamed as much as the effeminate husband of a\nwoman. And in this world, only that fortune of kings is righteous and\nglorious, which is acquired by one's own strength after conquering the\nkingdoms. What is the use, father, of the sovereignty of those kings,\nwho hold it merely for the sake of oppressing the poor? They devour\ntheir own subjects, ravenous like cats.\" [725] When he had said this,\nhis father S\u00e1garavarman replied, \"Your rule, my boy, is young; so\nfor the present secure that; no demerit or disgrace attaches to one\nwho rules his subjects justly. And war is not meet for kings without\nconsidering their power; though, you my child, are a hero, and your\narmy is numerous, still you ought not to rely upon the fortune of\nvictory, which is fickle in fight.\" Though his father used these\nand similar arguments with him, the brave Samudravarman at last,\nwith great difficulty, induced him to consent, and marched out to\nconquer the regions. And having conquered the regions in due course,\nand reduced the kings under his sway, he returned to his own city\nin possession of elephants, horses, gold, and other tributes. And\nthere he humbly honoured the feet of his delighted parents with great\njewels produced in various regions. And the glorious prince gave, by\ntheir orders, to the Br\u00e1hmans great gifts of elephants, horses, gold\nand jewels. Then he showered gold in such profusion upon suppliants\nand servants, that the only thing in the country devoid of wealth\nwas the word poor, which had become without meaning. [726] The king\nS\u00e1garavarman, dwelling with Anangaprabh\u00e1, when he beheld the glory\nof his son, considered that his objects in life had been accomplished.\n\nAnd the king, after spending those days in feasting, said to his son\nSamudravarman in the presence of the ministers--\"I have accomplished,\nmy son, what I had to accomplish in this birth; I have enjoyed the\npleasures of rule, I have not experienced defeat from my enemies, and\nI have seen you in possession of sovereignty, what else does there\nremain for me to obtain? So I will retire to a holy bathing-place,\nwhile my body retains strength. For see, old age whispers at the root\nof my ear--'Since this body is perishable, why do you still remain\nin your house?'\" Having said this, the king S\u00e1garavarman, all whose\nends were attained, went, though his son was opposed to it, to Pray\u00e1ga\nwith his beloved. And Samudravarman escorted his father there, and,\nafter returning to his own city, ruled it in accordance with the law.\n\nAnd the king S\u00e1garavarman, accompanied by his wife Anangaprabh\u00e1,\npropitiated the god Siva in Pray\u00e1ga with asceticism. And at the end\nof the night, the god said to him in a dream--\"I am pleased with this\npenance of yourself and your wife, so hear this--This Anangaprabh\u00e1 and\nyou, my son, are both of the Vidy\u00e1dhara race, and to-morrow the curse\nwill expire, and you will go to your own world.\" When the king heard\nthat, he woke up, and Anangaprabh\u00e1 too, who had seen a similar dream,\nand they told their dreams to one another. And then Anangaprabh\u00e1,\ndelighted, said to the king--\"My husband, I have now remembered all\nthe history of my former birth; I am the daughter of Samara, a prince\nof the Vidy\u00e1dharas, in the city of V\u00edrapura, and my name has always\nbeen Anangaprabh\u00e1. And I came here owing to the curse of my father,\nhaving become a human being by the loss of my science, and I forgot my\nVidy\u00e1dhar\u00ed nature. But now I have recovered consciousness of it.\" While\nshe was saying this, her father Samara descended from heaven; and\nafter he had been respectfully welcomed by the king S\u00e1garavarman,\nhe said to that daughter Anangaprabh\u00e1, who fell at his feet, \"Come,\ndaughter, receive these sciences, your curse is at an end. For you\nhave endured in one birth the sorrows of eight births.\" [727] Saying\nthis, he took her on his lap, and gave her back the sciences; then he\nsaid to the king S\u00e1garavarman--\"You are a prince of the Vidy\u00e1dharas,\nnamed Madanaprabha, and I am by name Samara, and Anangaprabh\u00e1 is my\ndaughter. And long ago, when she ought to have been given in marriage,\nher hand was demanded by several suitors, but being intoxicated by\nher beauty, she did not desire any husband. Then she was asked in\nmarriage by you, who were equal in merit, and very eager to marry her,\nbut as fate would have it, she would not then accept even you. For that\nreason I cursed her, that she might go to the world of mortals. And\nyou, being passionately in love with her, fixed your heart on Siva\nthe giver of boons, and wished intently that she might be your wife\nin the world of mortals, and then you abandoned your Vidy\u00e1dhara body\nby magic art. Then you became a man and she became your wife. Now\nreturn to your own world linked together.\" When Samara said this to\nS\u00e1garavarman, he, remembering his birth, abandoned his body in the\nwater of Pray\u00e1ga, [728] and immediately became Madanaprabha. And\nAnangaprabh\u00e1 was rekindled with the brightness of her recovered\nscience, and immediately becoming a Vidy\u00e1dhar\u00ed, gleamed with that very\nbody, which underwent a heavenly change. And then Madanaprabha, being\ndelighted, and Anangaprabh\u00e1 also, feeling great passion stir in both\ntheir hearts at the sight of one another's heavenly bodies, and the\nauspicious Samara, king of the sky-goers, all flew up into the air,\nand went together to that city of the Vidy\u00e1dharas, V\u00edrapura. And there\nSamara immediately gave, with due rites, his daughter Anangaprabh\u00e1 to\nthe Vidy\u00e1dhara king, Madanaprabha. And Madanaprabha went with that\nbeloved, whose curse had been cancelled, to his own city, and there\nhe dwelt at ease.\n\n\"Thus divine beings fall by virtue of a curse, and owing to the\nconsequences of their own wickedness, are incarnate in the world of\nmen, and after reaping the fruit appropriate to their bad conduct, they\nagain go to their own home on account of previously acquired merit.\"\n\nWhen Narav\u00e1handadatta heard this tale from his minister Gomukha, he\nand Alank\u00e1ravat\u00ed were delighted, and then he performed the duties of\nthe day.\n\n\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER LIII.\n\n\nThen, on the next day, Narav\u00e1hanadatta's friend Marubh\u00fati said to him,\nwhen he was in the company of Alank\u00e1ravat\u00ed--\"See, king, this miserable\ndependent [729] of yours remains clothed with one garment of leather,\nwith matted hair, thin and dirty, and never leaves the royal gate,\nday or night, in cold or heat; so why do you not shew him favour at\nlast? For it is better that a little should be given in time, than\nmuch when it is too late; so have mercy on him before he dies.\" When\nGomukha heard this, he said--\"Marubh\u00fati speaks well, but you, king,\nare not the least in fault in this matter; for until a suitor's guilt,\nwhich stands in his way, is removed, a king, even though disposed to\ngive, cannot give; but when a man's guilt is effaced, a king gives,\nthough strenuously dissuaded from doing so; this depends upon works\nin a previous state of existence. And \u00e0 propos of this, I will tell\nyou, O king, the story of Lakshadatta the king, and Labdhadatta the\ndependent; listen.\"\n\n\n\nStory of king Lakshadatta and his dependent Labdhadatta. [730]\n\nThere was on the earth a city named Lakshapura. In it there lived a\nking named Lakshadatta, chief of generous men. He never knew how to\ngive a petitioner less than a lac of coins, but he gave five lacs\nto any one with whom he conversed. As for the man with whom he was\npleased, he lifted him out of poverty, for this reason his name was\ncalled Lakshadatta. A certain dependent named Labdhadatta stood day and\nnight at his gate, with a piece of leather for his only loin-rag. He\nhad matted hair, and he never left the king's gate for a second, day\nor night, in cold, rain, or heat, and the king saw him there. And,\nthough he remained there long in misery, the king did not give him\nanything, though he was generous and compassionate.\n\nThen, one day the king went to a forest to hunt, and his dependent\nfollowed him with a staff in his hand. There, while the king seated\non an elephant, armed with a bow, and followed by his army, slew\ntigers, bears, and deer, with showers of arrows, his dependent, going\nin front of him, alone on foot, slew with his staff many boars and\ndeer. When the king saw his bravery, he thought in his heart--\"It\nis wonderful that this man should be such a hero,\" but he did not\ngive him anything. And the king, when he had finished his hunting,\nreturned home to his city, to enjoy himself, but that dependent stood\nat his palace-gate as before. Once on a time, Lakshadatta went out to\nconquer a neighbouring king of the same family, and he had a terrible\nbattle. And in the battle the dependent struck down in front of him\nmany enemies, with blows from the end of his strong staff of acacia\nwood. And the king, after conquering his enemies, returned to his own\ncity, and though he had seen the valour of his dependent, he gave him\nnothing. In this condition the dependent Labdhadatta remained, and many\nyears passed over his head, while he supported himself with difficulty.\n\nAnd when the sixth year had come, king Lakshadatta happened to see\nhim one day, and feeling pity for him, reflected--\"Though he has been\nlong afflicted, I have not as yet given him anything, so why should\nI not give him something in a disguised form, and so find out whether\nthe guilt of this poor man has been effaced, or not, and whether even\nnow Fortune will grant him a sight of her, or not.\" Thus reflecting,\nthe king deliberately entered his treasury, and filled a citron with\njewels, as if it were a casket. And he held an assembly of all his\nsubjects, having appointed a meeting outside his palace, and there\nentered the assembly all his citizens, chiefs, and ministers. And\nwhen the dependent entered among them, the king said to him with an\naffectionate voice, \"Come here;\" then the dependent, on hearing this,\nwas delighted, and coming near, he sat in front of the king. Then\nthe king said to him--\"Utter some composition of your own.\" Then the\ndependent recited the following \u00c1ry\u00e1 verse--\"Fortune ever replenishes\nthe full man, as all the streams replenish the sea, but she never\neven comes within the range of the eyes of the poor.\" When the king\nhad heard this, and had made him recite it again, he was pleased,\nand gave him the citron full of valuable jewels. And the people said,\n\"This king puts a stop to the poverty of every one with whom he is\npleased; so this dependent is to be pitied, since this very king,\nthough pleased with him, after summoning him politely, has given him\nnothing but this citron; a wishing-tree, in the case of ill-starred\nmen, often becomes a pal\u00e1sa-tree.\" [731] These were the words which\nall in the assembly said to one another in their despondency, when\nthey saw that, for they did not know the truth.\n\nBut the dependent went out, with the citron in his hand, and when he\nwas in a state of despondency, a mendicant came before him. And that\nmendicant, named R\u00e1javandin, seeing that the citron was a fine one,\nobtained it from that dependent by giving him a garment. And then\nthe mendicant entered the assembly, and gave that fruit to the king,\nand the king, recognizing it, said to that hermit, [732] \"Where,\nreverend sir, did you procure this citron.\" Then he told the king\nthat the dependent had given it to him. Then the king was grieved and\nastonished, reflecting that his guilt was not expiated even now. The\nking Lakshadatta took the citron, rose up from the assembly, and\nperformed the duties of the day. And the dependent sold the garment,\nand after he had eaten and drunk, remained at his usual post at the\nking's gate.\n\nAnd on the second day the king held a general assembly, and everybody\nappeared at it again, citizens and all. And the king, seeing that the\ndependent had entered the assembly, called him as before, and made him\nsit near him. And after making him again recite that very same \u00c1ry\u00e1\nverse, being pleased, he gave him that very same citron with jewels\nconcealed in it. And all there thought with astonishment--\"Ah! this\nis the second time that our master is pleased with him without his\ngaining by it. And the dependent, in despondency, took the citron in\nhis hand, and thinking that the king's good will had again been barren\nof results, went out. At that very moment a certain official met him,\nwho was about to enter that assembly, wishing to see the king. He,\nwhen he saw that citron, took a fancy to it, and regarding the omen,\nprocured it from the dependent by giving him a pair of garments. And\nentering the king's court, he fell at the feet of the sovereign, and\nfirst gave him the citron, and then another present of his own. And\nwhen the king recognised the fruit, he asked the official where he got\nit, and he replied--\"From the dependent.\" And the king, thinking in\nhis heart that Fortune would not even now give the dependent a sight\nof her, was exceedingly sad. [733] And he rose up from the assembly\nwith that citron, and the dependent went to the market with the pair\nof garments he had got. And by selling one garment he procured meat\nand drink, and tearing the other in half he made two of it. Then\non the third day also the king held a general assembly, and all\nthe subjects entered, as before, and when the dependent entered,\nthe king gave him the same citron again, after calling him and\nmaking him recite the \u00c1ry\u00e1 verse. Then all were astonished, and the\ndependent went out, and gave that citron to the king's mistress. And\nshe, like a moving creeper of the tree of the king's regard, gave\nhim gold, which was, so to speak, the flower, the harbinger of the\nfruit. The dependent sold it, and enjoyed himself that day, and the\nking's mistress went into his presence. And she gave him that citron,\nwhich was large and fine, and he, recognising it, asked her whence she\nprocured it. Then she said--\"The dependent gave it me.\" Hearing that,\nthe king thought, \"Fortune has not yet looked favourably upon him;\nhis merit in a former life must have been slight, since he does not\nknow that my favour is never barren of results. And so these splendid\njewels come back to me again and again.\" Thus the king reflected,\nand he took that citron, and put it away safely, and rose up and\nperformed the duties of the day. And on the fourth day the king held\nan assembly in the same way, and it was filled with all his subjects,\nfeudatories, ministers and all. And the dependent came there again,\nand again the king made him sit in front of him, and when he bowed\nbefore him, the king made him recite the \u00c1ry\u00e1 verse: and gave him the\ncitron, and when the dependent had half got hold of it, he suddenly\nlet it go, and the citron fell on the ground and broke in half. And\nas the joining of the citron, which kept it together, was broken,\nthere rolled out of it many valuable jewels, illuminating that place\nof assembly. All the people, when they saw it, said, \"Ah! we were\ndeluded and mistaken, as we did not know the real state of the case,\nbut such is the nature of the king's favour.\" When the king heard\nthat, he said--\"By this artifice I endeavoured to ascertain, whether\nFortune would now look on him or not. But for three days his guilt\nwas not effaced; now it is effaced, and for that reason Fortune has\nnow granted him a sight of herself.\" After the king had said this,\nhe gave the dependent those jewels, and also villages, elephants,\nhorses and gold, and made him a feudal chief. And he rose up from\nthat assembly, in which the people applauded, and went to bathe; and\nthat dependent too, having obtained his ends, went to his own dwelling.\n\nSo true is it that, until a servant's guilt is effaced, he cannot\nobtain the favour of his master; even by going through hundreds\nof hardships.\n\nWhen Gomukha the prime-minister had told this tale, he again said to\nhis master Narav\u00e1hanadatta; \"So, king, I know that even now the guilt\nof that dependent of yours is not expiated, since even now you are\nnot pleased with him.\" When the son of the king of Vatsa heard this\nspeech of Gomukha's, he said, \"Ha! good!\" and he immediately gave\nto his own dependent, who was named K\u00e1rpatika, a number of villages,\nelephants and horses, a crore of gold pieces, and excellent garments,\nand ornaments. Then that dependent, who had attained prosperity,\nbecame like a king; how can the attendance on a grateful king, who\nhas excellent courtiers, be void of fruit.\n\nWhen Narav\u00e1hanadatta was thus employed, there came one day,\nto take service with him, a young Br\u00e1hman from the Dekhan, named\nPralambab\u00e1hu. That hero said to the prince: \"I have come to your feet,\nmy sovereign, attracted by your renown; and I on foot will never\nleave your company for a step, as long as you travel on the earth\nwith elephants, horses, and chariots; but in the air I cannot go; I\nsay this because it is rumoured that my lord will one day be emperor\nof the Vidy\u00e1dharas. A hundred gold pieces should be given to me every\nday as salary.\" When that Br\u00e1hman, who was really of incomparable\nmight, said this, Narav\u00e1hanadatta gave him this salary. And thereupon\nGomukha said--\"My lord, kings have such servants: \u00e0 propos of this,\nhear this story.\"\n\n\n\nStory of the Br\u00e1hman V\u00edravara. [734]\n\nThere is in this country a great and splendid city of the name of\nVikramapura. In it there lived long ago a king named Vikramatunga. He\nwas distinguished for statesmanship, and though his sword was\nsharp, his rod of justice was not so; and he was always intent on\nrighteousness, but not on women, hunting, and so forth. And while he\nwas king, the only atoms of wickedness were the atoms of earth in the\ndust, the only departure from virtue was the loosing of arrows from\nthe string, the only straying from justice was the wandering of sheep\nin the folds of the keepers of cattle. [735] Once on a time a heroic\nand handsome Br\u00e1hman, from the country of M\u00e1lava, named V\u00edravara, came\nthere to take service under that king; he had a wife named Dharmavat\u00ed,\na daughter named V\u00edravat\u00ed, and a son named Sattvavara; these three\nconstituted his family; and his attendants consisted of another three:\nat his hip a dagger, in one hand a sword, and in the other a polished\nshield. Though he had such a small following, he demanded from that\nking five hundred d\u00edn\u00e1rs every day by way of salary. And the king\ngave him that salary, perceiving his courage, and thinking to himself,\n\"I will make trial of his excellence.\" And the king set spies on him,\nto find out what this man, with only two arms, would do with so many\nd\u00edn\u00e1rs. And V\u00edravara, every day, gave his wife a hundred of those\nd\u00edn\u00e1rs for food and other purposes; and with another hundred he bought\nclothes, and garlands, and so on; and he appointed a third hundred,\nafter bathing, for the worship of Vishnu and Siva; and the remaining\ntwo hundred he gave to Br\u00e1hmans, the poor and so on; and so he expended\nevery day the whole five hundred. And he stood at the palace-gate of\nthe king for the first half of the day, and after he had performed\nhis daily prayers and other duties, he came back and remained there\nat night also. The spies reported to the king continually that daily\npractice of his, and then the king, being satisfied, ordered those\nspies to desist from observing him. And V\u00edravara remained day and\nnight at the gate of the king's palace, sword in hand, excepting only\nthe time set apart for bathing and matters of that kind. Then there\ncame a collection of clouds, bellowing terribly, as if determined\nto conquer that V\u00edravara, being impatient of his valour. And then,\nthough the cloud rained a terrible arrow-shower of drops, V\u00edravara\nstood like a column and did not leave the palace-gate. And the king\nVikramatunga, having beheld him from the palace in this position,\nwent up to the roof of the palace at night to try him again. And he\ncalled out from above--\"Who waits at the palace-gate?\" And V\u00edravara,\nwhen he heard that, answered--\"I am here.\" The king hearing this,\nthought--\"Surely this brave man deserves high rank, for he does not\nleave the palace-gate, though such a cloud is raining.\" While engaged\nin these reflections, the king heard a woman weeping bitterly in\nthe distance; and he thought--\"There is not an afflicted person in my\ndominions, so why does she weep?\" Thereupon he said to V\u00edravara, \"Hark,\nV\u00edravara, there is some woman weeping at some distance from this place,\nso go, and find out who she is, and what is her sorrow.\" When V\u00edravara\nheard that, he set out, brandishing his sword, with his dagger at his\nside. Then the king, seeing that he had set out when such a cloud was\nblazing with lightning, and when the interval between heaven and earth\n[736] was full of descending drops of rain, being moved with curiosity\nand pity, came down from the roof of his palace, and set out behind\nhim, sword in hand, unobserved.\n\nAnd V\u00edravara, going in the direction of the wailing, [737] followed\nunperceived by the king, reached a lake outside the city. And he saw\na woman lamenting in the midst of it; \"Ah lord! Ah merciful one! Ah\nhero! How shall I exist abandoned by thee?\" He asked her; \"Who are you,\nand what lord do you lament?\" Then she said; \"My son, know that I am\nthis earth. At present Vikramatunga is my righteous lord, and his death\nwill certainly take place on the third day from now. And how shall I\nobtain such a lord again? For with divine foresight I behold the good\nand evil to come, as Suprabha, the son of a god, did, when in heaven.\"\n\n\n\nStory of Suprabha.\n\nFor he, possessing divine foresight, foresaw that in seven days he\nwould fall from heaven on account of the exhaustion of his merits,\nand be conceived in the body of a sow. Then that son of a god,\nreflecting on the misery of dwelling in the body of a sow, regretted\nwith himself those heavenly enjoyments: \"Alas for heaven! Alas for\nthe Apsarases! Alas for the arbours of Nandana! Alas! how shall I\nlive in the body of a sow, and after that in the mire?\" When the\nking of the gods heard him indulging in these lamentations, he came\nto him, and questioned him, and that son of a god told him the cause\nof his grief. Then Indra said to him, \"Listen, there is a way out of\nthis difficulty open to you. Have recourse to Siva as a protector,\nexclaiming 'Om! Honour to Siva!' If you resort to him as a protector,\nyou shall escape from your guilt and obtain merit, so that you shall\nnot be born in the body of a pig nor fall from heaven.\" When the\nking of the gods said this to Suprabha, he followed his advice, and\nexclaiming \"Om! Honour to Siva!\" he fled to Siva as an asylum. After\nremaining wholly intent on him for six days, he not only by his favour\nescaped being sent into the body of a pig, but went to an abode of\nbliss higher than Svarga. And on the seventh day, when Indra, not\nseeing him in heaven, looked about, he found he had gone to another\nand a superior world.\n\n\"As Suprabha lamented, beholding pollution impending, so I lament,\nbeholding the impending death of the king.\" When Earth said this,\nV\u00edravara answered her:--\"If there is any expedient for rescuing this\nking, as there was an expedient for rescuing Suprabha in accordance\nwith the advice of Indra, pray tell it me.\" When Earth was thus\naddressed by V\u00edravara, she answered him: \"There is an expedient in\nthis case, and it is in your hands.\" When the Br\u00e1hman V\u00edravara heard\nthis, he said joyfully-- [738]\n\n\"Then tell me, goddess, quickly; if my lord can be benefited by\nthe sacrifice of my life, or of my son or wife, my birth is not\nwasted.\" When V\u00edravara said this, Earth answered him--\"There is\nhere an image of Durg\u00e1 near the palace; if you offer to that image\nyour son Sattvavara, then the king will live, but there is no other\nexpedient for saving his life.\" When the resolute V\u00edravara heard\nthis speech of the goddess Earth, he said--\"I will go, lady, and do\nit immediately.\" And Earth said \"What other man is so devoted to his\nlord? Go, and prosper.\" And the king, who followed him, heard all.\n\nThen V\u00edravara went quickly to his house that night, and the king\nfollowed him unobserved. There he woke up his wife Dharmavat\u00ed and told\nher, that, by the counsel of the goddess Earth, he must offer up his\nson for the sake of the king. She, when she heard it, said--\"We must\ncertainly do what is for the advantage of the king; so wake up our son\nand tell him.\" Then V\u00edravara woke up his son, and told him all that\nthe goddess Earth had told him, as being for the interest of the king,\ndown to the necessity of his own sacrifice. When the child Sattvavara\nheard this, he, being rightly named, said to his father, [739] \"Am I\nnot fortunate, my father, in that my life can profit the king? I must\nrequite him for his food which I have eaten; so take me and sacrifice\nme to the goddess for his sake.\" When the boy Sattvavara said this,\nV\u00edravara answered him undismayed, \"In truth you are my own son.\" When\nking Vikramatunga, who was standing outside, heard this, he said to\nhimself--\"Ah! the members of this family are all equally brave.\"\n\nThen V\u00edravara took that son Sattvavara on his shoulder, and his wife\nDharmavat\u00ed took his daughter V\u00edravat\u00ed on her back, and the two went\nto the temple of Durg\u00e1 by night.\n\nAnd the king Vikramatunga followed them, carefully concealing\nhimself. When they reached the temple, Sattvavara was put down by\nhis father from his shoulder, and, though he was a boy, being a\nstore-house of courage, he bowed before the goddess, and addressed\nthis petition to her: \"Goddess, may our lord's life be saved by the\noffering of my head! And may the king Vikramatunga rule the earth\nwithout an enemy to oppose him!\" When the boy said this, V\u00edravara\nexclaimed, \"Bravo! my son!\" And drawing his sword, he cut off his\nson's head, and offered it to the goddess Durg\u00e1, saying, \"May the\nking be prosperous!\" Those who are devoted to their master grudge\nthem neither their sons' lives nor their own. Then a voice was heard\nfrom heaven, saying, \"Bravo, V\u00edravara! you have bestowed life on your\nmaster by sacrificing even the life of your son.\" Then, while the\nking was seeing and hearing with great astonishment all that went\non, the daughter of V\u00edravara, named V\u00edravat\u00ed, who was a mere girl,\ncame up to the head of her slain brother, and embraced it, and kissed\nit, and crying out \"Alas! my brother!\" died of a broken heart. When\nV\u00edravara's wife, Dharmavat\u00ed, saw that her daughter also was dead,\nin her grief she clasped her hands together, and said to V\u00edravara;\n\"We have now ensured the prosperity of the king, so permit me to\nenter the fire with my two dead children. Since my infant daughter,\nthough too young to understand anything, has died out of grief for her\nbrother, what is the use of my life, my two children being dead?\" When\nshe spoke with this settled purpose, V\u00edravara said to her; \"Do so, what\ncan I say against it? For, blameless one, there remains no happiness\nfor you in a world, which will be all filled for you with grief\nfor your two children; so wait a moment while I prepare the funeral\npyre.\" Having said this, he constructed a pyre with some wood, that\nwas lying there to make the fence of the enclosure of the goddess's\ntemple, and put the corpses of his children upon it, and lit a fire\nunder it, so that it was enveloped in flames. Then his virtuous wife,\nDharmavat\u00ed, fell at his feet, and exclaiming, \"May you, my husband,\nbe my lord in my next birth, and may prosperity befall the king!\" she\nleapt into that burning pyre, with its hair of flame, as gladly as into\na cool lake. And king Vikramatunga, who was standing by unperceived,\nremained fixed in thought as to how he could possibly recompense them.\n\nThen V\u00edravara, of resolute soul, reflected--\"I have accomplished\nmy duty to my master, for a divine voice was heard audibly, and so\nI have requited him for the food which I have eaten, but now that I\nhave lost all the dear family I had to support, [740] it is not meet\nthat I should live alone, supporting myself only, so why should I not\npropitiate this goddess Durg\u00e1 by offering up myself?\" V\u00edravara, firm\nin virtue, having formed this determination, first approached with\na hymn of praise that goddess Durg\u00e1, the granter of boons. \"Honour\nto thee, O great goddess, that givest security to thy votaries,\nrescue me plunged in the mire of the world, that appeal to thee\nfor protection. Thou art the principle of life in creatures, by\nthee this world moves. In the beginning of creation Siva beheld thee\nself-produced, blazing and illuminating the world with brightness hard\nto behold, like ten million orbs of fiery suddenly-produced infant\nsuns rising at once, filling the whole horizon with the circle of\nthy arms, bearing a sword, a club, a bow, arrows and a spear. And\nthou wast praised by that god Siva in the following words--'Hail\nto thee Chand\u00ed, Ch\u00e1mund\u00e1, Mangal\u00e1, Tripur\u00e1, Jay\u00e1, Ek\u00e1nans\u00e1, Siv\u00e1,\nDurg\u00e1, N\u00e1r\u00e1yan\u00ed, Sarasvat\u00ed, Bhadrak\u00e1l\u00ed, Mah\u00e1lakshm\u00ed, Siddh\u00e1, slayer\nof Ruru. Thou art G\u00e1yatr\u00ed, Mah\u00e1r\u00e1jn\u00ed, Revat\u00ed, and the dweller in the\nVindhya hills; thou art Um\u00e1 and K\u00e1ty\u00e1yan\u00ed, and the dweller in Kail\u00e1sa,\nthe mountain of Siva.' When Skandha, and Vasishta, and Brahm\u00e1, and the\nothers heard thee praised, under these and other titles, by Siva well\nskilled in praising, they also praised thee. And by praising thee, O\nadorable one, immortals, rishis, and men obtained, and do now obtain,\nboons above their desire. So be favourable to me, O bestower of boons\nand do thou also receive this tribute of the sacrifice of my body,\nand may prosperity befall my lord the king!\" After saying this, he\nwas preparing to cut off his own head, [741] but a bodiless voice\nwas heard at that moment from the air, \"Do not act rashly, my son,\nfor I am well-pleased with this courage of thine, so crave from me\nthe boon that thou dost desire.\" When V\u00edravara heard that, he said,\n\"If thou art pleased, goddess, then may king Vikramatunga live another\nhundred years. And may my wife and children return to life.\" When\nhe craved this boon, there again sounded from the air the words\n\"So be it!\" And immediately the three, Dharmavat\u00ed, Sattvavara, and\nV\u00edravat\u00ed rose up with unwounded bodies. Then V\u00edravara was delighted,\nand took home to his house all those who had been thus restored to\nlife by the favour of the goddess, and returned to the king's gate.\n\nBut the king, having beheld all this with joy and astonishment, went\nand again ascended the roof of his palace unobserved. And he cried\nout from above--\"Who is on guard at the palace-gate?\" When V\u00edravara,\nwho was below, heard that, he answered--\"I am here, and I went to\ndiscover that woman, but she vanished somewhere as soon as I saw her,\nlike a goddess.\" When king Vikramatunga heard this, as he had seen\nthe whole transaction, which was exceedingly wonderful, he reflected\nwith himself alone in the night: \"Oh! surely this man is an unheard of\nmarvel of heroism, to perform such an exceedingly meritorious action,\nand not to give any account of it. The sea, though deep, and broad, and\nfull of great monsters, [742] does not vie with this man, who is firm\neven in the shock of a mighty tempest. What return can I make to him,\nwho secretly redeemed my life this night by the sacrifice of his son\nand wife?\" Thus reflecting, the king descended from the roof of the\npalace, and went into his private apartments, and passed that night\nin smiling. And in the morning, when V\u00edravara was present in the great\nassembly, he related his wonderful exploit that night. Then all praised\nthat V\u00edravara, and the king conferred on him and his son a turban of\nhonour. And he gave him many domains, horses, jewels, and elephants,\nand ten crores of gold pieces, and a salary sixty times as great as\nbefore. And immediately the Br\u00e1hman V\u00edravara became equal to a king,\nwith a lofty umbrella, being prosperous, himself and his family.\n\nWhen the minister Gomukha had told this tale, he again said to\nNarav\u00e1hanadatta, summing up the subject--\"Thus, king, do sovereigns,\nby their merit in a previous life, sometimes fall in with exceptionally\nheroic servants, who, in their nobility of soul, abandoning regard\nfor their lives and all other possessions for the sake of their\nmaster, conquer completely the two worlds. And Pralambab\u00e1hu, this\nlately arrived heroic Br\u00e1hman servant of yours, my king, is seen to\nbe such, of settled virtue and character, a man in whom the quality\nof goodness is ever on the increase.\" When the noble-minded prince\nNarav\u00e1hanadatta heard this from his minister, the mighty-minded\nGomukha, he felt unsurpassed satisfaction in his heart.\n\n\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER LIV.\n\n\nThus Narav\u00e1hanadatta dwelt in the house of his father the king of\nVatsa, being attended by his affectionate ministers, Gomukha and the\nothers, and amusing himself with his loving queen Alank\u00e1ravat\u00ed, whose\njealousy was removed by her great love, that refused to be hampered by\nfemale pride. Then, once on a time, he went to a forest of wild beasts,\nmounted on a chariot, with Gomukha seated behind him. And, with that\nheroic Br\u00e1hman Pralambab\u00e1hu going in front of him, he indulged in\nsilvan sports, accompanied by his attendants. And though the horses\nof his chariot galloped at the utmost of their speed, Pralambab\u00e1hu\noutstripped their swiftness, and still kept in front of them. The\nprince from his position on the chariot killed lions, and tigers,\nand other wild beasts with arrows, but Pralambab\u00e1hu, going on foot,\nslew them with his sword. And Narav\u00e1hanadatta, as often as he beheld\nthat Br\u00e1hman, said in astonishment--\"What courage, and what fleetness\nof foot he possesses!\"\n\nAnd the prince, being wearied at the end of his hunting, and overcome\nwith thirst, went in search of water, mounted on his chariot, with\nGomukha and his charioteer, and preceded by that champion Pralambab\u00e1hu,\nand in the course of his search he reached another great forest far\ndistant. There he came to a great and charming lake with full-blown\ngolden lotuses, looking like a second sky on earth, studded with\nmany solar orbs. There he bathed and drank water, and, after he and\nhis companions had performed their ablutions and other duties, he\nbeheld at one end of the lake, at a distance, four men of heavenly\nappearance, dressed in heavenly garments, adorned with heavenly\nornaments, engaged in culling golden lotuses from that lake. And out\nof curiosity he approached them, and when they asked him who he was,\nhe told them his descent, his name and his history.\n\nAnd they, pleased at seeing him, told him their story when he asked\nthem; \"There is in the midst of the great sea a great, prosperous\nand splendid island, which is called the island of N\u00e1rikela, and is\nrenowned in the world for its beauty. [743] And in it there are four\nmountains with splendid expanses of land, named Main\u00e1ka, Vrishabha,\nChakra, and Bal\u00e1haka, in those four we four live. One of us is named\nR\u00fapasiddhi, and he possesses the power of assuming various forms;\nanother is by name Pram\u00e1nasiddhi, who can measure the most minute as\nwell as the largest things; and the third is Jn\u00e1nasiddhi, who knows the\npast, the present, and the future; and the fourth is Devasiddhi, who\npossesses the power of calling down to his aid all the deities. We have\nnow gathered these golden lotuses, and are going to offer them to the\ngod, the husband of Sr\u00ed, in Svetadv\u00edpa. For we are all of us devoted to\nhim, and it is by his favour that we possess rule over those mountains\nof ours, and prosperity accompanied with supernatural power. So come,\nwe will shew you the lord Hari in Svetadv\u00edpa; we will carry you through\nthe air, friend, if you approve.\" When those sons of gods said this,\nNarav\u00e1hanadatta consented, and leaving Gomukha and the others in that\nplace, where they could obtain water, fruits and so on, he went with\nthem to Svetadv\u00edpa through the air, for Devasiddhi, one of the four\nbrothers, carried him in his lap. There he descended from heaven,\nand beheld Vishnu, and approached him from a distance, introduced by\nthose four sons of gods. The god was reclining upon the snake Sesha,\nin front of him sat Garuda, at his side was the daughter of the sea,\n[744] at his feet was the Earth, he was waited upon by the discus,\nthe conch, the club, and the lotus, incarnate in bodily form, and the\nGandharvas, with N\u00e1rada at their head, were piously chanting hymns in\nhis honour, and the gods, Siddhas, and Vidy\u00e1dharas were bowing before\nhim. To whom is not association with the good a cause of exaltation?\n\nThen, after that Lord had been honoured by those sons of gods, and\npraised by Kasyapa and others, Narav\u00e1hanadatta thus praised him with\nfolded hands, \"All hail to thee, venerable one, the wishing-tree\nof thy worshippers, whose body is encircled with the wish-granting\ncreeper of Lakshm\u00ed, who art the granter of all desires; hail to thee,\nthe divine swan, dwelling in the M\u00e1nasa-lake of the minds of the good,\n[745] ever soaring and singing in the highest ether. Hail to thee, who\ndost transcend all, and dwell within all, who hast a form transcending\nqualities, and whose shape is the full aggregate of the six kingly\nmeasures; [746] Brahm\u00e1 is the bee on the lotus of thy navel, O Lord,\nhumming with the soft sound of Veda-murmur, though from him spring\nmany verses; [747] thy foot is the earth, the heaven is thy head,\nthe cardinal points are thy ears, the sun and moon are thy eyes; thy\nbelly is the egg of Brahm\u00e1, the globe of the world; thou art hymned\nby the wise as the infinite soul. From thee, the home of brightness,\nspring all these creatures, O Lord, as the host of sparks from the\nblazing fire, and when the time of destruction comes, they again enter\nthy essence, as at the end of the day a flock of birds enters the\ngreat tree in which they dwell. Thou flashest forth, and createst\nthese lords of the world, who are parts of thee, as the ocean,\ndisturbed with a continual flow, creates waves. Though the world\nis thy form, thou art formless; though the world is thy handiwork,\nthou art free from the bondage of works; though thou art the support\nof the world, thou art thyself without support; who is he that knows\nthy real nature? The gods have obtained various stages of prosperity\nby being looked upon by thee with a favourable eye; so be propitious,\nand look upon me, thy suppliant, with an eye melting with love.\"\n\nWhen Narav\u00e1hanadatta had in these words praised Vishnu, the god\nlooked upon him with a favourable eye, and said to N\u00e1rada: \"Go and\ndemand back from Indra in my name those lovely Apsarases of mine,\nwho long ago sprang from the sea of milk, and whom I deposited in his\nhand, and make them mount the chariot of Indra, and quickly bring them\nhere.\" When N\u00e1rada received this command from Hari, he said \"So be it,\"\nand with M\u00e1tali he brought the Apsarases from Indra in his chariot,\nand then bowing he presented the Apsarases to Vishnu, and the Holy\none spake thus to the son of the king of Vatsa--\"Narav\u00e1hanadatta,\nI give these Apsarases to thee, the future emperor of the kings\nof the Vidy\u00e1dharas. Thou art a fitting husband for them, and they\nare fitting wives for thee, for thou hast been created by Siva as\nan incarnation of the god of Love.\" When Vishnu said that, the son\nof the king of Vatsa fell at his feet, delighted at having obtained\nfavour, and Vishnu thus commanded M\u00e1tali,--\"Let this Narav\u00e1hanadatta,\ntogether with the Apsarases, be taken back by thee to his palace,\nby whatever path he desires.\"\n\nWhen the Holy one gave this command, Narav\u00e1hanadatta, with the\nApsarases and those sons of gods who invited him, mounted the chariot\nwhich was driven by M\u00e1tali, and went to the island of N\u00e1rikela, being\nenvied even by gods. There the successful hero, honoured by those four\nsons of gods, R\u00fapasiddhi and his brethren, and accompanied by Indra's\nchariot, sported in succession on those four mountains on which they\ndwelt, Main\u00e1ka, Vrishabha, and the others, that vied with heaven,\nin the company of those Apsarases. And he roamed, full of joy, in\nthe thickets of their pleasure-grounds, the various splendid trees\nof which were in blossom on account of the arrival of the month of\nspring. And those sons of gods said to him: \"See! these clusters on\nthe trees seem to be regarding with the expanded eyes of their open\nflowers their beloved spring that has arrived. See! the full-blown\nlotuses shield the lake, as if to prevent their place of birth from\nbeing afflicted by the warmth of the sun's rays. See! the bees,\nafter resorting to a Karnik\u00e1ra splendid with blossoms, leave it\nagain, finding it destitute of perfume, as good men leave a rich man\nof mean character. See! a concert is being held in honour of spring,\nthe king of the seasons, with the songs of the Kinnar\u00eds, the notes of\nthe cuckoos, and the humming of bees.\" With such words those sons of\ngods shewed Narav\u00e1hanadatta the range of their pleasure-grounds. And\nthe son of the king of Vatsa amused himself also in their cities,\nbeholding the merry-makings of the citizens, who danced without\nrestraint in honour of the spring-festival. And he enjoyed with the\nApsarases delights fitted for gods; wherever the virtuous go, their\ngood fortunes precede them.\n\nAfter remaining there for four days thus occupied, Narav\u00e1hanadatta said\nto those sons of gods his friends; \"I now wish to go to my own city,\nbeing anxious to behold my father; [748] so come you also to that\ncity and bless it with a visit.\" When they heard that, they said:\n\"We have seen you, the choicest jewel in that town; what more do we\nrequire? But when you have obtained the sciences of the Vidy\u00e1dharas,\nyou must not forget us.\" With these words they dismissed him, and\nNarav\u00e1hanadatta said to M\u00e1tali, who brought him the splendid chariot\nof Indra; \"Take me to the city of Kaus\u00e1mb\u00ed by a course leading\npast that lovely lake, on the bank of which I left Gomukha and the\nothers.\" M\u00e1tali consented, and the prince ascended the chariot with\nthe Apsarases, and reached that lake, and saw Gomukha and the others,\nand said to them, \"Come quickly by your own way, I will tell you\nall when I get home.\" Having said this, he went to Kaus\u00e1mb\u00ed in the\nchariot of Indra. There he descended from heaven, and dismissed M\u00e1tali\nafter honouring him, and entered his own palace accompanied by those\nApsarases. And leaving them there, he went and prostrated himself\nbefore the feet of his father, who was delighted at his arrival,\nand also of V\u00e1savadatt\u00e1 and Padm\u00e1vat\u00ed, and they welcomed him,\nand their eyes were never satisfied with gazing on him. And in the\nmeanwhile Gomukha came, riding on the chariot, with the charioteer,\nand that Br\u00e1hman Pralambab\u00e1hu. Then, being questioned by his father,\nNarav\u00e1hanadatta related in the presence of all his ministers his very\nwonderful adventures. And all said--\"God grants to that virtuous man,\nwhom he wishes to favour, association with good friends.\" When all\nsaid this, the king was pleased, and ordered a festival for his son on\naccount of the favour which Vishnu had shewed towards him. And he and\nhis wives saw those Apsarases his daughters-in-law, obtained by the\nfavour of Vishnu, whom Gomukha brought to fall at his feet, Devarup\u00e1,\nand Devarati, and Devam\u00e1l\u00e1, and the fourth Devapriy\u00e1, whose names\nhe enquired by the mouth of their maids. And the city of Kaus\u00e1mb\u00ed,\nmaking festival, appeared as if scattering red paint with its waving\nscarlet banners, as much as to say: \"What am I that Apsarases should\ndwell in me? Blessed am I that the prince Narav\u00e1hanadatta has made me a\nheavenly city upon earth.\" And Narav\u00e1hanadatta, after he had rejoiced\nthe eyes of his father, visited his other wives, who were anxiously\nawaiting him, and they, who had been emaciated by those four days,\nas if they were four years, exulted, relating the various woes of\ntheir separation. And Gomukha described the valour of Pralambab\u00e1hu,\nwhile he was protecting the horses during their sojourn in the forest,\nin killing lions and other noxious beasts. Thus listening to pleasing\nunrestrained conversation, and contemplating the beauty of his beloved\nones, that was as nectar to his eyes, and making flattering speeches,\nand drinking wine in the company of his ministers, Narav\u00e1hanadatta\npassed that time there in happiness.\n\nOnce on a time, as he was in the apartments of Alank\u00e1ravat\u00ed with his\nministers, he heard a loud sound of drums outside. Then he said to his\ngeneral Harisikha: \"What may be the cause of this sudden great noise of\ndrums outside?\" When Harisikha heard this, he went out, and entering\nagain immediately said to the prince, the son of the king of Vatsa;\n\"There is in this town a merchant of the name of Rudra, and he went\nto the island of Suvarnadv\u00edpa on a mercantile expedition. As he was\nreturning, the hoard of wealth, that he had managed to acquire, was\nlost, being sunk in the sea by his ship foundering. And he himself\nhappened to escape from the sea alive. And to-day is the sixth day\nsince he arrived in misery at his own house. After he had been living\nhere for some days in distress, it happened that he found a great\ntreasure in his garden. And the king of Vatsa heard of it from his\nrelations, so the merchant came to-day and represented the matter to\nthe king; saying--'I have obtained four crores of gold pieces with\na multitude of valuable jewels, so, if the king commands me, I will\nhand them over.' The king of Vatsa thereupon gave this command to the\nmerchant--'Who that had any sense, [749] after seeing you in distress,\nplundered by the sea, would plunder you again, now that you have been\nsupplied with wealth by the mercy of Providence. Go and enjoy at will\nthe wealth obtained from your own ground.' The merchant fell at the\nking's feet full of joy, and it is this very man that is now returning\nto his house, with his attendants beating drums.\" When Harisikha said\nthis, Narav\u00e1hanadatta praised the justice of his father, and said in\nastonishment to his ministers--\"If Destiny sometimes takes away wealth,\ndoes she not sometimes afterwards give it. She sports in a strange\nway with the raising and depressing of men.\" When Gomukha heard that,\nhe said--\"Such is the course of Destiny! And in proof of this, hear\nthe story of Samudras\u00fara.\"\n\n\n\nStory of the merchant Samudras\u00fara.\n\nIn old times there was a splendid city, belonging to the king\nHarshavarman, called Harshapura, the citizens of which were made\nhappy by good government. In this city there was a great merchant,\nnamed Samudras\u00fara; he was of good family, just, of resolute courage,\na lord of much wealth. He was once compelled by his business to go\nto Suvarnadv\u00edpa, and reaching the shore of the sea, he embarked on\na ship. As he was travelling over the sea, when his journey was very\nnearly at an end, a terrible cloud arose and a wind that agitated the\ndeep. The wind tossed the ship about with the violence of the waves,\nand it was struck by a sea-monster and split asunder; and then the\nmerchant, girding up his loins, plunged into the sea. And after the\nbrave man had made some way by swimming, he found the corpse of a man\nlong dead, driven hither and thither by the wind. And he climbed up\non the corpse, and skilfully paddling himself along with his arms,\nhe was carried to Suvarnadv\u00edpa by a favourable wind. There he got\noff that corpse on to the sand, and he perceived that it had a cloth\ntied round its loins, with a knot in it. When he unfastened the cloth\nfrom its loins, and examined it, he found inside it a necklace richly\nstudded with jewels. He saw that it was of inestimable value, and he\nbathed and remained in a state of great felicity, thinking that the\nwealth he had lost in the sea was but straw in comparison with it. Then\nhe went on to a city called Kalasapura, and with the bracelet in his\nhand, entered the enclosure of a great temple. There he sat in the\nshade, and being exceedingly tired with his exertions in the water,\nhe slowly dropped off to sleep, bewildered by Destiny. And while\nhe was asleep, the policemen came and saw that necklace in his hand\nexposed to view. They said--\"Here is the necklace stolen from the neck\nof the princess Chakrasen\u00e1; without doubt this is the thief.\" And so\nthey woke the merchant up and took him to the palace. There the king\nhimself questioned him, and he told him what had taken place. The king\nheld out the necklace, and said to the people present in court,--\"This\nman is speaking falsely; he is a thief, look at this necklace.\" And\nat that very moment a kite saw it glittering, and quickly swooping\ndown from heaven, carried off the necklace, and disappeared where he\ncould not be traced. Then the king, in his anger, commanded that the\nmerchant should be put to death, and he, in great grief, invoked the\nprotection of Siva. Then a voice was heard from heaven--\"Do not put\nthis man to death: he is a respectable merchant named Samudras\u00fara\nfrom the city of Harshapura, that has landed on your territory. The\nthief, who stole the necklace, fled, beside himself with fear of the\npolice, and falling into the sea at night, perished. But this merchant\nhere, when his ship foundered, came upon the body of that thief,\nand climbing up on it, he crossed the sea and came here. And then he\nfound the necklace in the knot of the cloth fastened round his loins;\nhe did not take it from your house. So let go, king, this virtuous\nmerchant, who is not a thief; dismiss him with honour.\" Having said\nthis, the voice ceased. When the king heard this, he was satisfied,\nand revoking the capital sentence passed on the merchant, he honoured\nhim with wealth, and let him go. And the merchant, having obtained\nwealth, bought wares, and again crossed the terrible ocean in a ship,\nin order to return to his own native land.\n\nAnd after he had crossed the sea, he travelled with a caravan, and one\nday, at evening time, he reached a wood. The caravan encamped in the\nwood for the night, and while Samudras\u00fara was awake, a powerful host\nof bandits attacked it. While the bandits were massacring the members\nof the caravan, Samudras\u00fara left his wares and fled, and climbed up a\nbanyan-tree without being discovered. The host of bandits departed,\nafter they had carried off all the wealth, and the merchant spent\nthat night there, perplexed with fear, and distracted with grief. In\nthe morning he cast his eye towards the top of the tree, and saw, as\nfate would have it, what looked like the light of a lamp, trembling\namong the leaves. And in his astonishment he climbed up the tree, and\nsaw a kite's nest, in which there was a heap of glittering priceless\njewelled ornaments. He took them all out of it, and found among the\nornaments that necklace, which he had found in Svarnadv\u00edpa and the\nkite had carried off. He obtained from that nest unlimited wealth,\nand, descending from the tree, he went off delighted, and reached\nin course of time his own city of Harshapura. There the merchant\nSamudras\u00fara remained, enjoying himself to his heart's content with\nhis family, free from the desire of any other wealth.\n\n\"So you have that merchant's whelming in the sea, and that loss of\nhis wealth, and the finding of the necklace, and again the losing of\nit, and his undeserved degradation to the position of a malefactor,\nand his immediate obtaining of wealth from the satisfied king, and\nhis return-voyage over the sea, and his being stripped of all his\nwealth by falling in with bandits on the journey, and at last his\nacquisition of wealth from the top of a tree. So you see, prince, such\nis the various working of destiny, but a virtuous man, though he may\nhave endured sorrow, obtains joy at the last.\" When Narav\u00e1hanadatta\nheard this from Gomukha, he approved it, and rising up, he performed\nhis daily duties, such as bathing and the like.\n\nAnd the next day, when he was in the hall of assembly, the heroic\nprince Samaratunga, who had been his servant ever since he was a\nboy, came and said to him--\"Prince, my relation Sangr\u00e1marvarsha\nhas ravaged my territory, with the help of his four sons, V\u00edrajita\nand the others. So I will go myself, and bring them all five here as\nprisoners. Let my lord know this.\" After saying this he departed. And\nthe son of the king of Vatsa, knowing that he had but a small force,\nand that those others had large forces, ordered his own army to follow\nhim. But that proud man refused to receive this accession to his force,\nand went and conquered those five enemies in fight by the help of his\nown two arms only, and brought them back prisoners. Narav\u00e1hanadatta\nhonoured and praised his follower, when he came back victorious,\nand said--\"How wonderful! This man has conquered his five enemies,\nthough with their forces they had overrun his territory, and has\ndone the deed of a hero, as a man conquers the senses, when they have\nlaid hold upon outward objects, and are powerful, and so accomplishes\nemancipation, the work of the soul.\" [750] When Gomukha heard that,\nhe said--\"If, prince, you have not heard the tale of king Chamarab\u00e1la,\nwhich is similar, listen, I will tell it.\"\n\n\n\nStory of king Chamarab\u00e1la.\n\nThere is a city named Hastin\u00e1pura, and in it there lived a king named\nChamarab\u00e1la, who possessed treasure, a fort, and an army. And he had,\nas neighbours to his territory, several kings of the same family as\nhimself, the chief of whom was Samarab\u00e1la, and they put their heads\ntogether and reflected: \"This king Chamarab\u00e1la defeats us all, one by\none; so we will join together and accomplish his overthrow.\" After thus\ndeliberating, those five kings' being anxious to march out against him\nto conquer him, secretly asked an astrologer when a favourable moment\nwould come. The astrologer, not seeing a favourable moment, and not\nseeing good omens, said--\"There is no favourable moment for you this\nyear. Under whatever circumstances you set out on your expedition, you\nwill not be victorious. And why are you so eager for the undertaking,\nbeholding his prosperity? Enjoyment is after all the fruit [751]\nof prosperity, and you have enjoyments in abundance. And now hear,\nif you have not heard it before, the story of the two merchants.\"\n\n\n\nStory of Yasovarman and the two fortunes.\n\nThere was in old time in this country a city, named Kautukapura. In it\nthere lived a king, called Bahusuvarnaka, [752] rightly named. And he\nhad a young Kshatriya servant named Yasovarman. To that man the king\nnever gave anything, though he was generous by nature. Whenever in his\ndistress he asked the king, the king said to him, pointing to the sun,\n\"I wish to give to you, but this holy god will not permit me to give\nto you. Tell me what I am to do.\" While he remained distressed,\nwatching for an opportunity, the time for an eclipse of the sun\narrived. Then Yasovarman, who had constantly served the king, went\nand said to him, when he was engaged in giving many valuable presents:\n\"Give me something, my sovereign, while this sun, who will not permit\nyou to give, is in the grasp of his enemy.\" When the king, who had\ngiven many presents, heard that, he laughed, and gave garments, gold,\nand other things to him.\n\nIn course of time that wealth was consumed, and he, being afflicted,\nas the king gave him nothing, and having lost his wife, went to\nthe shrine of the goddess that dwells in the Vindhya hills. [753]\nHe said--\"What is the use of this profitless body that is dead even\nwhile alive? I will abandon it before the shrine of the goddess,\nor gain the desired boon.\" Resolved on this course, he lay down on\na bed of darbha grass in front of the goddess, with his mind intent\non her, and fasting he performed a severe penance. And the goddess\nsaid to him in a dream, \"I am pleased with thee, my son; tell me,\nshall I give thee the good fortune of wealth, or the good fortune\nof enjoyment?\" When Yasovarman heard this, he answered the goddess,\n\"I do not precisely know the difference between these two good\nfortunes.\" Then the goddess said to him: \"Return to thy own country,\nand there go and examine into the good fortunes of the two merchants,\nArthavarman and Bhogavarman, and find out which of the two pleases\nthee, and then come here and ask a like fortune for thyself.\" When\nYasovarman heard this, he woke up, and next morning he broke his fast,\nand went to his own country of Kautukapura.\n\nThere he first went to the house of Arthavarman, [754] who had\nacquired much wealth, in the form of gold, jewels, and other precious\nthings, by his business transactions. Seeing that prosperity of his,\nhe approached him with due politeness, and was welcomed by him,\nand invited to dinner. Then he sat by the side of that Arthavarman,\nand ate food appropriate to a guest, with meat-curry and ghee. But\nArthavarman ate barley-meal, with half a pal of ghee and a little rice,\nand a small quantity of meat-curry. Yasovarman said to the merchant out\nof curiosity--\"Great merchant, why do you eat so little?\" Thereupon\nthe merchant gave him this answer: \"To-day out of regard for you I\nhave eaten a little rice with meat-curry and half a pal of ghee;\nI have also eaten some barley-meal. But as a general rule, I eat\nonly a karsha of ghee and some barley-meal, I have a weak digestion,\nand cannot digest more in my stomach.\" When Yasovarman heard that, he\nturned the matter over in his mind, and formed an unfavourable opinion\nof that prosperity of Arthavarman's, as being without fruit. Then, at\nnightfall, that merchant Arthavarman again brought rice and milk for\nYasovarman to eat. And Yasovarman again ate of it to his fill, and then\nArthavarman drank one pala of milk. And in that same place Yasovarman\nand Arthavarman both made their beds, and gradually fell asleep.\n\nAnd at midnight Yasovarman suddenly saw in his sleep some men of\nterrible appearance with clubs in their hands, entering the room. And\nthey exclaimed angrily--\"Fie! why have you taken to-day one karsha more\nof ghee than the small amount allowed to you, and eaten meat-curry,\nand drunk a pala of milk?\" Then they dragged Arthavarman by his foot\nand beat him with clubs. And they extracted from his stomach the karsha\nof ghee, and the milk, flesh, and rice, which he had consumed above his\nallowance. When Yasovarman had seen that, he woke up and looked about\nhim, and lo! Arthavarman had woke up, and was seized with colic. Then\nArthavarman, crying out, and having his stomach rubbed by his servants,\nvomited up all the food he had eaten above the proper allowance. After\nthe merchant's colic was allayed, Yasovarman said to himself: \"Away\nwith this good fortune of wealth, which involves enjoyment of such an\nequivocal kind! This would be altogether neutralized by such misery\nof ill health.\" In such internal reflections he passed that night.\n\nAnd in the morning he took leave of Arthavarman, and went to the house\nof that merchant Bhogavarman. There he approached him in due form,\nand he received him with politeness, and invited him to dine with him\non that day. Now he did not perceive any wealth in the possession of\nthat merchant, but he saw that he had a nice house, and dresses, and\nornaments. While Yasovarman was waiting there, the merchant Bhogavarman\nproceeded to do his own special business. He took merchandise from\none man, and immediately handed it over to another, and without\nany capital of his own, gained d\u00edn\u00e1rs by the transaction. And he\nquickly sent those d\u00edn\u00e1rs by the hand of his servant to his wife,\nin order that she might procure all kinds of food and drink. And\nimmediately one of that merchant's friends, named Ichchh\u00e1bharana,\nrushed in and said to him: \"Our dinner is ready, rise up and come\nto us, and let us eat, for all our other friends have assembled and\nare waiting for you.\" He answered, \"I shall not come to-day, for\nI have a guest here.\" Thereupon his friend went on to say to him,\n\"Then let this guest come with you; is he not our friend also? Rise\nup quickly.\" Bhogavarman, being thus earnestly invited by that friend,\nwent with him, accompanied by Yasovarman, and ate excellent food. And,\nafter drinking wine, he returned, and again enjoyed all kinds of\nviands and wines at his own house in the evening. And when night\ncame on, he asked his servants--\"Have we enough wine left for the\nlatter part of the night or not?\" When they replied, \"No, master,\"\nthe merchant went to bed, exclaiming, \"How are we to drink water in\nthe latter part of the night?\"\n\nThen Yasovarman, sleeping at his side, saw in a dream two or three\nmen enter, and some others behind them. And those who entered last,\nhaving sticks in their hands, exclaimed angrily to those who entered\nfirst--\"You rascals! Why did you not provide wine for Bhogavarman\nto drink in the latter half of the night? Where have you been all\nthis time?\" Then they beat them with strokes of their sticks. The\nmen who were beaten with sticks, said, \"Pardon this single fault on\nour part.\" And then they and the others went out of the room.\n\nThen Yasovarman, having seen that sight, woke up and reflected,\n\"The good fortune of enjoyment of Bhogavarman, in which blessings\narrive unthought of, is preferable to the good fortune of wealth\nof Arthavarman, which, though attended with opulence, is devoid\nof enjoyment.\"\n\nIn these reflections he spent the rest of the night.\n\nAnd early the next morning Yasovarman took leave of that excellent\nmerchant, and again repaired to the feet of Durg\u00e1, the goddess that\ndwells in the Vindhya range. And he chose out of those two good\nfortunes mentioned by the goddess, when she appeared to him on a\nformer occasion, [755] while he was engaged in austerities, the\ngood fortune of enjoyment, and the goddess granted it to him. Then\nYasovarman returned home and lived in happiness, thanks to the good\nfortune of enjoyment, which, owing to the favour of the goddess,\ncontinually presented itself to him unthought of.\n\n\"So a smaller fortune, accompanied with enjoyment, is to be preferred\nto a great fortune, which, though great, is devoid of enjoyment and\ntherefore useless. So why are you annoyed at the good fortune of king\nChamarab\u00e1la, which is combined with meanness, and do not consider your\nown fortune, which is rich in the power of giving and in enjoyment?\n\n\"So an attack on him by you is not advisable, and there is no\nauspicious moment for commencing the expedition, and I do not foresee\nvictory to you.\" Though those five kings were thus warned by the\nastrologer, they marched in their impatience against king Chamarab\u00e1la.\n\nAnd when king Chamarab\u00e1la heard that they had reached the border,\nhe bathed in the morning, and worshipped Siva duly by his auspicious\nnames referring to sixty-eight excellent parts of the body, [756]--his\nnames that destroy sin and grant all desires. And then he heard\na voice coming from heaven, \"King, fight without fear, thou shalt\nconquer thy enemies in battle.\" Then king Chamarab\u00e1la was delighted,\nand girded on his armour, and accompanied by his army, marched out to\nfight with those foes. In the army of his enemies there were thirty\nthousand elephants, and three hundred thousand horses, and ten million\nfoot-soldiers. And in his own army there were twenty hundred thousand\nfoot-soldiers, and ten thousand elephants, and a hundred thousand\nhorses. Then a great battle took place between those two armies,\nand king Chamarab\u00e1la, preceded by his warder V\u00edra, [757] who was\nrightly so named, entered that field of battle, as the holy Vishnu,\nin the form of the great boar, entered the great ocean. And though he\nhad but a small army, he so grievously smote that great army of his\nfoes, that slain horses, elephants, and footmen lay in heaps. And when\nking Samarab\u00e1la came across him in the battle, he rushed upon him,\nand smote him with an iron spear, and drawing him towards him with a\nlasso, made him prisoner. And then in the same way he smote the second\nking Samaras\u00fara in the heart with an arrow, and drawing him towards\nhim with a noose, made him also prisoner. And his warder, named V\u00edra,\ncaptured the third king, named Samarajita, and brought him to him. And\nhis general, named Devabala, brought and presented to him the fourth\nking, named Prat\u00e1pachandra, wounded with an arrow. Then the fifth king\nPrat\u00e1pasena, beholding that, fell furiously upon king Chamarab\u00e1la in\nthe fight. But he repelled his arrows with the multitude of his own,\nand pierced him with three arrows in the forehead. And when he was\nbewildered with the blows of the arrows, Chamarab\u00e1la, like a second\nDestiny, flung a noose round his neck, and dragging him along made him\na captive. When those five kings had in this way been taken prisoners\nin succession, as many of their soldiers, as had escaped slaughter,\nfled, dispersing themselves in every direction. And king Chamarab\u00e1la\ncaptured an infinite mass of gold and jewels, and many wives belonging\nto those kings. And among them, the head queen of king Prat\u00e1pasena,\ncalled Yasolekh\u00e1, a lovely woman, fell into his hands.\n\nThen he entered his city, and gave turbans of honour to the warder V\u00edra\nand the general Devabala, and loaded them with jewels. And the king\nmade Yasolekh\u00e1 an inmate of his own harem, on the ground that she,\nbeing the wife of Prat\u00e1pasena, was captured according to the custom\nof the Kshatriyas. And she, though flighty, submitted to him because\nhe had won her by the might of his arm; in those abandoned to the\nintoxication of love the impressions of virtue are evanescent. And\nafter some days, king Chamarab\u00e1la, being solicited by the queen\nYasolekh\u00e1, let go those five captive kings, Prat\u00e1pasena and the others,\nafter they had learnt submission and done homage, and after honouring\nthem, dismissed them to their own kingdoms. And then king Chamarab\u00e1la\nlong ruled his own wealthy kingdom, in which there were no opponents,\nand the enemies of which had been conquered, and he sported with that\nYasolekh\u00e1, who surpassed in form and loveliness beautiful Apsarases,\nbeing, as it were, the banner that announced his victory over his foes.\n\n\"Thus a brave man, though unsupported, conquers in the front of battle\neven many enemies coming against him in fight, distracted with hate,\nand not considering the resources of themselves and their foe, and\nby his surpassing bravery puts a stop to the fever of their conceit\nand pride.\"\n\nWhen Narav\u00e1hanadatta had heard this instructive tale told by Gomukha,\nhe praised it, and set about his daily duties of bathing and so on. And\nhe spent that night, which was devoted to the amusement of a concert,\nin singing with his wives in such a ravishing way, that Sarasvat\u00ed from\nher seat in heaven gave him and his beloved ones high commendation.\n\n\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER LV.\n\n\nThen, the next day, as Narav\u00e1hanadatta was sitting in the apartments\nof Alank\u00e1ravat\u00ed, a servant of Marubh\u00fati's, the brother of Sauvidalla\nthe guard of the prince's harem, came and said to him in the presence\nof all his ministers--\"King, I have attended on Marubh\u00fati for two\nyears; he has given food and clothing to me and my wife: but he\nwill not give me the fifty d\u00edn\u00e1rs a year, which he promised me in\naddition. And when I asked him for it, he gave me a kick. So I am\nsitting in dharna against him at your Highness's door. If your Highness\ndoes not give judgment in this case, I shall enter the fire. What\nmore can I say? For you are my sovereign.\" When he had said this,\nhe stopped, and Marubh\u00fati said--\"I must give him the d\u00edn\u00e1rs, but\nI have not got the money at present.\" When he said this, all the\nministers laughed at him, and Narav\u00e1hanadatta said to the minister\nMarubh\u00fati: \"What are you thinking about, you fool? Your intentions\nare not over-creditable. Rise up, give him the hundred d\u00edn\u00e1rs without\ndelay.\" When Marubh\u00fati heard this speech of his sovereign's, he was\nashamed, and immediately brought that hundred d\u00edn\u00e1rs and gave it to\nhim. Then Gomukha said--\"Marubh\u00fati is not to be blamed, because the\nworks of the Creator's hand have varying moods of mind. Have you not\nheard the story of king Chirad\u00e1tri, and his servant named Prasanga?\"\n\n\n\nStory of Chirad\u00e1tri.\n\nIn old time there was a king named Chirad\u00e1tri, sovereign or\nChirapura. Though he was an excellent man, his followers were extremely\nwicked. And that king had a servant, named Prasanga, who had come\nfrom another country, and was accompanied by two friends. And five\nyears passed, while he was performing his duties, but the king gave\nhim nothing, not even when an occasion was presented by a feast or\nsomething of the kind. And owing to the wickedness of the courtiers,\nhe never obtained an opportunity of representing his case to the king,\nthough his friends were continually instigating him to do so.\n\nNow one day the king's infant son died, and when he was grieved at\nit, all his servants came and crowded round him. And among them the\nservant, named Prasanga, out of pure sorrow, said to the king as\nfollows, though his two friends tried to prevent him, \"We have been\nyour servants, your Highness, for a long time, and you have never\ngiven us anything, nevertheless we have remained here because we had\nhopes from your son; for we thought that, although you have never\ngiven us anything, your son would certainly give us something. If\nFate has carried him off, what is the use of remaining here now? We\nwill immediately take our departure.\" Thus he exclaimed, and fell\nat the feet of the king, and went out with his two friends. The\nking reflected--\"Ah! though these men had fixed their hopes on my\nson, they have been faithful servants to me, so I must not abandon\nthem.\" Thereupon he immediately had Prasanga and his companions\nsummoned, and loaded them so with wealth that poverty did not again\nlay hold on them.\n\n\"So you see, men have various dispositions, for that king did not\ngive at the proper season, but did give in the unseasonable hour of\ncalamity.\" When Gomukha, skilful in story-telling, had said this,\nhe went on, at the instigation of the son of the sovereign of Vatsa,\nto tell the following tale:\n\n\n\nStory of king Kanakavarsha and Madanasundar\u00ed.\n\nThere was in old time on the banks of the Ganges an excellent city,\nnamed Kanakapura, the people of which were purified in the water\nof the river; and which was a delightful place on account of its\ngood government. In this city the only imprisonment seen was the\ncommitting to paper of the words of poets, the only kind of defeat\nwas the curling in the locks of the women, the only contest was the\nstruggle of getting the corn into the granary. [758]\n\nIn that city there dwelt in old time a glorious king, named\nKanakavarsha, who was born to Priyadarsana, the son of V\u00e1suki,\nking of the snakes, by the princess Yasodhar\u00e1. Though he bore the\nweight of the whole earth, he was adorned with innumerable virtues,\nhe longed for glory, not for wealth, he feared sin, not his enemy. He\nwas dull in slandering his neighbour, but not in the holy treatises;\nthere was restraint in the high-souled hero's wrath, not in his favour;\nhe was resolute-minded; he was niggardly in curses, not in gifts; he\nruled the whole world; and such was his extraordinary beauty that all\nwomen, the moment they saw him, were distracted with the pain of love.\n\nOnce on a time, in an autumn, that was characterized by heat, that\nmaddened elephants, that was attended by flocks of swans, and delighted\nthe subjects with rejoicings, [759] he entered a picture-palace which\nwas cooled by winds that blew laden with the scent of lotuses. There\nhe observed and praised the display of pictures, and in the meanwhile\nthere entered the warder, who said to the king--\n\n\"Your majesty, an unequalled painter has arrived here from Ujjayin\u00ed,\nboasting himself to be matchless in the art of painting. His name\nis Roladeva, and he has to-day set up a notice at the palace gate to\nthe above effect.\" When the king heard that, he felt respect for him,\nand ordered him to be introduced, and the warder immediately went and\nbrought him in. The painter entered, and beheld the king Kanakavarsha\namusing himself in private with looking at pictures, reclining his\nbody on the lap of beautiful women, and taking in carelessly crooked\nfingers the prepared betel. And the painter Roladeva made obeisance\nto the king, who received him politely, and sitting down said slowly\nto him--\"O king, I put up a notice principally through the desire of\nbeholding your feet, not out of pride in my skill, so you must excuse\nthis deed of mine. And you must tell me what form I am to represent\non canvas, let not the trouble I took in learning this accomplishment\nbe thrown away, O king.\" When the painter said this to the king,\nhe replied, \"Teacher, paint anything you will, let us give our eyes\na treat: what doubt can there be about your skill?\"\n\nWhen the king said this, his courtiers exclaimed--\"Paint the king:\nwhat is the use of painting others, ugly in comparison with him?\" When\nthe painter heard this, he was pleased, and painted the king, with\naquiline nose, with almond-shaped fiery eye, with broad forehead, with\ncurly black hair, with ample breast, glorious with the scars of wounds\ninflicted by arrows and other weapons, with handsome arms resembling\nthe trunks of the elephants that support the quarters, with waist\ncapable of being spanned with the hand, as if it had been a present\nfrom the lion-whelps conquered by his might, and with thighs like the\npost for fastening the elephant of youth, and with beautiful feet,\nlike the shoots of the asoka. And all, when they beheld that life-like\nlikeness of the king, applauded that painter, and said to him; \"We\ndo not like to see the king alone on the picture-panel, so paint on\nit one of these queens by his side, carefully choosing one, that will\nbe a worthy pendant to him; let the feast of our eyes be complete.\"\n\nWhen they said this, the painter looked at the picture and said,\n\"Though there are many of these queens, there is none among them like\nthe king, and I believe there is no woman on the earth a match for\nhim in beauty, except one princess--listen, I will tell you about her.\n\n\"In Vidarbha there is a prosperous town named Kundina, and in it\nthere is a king of the name of Devasakti. And he has a queen named\nAnantavat\u00ed, dearer to him than life, and by her there was born to him a\ndaughter named Madanasundar\u00ed. How could one like me presume to describe\nher beauty with this one single tongue, but so much will I say. When\nthe Creator had made her, through delight in her he conceived a desire\nto make another like her, but he will not be able to do it even in the\ncourse of yugas. That princess, alone on the earth, is a match for\nthis king in shape, beauty and refinement, in age and birth. For I,\nwhen I was there, was once summoned by her by the mouth of a maid,\nand I went to her private apartments. There I beheld her, freshly\nanointed with sandal unguent, having a necklace of lotus-fibres,\ntossing on a bed of lotuses, being fanned by her ladies-in-waiting\nwith the wind of plantain leaves, pale and emaciated, exhibiting\nthe signs of love's fever. And in these words was she dissuading\nher ladies occupied in fanning her,--'O my friends, away with this\nsandal unguent and these breezes wafted by plantain leaves; for these,\nthough cool, scorch up unhappy me.' And when I saw her in this state,\nI was troubled to divine the reason, and after doing obeisance, I\nsat down in front of her. And she said, 'Teacher, paint such a form\nas this on canvas and give it me.'\n\n\"And then she made me paint a certain very handsome youth, slowly\ntracing out the form on the ground with trembling, nectar-distilling\nhand, to guide me. And when I had so painted that handsome youth, I\nsaid to myself--'She has made me paint the god of Love in visible form;\nbut, as I see that the flowery bow is not represented in his hand, I\nknow that it cannot be the god of Love, it must be some extraordinarily\nhandsome young man like him. And her outburst of love-sickness has\nto do with him. So I must depart hence, for this king, her father\nDevasakti, is severe in his justice, and if he heard of this proceeding\nof mine, he would not overlook it.' Thus reflecting, I did obeisance\nto that princess Madanasundar\u00ed, and departed, honoured by her.\n\n\"But when I was there, O king, I heard from her attendants, as they\ntalked freely together, that she had fallen in love with you from\nhearing of you only. So I have secretly taken a picture of that\nprincess on a sheet of canvas, and have come here quickly to your\nfeet. And when I beheld your majesty's appearance, my doubt was at\nan end, for it was clearly your majesty that the princess caused to\nbe painted by my hand. And as it is not possible to paint her twice,\nsuch as she is, I will not represent her in the picture as standing\nat your side, though she is equal to you in beauty.\"\n\nWhen Roladeva said this, the king said to him--\"Then shew her as\nshe is represented on the canvas you have brought with you.\" Then the\npainter looked out a piece of canvas which was in a bag, and shewed the\nking Madanasundar\u00ed in a painting. And the king Kanakavarsha, seeing\nthat even in a painting she was wonderfully beautiful, immediately\nbecame enamoured of her. And he loaded that painter with much gold,\nand taking the picture of his beloved, retired into his private\napartments. There he remained with his mind fixed on her alone,\nabandoning all occupations, and his eyes were never satisfied with\ngazing on her beauty. It seemed as if the god of love was jealous\nof his good looks, for now that he had obtained an opportunity, he\ntormented him, smiting him with his arrows and robbing him of his\nself-control. And the love-pain, which he had inflicted on women\nenamoured of his handsome shape, was now visited on that king a\nhundredfold.\n\nAnd in the course of some days, being pale and emaciated, he told\nto his confidential ministers, who questioned him, the thought of\nhis heart. And after deliberating with them, he sent to the king\nDevasakti, as ambassador, to ask for the hand of his daughter,\na trustworthy Br\u00e1hman of good birth, named Sangamasv\u00e1min, who was\nskilled in affairs, knew times and seasons, and could speak in a sweet\nand lofty style. That Sangamasv\u00e1min went to Vidarbha with a great\nretinue, and entered the city of Kundina. And there he had a formal\ninterview with the king Devasakti, and on behalf of his master asked\nfor the hand of his daughter. And Devasakti reflected--\"I must give\naway this daughter of mine to some one, and this king Kanakavarsha\nhas been described as my equal, and he asks for her; so I will give\nher to him.\" Accordingly he granted the prayer of Sangamasv\u00e1min,\nand the king displayed to the ambassador the astonishing elegance in\nthe dance of his daughter Madanasundar\u00ed. Then the king sent away,\nafter honouring him, and promising to give his daughter, that\nSangamasv\u00e1min, who was charmed with his sight of her. And he sent\nwith him a counter-ambassador to say, \"Fix an auspicious moment and\ncome here for the marriage. And Sangamasv\u00e1min returned, accompanied\nby the counter-ambassador, and told the king Kanakavarsha that his\nobject was effected. Then the king ascertained a favourable moment,\nand honoured that ambassador, and heard from him over and over again\nhow Madanasundar\u00ed was in love with him. And then the king Kanakavarsha\nset out for the city of Kundina, in order to marry her, with mind\nat ease on account of his own irresistible valour, mounted on the\nhorse As\u00edkala, [760] and he smote the Savaras that inhabited the\nborder-forests, and took the lives of living creatures, like lions\nand other wild beasts. And he reached Vidarbha, and entered that city\nof Kundina, with king Devasakti, who came out to meet him. Then he\nentered the king's palace, in which preparations had been made for\nthe marriage, robbing the ladies of the city of the feast which he\nhad given to their eyes. And there he rested a day with his retinue,\npleased at the noble reception which king Devasakti gave him. And on\nthe next day Devasakti gave him his daughter Madanasundar\u00ed, together\nwith all his wealth, retaining only his kingdom.\n\nAnd king Kanakavarsha, after he had remained there seven days,\nreturned to his own city with his recently-married bride. And when\nhe arrived with his beloved, giving joy to the world, like the moon\nwith the moonlight, that city was full of rejoicing. Then that queen\nMadanasundar\u00ed was dearer than life to that king, though he had many\nwives, as Rukmin\u00ed is to Vishnu. And the wedded couple remained fastened\ntogether by their eyes with lovely eyelashes, which were fixed on one\nanother's faces, resembling the arrows of love. And in the meanwhile\narrived the lion of spring, with a train of expanding filaments for\nmane, tearing to pieces the elephant of female coyness. And the garden\nmade ready blossoming mango-plants, by way of bows for the god of Love,\nwith rows of bees clinging to them by way of bowstring. And the wind\nfrom the Malaya mountain blew, swaying the love-kindled hearts of the\nwives of men travelling in foreign lands, as it swayed the suburban\ngroves. And the sweetly-speaking cuckoos seemed to say to men,\n\"The brimming of the streams, the flowers of the trees, the digits\nof the moon wane and return again, but not the youth of men. [761]\nFling aside coyness and quarrelling, and sport with your beloved ones.\"\n\nAnd at that time king Kanakavarsha went with all his wives to a\nspring-garden, to amuse himself. And he eclipsed the beauty of the\nasokas with the red robes of his attendants, and with the songs of\nhis lovely ladies the song of the cuckoos and bees. There the king,\nthough all his wives were with him, amused himself with Madanasundar\u00ed\nin picking flowers and other diversions. And after roaming there a\nlong time, the king entered the God\u00e1var\u00ed with his wives to bathe,\nand began the water-game. His ladies surpassed the lotuses with their\nfaces, with their eyes the blue water-lilies, with their breasts the\ncouples of Brahmany ducks, with their hips the sandbanks, and when\nthey troubled the bosom of the stream, it showed frowns of anger\nin the form of curling waves. Then the mind of Kanakavarsha took\npleasure in them, while they displayed the contours of their limbs\nin the splashing-game. And in the ardour of the game, he splashed\none queen with water from his palms on her breast.\n\nWhen Madanasundar\u00ed saw it, she was jealous, and got angry with him,\nand in an outburst of indignation said to him, \"How long are you\ngoing to trouble the river?\" And going out of the water, she took her\nother clothes and rushed off in a passion to her own palace, telling\nher ladies of that fault of her lover's. Then king Kanakavarsha,\nseeing her state of mind, stopped his water-game, and went off to her\napartments. Even the parrots in the cages warned him off in wrath,\nwhen he approached, and entering he saw within the queen afflicted with\nwrath: with her downcast lotus-like face supported on the palm of her\nleft hand, with tear-drops falling like transparent pearls. And she\nwas repeating, with accents charming on account of her broken speech,\nin a voice interrupted with sobs, shewing her gleaming teeth, this\nfragment of a Pr\u00e1krit song: \"If you cannot endure separation, you must\ncheerfully abandon anger. If you can in your heart endure separation,\nthen you must increase your wrath. Perceiving this clearly, remain\npledged to one or the other; if you take your stand on both, you will\nfall between two stools.\" And when the king saw her in this state,\nlovely even in tears, he approached her bashfully and timidly. And\nembracing her, though she kept her face averted, he set himself to\npropitiate her with respectful words tender with love. And when her\nretinue signified her scorn with ambiguous hints, he fell at her feet,\nblaming himself as an offender. Then she clung to the neck of the king,\nand was reconciled to him, bedewing him with the tears that flowed on\naccount of that very annoyance. And he, delighted, spent the day with\nhis beloved, whose anger had been exchanged for good-will, and slept\nthere at night.\n\nBut in the night he saw in a dream his necklace suddenly taken from\nhis neck, and his crest-jewel snatched from his head, by a deformed\nwoman. Then he saw a Vet\u00e1la, with a body made up of the limbs of\nmany animals, and when the Vet\u00e1la wrestled with him, he hurled him\nto earth. And when the king sat on the Vet\u00e1la's back, the demon flew\nup with him through the air, like a bird, and threw him into the\nsea. Then, after he had with difficulty struggled to the shore, he\nsaw that the necklace was replaced on his neck, and the crest-jewel\non his head. When the king had seen this, he woke up, and in the\nmorning he asked a Buddhist mendicant, who had come to visit him as\nan old friend, the meaning of the dream. And the mendicant answered\nclearly--\"I do not wish to say what is unpleasant, but how can I help\ntelling you when I am asked? The fact that you saw your necklace and\ncrest-jewel taken away, means that you will be separated from your\nwife and from your son. And the fact that, after you had escaped\nfrom the sea, you found them again, means that you will be reunited\nwith them, when your calamity comes to an end.\" Then the king said,\n\"I have not a son as yet, let him be born first.\" Then the king\nheard from a reciter of the R\u00e1m\u00e1yana, who visited his palace, how\nking Dasaratha endured hardship to obtain a son; and so there arose\nin his mind anxiety about obtaining a son, and the mendicant having\ndeparted, the king Kanakavarsha spent that day in despondency.\n\nAnd at night, as he was lying alone and sleepless upon his bed,\nhe saw a woman enter without opening the door. She was modest and\ngentle of appearance, and, when the king bowed before her, she gave\nhim her blessing and said to him: \"Son, know that I am the daughter\nof V\u00e1suki the king of the snakes, and the elder sister of thy father,\nRatnaprabh\u00e1 by name. I always dwell near thee, invisible, to protect\nthee, but to-day, seeing thee despondent, I have displayed to thee\nmy real form. I cannot bear to behold thy sorrow, so tell me the\ncause.\" When the king had been thus addressed by his father's sister,\nhe said to her: \"I am fortunate, mother, in that you shew me such\ncondescension. But know that my anxiety is caused by the fact that no\nson is born to me. How can people like myself help desiring that, which\neven heroic saints of old days, like Dasaratha and others, desired for\nthe sake of obtaining svarga.\" When the N\u00e1g\u00ed [762] Ratnaprabh\u00e1 heard\nthis speech of that king, she said to her brother's son; \"My son, I\nwill tell thee an admirable expedient, carry it out. Go and propitiate\nK\u00e1rtikeya with a view to obtain a son. I will enter thy body, and by\nmy power thou shalt support the rain of K\u00e1rtikeya falling on thy head\nto impede thee, difficult to endure. And after thou hast overcome a\nhost of other impediments, thou shalt obtain thy wish.\" When the N\u00e1g\u00ed\nhad said this, she disappeared, and the king spent the night in bliss.\n\nThe next morning he committed his realm to the care of his ministers,\nand went, desiring a son, to visit the sole of K\u00e1rtikeya's foot. There\nhe performed a severe penance to propitiate that lord, having power\ngiven him by the N\u00e1g\u00ed that entered his body. Then the rain of Kum\u00e1ra\n[763] fell on his head like thunderbolts, and continued without\nceasing. But he endured it by means of the N\u00e1g\u00ed that had entered his\nbody. Then K\u00e1rtikeya sent Ganesa to impede him still further. And\nGanesa created in that rain a very poisonous and exceedingly terrible\nserpent, but the king did not fear it. Then Ganesa, invincible [764]\neven by gods, came in visible form, and began to give him bites on\nthe breast. Then king Kanakavarsha, thinking that he was a foe hard\nto subdue, proceeded, after he had endured that ordeal, to propitiate\nGanesa with praises.\n\n\"Honour to thee, O god of the projecting belly, adorned with the\nelephant's ornament, whose body is like a swelling pitcher containing\nsuccess in all affairs! Victory to thee, O elephant-faced one, that\nmakest even Brahm\u00e1 afraid, shaking the lotus, which is his throne,\nwith thy trunk flung up in sport! Even the gods, the Asuras, and\nthe chief hermits do not succeed, unless thou art pleased, the only\nrefuge of the world, O thou beloved of Siva! The chief of the gods\npraise thee by thy sixty-eight sin-destroying names, calling thee the\npitcher-bellied, the basket-eared one, [765] the chief of the Ganas,\nthe furious mast elephant, Yama the noose-handed, the Sun, Vishnu, and\nSiva. With these names to the number of sixty-eight, corresponding to\nso many parts of the body, do they praise thee. And when one remembers\nthee, and praises thee, O Lord, fear produced by the battle-field, by\nthe king's court, by gambling, by thieves, by fire, by wild beasts,\nand other harms, departs.\" With these laudatory verses, and with\nmany others of the same kind, king Kanakavarsha honoured that king\nof impediments. And the conqueror of impediments said, \"I will not\nthrow an impediment in thy way, obtain a son,\" and disappeared then\nand there from the eyes of that king.\n\nThen K\u00e1rtikeya said to that king, who had endured the rain;\n\"Resolute man, I am pleased with thee, so crave thy boon.\" Then the\nking, delighted, said to the god, \"Let a son be born to me by thy\nfavour.\" Then the god said, \"Thou shalt have a son, the incarnation of\none of my Ganas, and his name shall be Hiranyavarsha on the earth.\" And\nthen the rider on the peacock summoned him to enter his inmost shrine,\nin order to shew him special favour. [766] Thereupon the N\u00e1g\u00ed left his\nbody invisibly, for females do not enter the house of K\u00e1rtikeya through\ndread of a curse. Then king Kanakavarsha entered the sanctifying\ntemple of that god, armed only with his human excellence. When the\ngod saw that he was deprived of the excellence he formerly had,\nbecause he was no longer inhabited by the N\u00e1g\u00ed, he reflected--\"What\ncan this mean?\" And K\u00e1rtikeya, perceiving by his divine meditation,\nthat that king had performed a very difficult vow by the secret\nhelp of the N\u00e1g\u00ed, thus cursed him in his wrath: \"Since thou didst\nmake use of deceit, intractable man, thou shalt be separated from\nthy son, as soon as he is born, and from thy queen. When the king\nheard this curse, terrible as a thunderstroke, he was not amazed,\nbut being a mighty poet, praised that god with hymns. Then the\nsix-faced god, pleased with his well turned language, said to him;\n\"King, I am pleased with thy hymns; I appoint thee this end of thy\ncurse; thou shalt be separated from thy wife and son for one year,\nbut after thou hast been saved from three great dangers, thou shalt\ncome to an end of the separation.\" When the six-faced god had said\nthis, he ceased to speak, and the king, satisfied with the nectar of\nhis favour, bowed before him, and went to his own city.\n\nThen, in course of time, he had a son born to him by queen\nMadanasundar\u00ed, as the nectar-stream is born of the light of the\ncold-rayed moon. When the king and queen saw the face of that son,\nbeing filled with great delight, they were not able to contain\nthemselves. [767] And at that time the king made a feast, and showered\nriches, and made his name of Kanakavarsha [768] a literal fact on\nthe earth.\n\nWhen five nights had passed, while guard was being kept in the\nlying-in-house, on the sixth night a cloud suddenly came there. It\nswelled, and gradually covered the whole sky, as a neglected enemy\noverruns the kingdom of a careless king. Then the mast elephant\nof the wind began to rush, showering drops of rain like drops\nof ichor, and rooting up trees. At that moment a terrible woman,\nsword in hand, opened the door, though it was bolted, and entered\nthat lying-in-chamber. She took that babe from the queen as she\nwas nursing it, and ran out, having bewildered the attendants. And\nthen the queen, distracted, and exclaiming, \"Alas! a R\u00e1kshas\u00ed has\ncarried off my child,\" pursued that woman, though it was dark. And\nthe woman rushed on and plunged into a tank with the child, and\nthe queen, pursuing her, plunged in also, eager to recover her\noffspring. Immediately the cloud disappeared, and the night came\nto an end, and the lamentation of the attendants was heard in the\nlying-in-chamber. Then the king Kanakavarsha, hearing it, came to\nthe lying-in-chamber, and seeing it empty of his son and wife, was\ndistracted. After he had recovered consciousness, he began to lament,\n\"Alas, my queen! Alas, my infant son!\" and then he called to mind\nthat the curse was to end in a year. And he exclaimed, \"Holy Skanda,\nhow could you give to ill-starred me a boon joined with a curse,\nlike nectar mixed with poison? Alas! how shall I be able to pass\na year, long as a thousand years, without the queen Madanasundar\u00ed,\nwhom I value more than my life?\" And the king, though exhorted by the\nministers, who knew the circumstances, did not recover his composure,\nwhich had departed with his queen.\n\nAnd in course of time he left his city, distracted with a paroxysm\nof love, and wandered through the Vindhya forest in a state of\nbewilderment. There, as he gazed on the eyes of the young does,\nhe remembered the beauty of the eyes of his beloved, and the bushy\ntails of the chamar\u00eds reminded him of the loveliness of her luxuriant\nhair, and when he marked the gait of the female elephant, he called\nto mind the languid grace of her gait, so that the fire of his love\nbroke out into a fiercer flame. And wandering about exhausted with\nthirst and heat, he reached the foot of the Vindhya mountains, and,\nafter drinking the water of a stream, he sat down at the foot of a\ntree. In the meanwhile a long-maned lion came out of a cavern of the\nVindhya hills, uttering a roar which resembled a loud demoniac laugh,\nand rushed towards him to slay him. At that very moment a certain\nVidy\u00e1dhara descended rapidly from heaven, and cleft that lion in two\nwith a sword-stroke. And that sky-goer, coming near, said to the king,\n\"King Kanakavarsha, how have you come to this region?\" When the king\nheard it, he recovered his memory, and said to him, \"How do you know\nme, who am tossed with the wind of separation?\" Then the Vidy\u00e1dhara\nsaid, \"I, when in old time I was a religious mendicant, of the name\nof Bandhumitra, dwelt in your city. Then you helped me in my rites,\nwhen I respectfully asked you to do so, and so I obtained the rank of\na Vidy\u00e1dhara, by making a goblin my servant. Thus I recognized you,\nand being desirous to confer on you a benefit by way of recompense,\nI have slain this lion which I saw on the point of killing you.\n\n\"And my name has now become Bandhuprabha.\" When the Vidy\u00e1dhara said\nthis, the king conceived an affection for him, and said, \"Ah! I\nremember, and this friendship has been nobly acted up to by you,\nso tell me when I shall be reunited with my wife and son.\" When the\nVidy\u00e1dhara Bandhuprabha heard that, he perceived it by his divine\nknowledge, and said to the king--\"By a pilgrimage to the shrine of\nDurg\u00e1, in the Vindhya hills, you will recover your wife and son,\nso go you to prosperity, and I will return to my own world.\" When he\nhad said this, he departed, and king Kanakavarsha, having recovered\nhis self-command, went to visit that shrine of Durg\u00e1.\n\nAs he was going along, a great and furious wild elephant, stretching\nout its trunk, and shaking its head, charged him in the path. When the\nking saw that, he fled by a way full of holes, so that the elephant,\npursuing him, fell into a chasm and was killed. Then the king, fatigued\nwith toil and exertion, slowly going along, reached a great lake full\nof lotuses with straight upstanding stalks. There the king bathed,\ndrank the water of the lake, and ate the fibres of the lotuses, and\nlying tired at the foot of a tree, was for a moment overpowered by\nsleep. And some Savaras, returning that way from hunting, saw that king\nwith auspicious marks lying asleep. And they immediately bound him,\nand took him to their king Mukt\u00e1phala, in order that he might serve\nas a victim. The king of the Savaras, for his part, seeing that the\nking was a suitable victim, took him to the temple of Durg\u00e1 to offer\nhim up. And when the king saw the goddess, he bowed before her, and by\nher mercy and the favour of Skanda his bonds fell off. When the king\nof the Savaras saw that miracle, he knew that it was a mark of the\ngoddess's favour towards him, and he spared his life. So Kanakavarsha\nescaped the third danger, and accomplished the year of his curse.\n\nAnd in the meanwhile the N\u00e1g\u00ed, the aunt of the king, came there,\nbringing the queen Madanasundar\u00ed with her son, and said to the king--\"O\nking, when I heard the curse of K\u00e1rtikeya, I took these away by an\nartifice to my own dwelling, and preserved them there. Therefore,\nKanakavarsha, receive here your wife and son, enjoy this empire of\nthe earth, for now your curse is at an end.\" When the N\u00e1g\u00ed had said\nthis to the king, who bowed before her, she disappeared, and the king\nlooked upon the arrival of his wife and child as a dream. Then the\ngrief of separation of the king and queen, who had so long been forced\nto live apart, trickled away in their tears of joy. Then Mukt\u00e1phala,\nthe king of the Savaras, fell at the feet of the king Kanakavarsha,\non finding that he was his master, the lord of the whole earth. And\nafter he had propitiated him, and persuaded him to visit his town,\nhe furnished his wife and child with all kinds of luxuries, such\nas it was in his power to give. Then the king, remaining there,\nsummoned by messengers his father-in-law Devasakti and his army\n[769] from his own city. Then he sent on in front of him his beloved\nwife Madanasundar\u00ed, mounted on a female elephant, and his son, who\nK\u00e1rtikeya said was to be called Hiranyavarsha, and went with his\nfather-in-law towards his father-in-law's house. [770] And in a few\ndays he reached the residence of his father-in-law, a hermitage in the\ncountry of Vidarbha, and after that his wealthy city of Kundina, and\nthere he remained some time with his wife and son, and his army, being\nentertained by his father-in-law. And setting out thence, he at last\nreached his own town of Kanakapura, where he was, as it were, drunk in\nby the eyes of the wives of the citizens, long desirous of beholding\nhim again. And with his son and Madanasundar\u00ed he entered the palace,\nlike an embodied feast, accompanied with joy and splendour. And there\nhe gave Madanasundar\u00ed a turban of honour, and made her his head wife,\nand he honoured his subjects with gifts on this day of triumph. [771]\nAnd then king Kanakavarsha ruled this circle of the earth, four-limited\nby the sea, without opponents, in perpetual happiness, with his wife\nand son, without experiencing again the grief of separation.\n\nWhen the prince Narav\u00e1hanadatta heard this magnificent tale from\nhis head minister Gomukha, in the company of the fair Alank\u00e1ravat\u00ed,\nhe was exceedingly delighted.\n\n\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER LVI.\n\n\nThen the prince Narav\u00e1hanadatta, with his beloved by his side,\nbeing much pleased at the tale of Gomukha, but seeing that Marubh\u00fati\nwas quite put out, in order to pay him a compliment, said to him,\nattempting to conciliate him; \"Marubh\u00fati, why do you not tell a tale\nalso?\" Then he said, \"Well, I will tell one,\" and with pleased soul\nbegan to relate the following story.\n\n\n\nStory of the Br\u00e1hman Chandrasv\u00e1min, his son Mah\u00edp\u00e1la, and his daughter\nChandravat\u00ed.\n\nThere once lived in a town called Devakamalapura, belonging to the\nking Kamalavarman, an excellent Br\u00e1hman, named Chandrasv\u00e1min. And\nthat wise man had a wife like himself, distinguished for modesty,\nand she was a worthy match for Sarasvat\u00ed and Lakshm\u00ed. And to that\nBr\u00e1hman was born a son with auspicious marks, and when he was born,\nthis voice was heard from heaven:\n\n\"Chandrasv\u00e1min, you must call your son Mah\u00edp\u00e1la, [772] because he\nshall be a king and long protect the earth.\" When Chandrasv\u00e1min heard\nthis, he made a feast and called that son Mah\u00edp\u00e1la. And in course\nof time Mah\u00edp\u00e1la grew up, and was taught the science of missile and\nhand to hand weapons, and was at the same time instructed in all\nknowledge. And in the meanwhile his wife Devamati brought forth\nto Chandrasv\u00e1min another child, a daughter, beautiful in all her\nlimbs. And the brother and sister, Mah\u00edp\u00e1la and Chandravat\u00ed, grew up\ntogether in their father's house.\n\nThen a famine, caused by want of rain, sprang up in that country,\nthe corn having been scorched up by the rays of the sun. And owing\nto that, the king began to play the bandit, leaving the right path,\nand taking wealth from his subjects unlawfully. Then, as that land\nwas going rapidly to ruin, Chandrasv\u00e1min's wife said to her husband:\n\"Come to my father's house, let us leave this city, for our children\nwill perish here some day or other.\" When Chandrasv\u00e1min heard this,\nhe said to his wife--\"By no means, for flight from one's own country\nin time of famine is a great sin. So I will take these children\nand deposit them in your father's house, and do you remain here;\nI will return soon. She agreed, and then Chandrasv\u00e1min left her in\nhis house, and taking those two children, the boy Mah\u00edp\u00e1la and the\ngirl Chandravat\u00ed, set out from that city for his father-in-law's\nhouse. And in course of time, as he roamed on, he reached a great\nwilderness, with sands heated by the rays of the sun, and with but\na few parched up trees in it. And there he left his two children,\nwho were exhausted with thirst, and went to a great distance to look\nfor water for them. Then there met him a chief of the Savaras, named\nSinhadanshtra, with his followers, going somewhere or other for his\nown ends. The Bhilla saw him and questioned him, and finding out that\nhe was in search of water, said to his followers, \"Take him to some\nwater,\" at the same time making a sign to them. When they heard it,\ntwo or three of the Savara king's followers, perceiving his intention,\ntook the innocent Chandrasv\u00e1min to the village, and fettered him. And\nhe, learning from them that he was fettered in order to be offered as\na victim, lamented for his two children that he had left in the wild:\n\n\"Ah Mah\u00edp\u00e1la! Ah dear Chandravat\u00ed! why did I foolishly abandon you in\nthe wilderness and make you the prey of lions and tigers? And I have\nbrought myself also into a position where I am sure to be slain by\nbandits, and there is no escape for me.\" While he was thus lamenting\nin his terror, he saw to his delight the sun. And exclaiming, \"Ah! I\nwill fling aside bewilderment and fly for refuge to my own lord,\"\nthe Br\u00e1hman began to praise the sun in the following verses--\"Hail to\nthee, O Lord, the brightness residing in the near and in the remote\nether, that dispersest the internal and external darkness. Thou art\nVishnu pervading the three worlds, thou art Siva the treasure-house\nof blessings, thou art the supreme lord of creatures, calling into\nactivity the sleeping Universe. Thou deposest thy brightness in fire\nand in the moon, out of pity, as it were, saying, 'Let these two dull\nthings shine,' and so thou dispellest the night. When thou risest,\nthe R\u00e1kshasas disperse, the Dasyus have no power, and the virtuous\nrejoice. [773] So, thou matchless illuminator of the three worlds,\ndeliver me, who take refuge with thee. Disperse this darkness of my\ngrief, have mercy upon me.\" When the Br\u00e1hman had devoutly praised\nthe sun with these and other similar hymns, a voice was heard from\nheaven--\"Chandrasv\u00e1min, I am pleased with thee, thou shalt not be\nput to death, and by my favour thou shalt be reunited with thy wife\nand children.\" When the divine voice had said this to Chandrasv\u00e1min,\nhe recovered his spirits, and remained in a state of tranquillity,\nbeing supplied with bathing requisites and food by the Savaras.\n\nAnd in the meanwhile the boy Mah\u00edp\u00e1la, left in the wilderness with his\nsister, as his father did not return, remained lamenting bitterly,\nsupposing that some calamity had befallen him. And in this state\nhe was beheld by a great merchant, of the name of S\u00e1rthadhara,\nwho came that way, and the merchant asked him what had happened\nto him. And feeling compassion, he consoled the boy, and observing\nthat he had auspicious marks, he took him and his sister to his own\ncountry. There that Mah\u00edp\u00e1la lived in the house of that merchant,\nwho looked upon him with all the affection of a father for his son;\nand though a boy, he was occupied in the rites of the sacred fire.\n\nBut one day the minister of the king T\u00e1r\u00e1varman, who lived in the\ncity of T\u00e1r\u00e1pura, the excellent Br\u00e1hman Anantasv\u00e1min, came that way on\nbusiness, with his elephants, horses and foot-soldiers, and entered the\nhouse of that merchant, being a friend of his. After he had rested,\nhe saw the handsome boy Mah\u00edp\u00e1la, engaged in muttering prayers and\nin sacrificing to the fire, and asked his story; then the Br\u00e1hman\nminister, finding that the boy was of his own caste, as he had no\nchildren, begged the boy and his sister from the merchant. Then the\nmerchant, who was a Vaisya, gave him the children, and Anantasv\u00e1min\nwent with them to T\u00e1r\u00e1pura. There Mah\u00edp\u00e1la remained in the house of\nthat minister, which abounded in wealth on account of its master's\nknowledge, and was treated by him as a son.\n\nAnd in the meanwhile Sinhadanshtra, the king of the Bhillas, came\nto Chandrasv\u00e1min, who was in captivity in that village, and said to\nhim; \"Br\u00e1hman, I have been ordered in a dream by the Sun-god not to\nslay you but to set you free, after doing you honour. So rise up,\nand go where you please.\" After saying this, he let him go, giving\nhim pearls and musk, and supplying him with an escort through the\nforest. And Chandrasv\u00e1min, being thus set at liberty, not finding his\nson and his younger sister in the wood, wandered in search of them,\nand as he wandered he found a city named Jalapura on the shore of the\nsea, and entered as a guest the house of a certain Br\u00e1hman. There,\nafter he had taken refreshment, and then told his story, the Br\u00e1hman,\nthe master of the house, said to him; \"A merchant named Kanakavarman\ncame here some days ago; he found in the forest a Br\u00e1hman boy with\nhis sister, and he has gone off with those two very handsome children\nto the great island of N\u00e1rikela, but he did not tell his name.\" When\nChandrasv\u00e1min heard that, he made up his mind that those children\nwere his, and he determined to go to that beautiful island. And after\nhe had spent the night, and looked about him, he made acquaintance\nwith a merchant, named Vishnuvarman, who was about to go to the\nisle of N\u00e1rikela. And with him he embarked in a ship, and went\nacross the sea to the island, out of love for his children. When he\nbegan to enquire there, the merchants, who lived there, said to him;\n\"It is true that a merchant named Kanakavarman did come here, with\ntwo beautiful Br\u00e1hman children, whom he found in a wood. But he has\nnow gone with them to the island of Kat\u00e1ha. When the Br\u00e1hman heard\nthat, he went in a ship with the merchant D\u00e1navarman to the island of\nKat\u00e1ha. There he heard that the merchant Kanakavarman had gone from\nthat island to an island named Karp\u00fara. In the same way he visited\nin turn the islands of Karp\u00fara, Suvarna, and Sinhala with merchants,\nbut he did not find the merchant whom he was in search of. But from\nthe people of Sinhala he heard that that merchant Kanakavarman had\ngone to his own city, named Chitrak\u00fata. Then Chandrasv\u00e1min went with\na merchant, named Kot\u00edsvara, to Chitrak\u00fata, crossing the sea in his\nship. And in that city he found the merchant Kanakavarman, and longing\nfor his children, he told him the whole story. Then Kanakavarman,\nwhen he knew the cause of his grief, showed him the children, whom\nhe had found in the forest and brought away. But when Chandrasv\u00e1min\nlooked at those two children, he saw that they were not his, but\nsome other children. Then he, being afflicted with tears and grief,\nlamented in desperate mood--\"Alas! though I have wandered so far,\nI have not found my son or my daughter. Malignant Providence, like a\nwicked master, has held out hopes to me but has not fulfilled them,\nand has made me wander far and wide on a false surmise.\" While he\nwas indulging in such lamentations, he was at last, though with\ndifficulty, consoled by Kanakavarman, and exclaimed in his grief,\n\"If I do not find those children in a year, by wandering over the\nearth, I will abandon the body by austerities on the bank of the\nriver Ganges. When he said this, a certain seer there said to him,\n\"Go, you will recover your children by the favour of N\u00e1r\u00e1yan\u00ed. When\nhe heard that, he was delighted, remembering the compassion shown him\nby the sun, and he departed from that city, honoured by the merchants.\n\nThen, searching the lands which were royal grants to Br\u00e1hmans,\nand the villages and the towns, he reached one evening a wood with\nmany tall trees in it. There he made a meal on fruits and water,\nand climbed up into a tree to spend the night there, dreading the\nlions, and tigers, and other noisome beasts. And being sleepless,\nhe saw in the night at the foot of the tree a great body of divine\nMothers assembled, with N\u00e1r\u00e1yan\u00ed at their head; waiting for the\narrival of the god Bhairava, having brought with them all kinds of\npresents suited to their resources. And thereupon the Mothers asked\nN\u00e1r\u00e1yan\u00ed why the god delayed, but she laughed and gave no reason. And\nbeing persistently questioned by them, she answered--\"He has stopped\nto curse a Guhyaka who has incurred his displeasure.\" [774] And on\naccount of that business some delay has taken place about his arrival,\nbut know that he will be here soon. While N\u00e1r\u00e1yan\u00ed was saying this to\nthe Mothers, there came there Bhairava [775] the lord of the company\nof Mothers. And he, having been honoured with gifts by all the Mothers,\nspent some time in dancing, and sported with the witches.\n\nAnd while Chandrasv\u00e1min was surveying that from the summit of a\ntree, he saw a slave belonging to N\u00e1r\u00e1yan\u00ed, and she saw him. And\nas chance would have it, they fell in love with one another, and\nthe goddess N\u00e1r\u00e1yan\u00ed perceived their feelings. And when Bhairava had\ndeparted, accompanied by the witches, she, lingering behind, summoned\nChandrasv\u00e1min who was on the tree. And when he came down, she said\nto him and her slave: \"Are you in love with one another?\" And they\nconfessed the truth, and said they were, and thereupon she dismissed\nher anger and said to Chandrasv\u00e1min, \"I am pleased with thee for\nconfessing the truth, so I will not curse thee, but I will give\nthee this slave, live in happiness.\" When the Br\u00e1hman heard this, he\nsaid--\"Goddess, though my mind is fickle, I hold it in check, I do not\ntouch a strange woman. For this is the nature of the mind, but bodily\nsin should be avoided.\" When that firm-souled Br\u00e1hman said this, the\ngoddess said to him--\"I am pleased with thee and I give thee this boon:\nthou shalt quickly find thy children. And receive from me this unfading\nlotus that destroys poison.\" When the goddess had said this, she gave\nthe Br\u00e1hman Chandrasv\u00e1min a lotus, and disappeared from his eyes.\n\nAnd he, having received the lotus, set out, at the end of the night,\nand roaming along reached the city of T\u00e1r\u00e1pura, where his son Mah\u00edp\u00e1la\nand his daughter were living in the house of that Br\u00e1hman minister\nAnantasv\u00e1min. There he went and recited at the door of that minister,\nin order to obtain food, having heard that he was hospitable. And\nthe minister, having been informed by the door-keepers, had him\nintroduced by them, and when he saw that he was learned, invited\nhim to dinner. And when he was invited, having heard that there\nwas a lake there, named Anantahrada, that washed away sin, he went\nto bathe there. While he was returning after bathing, the Br\u00e1hman\nheard all round him in the city a cry of grief. And when he asked\nthe cause, the people said to him--\"There is in this city a Br\u00e1hman\nboy, of the name of Mah\u00edp\u00e1la, who was found in the forest by the\nmerchant S\u00e1rthadhara. The minister Anantasv\u00e1min, observing that he\nhad auspicious marks, with some difficulty begged him and his sister\nfrom the merchant, and brought them both here. And being without a\nson, he has adopted the boy, whose excellent qualities have endeared\nhim to king T\u00e1r\u00e1varman and his people. To-day he has been bitten\nby a poisonous snake; hence the cry of grief in the city.\" When\nChandrasv\u00e1min heard that, he said to himself, \"This must be my son,\"\nand reflecting thus, he went to the house of that minister as fast as\nhe could. There he saw his son surrounded by all, and recognized him,\nand rejoiced, having in his hand the lotus that was an antidote to\nsnake-poison. And he put that lotus to the nose of that Mah\u00edp\u00e1la, and\nthe moment he smelt it, he was free from the effects of poison. And\nMah\u00edp\u00e1la rose up, and was as one who had just awoke from sleep,\n[776] and all the people in the city, and the king rejoiced. And\nChandrasv\u00e1min was honoured with wealth by Anantasv\u00e1min, the king, and\nthe citizens, who said \"This is some incarnation of the divinity.\" And\nhe remained in the house of the minister in great comfort, honoured\nby him, and he saw his son Mah\u00edp\u00e1la and his daughter Chandravat\u00ed. And\nthe three, though they mutually recognized one another, said nothing,\nfor the wise have regard to what is expedient, and do not discover\nthemselves out of season.\n\nThen the king T\u00e1r\u00e1varman, being highly pleased with the virtues of\nMah\u00edp\u00e1la, gave him his daughter Bandhumat\u00ed. Then that king, after\ngiving him the half of the kingdom, being pleased with him, laid the\nwhole burden of the kingdom upon him, as he had no other son. And\nMah\u00edp\u00e1la, after he had obtained the kingdom, acknowledged his father,\nand gave him a position next to his, and so lived in happiness.\n\nOne day his father Chandrasv\u00e1min said to him, \"Come, let us go to our\nown country to bring your mother. For if she hears that you are the\noccupant of a throne, having been long afflicted, she might think,\n'How comes it that my son has forgotten me,' and might curse you\nin her anger. But one who is cursed by his father and mother does\nnot long enjoy prosperity. In proof of this hear this tale of what\nhappened long ago to the merchant's son.\"\n\n\n\nStory of Chakra. [777]\n\nIn the city of Dhavala there was a merchant's son, named Chakra. He\nwent on a trading voyage to Svarnadv\u00edpa against the will of his\nparents. There he gained great wealth in five years, and in order\nto return embarked on the sea in a ship laden with jewels. And when\nhis voyage was very nearly at an end, the sea rose up against him,\ntroubled with a great wind, and with clouds and rain. And the huge\nbillows broke his vessel, as if angry because he had come against the\nwish of his parents. Some of the passengers were whelmed in the waves,\nothers were eaten by sea-monsters. But Chakra, as his allotted term of\nlife had not run out, was carried to the shore and flung up there by\nthe waves. While he was lying there in a state of exhaustion, he saw\nas if in a dream, a man of black and terrible appearance come to him,\nwith a noose in his hand. Chakra was caught in the noose by that man,\nwho took him up and dragged him a long distance to a court presided\nover by a man on a throne. By the order of the occupant of the throne,\nthe merchant's son was carried off by that noose-bearer, and flung\ninto a cell of iron.\n\nIn that cell Chakra saw a man being tortured by means of an iron\nwheel [778] on his head, that revolved incessantly. And Chakra\nasked him,--\"Who are you, by what crime did you incur this, and\nhow do you manage to continue alive?\" And the man answered--\"I am a\nmerchant's son named Khadga, and because I did not obey the commands\nof my parents, they were angry and in wrath laid this curse upon me:\n[779] 'Because, wicked son, you torture us like a hot wheel placed\non the head, therefore such shall be your punishment.' When they had\nsaid this they ceased, and as I wept, they said to me, 'Weep not,\nyour punishment shall only last for one month.' When I heard that,\nI spent the day in grief, and at night when I was in bed, I saw,\nas if in a dream, a terrible man come. He took me off and thrust me\nby force into this iron cell, and he placed on my head this burning\nand ever-revolving wheel. This was my parents' curse, hence I do not\ndie. And the month is at an end to-day; still I am not set free.\" When\nKhadga said that, Chakra in pity answered him--\"I too did not obey my\nparents, for I went abroad to get wealth against their will, and they\npronounced against me the curse that my wealth, when acquired, should\nperish. So I lost in the sea my whole wealth, that I had acquired\nin a foreign island. My case is the same as yours. So what is the\nuse of my life? Place this wheel on my head. Let your curse, Khadga,\ndepart.\" When Chakra said this, a voice was heard in the air \"Khadga,\nthou art released, so place this wheel on the head of Chakra.\" When\nKhadga heard this, he placed the wheel on the head of Chakra, and\nwas conveyed by some invisible being to his parents' house.\n\nThere he remained without disobeying again the orders of his parents:\nbut Chakra put that wheel upon his head, and then spake thus--\"May\nother sinners also on the earth be released from the result of their\nsins; until all sins are cancelled, may this wheel revolve on my\nhead.\" When the resolute Chakra said this, the gods in heaven, being\npleased, rained flowers and thus addressed him: \"Bravo! Bravo! man of\nnoble spirit, this compassion has cancelled thy sin, go; thou shalt\npossess inexhaustible wealth.\" When the gods said this, that iron\nwheel fell from the head of Chakra, and disappeared somewhere. Then\na Vidy\u00e1dhara youth descended from heaven, and gave him a valuable\ntreasure of jewels, sent by Indra pleased with his self-abnegation,\nand taking Chakra in his arms, carried him to his city named Dhavala,\nand departed as he had come. Then Chakra delighted his relations\nby his arrival at the house of his parents, and, after telling his\nadventures, remained there without falling away from virtue.\n\nWhen Chandrasv\u00e1min had told this story, he said again to Mah\u00edp\u00e1la,\n\"Such evil fruits does opposition to one's parents produce, my son,\nbut devotion to them is a wishing-cow of plenty: in illustration of\nthis hear the following tale.\"\n\n\n\nStory of the hermit and the faithful wife.\n\nThere was in old time a hermit of great austerity, who roamed in the\nforest. And one day a hen-crow, as he was sitting under the shade of\na tree, dropped dirt upon him, so he looked at the crow with angry\neyes. And the crow, as soon as he looked at it, was reduced to ashes;\nand so the hermit conceived a vain-glorious confidence in the might\nof his austerities.\n\nOnce on a time, in a certain city, the hermit entered the house of a\nBr\u00e1hman, and asked his wife for alms. And that wife, who was devoted\nto her husband, answered him, \"Wait a little, I am attending upon my\nhusband.\" Then he looked at her with an angry look, and she laughed\nat him and said, \"Remember, [780] I am not a crow.\" When the hermit\nheard that, he sat down in a state of astonishment, and remained\nwondering how she could possibly have come to know of the fate of the\ncrow. Then, after she had attended upon her husband in the oblation\nto the fire and in other rites, the virtuous woman brought alms,\nand approached that hermit. Then the hermit joined his hands in the\nattitude of supplication, and said to that virtuous woman: \"How did\nyou come to know of my adventure with the crow in the forest; tell\nme first, and then I will receive your alms?\" When the hermit said\nthis, that wife, who adored her husband, said, \"I know of no virtue\nother than devotion to my husband, accordingly by his favour I have\nsuch power of discernment. But go and visit a man here who lives by\nselling flesh, whose name is Dharmavy\u00e1dha, from him thou shalt learn\nthe secret of blessedness free from the consciousness of self.\" The\nhermit, thus addressed by the all-knowing faithful wife, took the\nportion of a guest, and after bowing before her, departed.\n\n\n\nStory of Dharmavy\u00e1dha the righteous seller of flesh. [781]\n\nThe next day he went in search of that Dharmavy\u00e1dha, and approached\nhim, as he was selling flesh in his shop. And as soon as Dharmavy\u00e1dha\nsaw the hermit, he said, \"Have you been sent here, Br\u00e1hman, by that\nfaithful wife?\" When the hermit heard that, he said to Dharmavy\u00e1dha\nin his astonishment,--\"How come you to have such knowledge, being a\nseller of flesh?\" When the hermit said this, Dharmavy\u00e1dha answered\nhim--\"I am devoted to my father and mother, that is my only object\nin life. I bathe after I have provided them with the requisites for\nbathing, I eat after I have fed them, I lie down after I have seen\nthem to bed; thus it comes to pass that I have such knowledge. And\nbeing engaged in the duties of my profession, I sell only for my\nsubsistence the flesh of deer and other animals slain by others, not\nfrom desire of wealth. And I and that faithful wife do not indulge\nself-consciousness, the impediment of knowledge, so the knowledge\nof both of us is free from hindrance. Therefore do you, observing\nthe vow of a hermit, perform your own duties, without giving way to\nself-consciousness, with a view to acquiring purity, in order that\nyou may quickly attain the supreme brightness.\" When he had been thus\ninstructed by Dharmavy\u00e1dha, he went to his house and observed his\npractice, and afterwards he returned satisfied to the forest. And by\nhis advice he became perfected, and the faithful wife and Dharmavy\u00e1dha\nalso attained perfection by such performance of their duties.\n\n\"Such is the power of those who are devoted to husband or father and\nmother. So come, visit that mother who longs for a sight of you.\" When\nthus addressed by his father Chandrasv\u00e1min, Mah\u00edp\u00e1la promised to go\nto his native land to please his mother. And he disclosed that of\nhis own accord to Anantasv\u00e1min his spiritual father, and when he took\nupon him the burden of his kingdom, the king set out with his natural\nfather by night. And at last he reached his own country, and refreshed\nhis mother Devamati with a sight of him, as the spring refreshes the\nfemale cuckoo. And Mah\u00edp\u00e1la stayed there some time with his mother,\nbeing welcomed by his relations, together with his father who related\ntheir adventures.\n\nIn the meanwhile in T\u00e1r\u00e1pura the princess, his wife Bandhumat\u00ed, who\nwas sleeping within the house, woke up at the close of night. And\ndiscovering that her husband had gone somewhere, she was distressed at\nher lonely state, and could not find solace in the palace, the garden,\nor any other place. But she remained weeping, shedding tears that\nseemed to double her necklace, intent on lamentation only, desiring\nrelief by death. But the minister Anantasv\u00e1min came and comforted her\nwith hope-inspiring words, saying, \"Before your husband went, he said\nto me, 'I am going away on some business and I will quickly return,'\nso do not weep, my daughter.\" Then she recovered self-control,\nthough with difficulty. Then she remained continually honouring\nwith gifts excellent Br\u00e1hmans, that came from a foreign country, in\norder to obtain news of her husband. And she asked a poor Br\u00e1hman,\nnamed Sangamadatta, who came for a gift, for tidings of her husband,\nhaving told him his name and the signs by which to recognize him. Then\nthe Br\u00e1hman said, \"I have never beheld a man of that kind; but, queen,\nyou must not give way to excessive anxiety on this account. Doers of\nrighteous actions eventually obtain reunion with loved ones, and in\nproof of that I will tell you a wonder which I saw, listen.\"\n\n\n\nStory of the treacherous P\u00e1supata ascetic.\n\nAs I was wandering round all the holy places, I came to the M\u00e1nasa\nlake on the Him\u00e1layas, and in it I saw, as in a mirror, [782] a house\ncomposed of jewels, and from that building there came out suddenly a\nman with a sword in his hand, and he ascended the bank of the lake,\naccompanied by a troop of celestial females. There he amused himself\nwith the females in a garden in the recreation of drinking, and I\nwas looking on from a distance unobserved, full of interest in the\nspectacle. In the meanwhile a man of prepossessing appearance came\nthere from somewhere or other. And when he met me, I told him what I\nhad seen. And with much interest I pointed out to him that man from\na distance, and when he beheld him he told me his own story in the\nfollowing words:\n\n\n\nStory of the king Tribhuvana.\n\nI am a king named Tribhuvana in the city of Tribhuvana. There a certain\nP\u00e1supata ascetic for a long time paid me court. And being asked the\nreason by me, he at once asked me to be his ally in obtaining a sword\nconcealed in a cavern, and I agreed to that. Then the P\u00e1supata ascetic\nwent with me at night, and having by means of a burnt-offering and\nother rites discovered an opening in the earth, the ascetic said to\nme, \"Hero! enter thou first, and after thou hast obtained the sword,\ncome out, and cause me also to enter; make a compact with me to do\nthis.\" When he said this, I made that compact with him, and quickly\nentered the opening, and found a palace of jewels. And the chief\nof the Asura maidens who dwelt there came out from the palace,\nand out of love led me in, and there gave me a sword. She said,\n\"Keep this sword which confers the power of flying in the air, and\nbestows all magical faculties.\" Then I remained there with her. But\nI remembered my compact, and going out with the sword in my hand,\nI introduced that ascetic into the palace of the Asuras by that\nopening. There I dwelt with the first Asura lady who was surrounded\nby her attendants, and he dwelt with the second. One day when I was\nstupefied with drinking, the ascetic treacherously took away from\nmy side the sword, and grasped it in his own hand. When he had it in\nhis grasp, he possessed great power, and with his hand he seized me\nand flung me out of the cavern. Then I searched for him for twelve\nyears at the mouths of caverns, hoping that some time I might find\nhim outside. And this very day the scoundrel has presented himself\nto my eyes, sporting with that very Asura lady who belongs to me.\n\nWhile the king Tribhuvana was relating this to me, O queen, that\nascetic, stupefied with drink, went to sleep. And while he was asleep,\nthe king went and took the sword from his side, and by its operation\nhe recovered celestial might. Then the hero woke up that ascetic with\na kick, and reproached the unfortunate man, but did not kill him. And\nthen he entered the palace with the Asura lady and her attendants,\nrecovered again like his own magic power. But the ascetic was much\ngrieved at having lost his magic power. For the ungrateful, though\nlong successful, are sure to fail at last.\n\n\"Having seen this with my own eyes, I have now arrived here in\nthe course of my wanderings; so be assured, queen, that you shall\neventually be reunited to your beloved, like Tribhuvana, for the\nrighteous does not sink.\" When Bandhumat\u00ed heard that from the Br\u00e1hman,\nshe was highly delighted, and made him successful by giving him\nmuch wealth.\n\nAnd the next day a distinguished Br\u00e1hman came there from a distant\nland, and Bandhumat\u00ed eagerly asked him for tidings of her husband,\ntelling his name and the tokens by which he might be recognized. Then\nthat Br\u00e1hman said to her: \"Queen, I have not seen your husband\nanywhere, but I, who have to-day come to your house, am named not\nwithout reason, the Br\u00e1hman Sumanas, [783] so you will quickly have\nyour wishes satisfied, thus my heart tells me. And reunions do take\nplace, even of the long separated. In proof of thus I will tell you\nthe following tale; listen, queen.\"\n\n\n\nStory of Nala and Damayant\u00ed.\n\nOf old time there lived a king named Nala, whose beauty, I fancy, so\nsurpassed that of the god of Love, that in disgust he offered his body\nas a burnt-offering in the fire of the eye of the enraged Siva. He\nhad no wife, and when he made enquiries, he heard that Damayant\u00ed,\nthe daughter of Bh\u00edma the king of Vidarbha, would make him a suitable\nwife. And Bh\u00edma, searching through the world, found that there was\nno king except Nala fit to marry his daughter.\n\nIn the meanwhile Damayant\u00ed went down into a tank in her own city,\nto amuse herself in the water. There the girl saw a swan that had\nfed on blue and white lotuses, and by a trick she threw over it\nher robe and made it a prisoner in sport. But the celestial swan,\nwhen captured, said to her in accents that she could understand:\n\"Princess, I will do you a good turn, let me go. There is a king of\nthe name of Nala, whom even the nymphs of heaven bear on their hearts,\nlike a necklace strung with threads of merit. [784] You are a wife\nfitted for him and he is a husband suited for you, so I will be an\nambassador of Love to bring like to like.\" When she heard that, she\nthought that the celestial swan was a polished speaker, and so she\nlet him go, saying--\"So be it.\"--And she said, \"I will not choose\nany husband but Nala,\" having her mind captivated by that prince,\nwho had entered by the channel of her ear.\n\nAnd the swan departed thence, and quickly repaired to a tank resorted\nto by Nala, when bent on sporting in the water. And Nala, seeing that\nthe swan was beautiful, took it captive out of curiosity by throwing\nhis robe over it in sport. Then the swan said--\"Set me free, O king,\nfor I have come to benefit you; listen, I will tell you. There is\nin Vidarbha one Damayant\u00ed, the daughter of king Bh\u00edma, the Tilottam\u00e1\nof the earth, to be desired even by gods. And she has chosen you as\nher future husband, having fallen in love with you on account of my\ndescription of your virtues; and I have come here to tell you. Nala\nwas at the same time pierced with the words of that excellent swan,\nthat were brightened by the splendid object they had in view, [785]\nand with the sharp arrows of the god of the flowery shafts. And\nhe said to that swan, \"I am fortunate, best of birds, in that I\nhave been selected by her, as if by the incarnate fulfilment of my\nwishes.\" When the swan had been thus addressed by him and let go, it\nwent and related the whole occurrence to Damayant\u00ed, as it took place,\nand then went whither it would.\n\nNow Damayant\u00ed was longing for Nala; so, by way of a device to obtain\nhim, she sent her mother to ask her father to appoint for her the\nceremony of the Svayamvara. And her father Bh\u00edma consented, and\nsent messengers to all the kings on the earth, to invite them to the\nSvayamvara. And all the kings, when they had received the summons, set\nout for Vidarbha, and Nala went also eagerly, mounted on his chariot.\n\nAnd in the meanwhile, Indra and the other Lokap\u00e1las heard from the\nhermit N\u00e1rada of the Svayamvara of Damayant\u00ed, and of her love for\nNala. And of them Indra, the Wind, the god of Fire, Yama and Varuna,\nlonging for Damayant\u00ed, deliberated together, and went to Nala, and\nthey found Nala setting off on the journey, and when he prostrated\nhimself before them, they said to him \"Go, Nala, and tell Damayant\u00ed\nthis from us--'Choose one of us five; what is the use of choosing\nNala who is a mortal? Mortals are subject to death, but the gods\nare undying.' And by our favour, thou shalt enter where she is,\nunperceived by the others.\" Nala said \"So be it,\" and consented to do\nthe errand of the gods. And he entered the apartments of Damayant\u00ed\nwithout being seen, and delivered that command of the gods, exactly\nas it was given. But when the virtuous woman heard that, she said\n\"Suppose the gods are such, nevertheless Nala shall be my husband,\nI have no need of gods.\" When Nala had heard her utter this noble\nsentiment, and had revealed himself, he went and told it, exactly\nas it was said, to Indra and the others; and they, pleased with him,\ngave him a boon, saying, \"We are thy servants from this time forth,\nand will repair to thee as soon as thought of, truthful man.\"\n\nThen Nala went delighted to Vidarbha, and Indra and the other gods\nassumed the form of Nala, with intent to deceive Damayant\u00ed. And they\nwent to the court of Bh\u00edma, assuming the attributes of mortals, and,\nwhen the Svayamvara began, they sat near Nala. Then Damayant\u00ed came,\nand leaving the kings who were being proclaimed one by one by her\nbrother, gradually reached Nala. And when she saw six Nalas, all\npossessing shadows and the power of winking, [786] she thought in\nher perplexity, while her brother stood amazed, \"Surely these five\nguardians of the world have produced this illusion to deceive me, but\nI think that Nala is the sixth here, and so I cannot go in any other\ndirection.\" When the virtuous one had thus reflected, she stood facing\nthe sun, with mind fixed on Nala alone, and spoke thus--\"O guardians\nof the world, if even in sleep I have never fixed my heart on any\nbut Nala, on account of that loyal conduct of mine shew me your real\nforms. And to a maiden any other men than her lover previously chosen\nare strangers, and she is to them the wife of another, so how comes\nthis delusion upon you?\" When the five, with Indra at their head,\nheard that, they assumed their own forms, and the sixth, the true\nNala, preserved his true form. The princess in her delight cast upon\nthe king her eye, beautiful as a blown blue lotus, and the garland\nof election. And a rain of flowers fell from heaven. Then king Bh\u00edma\nperformed the marriage ceremony of her and Nala. And the kings and\nthe gods, Indra and the others, returned by the way that they came,\nafter due honour had been done to them by the king of Vidarbha.\n\nBut Indra and his companions saw on the way Kali and Dv\u00e1para, [787]\nand knowing that they had come for Damayant\u00ed, they said to them,\n\"It is of no use your going to Vidarbha; we come thence; and the\nSvayamvara has taken place; Damayant\u00ed has chosen king Nala. When\nthe wicked Kali and Dv\u00e1para heard that, they exclaimed in wrath,\n\"Since she has chosen that mortal in preference to gods like thyself,\nwe will certainly separate that couple.\" After making this vow they\nturned round and departed thence. And Nala remained seven days in\nthe house of his father-in-law, and then departed, a successful man,\nfor Nishada, with his wife Damayant\u00ed. There their love was greater\nthan that of Siva and P\u00e1rvat\u00ed. P\u00e1rvat\u00ed truly is half of Siva, but\nDamayant\u00ed was Nala's self. And in due time Damayant\u00ed brought forth to\nNala a son named Indrasena, and after that a daughter named Indrasen\u00e1.\n\nAnd in the meanwhile Kali, who was resolved on effecting what he had\npromised, was seeking an occasion against Nala, who lived according\nto the S\u00e1stras. Then, one day, Nala lost his senses from drunkenness,\nand went to sleep without saying the evening prayer and without washing\nhis feet. After Kali had obtained this opportunity, for which he had\nbeen watching day and night, he entered into the body of Nala. When\nKali had entered his body, king Nala abandoned righteous practices and\nacted as he pleased. The king played dice, he loved female slaves,\nhe spoke untruths, he slept in the day, he kept awake at night, he\nbecame angry without cause, he took wealth unjustly, he despised the\ngood, and he honoured the bad.\n\nMoreover Dv\u00e1para entered into his brother Pushkara, having obtained\nan opportunity, and made him depart from the true path. And one day\nNala saw, in the house of his younger brother Pushkara, a fine white\nbull, named D\u00e1nta. And Pushkara would not give the bull to his elder\nbrother, though he wanted it and asked for it, because his respect\nfor him had been taken away by Dv\u00e1para. And he said to him, \"If you\ndesire this bull, then win it from me at once at play.\" When Nala heard\nthat challenge, in his infatuation he accepted it, and then those two\nbrothers began to play against each other. Pushkara staked the bull,\nNala staked elephants and other things, and Pushkara continually won,\nNala as continually lost. In two or three days Nala had lost his\narmy and his treasure, but he still refused to desist from gambling,\nthough entreated to desist, for he was distracted by Kali. Damayant\u00ed,\nthinking that the kingdom was lost, put her children in a splendid\nchariot, and sent them to the house of her father. In the mean-while\nNala lost his whole kingdom; then the hypocritical Pushkara said,\n\"Since you have lost everything else, now stake Damayant\u00ed on the game\nagainst that bull of mine.\"\n\nThis windy speech of Pushkara's, like a strong blast, made Nala blaze\nlike fire; but he did not say anything unbecoming, nor did he stake\nhis wife. Then Pushkara said to him, \"If you will not stake your wife,\nthen leave this country of mine with her.\" When Nala heard this,\nhe left that country with Damayant\u00ed, and the king's officers saw him\nas far as the frontier. Alas! when Kali reduced Nala to such a state,\nsay, what will be the lot of other mortals, who are like worms compared\nwith him? Curse on this gambling, the livelihood of Kali and Dv\u00e1para,\nwithout law, without natural affection, such a cause of misfortunes\neven to royal sages.\n\nSo Nala, having been deprived of his sovereignty by his brother,\nstarted to go to another land with Damayant\u00ed, and as he was journeying\nalong, he reached the centre of a forest, exhausted with hunger. There,\nas he was resting with his wife, whose soft feet were pierced with\ndarbha grass, on the bank of a river, he saw two swans arrive. And\nhe threw his upper garment over them, to capture them for food,\nand those two swans flew away with it. And Nala heard a voice from\nheaven,--\"These are those two dice in the form of swans, they have\ndescended and flown off with your garment also.\" Then the king sat\ndown despondent, with only one garment on, and providently shewed to\nDamayant\u00ed the way to her father's house; saying, \"This is the way to\nVidarbha, my beloved, to your father's house, this is the way to the\ncountry of the Angas, and this is the way to Kosala.\" When Damayant\u00ed\nheard this, she was terrified, thinking to herself--\"Why does my\nhusband tell me the way, as if he meant to abandon me?\" Then the couple\nfed on roots and fruits, and when night came on, lay down both of them,\nwearied, in the wood, on a bed of kusa grass. And Damayant\u00ed, worn out\nwith the journey, gradually dropt off to sleep, but Nala, desiring to\ndepart, kept awake, deluded by Kali. So he rose up with one garment,\ndeserting that Damayant\u00ed, and departed thence, after cutting off half\nher upper garment and putting it on. But Damayant\u00ed woke up at the end\nof the night, and when she did not see in the forest her husband, who\nhad deserted her and gone, she thought for some time, and then lamented\nas follows: \"Alas, my husband, great of heart, merciful even to your\nenemy! You that used to love me so well, what has made you cruel to\nme? And how will you be able to go alone on foot through the forests,\nand who will attend on you to remove your weariness? How will the\ndust defile on the journey your feet, that used to be stained with the\npollen of the flowers in the garlands worn on the heads of kings! How\nwill your body, that could not endure to be anointed with the powder\nof yellow sandal-wood, endure the heat of the sun in the middle of\nthe day? What do I care for my young son? What for my daughter? What\nfor myself? May the gods, if I am chaste, procure good fortune for\nyou alone!\" Thus Damayant\u00ed lamented, in her loneliness, and then\nset out by the path, which her husband had shewn her beforehand. And\nwith difficulty she crossed the woods, forests, rivers, and rocks,\nand never did she depart from her devotion to her husband in, any\npoint. And the might of her chastity preserved her on the way, [788]\nso that the hunter, who, after delivering her from the serpent, fell\nin love with her for a moment, was reduced to ashes. Then she joined\na caravan of merchants, which she met on the way, and with them she\nreached the city of a king named Sub\u00e1hu. There the daughter of the\nking saw her from her palace, and pleased with her beauty, had her\nbrought and gave her as a present to her mother. Then she remained\nin attendance on the queen, respected by her, and when questioned,\nshe answered only--\"My husband has abandoned me.\"\n\nAnd in the meanwhile her father Bh\u00edma, having heard the tidings of\nNala's misfortune, sent trustworthy men in every direction, to make\nsearch for the royal couple. And one of them, his minister named\nSuvena, as he was wandering about disguised as a Br\u00e1hman, reached that\npalace of Sub\u00e1hu. There he saw Damayant\u00ed, who always examined guests,\nand she saw with sorrow her father's minister. And having recognized\none another, they wept together so violently, that Sub\u00e1hu's queen\nheard it. And the queen had them summoned, and asked them the truth\nof the matter, and then she found out that the lady was Damayant\u00ed,\nthe daughter of her sister. Then she informed her husband, and after\nshewing her honour, she sent her to the house of her father with Suvena\nand an army. There Damayant\u00ed remained, reunited with her two children,\nenquiring under her father's guidance for news of her husband. And her\nfather sent out spies to look for her husband, who was distinguished by\npreternatural skill in cooking and driving. And king Bh\u00edma commanded\nthe spies to say; \"Moon, where have you hid yourself so cruelly,\ndeserting your young bride asleep in the forest, dear as a cluster\nof white lotuses, having taken a piece of her robe?\" [789] This he\ntold them to utter wherever they suspected the presence of Nala.\n\nAnd in the meanwhile king Nala travelled a long way at night in\nthat forest, clothed with the half-garment, and at last he saw a\njungle-fire. And he heard some one exclaim--\"Great-hearted one,\ntake me away from the neighbourhood of this fire, in order that I,\nbeing helpless, may not be burned up by it.\" [790] When Nala heard\nthis, he looked round, and beheld a snake coiled up near the fire,\nhaving his head encircled with the rays of the jewels of his crest,\n[791] as if seized on the head by the jungle-fire, with terrible\nflaming weapons in its hand. He went up to it, and in compassion put\nit on his shoulder, and carried it a long distance, and when he wished\nto put it down, the snake said to him--\"Carry me ten steps further,\ncounting them as you go.\" Then Nala advanced, counting the steps, one,\ntwo, three, four, five, six, seven--listen, snake--eight, nine, ten,\nand when he said ten (dasa), [792] the snake took him at his word, and\nbit him in the front of the forehead, as he lay on his shoulder. That\nmade the king small in the arms, deformed and black. Then the king\ntook down the snake from his shoulder, and said to him--\"Who art\nthou, and what kind of a return for my kindness is this which thou\nhast made?\" When the snake heard this speech of Nala's, he answered\nhim,--\"King, know that I am a king of the snakes named K\u00e1rkotaka,\nand I gave you the bite for your good; that you will come to learn;\nwhen great ones wish to live concealed, a deformed appearance of body\nfurthers their plans. Receive also from me this pair of garments,\nnamed the 'fire-bleached,' [793] you need only put them on and you\nwill recover your true form.\" When K\u00e1rkotaka had said this, and had\ndeparted after giving those garments, Nala left that wood, and in\ncourse of time reached the city of Kosala.\n\nAnd going by the name of Hrasvab\u00e1hu, he took service as a cook in the\nfamily of king Rituparna, the sovereign of Kosala. And he acquired\nrenown by making dishes of exquisite flavour, and by his skill in\nchariot-driving. And while Nala was living there, under the name of\nHrasvab\u00e1hu, it happened that once upon a time one of the spies of the\nking of Vidarbha came there. And the spy heard men there saying,--\"In\nthis place there is a new cook, of the name of Hrasvab\u00e1hu, equal to\nNala in his own special art and also in the art of driving.\" The spy\nsuspected that the cook was Nala himself, and hearing that he was\nin the judgment-hall of the king, he went there and repeated the\nfollowing \u00c1ry\u00e1 verse, taught him by his master, \"Moon, where have\nyou hid yourself so cruelly, deserting your young bride asleep in the\nforest, dear as a cluster of white lotuses, having taken a piece of\nher robe?\" The people present in the judgment-hall, when they heard\nthat, thought that his words were those of a madman, but Nala, who\nstood there disguised as a cook, answered him, \"What cruelty was\nthere in the moon's becoming invisible to the lotus-cluster, when\nit reached and entered another region, after one part of the heaven\n[794] had become exhausted?\"\n\nWhen the spy heard this, he surmised that the supposed cook was really\nNala transformed by misfortune, and he departed thence, and when he\nreached Vidarbha, he told king Bh\u00edma and his queen and Damayant\u00ed all\nthat he had heard and seen.\n\nThen Damayant\u00ed, of her own accord, said to her father, \"Without\ndoubt that man is my husband disguised as a cook. So let this amusing\nartifice be employed to bring him here. Let a messenger be sent to\nking Rituparna, and the moment he arrives let him say to that king,\n'Nala has gone off somewhere or other, no tidings are heard of him;\naccordingly to-morrow morning Damayant\u00ed will again make her Svayamvara;\nso come quickly to Vidarbha this very day;' and the moment the king\nhears his speech, he will certainly come here in one day, together\nwith that husband of mine who is skilled in chariot-driving.\" Having\nthus debated with her father, Damayant\u00ed sent off that very moment\na messenger to the city of Kosala with exactly this message. He\nwent and told it, as it was given him to Rituparna, and the king\nthereupon, being excited, said affectionately to his attendant Nala,\nwho was disguised as a cook: \"Hrasvab\u00e1hu, you said--'I possess skill\nin chariot-driving.' So take me this very day to Vidarbha if you have\nsufficient endurance.\" When Nala heard that, he said, \"Good! I will\ntake you there,\" and thereupon he yoked swift horses, and made ready\nthe splendid chariot. He said to himself; \"Damayant\u00ed has spread this\nreport of a Svayamvara in order to recover me, otherwise, I know,\nshe would not have behaved in this way even in her dreams. So I will\ngo there and see what happens.\" With such reflections he brought to\nRituparna the chariot ready. And as soon as the king had mounted it,\nNala proceeded to drive on that chariot with a speed exceeding even\nthat of Garuda. Then Rituparna dropped his garment, and wished to stop\nthe chariot in order to recover it, but Nala said to him,--\"King, where\nis that garment of yours? Why the chariot has in this moment left it\nmany yojanas behind.\" When Rituparna heard this, he said:--\"Well, give\nme this skill in chariot-driving, and I will give you my skill in dice,\nso that the dice shall obey your command and you shall acquire skill\nin numbers. And now look; I will give you a proof of the truth of what\nI say. You see this tree in front of us; I will tell you the number\nof its leaves and fruits, and then do you count them for yourself and\nsee.\" When he had said this, he told him the number of the leaves and\nfruits on that tree, and Nala counted them and found them exactly as\nmany as he had said. Then Nala gave to Rituparna his skill in driving,\nand Rituparna gave to Nala his skill in dice and numbers.\n\nAnd Nala tested that skill on another tree, and found the number of\nleaves and fruits to be exactly what he had guessed. And while he was\nrejoicing, a black man issued from his body, and he asked him who he\nwas. Then he said, \"I am Kali; when you were chosen by Damayant\u00ed,\nI entered your body out of jealousy, so you lost your fortune at\nplay. And when K\u00e1rkotaka bit you in the forest, you were not consumed,\nbut I was burnt, as you see, being in your body. For to whom is a\ntreacherous injury done to another likely to be beneficial? So I\ndepart, my friend, for I have opportunities against others.\" After\nsaying this, Kali vanished from his sight, and Nala at once became\nwell-disposed as before, and recovered his former splendour. And he\nreturned and remounted the chariot; and in the course of the same\nday he drove king Rituparna into Vidarbha, so rapidly did he get\nover the ground, and there the king was ridiculed by the people,\nwho asked the cause of his coming; and he put up near the palace.\n\nAnd when he arrived, Damayant\u00ed knew of it, having heard the wonderful\nnoise of the chariot, and she inly rejoiced, as she suspected that\nNala had come too. And she sent her own maid to find out the truth,\nand she enquired into it, and came back and said to her mistress,\nwho was longing for her beloved lord; \"Queen, I have enquired into the\nmatter; this king of Kosala heard a false report of your Svayamvara and\nhas come here, and he has been driven here in one day by Hrasvab\u00e1hu\nhis charioteer and cook, who is famous for his skill in managing\nchariots. And I went into the kitchen and saw that cook. And he is\nblack and deformed, but possesses wonderful powers. It is miraculous\nthat water gushed up in his pots and pans, without being put in, and\nwood burst into flames of its own accord, without having been lighted,\n[795] and various cates were produced in a moment. After I had seen\nthis great miracle, I came back here.\" When Damayant\u00ed heard this from\nthe maid, she reflected--\"This cook, whom the fire and the water obey,\nand who knows the secret of chariot-driving, can be no other than my\nhusband, and I suspect he has become changed and deformed on account\nof separation from me, but I will test him.\" When she had formed\nthis resolve, she sent, by way of stratagem, her two children with\nthat same maid, to shew them to him. And Nala, when he had seen his\nchildren and taken them on his knees after a long separation, wept\nsilently with a flood of tears. And he said to the maid--\"I have two\nchildren like these in the house of their maternal grandfather, I have\nbeen moved to sorrow by recollecting them.\" The maid returned with the\nchildren and told all to Damayant\u00ed, and then she conceived much hope.\n\nAnd early the next day she gave her maid this order; \"Go and tell that\ncook of Rituparna's from me; 'I hear that there is no cook like you\nin the world, so come and prepare curry for me to-day.'\" When the maid\ncommunicated to Nala this politic request, he got leave from Rituparna\nand came to Damayant\u00ed. And she said, \"Tell me the truth; are you\nthe king Nala disguised as a cook? I am drowned in a sea of anxiety,\nand you must to-day bring me safe to shore.\" When Nala heard that,\nhe was full of joy, love, grief and shame, and with downcast face,\nhe spoke, in a voice faltering from tears, this speech suited to the\noccasion,--\"I am in truth that wicked Nala, hard as adamant, who in\nhis madness behaved like fire in afflicting you.\" When he said this,\nDamayant\u00ed asked him--\"If it is so, how did you become deformed?\" Then\nNala told her the whole of his adventures, from his making friends\nwith K\u00e1rkotaka to the departure of Kali from him. And immediately he\nput on the pair of garments called the \"fire-bleached,\" given him by\nK\u00e1rkotaka, and recovered on the spot his own original shape.\n\nWhen Damayant\u00ed saw that Nala had resumed his own charming form, the\nlotus of her face quickly expanded, and she quenched, as it were,\nwith the waters of her eyes the forest-fire of her grief, and attained\nindescribable unequalled happiness. And Bh\u00edma, the king of Vidarbha,\nquickly heard that intelligence from his joyful attendants, and coming\nthere he welcomed Nala, who showed him becoming respect, and he made\nhis city full of rejoicing. Then king Rituparna was welcomed with the\nobservance of all outward courtesy and every hospitable rite [796] by\nking Bh\u00edma, who in his heart could not help laughing, and after he had\nin return honoured Nala, he returned to Kosala. Then Nala lived there\nhappily with his wife, describing to his father-in-law his outburst of\nwickedness due to the influence of Kali. And in a few days he returned\nto Nishada with the troops of his father-in-law, and he humbled his\nyounger brother Pushkara, beating him by his knowledge of dice, but,\nrighteous as he was, he gave him a share of the kingdom again, after\nDv\u00e1para had left his body, and glad at having recovered Damayant\u00ed,\nhe enjoyed his kingdom lawfully.\n\nWhen the Br\u00e1hman Sumanas had told this story to the princess\nBandhumat\u00ed in T\u00e1r\u00e1pura, whose husband was away, he went on to say to\nher--\"Even thus, queen, do great ones, after enduring separation,\nenjoy prosperity, and following the example of the sun, after\nsuffering a decline, they rise again. So you also, blameless\none, shall soon recover your husband returning from his absence;\nuse patient self-control, banish grief, and console yourself with\nthe approaching gratification of your wishes in the return of your\nhusband.\" When the virtuous Br\u00e1hman had spoken these appropriate words,\nshe honoured him with much wealth, and taking refuge in patience,\nshe remained there awaiting her beloved. And in a few days her husband\nMah\u00edp\u00e1la returned, with his father, bringing that mother of his from\na distant land. And when he returned, furnishing a feast to all eyes,\nhe gladdened Bandhumat\u00ed, as the full moon gladdens the lovely water of\nthe ocean. Then Mah\u00edp\u00e1la, on whom her father had already devolved the\nburden of the kingdom, enjoyed as a king desired pleasures with her.\n\nWhen prince Narav\u00e1hanadatta, the son of the king of Vatsa, had heard\nin the company of his wife, from the mouth of his minister Marubh\u00fati,\nthis matchless romantic story, pleasing on account of its picture of\naffection, he was exceedingly pleased.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nBOOK X.\n\n\nCHAPTER LVII.\n\n\nWe worship the elephantine proboseis of Ganesa, not to be resisted\nby his enemies, reddened with vermilion, a sword dispelling great\narrogance. [1] May the third eye of Siva, which, when all three were\nequally wildly-rolling, blazed forth beyond the others, as he made\nready his arrow upon the string, for the burning of Pura, protect\nyou. May the row of nails of the Man-lion, [2] curved and red with\nblood, when he slew his enemy, and his fiery look askance, destroy\nyour calamities.\n\n\n\nStory of the porter who found a bracelet.\n\nThus Narav\u00e1hanadatta, the son of the king of Vatsa, remained in\nKaus\u00e1mb\u00ed in happiness, with his wives, and his ministers. And\none day, when he was present, a merchant living in the city, came\nto make a representation to his father, as he was sitting on his\nthrone. That merchant, of the name of Ratnadatta, entered, announced\nby the warder, and bowing before the king, said as follows: \"O king,\nthere is a poor porter here, of the name of Vasundhara; and suddenly\nhe is found of late to be eating, drinking, and bestowing alms. So,\nout of curiosity, I took him to my house, and gave him food and drink\nto his heart's content, and when I had made him drunk. I questioned\nhim, and he gave me this answer, 'I obtained from the door of the\nking's palace a bracelet with splendid jewels, and I picked out one\njewel and sold it. And I sold it for a lakh of d\u00edn\u00e1rs to a merchant\nnamed Hiranyagupta; this is how I come to be living in comfort at\npresent.\" When he had said this, he shewed me that bracelet, which\nwas marked with the king's name, and therefore I have come to inform\nyour majesty of the circumstance.\" When the king of Vatsa heard that,\nhe had the porter and the merchant of precious jewels summoned with\nall courtesy, and when he saw the bracelet, he said of himself;\n\"Ah! I remember, this bracelet slipped from my arm when I was going\nround the city.\" And the courtiers asked the porter, \"Why did you,\nwhen you had got hold of a bracelet marked with the king's name,\nconceal it?\" He replied, \"I am one who gets his living by carrying\nburdens, and how am I to know the letters of the king's name? When I\ngot hold of it, I appropriated it, being burnt up with the misery of\npoverty.\" When he said this, the jewel-merchant, being reproached for\nkeeping the jewel, said--\"I bought it in the market, without putting\nany pressure on the man, and there was no royal mark upon it, though\nnow it is said that it belongs to the king. And he has taken five\nthousand of the price, the rest is with me.\" When Yaugandhar\u00e1yana, who\nwas present, heard this speech of Hiranyagupta's, he said--\"No one is\nin fault in this matter. What can we say against the porter who does\nnot know his letters? Poverty makes men steal, and who ever gave up\nwhat he had found? And the merchant who bought it from him cannot be\nblamed.\" The king when he heard this decision of his prime minister's,\napproved it. And he took back his jewel from the merchant, paying\nhim the five thousand d\u00edn\u00e1rs, which had been spent by the porter,\nand he set the porter at liberty, after taking back his bracelet,\nand he, having consumed his five thousand, went free from anxiety\nto his own house. And the king, though in the bottom of his heart he\nhated that merchant Ratnadatta, as being a man who ruined those that\nreposed confidence in him, honoured him for his service. When they\nhad all departed, Vasantaka came before the king, and said, \"Ah! when\nmen are cursed by destiny, even the wealth they obtain departs, for\nthe incident of the inexhaustible pitcher has happened to this porter.\"\n\n\n\nStory of the inexhaustible pitcher. [3]\n\nFor you must know that there lived long ago, in the city of\nP\u00e1taliputra, a man of the name of Subhadatta, and he every day carried\nin a load of wood from the forest, and sold it, and so maintained\nhis household. Now one day he went to a distant forest, and, as\nit happened, he saw there four Yakshas with heavenly ornaments\nand dresses. The Yakshas, seeing he was terrified, kindly asked\nhim of his circumstances, and finding out that he was poor, they\nconceived pity for him, and said--\"Remain here as a servant in our\nhouse, we will support your family for you without trouble on your\npart.\" When Subhadatta heard that, he agreed, and remained with them,\nand he supplied them with requisites for bathing and performed other\nmenial offices for them. When the time for eating came, those Yakshas\nsaid to him--\"Give us food from this inexhaustible pitcher.\" But he\nhesitated, seeing that it was empty, and then the Yakshas again said\nto him, smiling--\"Subhadatta, do you not understand? Put your hand\nin the pitcher, and you will obtain whatever you want, for this is\na pitcher that supplies whatever is required.\" When he heard that,\nhe put his hand in the pitcher, and immediately he beheld all the\nfood and drink that could be required. And Subhadatta out of that\nstore supplied them and ate himself.\n\nThus waiting on the Yakshas every day with devotion and awe, Subhadatta\nremained in their presence anxious about his family. But his sorrowing\nfamily was comforted by them in a dream, and this kindness on their\npart made him happy. At the termination of one month the Yakshas said\nto him, \"We are pleased with this devotion of yours, we will grant you\na boon, say what it shall be.\" When he heard that, he said to them,\n\"Then give me this inexhaustible pitcher.\" Then the Yakshas said to\nhim, \"You will not be able to keep it, for, if broken, it departs at\nonce, so choose some other boon.\" Though they warned him in these\nwords, Subhadatta would not choose any other boon, so they gave\nhim that inexhaustible pitcher. Then Subhadatta bowed before them\ndelighted, and, taking that pitcher, quickly returned to his house,\nto the joy of his relations. Then he took out of that pitcher food and\ndrink, and in order to conceal the secret, he placed them in other\nvessels, and consumed them with his relations. And as he gave up\ncarrying burdens, and enjoyed all kinds of delights, his kinsmen one\nday said to him, when he was drunk; \"How did you manage to acquire\nthe means of all this enjoyment?\" He was too much puffed up with\npride to tell them plainly, but taking the wish-granting pitcher\non his shoulder, he began to dance. [4] And as he was dancing, the\ninexhaustible pitcher slipped from his shoulder, as his feet tripped\nwith over-abundance of intoxication, and falling on the ground, was\nbroken in pieces. And immediately it was mended again, and reverted\nto its original possessors, but Subhadatta was reduced to his former\ncondition, and filled with despondency.\n\n\"So you see that these unfortunate persons, whose intellects are\ndestroyed with the vice of drinking, and other vices, and with\ninfatuation, cannot keep wealth, even when they have obtained\nit.\" When the king of Vatsa had heard this amusing story of the\ninexhaustible pitcher, he rose up, and bathed, and set about the\nother duties of the day. And Narav\u00e1hanadatta also bathed, and took\nfood with his father, and at the end of the day went with his friends\nto his own house. There he went to bed at night, but could not sleep,\nand Marubh\u00fati said to him in the hearing of the ministers: \"I know,\nit is love of a slave-girl that prevents your summoning your wives,\nand you have not summoned the slave-girl, so you cannot sleep. But\nwhy in spite of your better knowledge do you still fall in love with\nhet\u00e6r\u00e6? For they have no goodness of character; in proof that they\nhave not, hear the following tale:\"\n\n\n\nStory of the merchant's son, the het\u00e6ra, and the wonderful ape \u00c1la.\n\nThere is in this country a great and opulent city named Chitrak\u00fata. In\nit there lived a merchant named Ratnavarman, a prince among the\nwealthy. He had one son born to him by propitiating Siva, and he\ngave that son the name of \u00cdsvaravarman. After he had studied the\nsciences, his father the rich merchant, who had no other son but\nhim, seeing that he was on the verge of manhood, said to himself:\n\"Providence has created in this world that fair and frail type\nof woman, the het\u00e6ra, to steal the wealth and life of rich young\nmen blinded with the intoxication of youth. So I will entrust my\nson to some kuttin\u00ed, in order that he may learn the tricks of the\nhet\u00e6r\u00e6 and not be deceived by them.\" Having thus reflected, he\nwent with his son \u00cdsvaravarman to the house of a certain kuttin\u00ed,\nwhose name was Yamajihv\u00e1. There he saw that kuttin\u00ed, with massive\njaw, and long teeth, and snub nose, instructing her daughter in the\nfollowing words--\"Every one is valued on account of wealth, a het\u00e6ra\nespecially; and het\u00e6r\u00e6 who fall in love do not obtain wealth, therefore\na het\u00e6ra should abandon passion. For rosy red, love's proper hue,\nis the harbinger of eclipse to the het\u00e6ra as to the evening twilight;\na properly trained het\u00e6ra should exhibit love without sincerity, like\na well-trained actress. With that she should gain a man's affections,\nthen she should extract from him all his wealth, when he is ruined,\nshe should finally abandon him, but if he should recover his wealth,\nshe should take him back into favour. A het\u00e6ra, like a hermit, is\nthe same towards a young man, a child, an old man, a handsome man,\nand a deformed man, and so she always attains the principal object of\nexistence.\" [5] While the kuttin\u00ed was delivering this lesson to her\ndaughter, Ratnavarman approached her, and after she had welcomed him,\nhe took a seat by her side. And he said to her--\"Reverend mother, teach\nmy son this skill of the het\u00e6ra, in order that he may become clever in\nit. And I will give you a thousand d\u00edn\u00e1rs by way of recompense.\" When\nthe kuttin\u00ed heard his desire, she consented, and he paid the d\u00edn\u00e1rs,\nand made over his son \u00cdsvaravarman to her, and then returned home.\n\nThen \u00cdsvaravarman, in the course of one year, learned in the house\nof Yamajihv\u00e1 all the graceful accomplishments, and then returned to\nhis father's house. And after he had attained sixteen years, he said\nto his father--\"Wealth gives us religion and love, wealth gives us\nconsideration and renown.\" When his father heard this, he exclaimed in\napproval, \"It is even so,\" and being delighted, he gave him five crores\nby way of capital. The son took it, and set out on an auspicious day\nwith a caravan, with the object of journeying to Svarnadv\u00edpa. And on\nthe way he reached a town named K\u00e1nchanapura, and there he encamped\nin a garden, at a short distance outside the town. And after bathing\nand anointing himself, the young man entered the town, and went to a\ntemple to see a spectacle. And there he saw a dancing-girl, of the name\nof Sundar\u00ed, dancing, like a wave of the sea of beauty [6] tossed up\nby the wind of youth. And the moment he saw her, he became so devoted\nto her, that the instructions of the kuttin\u00ed fled far from him, as if\nin anger. At the end of the dance, he sent a friend to solicit her,\nand she bowed and said--\"I am highly favoured.\" And \u00cdsvaravarman left\nvigilant guards in his camp, to watch over his treasure, and went\nhimself to the house of that Sundar\u00ed. And when he came, her mother,\nnamed Makarakat\u00ed, honoured him with the various rites of hospitality\nwhich became the occasion. And at nightfall she introduced him into\na chamber with a canopy of flashing jewels and a bed. There he passed\nthe night with Sundar\u00ed, [7] whose name expressed her nature, and who\nwas skilled in all movements of the dance. And the next day he could\nnot bring himself to part from her, as she shewed great affection\nfor him, and never left his side. And the young merchant gave her\ntwenty-five lakhs of gold and jewels in those two days. But Sundar\u00ed,\nwith a false affectation of disinterestedness, refused to take them,\nsaying--\"I have obtained much wealth, but I never found a man like\nyou; since I have obtained you, what should I do with wealth?\" But her\nmother Makarakat\u00ed, whose only child she was, said to her, \"Henceforth,\nwhatever wealth belongs to us, is as much his as his own property,\nso take it, my daughter, as a contribution to our common stock,\nwhat harm is there in that?\" When Sundar\u00ed's mother said this to her,\nshe took it with affected unwillingness, and the foolish \u00cdsvaravarman\nthought she was really in love with him. While the merchant remained\nin her house, charmed by her beauty, her dancing, and singing, two\nmonths passed, and in course of time he bestowed upon her two crores.\n\nThen his friend, named Arthadatta, of his own accord came to him\nand said--\"Friend, has all that training of yours, though painfully\nacquired from the kuttin\u00ed, proved useless, now that the occasion has\npresented itself, as skill in the use of weapons does to a coward, in\nthat you believe that there is sincerity in this love of a het\u00e6ra? Is\nwater ever really found in desert-mirages? So let us go before all\nyour wealth is consumed, for, if your father were to hear of it, he\nwould be very angry.\" When his friend said this to him, the merchant's\nson said, \"It is true that no reliance can be placed upon het\u00e6r\u00e6 as\na rule, but Sundar\u00ed is not like the rest of her class, for, if she\nwere to lose sight of me for a moment, my friend, she would die. So\ndo you break it to her, if we must in any case go.\"\n\nWhen he said this to Arthadatta, Arthadatta said to Sundar\u00ed, in the\npresence of \u00cdsvaravarman and her mother Makarakat\u00ed, \"You entertain\nextraordinary affection for \u00cdsvaravarman, but he must certainly\ngo on a trading expedition to Svarnadv\u00edpa immediately. There he\nwill obtain so much wealth, that he will come and live with you\nin happiness all his life, consent to it, my friend.\" When Sundar\u00ed\nheard this, she gazed on the face of \u00cdsvaravarman with tears in her\neyes and assumed despondency, and said to Arthadatta, \"What am I to\nsay? you gentlemen know best. Who can rely on any one before seeing\nthe end? Never mind! Let fate deal with me as it will!\" When she said\nthis, her mother said to her, \"Do not be grieved, control yourself;\nyour lover will certainly return when he has made his fortune; he will\nnot abandon you.\" In these words her mother consoled her, but made\nan agreement with her, and had a net secretly prepared in a well,\nthat lay in the road they must take. And then \u00cdsvaravarman's mind\nwas in a state of tremulous agitation about parting, and Sundar\u00ed,\nas if out of grief, took but little food and drink. And she shewed\nno inclination for singing, music, or dancing, but she was consoled\nby \u00cdsvaravarman with various affectionate attentions.\n\nThen, on the day named by his friend, \u00cdsvaravarman set out from\nthe house of Sundar\u00ed, after the kuttin\u00ed had offered a prayer for his\nsuccess. And Sundar\u00ed followed him weeping, with her mother, outside the\ncity, as far as the well in which the net had been stretched. There he\nmade Sundar\u00ed turn back, and he was proceeding on his journey, when she\nflung herself into the well on the top of the net. Then a loud cry was\nheard from her mother, from the female slaves, and all the attendants,\n\"Ah! my daughter! Ah! mistress!\" That made the merchant's son and\nhis friend turn round, and when he heard that his beloved had thrown\nherself into a well, he was for a moment stupefied with grief. And\nMakarakat\u00ed, lamenting with loud cries, made her servants, who were\nattached to her, and in the secret, go down into the well. They let\nthemselves down by means of ropes, and exclaiming, \"Thank heaven, she\nis alive, she is alive,\" they brought up Sundar\u00ed from the well. When\nshe was brought up, she assumed the appearance of one nearly dead,\nand after she had mentioned the name of the merchant's son, who had\nreturned, she slowly began to cry. But he, being comforted, took\nher to her house in great delight, accompanied by his attendants,\nreturning there himself. And having made up his mind that the love\nof Sundar\u00ed was to be relied on, and considering that, by obtaining\nher, he had obtained the real end of his birth, he once more gave\nup the idea of continuing his journey. And when he had taken up his\nabode there, determined to remain, his friend said to him once more,\n\"My friend, why have you ruined yourself by infatuation? Do not rely\non the love of Sundar\u00ed simply because she flung herself into a well,\nfor the treacherous schemes of a kuttin\u00ed are not to be fathomed even\nby Providence. And what what will you say to your father, when you\nhave spent all your property, or where will you go? So leave this\nplace even at this eleventh hour, if your mind is sound.\" When the\nmerchant's son heard this speech of his friend's, he paid no attention\nto it, and in another month he spent those other three crores. Then\nhe was stripped of his all; and the kuttin\u00ed Makarakat\u00ed had him seized\nby the back of the neck and turned out of Sundar\u00ed's house.\n\nBut Arthadatta and the others quickly returned to their own city,\nand told the whole story, as it happened, to his father. His father\nRatnavarman, that prince of merchants, was much grieved when he heard\nit, and in great distress went to the kuttin\u00ed Yamajihv\u00e1, and said to\nher, \"Though you received a large salary, you taught my son so badly,\nthat Makarakat\u00ed has with ease stripped him of all his wealth.\" When\nhe had said this, he told her all the story of his son. Then the\nold kuttin\u00ed Yamajihv\u00e1 said: \"Have your son brought back here; I will\nenable him to strip Makarakat\u00ed of all her wealth.\" When the kuttin\u00ed\nYamajihv\u00e1 made this promise, Ratnavarman quickly sent off that moment\nhis son's well-meaning friend Arthadatta with a message, to bring him,\nand to take at the same time means for his subsistence.\n\nSo Arthadatta went back to that city of K\u00e1nchanapura, and told the\nwhole message to \u00cdsvaravarman. And he went on to say to him--\"Friend,\nyou would not do what I advised you, so you have now had personal\nexperience of the untrustworthy dispositions of het\u00e6r\u00e6. After you had\ngiven that five crores, you were ejected neck and crop. What wise\nman looks for love in het\u00e6r\u00e6 or for oil in sand? Or why do you put\nout of sight this unalterable nature of things? [8] A man is wise,\nself-restrained, and possesses happiness, only so long as he does not\nfall within the range of woman's cajoleries. So return to your father\nand appease his wrath.\" With these words Arthadatta quickly induced\nhim to return, and encouraging him, led him into the presence of his\nfather. And his father, out of love for his only son, spoke kindly\nto him, and again took him to the house of Yamajihv\u00e1. And when she\nquestioned him, he told his whole story by the mouth of Arthadatta,\ndown to the circumstance of Sundar\u00ed's flinging herself into the\nwell, and how he lost his wealth. Then Yamajihv\u00e1 said--\"I indeed am\nto blame, because I forgot to teach him this trick. For Makarakat\u00ed\nstretched a net in the well, and Sundar\u00ed flung herself upon that,\nso she was not killed. Still there is a remedy in this case.\" Having\nsaid this, the kuttin\u00ed made her female slaves bring her monkey named\n\u00c1la. And in their presence she gave the monkey her thousand d\u00edn\u00e1rs,\nand said--\"Swallow these,\" and the monkey, being trained to swallow\nmoney, did so. Then she said, \"Now, my son give twenty to him,\ntwenty-five to him, and sixty to him, and a hundred to him.\" And the\nmonkey, as often as Yamajihv\u00e1 told him to pay a sum, brought up the\nexact number of d\u00edn\u00e1rs, and gave them as commanded. [9] And after\nYamajihv\u00e1 had shewn this device of \u00c1la, she said to \u00cdsvaravarman,\n\"Now take with you this young monkey. And repair again to the house\nof Sundar\u00ed, and keep asking him day by day for sums of money, which\nyou have secretly made him swallow. And Sundar\u00ed, when she sees \u00c1la,\nresembling in his powers the wishing-stone, will beg for him, and\nwill give you all she has so as to obtain possession of the ape,\nand clasp him to her bosom. And after you have got her wealth, make\nhim swallow enough money for two days, and give him to her, and then\ndepart to a distance without delay.\"\n\nAfter Yamajihv\u00e1 had said this, she gave that ape to \u00cdsvaravarman,\nand his father gave him two crores by way of capital. And with the\nape and the money he went once more to K\u00e1nchanapura, and despatching\na messenger on in front, he entered the house of Sundar\u00ed. Sundar\u00ed\nwelcomed him as if he were an incarnation of perseverance,\nwhich includes in itself all means for attaining an end, and his\nfriend with him, embracing him round the neck, and making other\ndemonstrations. Then \u00cdsvaravarman, having gained her confidence,\nsaid to Arthadatta in her presence in the house: \"Go, and bring\n\u00c1la.\" He said, \"I will,\" and went and brought the monkey. And as\nthe monkey had before swallowed a thousand d\u00edn\u00e1rs, he said to him,\n\"\u00c1la, my son, give us to-day three hundred d\u00edn\u00e1rs for our eating and\ndrinking, and a hundred for betel and other expenses, and give one\nhundred to our mother Makarakat\u00ed, and a hundred to the Br\u00e1hmans,\nand give the rest of the thousand to Sundar\u00ed.\" When \u00cdsvaravarman\nsaid this, the monkey brought up the d\u00edn\u00e1rs he had before swallowed,\nto the amounts ordered, and gave them for the various objects required.\n\nSo by this artifice \u00c1la was made to supply every day the necessary\nexpenses, for the period of a fortnight, and in the meanwhile\nMakarakat\u00ed [10] and Sundar\u00ed began to think; \"Why this is a very\nwishing-stone which he has got hold of in the form of an ape, which\ngives every day a hundred d\u00edn\u00e1rs; if he would only give it us, all our\ndesires would be accomplished.\" Having thus debated in private with\nher mother, Sundar\u00ed said to that \u00cdsvaravarman, when he was sitting\nat his ease after dinner,--\"If you really are well pleased with me,\ngive me \u00c1la.\" But when \u00cdsvaravarman heard that, he answered laughingly,\n\"He is my father's all in the world, and it is not proper to give him\naway.\" When he said this, Sundar\u00ed said to him again, \"Give him me and\nI will give you five crores.\" Thereupon \u00cdsvaravarman said with an air\nof decision, \"If you were to give me all your property, or indeed this\ncity, it would not do to give him you, much less for your crores.\" When\nSundar\u00ed heard this, she said, \"I will give you all I possess; but give\nme this ape, otherwise my mother will be angry with me.\" And thereupon\nshe clung to \u00cdsvaravarman's feet. Then Arthadatta and the others said,\n\"Give it her, happen what will.\" Then \u00cdsvaravarman promised to give\nit her, and he spent the day with the delighted Sundar\u00ed. And the\nnext day he gave to Sundar\u00ed, at her earnest entreaties, that ape,\nwhich had in secret been made to swallow two thousand d\u00edn\u00e1rs, and\nhe immediately took by way of payment all the wealth in her house,\nand went off quickly to Svarnadv\u00edpa to trade.\n\nAnd to Sundar\u00ed's delight, the monkey \u00c1la, when asked, gave her\nregularly a thousand d\u00edn\u00e1rs for two days. But on the third day he did\nnot give her anything, though coaxed to do it, then Sundar\u00ed struck the\nape with her fist. And the monkey, being beaten, sprang up in a rage,\nand bit and scratched the faces of Sundar\u00ed and her mother, who were\nthrashing him. Then the mother, whose face was streaming with blood,\nflew in a passion and beat the ape with sticks, till he died on the\nspot. When Sundar\u00ed saw that he was dead, and reflected that all her\nwealth was gone, she was ready to commit suicide for grief, and so\nwas her mother. And when the people of the town heard the story,\nthey laughed and said, \"Because Makarakat\u00ed took away this man's\nwealth by means of a net, he in his turn has stripped her of all\nher property, like a clever fellow that he is, by means of a pet;\nshe was sharp enough to net him, but did not detect the net laid for\nherself. Then Sundar\u00ed, with her scratched face and vanished wealth, was\nwith difficulty restrained by her relations from destroying herself,\nand so was her mother. And \u00cdsvaravarman soon returned from Svarnadv\u00edpa\nto the house of his father in Chitrak\u00fata. And when his father saw him\nreturned, having acquired enormous wealth, he rewarded the kuttin\u00ed\nYamajihv\u00e1 with treasure, and made a great feast. And \u00cdsvaravarman,\nseeing the matchless deceitfulness of het\u00e6r\u00e6, became disgusted with\ntheir society, and taking a wife remained in his own house. [11]\n\n\"So you see, king, that there never dwells in the minds of het\u00e6r\u00e6\neven an atom of truth, unalloyed with treachery, so a man who desires\nprosperity should not take pleasure in them, as their society is only\nto be gained by the wealthy, any more than in uninhabited woods to\nbe crossed only with a caravan. [12]\"\n\n\"When Narav\u00e1hanadatta heard, from the mouth of Marubh\u00fati, the above\nstory, word for word, of \u00c1la and the net, he and Gomukha approved it,\nand laughed heartily.\n\n\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER LVIII.\n\n\nWhen Marubh\u00fati had thus illustrated the untrustworthy character of\nhet\u00e6r\u00e6, the wise Gomukha told this tale of Kumudik\u00e1, the lesson of\nwhich was the same.\n\n\n\nStory of king Vikramasinha, the het\u00e6ra, and the young Br\u00e1hman.\n\nThere was in Pratishth\u00e1na a king named Vikramasinha, who was made\nby Providence a lion in courage, so that his name expressed his\nnature. He had a queen of lofty lineage, beautiful and beloved, whose\nlovely form was her only ornament, and she was called Sasilekh\u00e1. Once\non a time, when he was in his city, five or six of his relations\ncombined together, and going to his palace, surrounded him. Their\nnames were Mah\u00e1bhata, V\u00edrab\u00e1hu, Sub\u00e1hu, Subhata and Prat\u00e1p\u00e1ditya, all\npowerful kings. The king's minister was proceeding to try the effect\nof conciliation on them, but the king set him aside, and went out to\nfight with them. And when the two armies had begun to exchange showers\nof arrows, the king himself entered the fray, mounted on an elephant,\nconfiding in his might. And when the five kings, Mah\u00e1bhata and the\nothers, saw him, seconded only by his bow, dispersing the army of his\nenemies, they all attacked him together. And as the numerous force\nof the five kings made an united charge, the force of Vikramasinha,\nbeing inferior in number, was broken. Then his minister Anantaguna,\nwho was at his side, said, \"Our force is routed for the present, there\nis no chance of victory to-day, and you would engage in this conflict\nwith an overwhelming force in spite of my advice, so now at the last\nmoment do what I recommend you, in order that the affair may turn out\nprosperously; come now, descend from your elephant, and mount a horse,\nand let us go to another country; if you live, you will conquer your\nenemies on some future occasion.\" When the minister said this, the\nking readily got down from his elephant, and mounted on a horse, and\nleft his army in company with him. And in course of time, the king,\nin disguise, reached with his minister the city of Ujjayin\u00ed. There\nhe entered with his minister the house of a het\u00e6ra, named Kumudik\u00e1,\nrenowned for her wealth; and she, seeing him suddenly entering the\nhouse, thought, \"This is a distinguished hero that has come to my\nhouse: and his majesty and the marks on his body shew him to be a\ngreat king, so my desire is sure to be attained if I can make him my\ninstrument.\" Having thus reflected, Kumudik\u00e1 rose up and welcomed him,\nand entertained him hospitably, and immediately she said to the king,\nwho was wearied,--\"I am fortunate, to-day the good deeds of my former\nlife have borne fruit, in that Your Majesty has hallowed my house\nby coming to it in person. So by this favour Your Majesty has made\nme your slave. The hundred elephants, and two myriads of horses,\nand house full of jewels, which belong to me, are entirely at your\nmajesty's disposal.\" Having said this, she provided the king and his\nminister with baths and other luxuries, all in magnificent style.\n\nThen the wearied king lived in her palace, at his ease, with her,\nwho put her wealth at his disposal. He consumed her substance and\ngave it away to petitioners, and she did not show any anger against\nhim on that account, but was rather pleased at it. Thereupon the king\nwas delighted, thinking that she was really attached to him, but his\nminister Anantaguna, who was with him, said to him in secret: \"Your\nmajesty, het\u00e6r\u00e6 are not to be depended upon, though, I must confess,\nI cannot guess the reason why Kumudik\u00e1 shews you love.\" When the\nking heard this speech of his, he answered him: \"Do not speak thus;\nKumudik\u00e1 would even lay down her life for my sake. If you do not\nbelieve it, I will give you a convincing proof.\" After the king had\nsaid this to his minister, he adopted this artifice; he took little\nto eat and little to drink, and so gradually attenuated his body,\nand at last he made himself as dead, without movement, prostrate on\nthe ground. Then his attendants put him on a bier, and carried him\nto the burning-ghat with lamentations, while Anantaguna affected a\ngrief which he did not feel. And Kumudik\u00e1, out of grief, came and\nascended the funeral pyre with him, though her relations tried to\nprevent her. But before the fire was lighted, the king, perceiving\nthat Kumudik\u00e1 had followed him, rose up with a yawn. And all his\nattendants took him home with Kumudik\u00e1 to his lodging, exclaiming,\n\"Fortunate is it that our king has been restored to life.\"\n\nThen a feast was made, and the king recovered his normal condition,\nand said in private to his minister,--\"Did you observe the devotion of\nKumudik\u00e1?\" Then the minister said,--\"I do not believe even now. You may\nbe sure that there is some reason for her conduct, so we must wait to\nget to the bottom of the matter. But let us reveal to her who we are,\nin order that we may obtain a force granted by her, and another force\nsupplied by your ally, and so smite our enemies in battle.\" While he\nwas saying this, the spy, that had been secretly sent out, returned,\nand when questioned, answered as follows; \"Your enemies have overrun\nthe country, and queen Sasilekh\u00e1, having heard from the people a\nfalse report of your majesty's death, has entered the fire.\" When\nthe king heard this, he was smitten by the thunderbolt of grief,\nand lamented--\"Alas! my queen! Alas, chaste lady!\"\n\nThen Kumudik\u00e1 at last came to know the truth, and after consoling\nthe king Vikramasinha, she said to him; \"Why did not the king give\nme the order long ago? Now punish your enemies with my wealth and my\nforces.\" When she said this, the king augmented the force by means\nof her wealth, and repaired to a powerful king who was an ally of\nhis. And he marched with his forces and those forces of his own,\nand after killing those five enemies in battle, he got possession\nof their kingdoms into the bargain. Then he was delighted, and said\nto Kumudik\u00e1 who accompanied him; \"I am pleased with you, so tell me\nwhat I can do to gratify you.\" Then Kumudik\u00e1 said--\"If you are really\npleased, my lord, then extract from my heart this one thorn that has\nlong remained there. I have an affection for a Br\u00e1hman's son, of the\nname of Sr\u00eddhara, in Ujjayin\u00ed, whom the king has thrown into prison\nfor a very small fault, so deliver him out of the king's hand. Because\nI saw by your royal marks, that your majesty was a glorious hero, and\ndestined to be successful, and able to effect this object of mine,\nI waited on you with devoted attentions. Moreover, I ascended that\npyre out of despair of attaining my object, considering that life\nwas useless without that Br\u00e1hman's son. When the het\u00e6ra said this,\nthe king answered her; \"I will accomplish it for you, fair one, do not\ndespair.\" After saying this, he called to mind his minister's speech,\nand thought--\"Anantaguna was right, when he said that het\u00e6r\u00e6 were not\nto be depended upon. But I must gratify the wish of this miserable\ncreature.\" Thus resolved, he went with his troops to Ujjayin\u00ed, and\nafter getting Sr\u00eddhara set at liberty, and giving him much wealth, he\nmade Kumudik\u00e1 happy by uniting her with her beloved there. And after\nreturning to his city, he never disobeyed the advice of his minister,\nand so in time he came to enjoy the whole earth.\n\n\"So you see, the hearts of het\u00e6r\u00e6 are fathomless and hard to\nunderstand.\"\n\nThen Gomukha stopped, after he had told this story. But then Tapantaka\nsaid in the presence of Narav\u00e1hanadatta--\"Prince, you must never\nrepose any confidence at all in women, for they are all light, even\nthose that, being married or unmarried, dwell in their father's house,\nas well as those that are het\u00e6r\u00e6 by profession. I will tell you a\nwonder which happened in this very place, hear it.\n\n\n\nStory of the faithless wife who burnt herself with her husband's body.\n\nThere was a merchant in this very city named Balavarman, and he\nhad a wife named Chandrasr\u00ed, and she beheld from a window a handsome\nmerchant's son, of the name of S\u00edlahara, and she sent her female friend\nto invite him to her house, and there she used to have assignations\nwith him in secret. And while she was in the habit of meeting him\nthere every day, her attachment to him was discovered by all her\nfriends and relations. But her husband Balavarman was the only one\nwho did not discover that she was unchaste; very often men blinded\nby affection do not discover the wickedness of their wives.\n\nThen a burning fever seized Balavarman, and the merchant consequently\nwas soon reduced to a very low state. But, though he was in this\nstate, his wife went every day to her friend's house, to meet her\nparamour. And the next day, while she was there, her husband died. And\non hearing of it she returned, quickly taking leave of her lover. And\nout of grief for her husband, she ascended the pyre with his body,\nbeing firmly resolved, though her attendants, who knew her character,\ntried to dissuade her. [13]\n\n\"Thus is the way of a woman's heart truly hard to understand. They\nfall in love with strange men, and die when separated from their\nhusbands.\" When Tapantaka said this, Harisikha said in his turn,\n\"Have you not heard what happened in this way to Devad\u00e1sa?\"\n\n\n\nStory of the faithless wife who had her husband murdered.\n\nOf old time there lived in a village a householder, named Devad\u00e1sa, and\nhe had a wife named with good cause Duhs\u00edl\u00e1. [14] And the neighbours\nknew that she was in love with another man. Now, once on a time,\nDevad\u00e1sa went to the king's court on some business. And his wife, who\nwished to have him murdered, took advantage of the occasion to bring\nher paramour, whom she concealed on the roof of the house. And in the\ndead of night she had her husband Devad\u00e1sa killed by that paramour,\nwhen he was asleep. And she dismissed her paramour, and remained quiet\nuntil the morning, when she went out, and exclaimed, \"My husband has\nbeen killed by robbers.\" Then his relations came there, and after\nthey had seen his body, they said, \"If he was killed by thieves,\nwhy did they not carry off anything?\" After they had said this, they\nasked her young son, who was there, \"Who killed your father?\" Then he\nsaid plainly; \"A man had gone up on the roof here in the day, he came\ndown in the night, and killed my father before my eyes; but first my\nmother took me and rose up from my father's side.\" When the boy said\nthis, the dead man's relations knew that Devad\u00e1sa had been killed by\nhis wife's paramour, and they searched him out, and put him to death\nthen and there, and they adopted that boy and banished Duhs\u00edl\u00e1.\n\n\"So you see, a woman, whose heart is fixed on another man, infallibly\nkills like the snake.\" When Harisikha said this, Gomukha said\nagain--\"Why should we tell any out-of-the-way story? Listen to the\nridiculous fate that befell Vajras\u00e1ra here, the servant of the king\nof Vatsa.\"\n\n\n\nStory of Vajras\u00e1ra whose wife cut off his nose and ears.\n\nHe, being brave and handsome, had a beautiful wife that came from\nM\u00e1lava, whom he loved more than his own body. Once on a time his wife's\nfather, longing to see her, came in person, accompanied by his son,\nfrom M\u00e1lava, to invite him and her. Then Vajras\u00e1ra entertained him,\nand informed the king, and went, as he had been invited to do, to\nM\u00e1lava with his wife and his father-in-law. And after he had rested a\nmonth only in his father-in-law's house, he came back here to attend\nupon the king, but that wife of his remained there. Then, after some\ndays had passed, suddenly a friend of the name of Krodhana came to him,\nand said:--\"Why have you ruined your family by leaving your wife in her\nfather's house? For the abandoned woman has there formed a connexion\nwith another man. This was told me to-day by a trustworthy person\nwho came from that place. Do not suppose that it is untrue; punish\nher, and marry another.\" When Krodhana had said this, he went away,\nand Vajras\u00e1ra stood bewildered for a moment, and then reflected--\"I\nsuspect this may be true; otherwise, why did she not come back,\nthough I sent a man to summon her? So I will go myself to bring her,\nand see what the state of the case is.\"\n\nHaving formed this resolution, he went to M\u00e1lava, and after taking\nleave of his father-in-law and his mother-in-law, he set out with\nhis wife. And after he had gone a long distance, he eluded his\nfollowers by a trick, and going by the wrong path, entered with his\nwife a dense wood. He sat down in the middle of it, and said to her,\nout of hearing of any one: \"I have heard from a trustworthy friend,\nthat you are in love with another, and when I, remaining at home,\nsent for you, you did not come; so tell me the truth; if you do not,\nI will punish you.\" When she heard this, she said: \"If this is your\nintention, why do you ask me? Do what you like.\" When Vajras\u00e1ra heard\nthis contemptuous speech of hers, he was angry and tied her up, and\nbegan to beat her with creepers. But while he was stripping off her\nclothes, he felt his passion renewed, and asked her to forgive him,\nwhereupon she said; \"I will, if I may tie you up and beat you with\ncreepers, in the same way as you tied me up and beat me, but not\notherwise.\" Vajras\u00e1ra, whose heart was made like stubble by love,\nconsented, for he was blinded by passion. Then she bound him firmly,\nhand and foot, to a tree, and, when he was bound, she cut off his ears\nand nose with his own sword, and the wicked woman took his sword and\nclothes, and disguising herself as a man, departed whither she would.\n\nBut Vajras\u00e1ra, with his nose and ears cut off, remained there,\ndepressed by great loss of blood, and loss of self-respect. Then a\ncertain benevolent physician, who was wandering through the wood in\nsearch of healing herbs, saw him, and out of compassion unbound him,\nand brought him home to his house. And Vajras\u00e1ra, having been brought\nround by him, slowly returned to his own house, but he did not find\nthat wicked wife, though he sought for her. And he described the\nwhole occurrence to Krodhana, and he related it in the presence of\nthe king of Vatsa; and all the people in the king's court mocked\nhim, saying, that his wife had justly taken away his man's dress\nand suitably punished him, because he had lost all manly spirit and\nfaculty of just resentment, and so become a woman. But in spite of\ntheir ridicule he remains there with heart of adamant, proof against\nshame. So what confidence, your Royal Highness, can be placed in women?\n\nWhen Gomukha had said this, Marubh\u00fati went on to say, \"The mind of\nwoman is unstable, hear a tale in illustration of this truth.\"\n\n\n\nStory of king Sinhabala and his fickle wife.\n\nFormerly there dwelt in the Deccan a king, of the name of\nSinhabala. And his wife named Kaly\u00e1navat\u00ed, the daughter of a prince\nof M\u00e1lava, was dear to him above all the women of his harem. And\nthe king ruled the realm with her as consort, but once on a time he\nwas expelled from his kingdom by his powerful relations, who banded\ntogether against him. And then the king, accompanied by the queen,\nwith his weapons and but few attendants, set out for the house of\nhis father-in-law in M\u00e1lava.\n\nAnd as he was going along through a forest, which lay in his road,\na lion charged him, and the hero easily cut it in two with a stroke of\nhis sword. And when a wild elephant came at him trumpeting, he circled\nround it and cut off with his sword its trunk and feet, and stripped\nit of its jewel, and killed it. And alone he dispersed the hosts of\nbandits like lotuses, and trampled them, as the elephant, lord of the\nforest, tramples the beds of white water-lilies. Thus he accomplished\nthe journey, and his wonderful courage was seen, and so he reached\nM\u00e1lava, and then this sea of valour said to his wife: \"You must not\ntell in your father's house this that happened to me on the journey,\nit will bring shame to me, my queen, for what is there laudable in\ncourage displayed by a man of the military caste?\" After he had given\nher this injunction, he entered his father-in-law's house with her,\nand when eagerly questioned by him, told his story. His father-in-law\nhonoured him, and gave him elephants and horses, and then he repaired\nto a very powerful king named Gaj\u00e1n\u00edka. But being intent on conquering\nhis enemies, he left his wife Kaly\u00e1navat\u00ed there in her father's house.\n\nSome days after he had gone, his wife, while standing at the window,\nsaw a certain man. The moment she saw him, he captivated her heart by\nhis good looks; and being drawn on by love, she immediately thought,\n\"I know, no one is more handsome or more brave than my husband, but\nalas! my mind is attracted towards this man. So let what must be, be. I\nwill have an interview with him.\" So she determined in her own mind,\nand told her desire to a female attendant, who was her confidante. And\nshe made her bring him at night, and introduce him into the women's\napartments by the window, pulling him up with a rope. When the man\nwas introduced, he had not courage to sit boldly on the sofa on which\nshe was, but sat apart on a chair. The queen, when she saw that,\nwas despondent, thinking he was a mean man, and at that very moment a\nsnake, which was roaming about, came down from the roof. When the man\nsaw the snake, he sprang up quickly in fear, and taking his bow, he\nkilled the snake with an arrow. And when it fell dead, he threw it out\nof the window, and in his delight at having escaped that danger, the\ncoward danced for joy. When Kaly\u00e1navat\u00ed saw him dancing, she was cast\ndown, and thought to herself over and over again: \"Alas! alas! What\nhave I to do with this mean-spirited coward?\" And her friend, who\nwas a discerning person, saw that she was disgusted, and so she went\nout, and quickly returned with assumed trepidation, and said, \"Queen,\nyour father has come, so let this young man quickly return to his own\nhouse by the way by which he came.\" When she said this, he went out\nof the window by means of the rope, and being overpowered by fear,\nhe fell, but as luck would have it, he was not killed.\n\nWhen he had gone, Kaly\u00e1navat\u00ed said to her confidante,--\"My friend,\nyou have acted rightly in turning out this low fellow. [15] You\npenetrated my feelings, for my heart is vexed. My husband, after\nslaying tigers and lions, conceals it through modesty, and this\ncowardly man, after killing a snake, dances for joy. So why should I\ndesert such a husband and fall in love with a common fellow? Curse\non my unstable mind, or rather curse on women, who are like flies\nthat leave camphor and haste to impurity!\" The queen spent the\nnight in these self-reproaches, and afterwards remained waiting in\nher father's house for the return of her husband. In the meanwhile\nSinhabala, having been supplied with another army by king Gaj\u00e1n\u00edka,\nslew those five wicked relations. Then he recovered his kingdom,\nand at the same time brought back his wife from her father's house,\nand after loading his father-in-law with abundance of wealth, he\nruled the earth for a long time without opposition.\n\n\"So you see, king, that the mind of even discerning women is fickle,\nand, though they have brave and handsome husbands, wanders hither\nand thither, but women of pure character are scarce.\"\n\nWhen Narav\u00e1hanadatta, the son of the king of Vatsa, had heard this\nstory related by Marubh\u00fati, he sank off into a sound sleep and so\npassed the night.\n\n\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER LIX.\n\n\nEarly the next day, Narav\u00e1hanadatta, after he had performed his\nnecessary duties, went to his garden by way of amusement. And while\nhe was there, he saw first a blaze of splendour descend from heaven,\nand after it a company of many Vidy\u00e1dhara females. And in the middle\nof those glittering ones, he saw a maiden charming to the eye like\na digit of the moon in the middle of the stars, with face like an\nopening lotus, with rolling eyes like circling bees, with the swimming\ngait of a swan, diffusing the perfume of a blue lotus, with dimples\ncharming like waves, with waist adorned with a string of pearls, like\nthe presiding goddess of the lovely lake in Cupid's garden, appearing\nin bodily form. And the prince, when he saw that charming enamoured\ncreature, a medicine potent to revive the god of love, was disturbed\nlike the sea, when it beholds the orb of the moon. And he approached\nher, saying to his ministers--\"Ah! extraordinary is the variety in\nproducing fair ones that is characteristic of Providence!\" And when\nshe looked at him with a sidelong look tender with passion, he asked\nher--\"Who are you, auspicious one, and why have you come here?\" When\nthe maiden heard that, she said, \"Listen, I will tell you.\"\n\n\"There is a town of gold on the Him\u00e1layas, named K\u00e1nchanasringa. In\nit there lives a king of the Vidy\u00e1dharas, named Sphatikayasas, who is\njust, and kind to the wretched, the unprotected, and those who seek his\naid. Know that I am his daughter, born to him by the queen Hemaprabh\u00e1,\nin consequence of a boon granted by Gaur\u00ed. And I, being the youngest\nchild, and having five brothers, and being dear to my father as his\nlife, kept by his advice propitiating Gaur\u00ed with vows and hymns. She,\nbeing pleased, bestowed on me all the magic sciences, and deigned to\naddress me thus--'Thy might in science shall be tenfold that of thy\nfather, and thy husband shall be Narav\u00e1hanadatta, the son of the king\nof Vatsa, the future emperor of the Vidy\u00e1dharas. After the consort of\nSiva had said this, she disappeared, and by her favour I obtained the\nsciences and gradually grew up. And last night the goddess appeared to\nme and commanded me--'To-morrow, my daughter, thou must go and visit\nthy husband, and thou must return here the same day, for in a month\nthy father, who has long entertained this intention, will give thee in\nmarriage.' The goddess, after giving me this command, disappeared, and\nthe night came to an end; so here I am come, your Highness, to pay you\na visit. So now I will depart.\" Having said this, Saktiyasas flew up\ninto the heaven with her attendants, and returned to her father's city.\n\nBut Narav\u00e1hanadatta, being eager to marry her, went in disappointed,\nconsidering the month as long as a yuga. And Gomukha, seeing that\nhe was despondent, said to him, \"Listen, prince, I will tell you a\ndelightful story.\"\n\n\n\nStory of king Sumanas, the Nish\u00e1da maiden and the learned parrot. [16]\n\nIn old time there was a city named K\u00e1nchanapur\u00ed, and in it there\nlived a great king named Sumanas. He was of extraordinary splendour,\nand crossing difficult and inaccessible regions, he conquered the\nfortresses and fastnesses of his foes. Once, as he was sitting in\nthe hall of assembly, the warder said to him--\"King, the daughter of\nthe king of the Nish\u00e1das, named Mukt\u00e1lat\u00e1, is standing outside the\ndoor with a parrot in a cage, accompanied by her brother V\u00edraprabha,\nand wishes to see your Majesty.\" The king said \"Let her enter,\" and,\nintroduced by the warder, the Bhilla maiden entered the enclosure of\nthe king's hall of assembly. And all there, when they saw her beauty,\nthought--\"This is not a mortal maiden, surely this is some heavenly\nnymph.\" And she bowed before the king and spoke as follows--\"King,\nhere is a parrot that knows the four Vedas, called S\u00e1straganja,\na poet skilled in all the sciences and in the graceful arts, and I\nhave brought him here to-day by the order of king Maya, so receive\nhim.\" With these words she handed over the parrot, and it was brought\nby the warder near the king, as he had a curiosity to see it, and it\nrecited the following sloka:\n\n\"King, this is natural, that the black-faced smoke of thy valour\nshould be continually increased by the windy sighs of the widows\nof thy enemies, but this is strange, that the strong flame of thy\nvalour blazes in the ten cardinal points all the more fiercely on\naccount of the overflowing of the copious tears wrung from them by\nthe humiliation of defeat.\"\n\nWhen the parrot had recited this sloka, it began to reflect, and\nsaid again, \"What do you wish to know? tell me from what s\u00e1stra I\nshall recite.\"\n\nThen the king was much astonished, but his minister said--\"I suspect,\nmy lord, this is some rishi of ancient days become a parrot on account\nof a curse, but owing to his piety he remembers his former birth,\nand so recollects what he formerly read.\" When the ministers said this\nto the king, the king said to the parrot--\"I feel curiosity, my good\nparrot, tell me your story, where is your place of birth? How comes it\nthat in your parrot condition you know the s\u00e1stras? Who are you?\" Then\nthe parrot shed tears and slowly spoke: \"The story is sad to tell,\nO king, but listen, I will tell it in obedience to thy command.\"\n\n\n\nThe parrot's account of his own life as a parrot.\n\nNear the Him\u00e1layas, O king, there is a rohin\u00ed tree, which resembles\nthe Vedas, in that many birds take refuge in its branches that extend\nthrough the heaven, as Br\u00e1hmans in the various branches of the sacred\ntradition. [17] There a cock-parrot used to dwell with his hen, and to\nthat pair I was born, by the influence of my evil works in a former\nlife. And as soon as I was born, the hen-parrot, my mother, died,\nbut my old father put me under his wing, and fostered me tenderly. And\nhe continued to live there, eating what remained over from the fruits\nbrought by the other parrots, and giving some to me.\n\nOnce on a time, there came there to hunt a terrible army of Bhillas,\nmaking a noise with cows' horns strongly blown; and the whole of\nthat great wood was like an army fleeing in rout, with terrified\nantelopes for dust-stained banners, and the bushy tails of the\nchamar\u00ed deer, agitated in fear, resembling chowries, as the host of\nPulindas rushed upon it to slay various living creatures. And after\nthe army of Savaras had spent the day in the hunting-grounds, in the\nsport of death, they returned with the loads of flesh which they had\nobtained. But a certain aged Savara, who had not obtained any flesh,\nsaw the tree in the evening, and being hungry, approached it, and\nhe quickly climbed up it, and kept dragging parrots and other birds\nfrom their nests, killing them, and flinging them on the ground. And\nwhen I saw him coming near, like the minister of Yama, I slowly crept\nin fear underneath the wing of my father. And in the meanwhile the\nruffian came near our nest, and dragged out my father, and wringing\nhis neck, flung him down on the ground at the foot of the tree. And\nI fell with my father, and slipping out from underneath his wing, I\nslowly crept in my fear into the grass and leaves. Then the rascally\nBhilla came down, and roasted some of the parrots and ate them,\nand others he carried off to his own village.\n\nThen my fear was at an end, but I spent a night long from grief, and in\nthe morning, when the flaming eye [18] of the world had mounted high\nin the heaven, I, being thirsty, went to the bank of a neighbouring\nlake full of lotuses, tumbling frequently, clinging to the earth\nwith my wings, and there I saw on the sand of the lake a hermit,\nnamed Mar\u00edchi, who had just bathed, as it were my good works in a\nformer state of existence. He, when he saw me, refreshed me with\ndrops of water flung in my face, and, putting me in the hollow of\na leaf, out of pity, carried me to his hermitage. There Pulastya,\nthe head of the hermitage, laughed when he saw me, and being asked\nby the other hermits, why he laughed, having supernatural insight,\nhe said--\"When I beheld this parrot, who is a parrot in consequence\nof a curse, I laughed out of sorrow, but after I have said my daily\nprayers, I will tell a story connected with him, which shall cause\nhim to remember his former birth, and the occurrences of his former\nlives.\" After saying this, the hermit Pulastya rose up for his daily\nprayer, and, after he had performed his daily prayer, being again\nsolicited by the hermits, the great sage told this story concerning me.\n\n\n\nThe hermit's story of Somaprabha, Manorathaprabh\u00e1, and Makarandik\u00e1,\nwherein it appears who the parrot was in a former birth.\n\nThere lived in the city of Ratn\u00e1kara a king named Jyotishprabha,\nwho ruled the earth with supreme authority, as far as the sea, the\nmine of jewels. There was born to him, by his queen named Harshavat\u00ed,\na son, whose birth was due to the favour of Siva propitiated by severe\nasceticism. Because the queen saw in a dream the moon entering her\nmouth, the king gave his son the name of Somaprabha. And the prince\ngradually grew up with ambrosial qualities, furnishing a feast to\nthe eyes of the subjects.\n\nAnd his father Jyotishprabha, seeing that he was brave, young, beloved\nby the subjects, and able to bear the weight of empire, gladly anointed\nhim crown-prince. And he gave him as minister the virtuous Priyankara,\nthe son of his own minister named Prabh\u00e1kara. On that occasion M\u00e1tali\ndescended from the heaven with a celestial horse, and coming up to\nSomaprabha, said to him: \"You are a Vidy\u00e1dhara, a friend of Indra's,\nborn on earth, and he has sent you an excellent horse named \u00c1susravas,\nthe son of Uchchhaihsravas, in memory of his former friendship;\nif you mount it, you will be invincible by your foes.\" After the\ncharioteer of Indra had said this, he gave Somaprabha that splendid\nhorse, and after receiving due honour, he flew up to heaven again.\n\nThen Somaprabha spent that day pleasantly in feasting, and the next\nday said to his father the king; \"My father, the duty of a Kshatriya\nis not complete without a desire for conquest, so permit me to march\nout to the conquest of the regions.\" When his father Jyotishprabha\nheard that, he was pleased, and consented, and made arrangements for\nhis expedition. Then Somaprabha bowed before his father, and marched\nout on an auspicious day, with his forces, for the conquest of the\nregions, mounted on the horse given by Indra. And by the help of his\nsplendid horse, he conquered the kings of every part of the world,\nand being irresistible in might, he stripped them of their jewels. He\nbent his bow and the necks of his enemies at the same time; the bow was\nunbent again, but the heads of his enemies were never again uplifted.\n\nThen, as he was returning in triumph, on a path which led him near the\nHim\u00e1layas, he made his army encamp, and went hunting in a wood. And\nas chance would have it, he saw there a Kinnara, made of a splendid\njewel, and he pursued him on his horse given by Indra, with the object\nof capturing him. The Kinnara entered a cavern in the mountain, and\nwas lost to view, but the prince was carried far away by that horse.\n\nAnd when the sun, after diffusing illumination over the quarters of\nthe world, had reached the western peak, where he meets the evening\ntwilight, the prince, being tired, managed, though with difficulty,\nto return, and he beheld a great lake, and wishing to pass the night\non its shores, he dismounted from his horse. And after he had given\ngrass and water to the horse, and had taken fruits and water himself,\nand felt rested, he suddenly heard from a certain quarter the sound\nof a song. Out of curiosity he went in the direction of the sound,\nand saw at no great distance a heavenly nymph, singing in front of\na linga of Siva. He said to himself in astonishment, \"Who may this\nlovely one be?\" And she, seeing that he was of noble appearance, said\nto him bashfully--\"Tell me, who are you? How did you reach alone this\ninaccessible place?\" When he heard this, he told his story, and asked\nher in turn, \"Tell me, who are you and what is your business in this\nwood?\" When he asked this question, the heavenly maiden said--\"If you\nhave any desire, noble sir, to hear my tale, listen, I will tell it;\"\nafter this preface she began to speak with a gushing flood of tears.\n\n\n\nEpisode of Manorathaprabh\u00e1 and Rasmimat.\n\nThere is here, on the table-land of the Him\u00e1layas, a city named\nK\u00e1nchan\u00e1bha, and in it there dwells a king of the Vidy\u00e1dharas named\nPadmak\u00fata. Know that I am the daughter of that king by his queen\nHemaprabh\u00e1, and that my name is Manorathaprabh\u00e1, and my father loves\nme more than his life. I, by the power of my science, used to visit,\nwith my female companions, the isles, and the principal mountains,\nand the woods, and the gardens, and after amusing myself, I made a\npoint of returning every day at my father's meal-time, at the third\nwatch of the day, to my palace. Once on a time I arrived here as I\nwas roaming about, and I saw on the shore of the lake a hermit's son\nwith his companion. And being summoned by the splendour of his beauty,\nas if by a female messenger, I approached him, and he welcomed me with\na wistful look. And then I sat down, and my friend, perceiving the\nfeelings of both, put this question to him through his companion,\n\"Who are you, noble sir, tell me?\" And his companion said; \"Not\nfar from here, my friend, there lives in a hermitage a hermit named\nD\u00eddhitimat. He, being subject to a strict vow of chastity, was seen\nonce, when he came to bathe in this lake, by the goddess Sr\u00ed, who came\nthere at the same time. As she could not obtain him in the flesh, as he\nwas a strict ascetic, and yet longed for him earnestly with her mind,\nshe conceived a mind-born son. And she took that son to D\u00eddhitimat,\nsaying to him, 'I have obtained this son by looking at you; receive\nit.' And after giving the son to the hermit, Sr\u00ed disappeared. And the\nhermit gladly received the son, so easily obtained, and gave him the\nname of Rasmimat, and gradually reared him, and after investing him\nwith the sacred thread, taught him out of love all the sciences. Know\nthat you see before you in this young hermit that very Rasmimat the\nson of Sr\u00ed, come here with me on a pleasure journey.\" When my friend\nhad heard this from the youth's friend, she, being questioned by him\nin turn, told my name and descent as I have now told it to you.\n\nThen I and the hermit's son became still more in love with one another\nfrom hearing one another's descent, and while we were lingering there,\na second attendant came and said to me, \"Rise up, your father, fair\none, is waiting for you in the dining-room of the palace.\" When I heard\nthat, I said--\"I will return quickly,\" and leaving the youth there, I\nwent into the presence of my father out of fear. And when I came out,\nhaving taken a very little food, the first attendant came to me and\nsaid of her own accord: \"The friend of that hermit's son came here,\nmy friend, and standing at the door of the court said to me in a state\nof hurried excitement--'Rasmimat has sent me here now, bestowing on me\nthe power of travelling in the air, which he inherits from his father,\nto see Manorathaprabh\u00e1: he is reduced to a terrible state by love and\ncannot retain his breath a moment longer, without that mistress of\nhis life.'\" The moment I heard this, I left my father's palace, and,\naccompanied by that friend of the hermit's son, who showed me the way,\nand my attendant, I came here, and when I arrived here, I saw that\nthat hermit's son, separated from me, had resigned, at the rising of\nthe moon, the nectar of his life. So I, grieved by separation from\nhim, was blaming my vital frame, and longing to enter the fire with\nhis body. But at that very moment a man, with a body like a mass of\nflame, descended from the sky, and flew up to heaven with his body.\n\nThen I was desirous to hurl myself into the fire alone, but at that\nmoment a voice issued from the air here; \"Manorathaprabh\u00e1, do not\ndo this thing, for at the appointed time thou shalt be re-united\nto this thy hermit's son.\" On hearing this, I gave up the idea of\nsuicide, and here I remain full of hope, waiting for him, engaged\nin the worship of Siva. And as for the friend of the hermit's son,\nhe has disappeared somewhere.\n\nWhen the Vidy\u00e1dhara maiden had said this, Somaprabha said to her,\n\"Then, why do you remain alone, where is that female attendant of\nyours?\" When the Vidy\u00e1dhara maiden heard this, she answered: \"There is\na king of the Vidy\u00e1dharas, named Sinhavikrama, and he has a matchless\ndaughter named Makarandik\u00e1; she is a friend of mine, dear as my life,\nwho sympathizes with my grief, and she to-day sent her attendant to\nlearn tidings of me. So I sent back my own attendant to her, with her\nattendant; it is for that reason that I am at present alone.\" As she\nwas saying this, she pointed out to Somaprabha her attendant descending\nfrom heaven. And she made the attendant, after she had told her news,\nstrew a bed of leaves for Somaprabha, and also give grass to his horse.\n\nThen, after passing the night, they rose up in the morning, and\nsaw approaching a Vidy\u00e1dhara, who had descended from heaven. And\nthat Vidy\u00e1dhara, whose name was Devajaya, after sitting down, spoke\nthus to Manorathaprabh\u00e1--\"Manorathaprabh\u00e1, king Sinhavikrama informs\nyou that your friend, his daughter Makarandik\u00e1, out of love for you,\nrefuses to marry until you have obtained a bridegroom. So he wishes you\nto go there and admonish her, that she may be ready to marry.\" When\nthe Vidy\u00e1dhara maiden heard this, she prepared to go, out of regard\nfor her friend, and then Somaprabha said to her:--\"Virtuous one, I\nhave a curiosity to see the Vidy\u00e1dhara world: so take me there, and\nlet my horse remain here supplied with grass.\" When she heard that,\nshe consented, and taking her attendant with her, she flew through\nthe air, with Somaprabha, who was carried in the arms of Devajaya.\n\nWhen she arrived there, Makarandik\u00e1 welcomed her, and seeing\nSomaprabha, asked, \"Who is this?\" And when Manorathaprabh\u00e1 told\nhis story, the heart of Makarandik\u00e1 was immediately captivated by\nhim. He, for his part, thought in his mind, deeming he had come upon\nGood Fortune in bodily form--\"Who is the fortunate man destined to\nbe her bridegroom?\"\n\nThen, in confidential conversation, Manorathaprabh\u00e1 put the\nfollowing question to Makarandik\u00e1; \"Fair one, why do you not wish\nto be married?\" And she, when she heard this, answered:--\"How could\nI desire marriage until you have accepted a bridegroom, for you are\ndearer to me than life?\" When Makarandik\u00e1 said this in an affectionate\nmanner, Manorathaprabh\u00e1 said--\"I have chosen a bridegroom, fair one;\nI am waiting here in hopes of union with him.\" When she said this,\nMakarandik\u00e1 said--\"I will do as you direct.\" [19]\n\nThen Manorathaprabh\u00e1, seeing the real state of her feelings, said\nto her, \"My friend, Somaprabha has come here as your guest, after\nwandering through the world, so you must entertain him as a guest\nwith becoming hospitality.\" When Makarandik\u00e1 heard this, she said:--\"I\nhave already bestowed on him, by way of hospitality, every thing but\nmyself, but let him accept me, if he is willing.\" When she said this,\nManorathaprabh\u00e1 told their love to her father, and arranged a marriage\nbetween them. Then Somaprabha recovered his spirits, and delighted\nsaid to her:--\"I must go now to your hermitage, for possibly my army,\ncommanded by my minister, may come there tracking my course, and if\nthey do not find me, they may return, suspecting something untoward. So\nI will depart, and after I have learned the tidings of the host,\nI will return, and certainly marry Makarandik\u00e1 on an auspicious\nday.\" When Manorathaprabh\u00e1 heard that, she consented, and took him\nback to her own hermitage, making Devajaya carry him in his arms.\n\nIn the meanwhile his minister Priyankara came there with the\narmy, tracking his footsteps. And while Somaprabha, in delight,\nwas recounting his adventures to his minister, whom he met there,\na messenger came from his father, with a written message that he was\nto return quickly. Then, by the advice of his minister, he went with\nhis army back to his own city, in order not to disobey his father's\ncommand, and as he started, he said to Manorathaprabh\u00e1 and Devajaya,\n\"I will return as soon as I have seen my father.\"\n\nThen Devajaya went and informed Makarandik\u00e1 of that, and in consequence\nshe became afflicted with the sorrow of separation. She took no\npleasure in the garden, nor in singing, nor in the society of her\nladies-in-waiting, nor did she listen to the amusing voices of the\nparrots; she did not take food; much less did she care about adorning\nherself. And though her parents earnestly admonished her, she did not\nrecover her spirits. And she soon left her couch of lotus-fibres,\nand wandered about like an insane woman, causing distress to her\nparents. And when she would not listen to their words, though they\ntried to console her, her parents in their anger pronounced this\ncurse on her, \"You shall fall for some time among the unfortunate\nrace of the Nish\u00e1das, with this very body of yours, without the power\nof remembering your former birth.\" When thus cursed by her parents,\nMakarandik\u00e1 entered the house of a Nish\u00e1da, and became that very\nmoment a Nish\u00e1da maiden. And her father Sinhavikrama, the king of the\nVidy\u00e1dharas, repented, and through grief for her died, and so did his\nwife. Now that king of the Vidy\u00e1dharas was in a former birth a rishi\nwho knew all the s\u00e1stras, but now on account of some remnant of former\nsin he has become this parrot, and his wife also has been born as a\nwild sow, and this parrot, owing to the power of former austerities,\nremembers what it learned in a former life.\n\n\"So I laughed, considering the marvellous results of his works. But\nhe shall be released, as soon as he has told this tale in the court\nof a king. And Somaprabha shall obtain the parrot's daughter in his\nVidy\u00e1dhara birth, Makarandik\u00e1, who has now become a Nish\u00e1da female. And\nManorathaprabh\u00e1 also shall obtain the hermit's son Rasmimat, who has\nnow become a king; but Somaprabha, as soon as he had seen his father,\nreturned to her hermitage, and remains there propitiating Siva in\norder to recover his beloved.\"\n\nWhen the hermit Pulastya had said thus much, he ceased, and I\nremembered my birth, and was plunged in grief and joy. Then the hermit\nMar\u00edchi, who carried me out of pity to the hermitage, took me and\nreared me. And when my wings grew, I flew about hither and thither\nwith the flightiness natural to a bird, [20] displaying the miracle\nof my learning. And falling into the hands of a Nish\u00e1da, I have in\ncourse of time reached your court. And now my evil works have spent\ntheir force, having been brought with me into the body of a bird.\n\nWhen the learned and eloquent parrot had finished this tale in the\npresence of the court, king Sumanas suddenly felt his soul filled with\nastonishment, and disturbed with love. In the meanwhile Siva, being\npleased, said to Somaprabha in a dream--\"Rise up, king, and go into the\npresence of king Sumanas, there thou wilt find thy beloved. For the\nmaiden, named Makarandik\u00e1, has become, by the curse of her father,\na Nish\u00e1da maiden, named Mukt\u00e1lat\u00e1, and she has gone with her own\nfather, who has become a parrot, to the court of the king. And when\nshe sees thee, her curse will come to an end, and she will remember\nher existence as a Vidy\u00e1dhara maiden, and then a union will take place\nbetween you, the joy of which will be increased by your recognizing\none another.\" Having said this to that king, Siva, who is merciful to\nall his worshippers, said to Manorathaprabh\u00e1, who also was living in\nhis hermitage, \"The hermit's son Rasmimat, whom thou didst accept as\nthy bridegroom, has been born again under the name of Sumanas, so go\nto him and obtain him, fair one; he will at once remember his former\nbirth, when he beholds thee.\" So Somaprabha and the Vidy\u00e1dhara maiden,\nbeing separately commanded in a dream by Siva, went immediately to the\ncourt of that Sumanas. And there Makarandik\u00e1, on beholding Somaprabha,\nimmediately remembered her former birth, and being released from her\nlong curse, and recovering her heavenly body, she embraced him. And\nSomaprabha, having, by the favour of Siva, obtained that daughter\nof the Vidy\u00e1dhara prince, as if she were the incarnate fortune of\nheavenly enjoyment, embraced her, and considered himself to have\nattained his object. And king Sumanas, having beheld Manorathaprabh\u00e1,\nremembered his former birth, and entered his former body, that fell\nfrom heaven, and became Rasmimat the son of the chief of hermits. And\nonce more united with his beloved, for whom he had long yearned,\nhe entered his own hermitage, and king Somaprabha departed with his\nbeloved to his own city. And the parrot too left the body of a bird,\nand went to the home earned by his asceticism.\n\n\"Thus you see that the appointed union of human beings certainly\ntakes place in this world, though vast spaces intervene.\" When\nNarav\u00e1hanadatta heard this wonderful, romantic, and agreeable story\nfrom his own minister Gomukha, as he was longing for Saktiyasas,\nhe was much pleased.\n\n\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER LX.\n\n\nThen the chief minister Gomukha, having told the story of the two\nVidy\u00e1dhara maidens, said to Narav\u00e1hanadatta, \"Some ordinary men even,\nbeing kindly disposed towards the three worlds, resist with firm\nresolution the disturbance of love and other passions.\n\n\n\nStory of S\u00faravarman who spared his guilty wife.\n\nFor the king Kuladhara once had a servant of distinguished valour,\na young man of good family, named S\u00faravarman. And one day, as he was\nreturning from war, he entered his house suddenly, and found his wife\nalone with his friend. And when he saw it, he restrained his wrath,\nand in his self-control reflected, \"What is the use of slaying this\nanimal who has betrayed his friend? Or of punishing this wicked\nwoman? Why too should I saddle my soul with a load of guilt?\" After\nhe had thus reflected, he left them both unharmed and said to them,\n\"I will kill whichever of you two I see again. You must neither of\nyou come in my sight again. When he said this and let them depart,\nthey went away to some distant place, but S\u00faravarman married another\nwife, and lived there in comfort.\n\n\"Thus, prince, a man who conquers wrath will not be subject to grief;\nand a man, who displays prudence, is never harmed. Even in the case\nof animals prudence produces success, not valour. In proof of it,\nhear this story about the lion, and the bull, and other animals.\"\n\n\n\nStory of the Ox abandoned in the Forest. [21]\n\nThere was in a certain city a rich merchant's son. Once on a time, as\nhe was going to the city of Mathur\u00e1 to trade, a draught-bull belonging\nto him, named Sanj\u00edvaka, as it was dragging the yoke vigorously,\nbroke it, and so slipped in the path, which had become muddy by a\nmountain torrent flowing into it, and fell and bruised its limbs. The\nmerchant's son, seeing that the bull was unable to move on account of\nits bruises, and not succeeding in his attempts to raise it up from the\nground, at last in despair went off and left it there. And, as fate\nwould have it, the bull slowly revived, and rose up, and by eating\ntender grass recovered its former condition. And it went to the bank\nof the Yamun\u00e1, and by eating green grass and wandering about at will,\nit became fat and strong. And it roamed about there, with full hump,\nwantoning, like the bull of Siva, tearing up ant-hills with its horns,\nand bellowing frequently.\n\nNow at that time there lived in a neighbouring wood a lion named\nPingalaka, who had subdued the forest by his might; and that king\nof beasts had two jackals for ministers; the name of the one was\nDamanaka, and the name of the other was Karataka. That lion, going\none day to the bank of the Yamun\u00e1 to drink water, heard close to\nhim the roar of that bull Sanj\u00edvaka. And when the lion heard the\nroar of that bull, never heard before, resounding through the air,\nhe thought, \"What animal makes this sound? Surely some great creature\ndwells here, so I will depart, for if it saw me, it might slay me,\nor expel me from the forest.\" Thereupon the lion quickly returned to\nthe forest without drinking water, and continued in a state of fear,\nhiding his feelings from his followers.\n\nThen the wise jackal [22] Damanaka, the minister of that king,\nsaid secretly to Karataka the second minister, \"Our master went to\ndrink water; so how comes it that he has so quickly returned without\ndrinking? We must ask him the reason.\" Then Karataka said--\"What\nbusiness is this of ours? Have you not heard the story of the ape\nthat drew out the wedge?\"\n\n\n\nStory of the monkey that pulled out the wedge. [23]\n\nIn a certain town, a merchant had begun to build a temple to a\ndivinity, and had accumulated much timber. The workmen there, after\nsawing through the upper half of a plank, placed a wedge in it, and\nleaving it thus suspended, went home. In the meanwhile a monkey came\nthere and bounded up out of mischief, and sat on the plank, the parts\nof which were separated by the wedge. And he sat in the gap between\nthe two parts, as if in the mouth of death, and in purposeless mischief\npulled out the wedge. Then he fell with the plank, the wedge of which\nhad been pulled out, and was killed, having his limbs crushed by the\nflying together of the separated parts.\n\n\"Thus a person is ruined by meddling with what is not his own\nbusiness. So what is the use of our penetrating the mind of the\nking of beasts?\" When the grave Damanaka heard Karataka say this,\nhe answered--\"Certainly wise ministers must penetrate and observe\nthe peculiarities of their master's character. For who would confine\nhis attention to filling his belly?\" When Damanaka said this, the\ngood Karataka said--\"Prying for one's own gratification is not the\nduty of a servant.\" Damanaka, being thus addressed, replied--\"Do not\nspeak thus, every one desires a recompense suited to his character;\nthe dog is satisfied with a bone only, the lion attacks an elephant.\"\n\nWhen Karataka heard this, he said, \"And supposing under these\ncircumstances the master is angry, instead of being pleased, where\nis your special advantage? Lords, like mountains, are exceedingly\nrough, firm, uneven, difficult of access, and surrounded with noxious\ncreatures.\" Then Damanaka said, \"This is true, but he who is wise,\ngradually gets influence over his master by penetrating his character.\"\n\nThen Karataka said--\"Well, do so,\" and Damanaka went into the\npresence of his master the lion. The lion received him kindly:\nso he bowed, and sat down, and immediately said to him; \"King, I\nam a hereditary useful servant of yours. One useful is to be sought\nafter, though a stranger, but a mischievous one is to be abandoned;\na cat, being useful, is bought with money, brought from a distance,\nand cherished; but a mouse, being harmful, is carefully destroyed,\nthough it has been nourished up in one's house. And a king, who desires\nprosperity, must listen to servants who wish him well, and they must\ngive their lord at the right time useful counsel, even without being\nasked. So, king, if you feel confidence in me, if you are not angry,\nand if you do not wish to conceal your feelings from me, and if you\nare not disturbed in mind by my boldness, I would ask you a certain\nquestion.\" When Damanaka said this, the lion Pingalaka answered;\n\"You are trustworthy, you are attached to me, so speak without fear.\"\n\nWhen Pingalaka said this, Damanaka said: \"King, being thirsty, you\nwent to drink water; so why did you return without drinking, like one\ndespondent?\" When the lion heard this speech of his, he reflected--\"I\nhave been discovered by him, so why should I try to hide the truth\nfrom this devoted servant?\" Having thus reflected, he said to him,\n\"Listen, I must not hide anything from you. When I went to drink water,\nI heard here a noise which I never heard before, and I think, it is\nthe terrible roar of some animal superior to myself in strength. For,\nas a general rule, the might of creatures is proportionate to the\nsound they utter, and it is well known that the infinitely various\nanimal creation has been made by God in regular gradations. And now\nthat he has entered here, I cannot call my body nor my wood my own;\nso I must depart hence to some other forest.\" When the lion said this,\nDamanaka answered him; \"Being valiant, O king, why do you wish to\nleave the wood for so slight a reason? Water breaks a bridge, secret\nwhispering friendship, counsel is ruined by garrulity, cowards only\nare routed by a mere noise. There are many noises, such as those of\nmachines, which are terrible till one knows the real cause. So your\nHighness must not fear this. Hear by way of illustration the story\nof the jackal and the drum.\n\n\n\nStory of the Jackal and the Drum. [24]\n\nLong ago there lived a jackal in a certain forest district. He was\nroaming about in search of food, and came upon a plot of ground\nwhere a battle had taken place, and hearing from a certain quarter a\nbooming sound, he looked in that direction. There he saw a drum lying\non the ground, a thing with which he was not familiar. He thought,\n\"What kind of animal is this, that makes such a sound?\" Then he saw\nthat it was motionless, and coming up and looking at it, he came to\nthe conclusion that it was not an animal. And he perceived that the\nnoise was produced by the parchment being struck by the shaft of an\narrow, which was moved by the wind. So the jackal laid aside his fear,\nand he tore open the drum, and went inside, to see if he could get\nanything to eat in it, but lo! it was nothing but wood and parchment.\n\nSo, king, why do creatures like you fear a mere sound? If you approve,\nI will go there to investigate the matter.\" When Damanaka said this,\nthe lion answered, \"Go there, by all means, if you dare;\" so Damanaka\nwent to the bank of the Yamun\u00e1. While he was roaming slowly about\nthere, guided by the sound, he discovered that bull eating grass. So\nhe went near him, and made acquaintance with him, and came back,\nand told the lion the real state of the ease. The lion Pingalaka was\ndelighted and said, \"If you have really seen that great ox, and made\nfriends with him, bring him here by some artifice, that I may see what\nhe is like.\" So he sent Damanaka back to that bull. Damanaka went to\nthe bull and said--\"Come! our master, the king of beasts is pleased\nto summon you,\" but the bull would not consent to come, for he was\nafraid. Then the jackal again returned to the forest, and induced\nhis master the lion to grant the bull assurance of protection. And\nhe went and encouraged Sanj\u00edvaka with this promise of protection,\nand so brought him into the presence of the lion. And when the lion\nsaw him come and bow before him, he treated him with politeness, and\nsaid--\"Remain here now about my person, and entertain no fear.\" And the\nbull consented, and gradually gained such an influence over the lion,\nthat he turned his back on his other dependents, and was entirely\ngoverned by the bull.\n\nThen Damanaka, being annoyed, said to Karataka in secret: \"See! our\nmaster has been taken possession of by Sanj\u00edvaka, and does not\ntrouble his head about us. He eats his flesh alone, and never gives\nus a share. And the fool is now taught his duty by this bull. [25] It\nwas I that caused all this mischief by bringing this bull. So I will\nnow take steps to have him killed, and to reclaim our master from his\nunbecoming infatuation.\" When Karataka heard this from Damanaka, he\nsaid--\"Friend, even you will not be able to do this now.\" Then Damanaka\nsaid--\"I shall certainly be able to accomplish it by prudence. What\ncan he not do whose prudence does not fail in calamity? As a proof,\nhear the story of the makara [26] that killed the crane.\"\n\n\n\nStory of the crane and the Makara. [27]\n\nOf old time there dwelt a crane in a certain tank rich in fish; and\nthe fish in terror used to flee out of his sight. Then the crane,\nnot being able to catch the fish, told them a lying tale: \"There has\ncome here a man with a net who kills fish. He will soon catch you with\na net and kill you. So act on my advice, if you repose any confidence\nin me. There is in a lonely place a translucent lake, it is unknown to\nthe fishermen of these parts; I will take you there one by one, and\ndrop you into it, that you may live there.\" When those foolish fish\nheard that, they said in their fear--\"Do so, we all repose confidence\nin you.\" Then the treacherous crane took the fish away one by one,\nand, putting them down on a rock, devoured in this way many of them.\n\nThen a certain makara dwelling in that lake, seeing him carrying\noff fish, said:--\"Whither are you taking the fish?\" Then that crane\nsaid to him exactly what he had said to the fish. The makara, [28]\nbeing terrified, said--\"Take me there too.\" The crane's intellect was\nblinded with the smell of his flesh, so he took him up, and soaring\naloft carried him towards the slab of rock. But when the makara got\nnear the rock, he saw the fragments of the bones of the fish that the\ncrane had eaten, and he perceived that the crane was in the habit of\ndevouring those who reposed confidence in him. So no sooner was the\nsagacious makara put down on the rock, than with complete presence\nof mind he cut off the head of the crane. And he returned and told\nthe occurrence, exactly as it happened, to the other fish, and they\nwere delighted, and hailed him as their deliverer from death.\n\n\"Prudence indeed is power, so what has a man, devoid of prudence,\nto do with power? Hear this other story of the lion and the hare.\"\n\n\n\nStory of the lion and the hare. [29]\n\nThere was in a certain forest a lion, who was invincible, and sole\nchampion of it, and whatever creature he saw in it, he killed. Then\nall the animals, deer and all, met and deliberated together, and they\nmade the following petition to that king of beasts--\"Why by killing us\nall at once do you ruin your own interests? We will send you one animal\nevery day for your dinner.\" When the lion heard this, he consented to\ntheir proposal, and as he was in the habit of eating one animal every\nday, it happened that it was one day the lot of a hare to present\nhimself to be eaten. The hare was sent off by the united animals, but\non the way the wise creature reflected--\"He is truly brave who does\nnot become bewildered even in the time of calamity, so, now that Death\nstares me in the face, I will devise an expedient.\" Thus reflecting,\nthe hare presented himself before the lion late. And when he arrived\nafter his time, the lion said to him: \"Hola! how is this that you\nhave neglected to arrive at my dinner hour, or what worse penalty than\ndeath can I inflict on you, scoundrel?\" When the lion said this, the\nhare bowed before him, and said: \"It is not my fault, your Highness,\nI have not been my own master to-day, for another lion detained me on\nthe road, and only let me go after a long interval.\" When the lion\nheard that, he lashed his tail, and his eyes became red with anger,\nand he said: \"Who is that second lion? Shew him me.\" The hare said:\n\"Let your Majesty come and see him.\" The lion consented and followed\nhim. Thereupon the hare took him away to a distant well. \"Here he\nlives, behold him,\" said the hare, and when thus addressed by the hare,\nthe lion looked into the well, roaring all the while with anger. And\nseeing his own reflexion in the clear water, and hearing the echo\nof his own roar, thinking that there was a rival lion there roaring\nlouder than himself, [30] he threw himself in a rage into the well,\nin order to kill him, and there the fool was drowned. And the hare,\nhaving himself escaped death by his wisdom, and having delivered all\nthe animals from it, went and delighted them by telling his adventure.\n\n\"So you see that wisdom is the supreme power, not strength, since by\nvirtue of it even a hare killed a lion. So I will effect my object\nby wisdom.\" When Damanaka said this, Karataka remained silent.\n\nThen Damanaka went and remained in the presence of the king Pingalaka,\nin a state of assumed depression. And when Pingalaka asked him the\nreason, he said to him in a confidential aside: \"I will tell you,\nking, for if one knows anything, one ought not to conceal it. And one\nshould speak too without being commanded to do so, if one desires\nthe welfare of one's master. So hear this representation of mine,\nand do not suspect me. This bull Sanj\u00edvaka intends to kill you and\ngain possession of the kingdom, for in his position of minister he has\ncome to the conclusion that you are timid; and longing to slay you,\nhe is brandishing his two horns, his natural weapons, and he talks\nover the animals in the forest, encouraging them with speeches of this\nkind--'We will kill by some artifice this flesh-eating king of beasts,\nand then you can live in security under me, who am an eater of herbs\nonly.' So think about this bull; as long as he is alive, there is\nno security for you.\" When Damanaka said this, Pingalaka answered,\n\"What can that miserable herb-eating bull do against me? But how\ncan I kill a creature that has sought my protection, and to whom I\nhave promised immunity from injury.\" When Damanaka heard this, he\nsaid--\"Do not speak so. When a king makes another equal to himself,\nFortune does not proceed as favourably as before. [31] The fickle\ngoddess, if she places her feet at the same time upon two exalted\npersons, cannot keep her footing long, she will certainly abandon\none of the two. And a king, who hates a good servant and honours a\nbad servant, is to be avoided by the wise, as a wicked patient by\nphysicians. Where there is a speaker and a hearer of that advice,\nwhich in the beginning is disagreeable, but in the end is useful,\nthere Fortune sets her foot. He, who does not hear the advice of the\ngood, but listens to the advice of the bad, in a short time falls\ninto calamity, and is afflicted. So what is the meaning of this love\nof yours for the bull, O king? And what does it matter that you gave\nhim protection, or that he came as a suppliant, if he plots against\nyour life? Moreover, if this bull remains always about your person,\nyou will have worms produced in you by his excretions. And they will\nenter your body, which is covered with the scars of wounds from the\ntusks of infuriated elephants. Why should he not have chosen to kill\nyou by craft? If a wicked person is wise enough not to do an injury\n[32] himself, it will happen by association with him, hear a story\nin proof of it.\"\n\n\n\nStory of the Louse and the Flea. [33]\n\nIn the bed of a certain king there long lived undiscovered a louse,\nthat had crept in from somewhere or other, by name Mandavisarpin\u00ed. And\nsuddenly a flea, named Tittibha, entered that bed, wafted there by the\nwind from some place or other. And when Mandavisarpin\u00ed saw him, she\nsaid, \"Why have you invaded my home? go elsewhere.\" Tittibha answered,\n\"I wish to drink the blood of a king, a luxury which I have never\ntasted before, so permit me to dwell here.\" Then, to please him,\nthe louse said to him, \"If this is the case, remain. But you must\nnot bite the king, my friend, at unseasonable times, you must bite\nhim gently when he is asleep.\" When Tittibha heard that, he consented\nand remained. But at night he bit the king hard when he was in bed,\nand then the king rose up, exclaiming, \"I am bitten,\" then the wicked\nflea fled quickly, and the king's servants made a search in the bed,\nand finding the louse there, killed it.\n\n\"So Mandavisarpin\u00ed perished by associating with Tittibha. Accordingly\nyour association with Sanj\u00edvaka will not be for your advantage;\nif you do not believe in what I say, you will soon yourself see him\napproach, brandishing his head, confiding in his horns, which are\nsharp as lances.\"\n\nBy these words the feelings of Pingalaka were changed towards the bull,\nand so Damanaka induced him to form in his heart the determination\nthat the bull must be killed. And Damanaka, having ascertained the\nstate of the lion's feelings, immediately went off of his own accord\nto Sanj\u00edvaka, and sat in his presence with a despondent air. The\nbull said to him, \"Friend, why are you in this state? Are you in good\nhealth?\" The jackal answered, \"What can be healthy with a servant? Who\nis permanently dear to a king? What petitioner is not despised? Who\nis not subject to time?\" When the jackal said this, the bull again\nsaid to him--\"Why do you seem so despondent to-day, my friend, tell\nme?\" Then Damanaka said--\"Listen, I speak out of friendship. The\nlion Pingalaka has to-day become hostile to you. So unstable is\nhis affection that, without regard for his friendship, he wishes to\nkill you and eat you, and I see that his evilly-disposed courtiers\nhave instigated him to do it.\" The simple-minded bull, supposing, on\naccount of the confidence he had previously reposed in the jackal,\nthat this speech was true, and feeling despondent, said to him:\n\"Alas a mean master, with mean retainers, though he be won over by\nfaithful service, becomes estranged; in proof of it hear this story.\"\n\n\n\nStory of the Lion, the Panther, the Crow and the Jackal. [34]\n\nThere lived once in a certain forest a lion, named Madotkata,\nand he had three followers, a panther, a crow, and a jackal. That\nlion once saw a camel, that had escaped from a caravan, entering\nhis wood, a creature he was not familiar with before, of ridiculous\nappearance. That king of beasts said in astonishment, \"What is this\ncreature?\" And the crow, who knew when it behoved him to speak,\n[35] said, \"It is a camel.\" Then the lion, out of curiosity, had the\ncamel summoned, and giving him a promise of protection, he made him\nhis courtier, and placed him about his person.\n\nOne day the lion was wounded in a fight with an elephant, and\nbeing out of health, made many fasts, though surrounded by those\nattendants who were in good health. Then the lion, being exhausted,\nroamed about in search of food, but not finding any, secretly asked\nall his courtiers, except the camel, what was to be done. They said\nto him:--\"Your Highness, we must give advice which is seasonable in\nour present calamity. What friendship can you have with a camel, and\nwhy do you not eat him? He is a grass-eating animal, and therefore\nmeant to be devoured by us flesh-eaters. And why should not one be\nsacrificed to supply food to many? If your Highness should object,\non the ground that you cannot slay one to whom you have granted\nprotection, we will contrive a plot by which we shall induce the\ncamel himself to offer you his own body.\" When they had said this,\nthe crow, by the permission of the lion, after arranging the plot,\nwent and said to that camel: \"This master of ours is overpowered with\nhunger, and says nothing to us, so we intend to make him well-disposed\nto us by offering him our bodies, and you had better do the same, in\norder that he may be well-disposed towards you.\" When the crow said\nthis to the camel, the simple-minded camel agreed to it, and came\nto the lion with the crow. Then the crow said, \"King, eat me, for\nI am my own master.\" Then the lion said, \"What is the use of eating\nsuch a small creature as you?\" Thereupon the jackal said--\"Eat me,\"\nand the lion rejected him in the same way. Then the panther said \"Eat\nme,\" and yet the lion would not eat him; and at last the camel said\n\"Eat me.\" So the lion, and the crow, and his fellows entrapped him\nby these deceitful offers, and taking him at his word, killed him,\ndivided him into portions, and ate him.\n\n\"In the same way some treacherous person has instigated Pingalaka\nagainst me without cause. So now destiny must decide. For it is\nbetter to be the servant of a vulture-king with swans for courtiers,\nthan to serve a swan as king, if his courtiers be vultures,\nmuch less a king of a worse character, with such courtiers. [36]\n\"When the dishonest Damanaka heard Sanj\u00edvaka say that, he replied,\n\"Everything is accomplished by resolution, listen--I will tell you\na tale to prove this.\"\n\n\n\nStory of the pair of Tittibhas.\n\nThere lived a certain cock tittibha on the shore of the sea with his\nhen. And the hen, being about to lay eggs, said to the cock: \"Come,\nlet us go away from this place, for if I lay eggs here, the sea may\ncarry them off with its waves.\" When the cock-bird heard this speech\nof the hen's, he said to her--\"The sea cannot contend with me.\" On\nhearing that, the hen said--\"Do not talk so; what comparison is there\nbetween you and the sea? People must follow good advice, otherwise\nthey will be ruined.\"\n\n\n\nStory of the Tortoise and the two Swans. [37]\n\nFor there was in a certain lake a tortoise, named Kambugr\u00edva, and\nhe had two swans for friends, Vikata and Sankata. Once on a time\nthe lake was dried up by drought, and they wanted to go to another\nlake; so the tortoise said to them, \"Take me also to the lake you\nare desirous of going to.\" When the two swans heard this, they said\nto their friend the tortoise--\"The lake to which we wish to go is a\ntremendous distance off; but, if you wish to go there too, you must\ndo what we tell you. You must take in your teeth a stick held by us,\nand while travelling through the air, you must remain perfectly silent,\notherwise you will fall and be killed.\" The tortoise agreed, and took\nthe stick in his teeth, and the two swans flew up into the air, holding\nthe two ends of it. And gradually the two swans, carrying the tortoise,\ndrew near that lake, and were seen by some men living in a town below;\nand the thoughtless tortoise heard them making a chattering, while\nthey were discussing with one another, what the strange thing could\nbe that the swans were carrying. So the tortoise asked the swans what\nthe chattering below was about, and in so doing let go the stick from\nits mouth, and falling down to the earth, was there killed by the men.\n\n\"Thus you see that a person who lets go common sense will be ruined,\nlike the tortoise that let go the stick.\" When the hen-bird said this,\nthe cock-bird answered her, \"This is true, my dear, but hear this\nstory also.\"\n\n\n\nStory of the three Fish.\n\nOf old time there were three fish in a lake near a river, one was\ncalled An\u00e1gatavidh\u00e1tri, a second Pratyutpannamati and the third\nYadbhavishya, [38] and they were companions. One day they heard some\nfishermen, who passed that way, saying to one another, \"Surely there\nmust be fish in this lake. Thereupon the prudent An\u00e1gatavidh\u00e1tri,\nfearing to be killed by the fishermen, entered the current of the\nriver and went to another place. But Pratyutpannamati remained where\nhe was, without fear, saying to himself, \"I will take the expedient\ncourse if any danger should arise.\" And Yadbhavishya remained there,\nsaying to himself, \"What must be, must be.\" Then those fishermen came\nand threw a net into that lake. But the cunning Pratyutpannamati,\nthe moment he felt himself hauled up in the net, made himself rigid,\nand remained as if he were dead. The fishermen, who were killing the\nfish, did not kill him, thinking that he had died of himself, so he\njumped into the current of the river, and went off somewhere else, as\nfast as he could. But Yadbhavishya, like a foolish fish, bounded and\nwriggled in the net, so the fishermen laid hold of him and killed him.\n\n\"So I too will adopt an expedient when the time arrives; I will not\ngo away through fear of the sea.\" Having said this to his wife, the\ntittibha remained where he was, in his nest; and there the sea heard\nhis boastful speech. Now, after some days, the hen-bird laid eggs,\nand the sea carried off the eggs with his waves, out of curiosity,\nsaying to himself; \"I should like to know what this tittibha will do\nto me.\" And the hen-bird, weeping, said to her husband; \"The very\ncalamity which I prophesied to you, has come upon us.\" Then that\nresolute tittibha said to his wife, \"See, what I will do to that\nwicked sea!\" So he called together all the birds, and mentioned the\ninsult he had received, and went with them and called on the lord\nGaruda for protection. And the birds said to him: \"Though thou art our\nprotector, we have been insulted by the sea as if we were unprotected,\nin that it has carried away some of our eggs.\" Then Garuda was angry,\nand appealed to Vishnu, who dried up the sea with the weapon of fire,\nand made it restore the eggs. [39]\n\n\"So you must be wise in calamity and not let go resolution. But now\na battle with Pingalaka is at hand for you. When he shall erect his\ntail, and arise with his four feet together, then you may know that he\nis about to strike you. And you must have your head ready tossed up,\nand must gore him in the stomach, and lay your enemy low, with all\nhis entrails torn out.\"\n\nAfter Damanaka had said this to the bull Sanj\u00edvaka, he went to\nKarataka, and told him that he had succeeded in setting the two\nat variance.\n\nThen Sanj\u00edvaka slowly approached Pingalaka, being desirous of finding\nout the mind of that king of beasts by his face and gestures. And\nhe saw that the lion was prepared to fight, being evenly balanced\non all four legs, and having erected his tail, and the lion saw that\nthe bull had tossed up his head in fear. Then the lion sprang on the\nbull and struck him with his claws, the bull replied with his horns,\nand so their fight went on. And the virtuous Karataka, seeing it,\nsaid to Damanaka--\"Why have you brought calamity on our master to gain\nyour own ends? Wealth obtained by oppression of subjects, friendship\nobtained by deceit, and a lady-love gained by violence, will not\nremain long. But enough; whoever says much to a person who despises\ngood advice, incurs thereby misfortune, as S\u00fach\u00edmukha from the ape.\"\n\n\n\nStory of the Monkeys, the Firefly, and the Bird. [40]\n\nOnce on a time, there were some monkeys wandering in a troop in\na wood. In the cold weather they saw a firefly and thought it was\nreal fire. So they placed grass and leaves upon it, and tried to\nwarm themselves at it, and one of them fanned the firefly with his\nbreath. A bird named S\u00fach\u00edmukha, when he saw it, said to him, \"This\nis not fire, this is a firefly, do not fatigue yourself.\" Though the\nmonkey heard, he did not desist, and thereupon the bird came down from\nthe tree, and earnestly dissuaded him, at which the ape was annoyed,\nand throwing a stone at S\u00fach\u00edmukha, crushed him.\n\n\"So one ought not to admonish him, who will not act on good advice. Why\nthen should I speak? you well know that you brought about this quarrel\nwith a mischievous object, and that which is done with evil intentions\ncannot turn out well.\"\n\n\n\nStory of Dharmabuddhi and Dushtabuddhi. [41]\n\nFor instance, there were long ago in a certain village two brothers,\nthe sons of a merchant, Dharmabuddhi and Dushtabuddhi by name. They\nleft their father's house and went to another country to get wealth,\nand with great difficulty acquired two thousand gold d\u00edn\u00e1rs. And\nwith them they returned to their own city. And they buried those\nd\u00edn\u00e1rs at the foot of a tree, with the exception of one hundred,\nwhich they divided between them in equal parts, and so they lived in\ntheir father's house.\n\nBut one day Dushtabuddhi went by himself and dug up of his own accord\nthose d\u00edn\u00e1rs, which were buried at the foot of the tree, for he was\nvicious and extravagant. [42] And after one month only had passed,\nhe said to Dharmabuddhi: \"Come, my elder brother, let us divide those\nd\u00edn\u00e1rs; I have expenses.\" When Dharmabuddhi heard that, he consented,\nand went and dug with him, where he had deposited the d\u00edn\u00e1rs. And when\nthey did not find any d\u00edn\u00e1rs in the place where they had buried them,\nthe treacherous Dushtabuddhi said to Dharmabuddhi: \"You have taken\naway the d\u00edn\u00e1rs, so give me my half.\" But Dharmabuddhi answered: \"I\nhave not taken them, you must have taken them.\" So a quarrel arose,\nand Dushtabuddhi hit Dharmabuddhi on the head with a stone, and\ndragged him into the king's court. There they both stated their case,\nand as the king's officers could not decide it, they were proceeding\nto detain them both for the trial by ordeal. Then Dushtabuddhi said\nto the king's officers; \"The tree, at the foot of which these d\u00edn\u00e1rs\nwere placed, will depose, as a witness, that they were taken away by\nthis Dharmabuddhi. And they were exceedingly astonished, but said,\n\"Well, we will ask it to-morrow.\" Then they let both Dharmabuddhi and\nDushtabuddhi go, after they had given bail, and they went separately\nto their house.\n\nBut Dushtabuddhi told the whole matter to his father, and secretly\ngiving him money, said; \"Hide in the trunk of the tree and be my\nwitness.\" His father consented, so he took him and placed him at night\nin the capacious trunk of the tree, and returned home. And in the\nmorning those two brothers went with the king's officers, and asked\nthe tree, who took away those d\u00edn\u00e1rs. And their father, who was hidden\nin the trunk of the tree, replied in a loud clear voice: \"Dharmabuddhi\ntook away the d\u00edn\u00e1rs.\" When the king's officers heard this surprising\nutterance, they said; \"Surely Dushtabuddhi must have hidden some one\nin the trunk.\" So they introduced smoke into the trunk of the tree,\nwhich fumigated the father of Dushtabuddhi so, that he fell out of the\ntrunk on to the ground, and died. When the king's officers saw this,\nthey understood the whole matter, and they compelled Dushtabuddhi to\ngive up the d\u00edn\u00e1rs to Dharmabuddhi. And so they cut off the hands\nand cut out the tongue of Dushtabuddhi, and banished him, and they\nhonoured Dharmabuddhi as a man who deserved his name. [43]\n\n\"So you see that a deed done with an unrighteous mind is sure to\nbring calamity, therefore one should do it with a righteous mind,\nas the crane did to the snake.\"\n\n\n\nStory of the Crane, the Snake and the Mungoose. [44]\n\nOnce on a time a snake came and ate the nestlings of a certain crane,\nas fast as they were born; that grieved the crane. So, by the advice\nof a crab, he went and strewed pieces of fish from the dwelling of a\nmungoose as far as the hole of the snake, and the mungoose came out,\nand following up the pieces of fish, eating as it went on, was led\nto the hole of the snake, which it saw and entered, and killed him\nand his offspring.\n\n\"So by a device one can succeed; now hear another story.\"\n\n\n\nStory of the mice that ate an iron balance. [45]\n\nOnce on a time there was a merchant's son, who had spent all his\nfather's wealth, and had only an iron balance left to him. Now the\nbalance was made of a thousand palas of iron; and depositing it in\nthe care of a certain merchant, he went to another land. And when,\non his return, he came to that merchant to demand back his balance,\nthe merchant said to him: \"It has been eaten by mice.\" He repeated,\n\"It is quite true, the iron, of which it was composed, was particularly\nsweet, and so the mice ate it.\" This he said with an outward show of\nsorrow, laughing in his heart. Then the merchant's son asked him to\ngive him some food, and he, being in a good temper, consented to give\nhim some. Then the merchant's son went to bathe, taking with him the\nson of that merchant, who was a mere child, and whom he persuaded\nto come with him by giving him a dish of \u00e1malakas. And after he\nhad bathed, the wise merchant's son deposited the boy in the house\nof a friend, and returned alone to the house of that merchant. And\nthe merchant said to him, \"Where is that son of mine?\" He replied,\n\"A kite swooped down from the air and carried him off.\" The merchant\nin a rage said, \"You have concealed my son,\" and so he took him\ninto the king's judgment-hall; and there the merchant's son made the\nsame statement. The officers of the court said, \"This is impossible,\nhow could a kite carry off a boy?\" But the merchant's son answered;\n\"In a country where a large balance of iron was eaten by mice, a\nkite might carry off an elephant, much more a boy.\" [46] When the\nofficers heard that, they asked about it, out of curiosity, and made\nthe merchant restore the balance to the owner, and he, for his part,\nrestored the merchant's child.\n\n\"Thus, you see, persons of eminent ability attain their ends by\nan artifice. But you, by your reckless impetuosity, have brought\nour master into danger.\" When Damanaka heard this from Karataka,\nhe laughed and said--\"Do not talk like this! What chance is there\nof a lion's not being victorious in a fight with a bull? There is a\nconsiderable difference between a lion, whose body is adorned with\nnumerous scars of wounds from the tusks of infuriated elephants,\nand a tame ox, whose body has been pricked by the goad.\" While the\njackals were carrying on this discussion, the lion killed the bull\nSanj\u00edvaka. When he was slain, Damanaka recovered his position of\nminister without a rival, and remained for a long time about the\nperson of the king of beasts in perfect happiness.\n\nNarav\u00e1hanadatta much enjoyed hearing from his prime minister Gomukha\nthis wonderful story, which was full of statecraft, and characterized\nby consummate ability.\n\n\n\nNOTE TO CHAPTER 60. THE FABLES OF PILPAY.\n\nWilson in his collected works, (Vol. IV, p. 139) remarks that we\nhave in the Kath\u00e1 Sarit S\u00e1gara an earlier representative of the\noriginal collection of Indian fables, than even the Panchatantra, as\nit agrees better with the Kalilah and Dimnah than the Panchatantra\ndoes. The earliest Indian form of the Panchatantra appears to have\nbeen translated into Pehlevi in the time of the king of Persia,\nKhushru Naush\u00edrv\u00e1ns (between 531 and 572 A. D.); upon this the Arabic\ntranslation was based. It was edited by Silvestre de Sacy under the\ntitle, \"Calila et Dimna ou Fables de Bidpai,\" and has been translated\ninto German by Wolff, and into English by Knatchbull. There are many\nrecensions of the Arabic translation as of the Panchatantra. (Benfey\nis of opinion that originally the latter work consisted of more than\nfive sections.) The oldest translation of the Arabic version is the\nGreek one by Symeon Seth, which was made about 1080, A. D. (Benfey,\nEinleitung, p. 8, with note). The Latin translation of Possinus was\nmade from this. Perhaps the most important translation of all is the\nHebrew translation of Rabbi Joel. It must have been made about 1250. It\nhas never been edited, with the exception of a small fragment, and is\npractically represented by the Latin translation of John of Capua,\nmade between 1263 and 1278. Benfey considers that the first German\ntranslation was made from a MS. of this. The oldest German translation\nhas no date. The second appeared at Ulm in 1483. Another version,\nprobably not based upon any of these, is a poetical paraphrase, the\nAlter Aesopus of Baldo, edited by Ed\u00e9l\u00e9stand du M\u00e9ril in his Po\u00e9sies\nin\u00e9dites du Moyen Age. There is a Spanish translation from the Arabic,\nperhaps through an unknown Latin version, which appeared about 1251. A\nportion has been published by Rodriguez De Castro. Possibly Raimond's\nLatin translation was based partly on this, and partly on the Latin\ntranslation of the Hebrew by John of Capua.\n\nThe Arabic version was translated into Persian by Nasr Allah in the\n12th century. Upon it is based the Anv\u00e1r-i-Suhaili of Husain Vaiz,\nwhich was written three centuries later. It has been translated into\nEnglish by Eastwick. (Hertford 1854). (The above note is summarized\nfrom Benfey's Einleitung). See also Rhys Davids' Buddhist Birth\nStories, Introduction, pp. xciii and xciv. He says that the Arabic\nversion was made from the Syriac.\n\n\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER LXI.\n\n\nThen the minister Gomukha again said to Narav\u00e1hanadatta, in order\nto solace him while pining for Saktiyasas; \"Prince, you have heard\na tale of a wise person, now hear a tale about a fool.\"\n\n\n\nStory of the foolish merchant who made aloes-wood into charcoal. [47]\n\nA certain rich merchant had a blockhead of a son. He, once on a time,\nwent to the island of Kat\u00e1ha to trade, and among his wares there was\na great quantity of fragrant aloes-wood. And after he had sold the\nrest of his wares, he could not find any one to take the aloes-wood\noff his hands, for the people who live there are not acquainted with\nthat article of commerce. Then, seeing people buying charcoal from\nthe woodmen, the fool burnt his stock of aloes-wood and reduced it\nto charcoal. Then he sold it for the price which charcoal usually\nfetched, and returning home, boasted of his cleverness, and became\na laughing-stock to everybody.\n\n\"I have told you of the man who burnt aloes-wood, now hear the tale\nof the cultivator of sesame.\"\n\n\n\nStory of the man who sowed roasted seed. [48]\n\nThere was a certain villager who was a cultivator, and very nearly\nan idiot. He one day roasted some sesame-seeds, and, finding them\nnice to eat, he sowed a large number of roasted seeds, hoping that\nsimilar ones would come up. When they did not come up, on account of\ntheir having been roasted, he found that he had lost his substance,\nand people laughed at him.\n\n\"I have spoken of the sesame-cultivator, now hear about the man who\nthrew fire into water.\"\n\n\n\nStory of the fool who mixed fire and water. [49]\n\nThere was a silly man, who, one night, having to perform a sacrifice\nnext day, thus reflected:--\"I require water and fire, for bathing,\nburning incense, and other purposes; so I will put them together,\nthat I may quickly obtain them when I want them.\" Thus reflecting, he\nthrew the fire into the pitcher of water, and then went to bed. And\nin the morning, when he came to look, the fire was extinct, and the\nwater was spoiled. And when he saw the water blackened with charcoal,\nhis face was blackened also, and the faces of the amused people were\nwreathed in smiles.\n\n\"You have heard the story of the man who was famous on account of\nthe pitcher of fire, now hear the story of the nose-engrafter.\"\n\n\n\nStory of the man who tried to improve his wife's nose.\n\nThere lived in some place or other a foolish man of bewildered\nintellect. He, seeing that his wife was flat-nosed, and that his\nspiritual instructor was high-nosed, [50] cut off the nose of the\nlatter when he was asleep: and then he went and cut off his wife's\nnose, and stuck the nose of his spiritual instructor on her face,\nbut it would not grow there. Thus he deprived both his wife and his\nspiritual guide of their noses.\n\n\"Now hear the story of the herdsman who lived in a forest.\"\n\n\n\nStory of the foolish herdsman.\n\nThere lived in a forest a rich but silly herdsman. Many rogues\nconspired together and made friends with him. They said to him,\n\"We have asked the daughter of a rich inhabitant of the town in\nmarriage for you, and her father has promised to give her. When he\nheard that, he was pleased and gave them wealth, and after a few days\nthey came again and said, \"Your marriage has taken place.\" He was very\nmuch pleased at that, and gave them abundance of wealth. And after\nsome more days they said to him: \"A son has been born to you.\" He\nwas in ecstasies at that, and he gave them all his wealth, like\nthe fool that he was, and the next day he began to lament, saying,\n\"I am longing to see my son.\" And when the herdsman began to cry,\nhe incurred the ridicule of the people on account of his having been\ncheated by the rogues, as if he had acquired the stupidity of cattle\nfrom having so much to do with them.\n\n\"You have heard of the herdsman; now hear the story of the\nornament-hanger.\"\n\n\n\nStory of the fool and the ornaments. [51]\n\nA certain villager, while digging up the ground, found a splendid\nset of ornaments, which thieves had taken from the palace and placed\nthere. He immediately took them and decorated his wife with them;\nhe put the girdle on her head, and the necklace round her waist,\nand the anklets on her wrists, and the bracelets on her ears.\n\nWhen the people heard of it, they laughed, and bruited it about. So the\nking came to hear of it, and took away from the villager the ornaments,\nwhich belonged to himself, but let the villager go unharmed, because\nhe was as stupid as an animal.\n\n\n\nStory of the Fool and the Cotton. [52]\n\nI have told you, prince, of the ornament-finder, now hear the story\nof the cotton-grower. A certain blockhead went to the market to\nsell cotton, but no one would buy it from him on the ground that\nit was not properly cleaned. In the meanwhile he saw in the bazar\na goldsmith selling gold, which he had purified by heating it, and\nhe saw it taken by a customer. When the stupid creature saw that,\nhe threw the cotton into the fire in order to purify it, and when it\nwas burnt up, the people laughed at him.\n\n\"You have heard, prince, this story of the cotton-grower, now hear\nthe story of the men who cut down the palm-trees.\"\n\n\n\nStory of the Foolish Villagers who cut down the palm-trees.\n\nSome foolish villagers were summoned by the king's officers, and\nset to work to gather some dates in accordance with an order from\nthe king's court. [53] They, perceiving that it was very easy to\ngather the dates of one date-palm that had tumbled down of itself,\ncut down all the date-palms in their village. And after they had\nlaid them low, they gathered from them their whole crop of dates,\nand then they raised them up and planted them again, but they did not\nsucceed in making them grow. And then, when they brought the dates,\nthey were not rewarded, but on the contrary punished with a fine by\nthe king, who had heard of the cutting down of the trees. [54]\n\n\"I have told you this joke about the dates, now I am going to tell\nyou about the looking for treasure.\"\n\n\n\nStory of the Treasure-finder who was blinded.\n\nA certain king took to himself a treasure-finder. And the wicked\nminister of that king had both the eyes of the man, who was able to\nfind the places where treasure was deposited, torn out, in order that\nhe might not run away anywhere. The consequence was that, being blind,\nhe was incapacitated from seeing the indications of treasure in the\nearth, whether he ran away or remained; and people, seeing that,\n[55] laughed at the silly minister.\n\n\"You have heard of the searching for treasure, now hear about the\neating of salt.\"\n\n\n\nStory of the Fool and the Salt.\n\nThere was once on a time an impenetrably stupid man living in\na village. [56] He was once taken home by a friend who lived in\nthe city, and was regaled on curry and other food, made savoury by\nsalt. And that blockhead asked, \"What makes this food so savoury?\" His\nfriend told him that its relish was principally due to salt. He came\nto the conclusion that salt was the proper thing to eat, so he took\na handful of crushed salt and threw it into his mouth, and ate it;\nthe powdered salt whitened the lips and beard of the foolish fellow,\nand so the people laughed at him till his face became white also.\n\n\"You have heard, prince, the story of the devourer of salt, now hear\nthe story of the man who had a milch-cow.\"\n\n\n\nStory of the Fool and his Milch-cow. [57]\n\nThere was once on a time a certain foolish villager, and he had one\ncow. And that cow gave him every day a hundred palas of milk. And once\non a time it happened that a feast was approaching. So he thought;\n\"I will take all the cow's milk at once on the feast-day, and so get\nvery much.\" Accordingly the fool did not milk his cow for a whole\nmonth. And when the feast came, and he did begin to milk it, he found\nits milk had failed, but to the people this was an unfailing source\nof amusement.\n\n\"You have heard of the fool who had a milch-cow, now hear the story\nof these other two fools.\"\n\n\n\nStory of the Foolish Bald Man and the Fool who pelted him.\n\nThere was a certain bald man with a head like a copper pot. Once on\na time a young man, who, being hungry, had gathered wood-apples,\nas he was coming along his path, saw him sitting at the foot of a\ntree. In fun he hit him on the head with a wood-apple; the bald man\ntook it patiently and said nothing to him. Then he hit his head with\nall the rest of the wood-apples that he had, throwing them at him one\nafter another, and the bald man remained silent, even though the blood\nflowed. So the foolish young fellow had to go home hungry without his\nwood-apples, which he had broken to pieces in his useless and childish\npastime of pelting the bald man; and the foolish bald man went home\nwith his head streaming with blood, saying to himself; \"Why should\nI not submit to being pelted with such delicious wood-apples?\" And\neverybody there laughed, when they saw him with his head covered with\nblood, looking like the diadem with which he had been crowned king\nof fools.\n\n\"Thus you see, prince, that foolish persons become the objects of\nridicule in the world, and do not succeed in their objects; but wise\npersons are honoured.\"\n\nWhen Narav\u00e1hanadatta had heard from Gomukha these elegant and amusing\nanecdotes, he rose up and performed his day's duties. And when night\ncame on, the prince was anxious to hear some more stories, and at\nhis request, Gomukha told this story about wise creatures.\n\n\n\nStory of the Crow and the King of the Pigeons, the Tortoise and the\nDeer. [58]\n\nThere was in a certain forest region a great Salmali tree; and in\nit there lived a crow, named Laghup\u00e1tin, who had made his dwelling\nthere. One day, as he was in his nest, he saw below the tree a\nterrible-looking man arrive with a stick, net in hand. And while the\ncrow looked down from the tree, he saw that the man spread out the\nnet on the ground, and strewed there some rice, and then hid himself.\n\nIn the meanwhile the king of the pigeons, named Chitragr\u00edva, as he was\nroaming through the air, attended by hundreds of pigeons, came there,\nand seeing the grains of rice scattered on the ground, he alighted\non the net out of desire for food, and got caught in the meshes with\nall his attendants. When Chitragr\u00edva saw that, he said to all his\nfollowers; \"Take the net in your beaks, and fly up into the air as\nfast as you can.\" All the terrified pigeons said,--\"So be it\"--and\ntaking the net, they flew up swiftly, and began to travel through\nthe air. The fowler too rose up, and with eye fixed upwards, returned\ndespondent. Then Chitragr\u00edva, being relieved from his fear, said to his\nfollowers; \"Let us quickly go to my friend the mouse Hiranya, he will\ngnaw these meshes asunder and set us at liberty.\" With these words he\nwent on with those pigeons, who were dragging the net along with them,\nand descended from the air at the entrance of a mouse's hole. And\nthere the king of the pigeons called the mouse, saying,--\"Hiranya,\ncome out, I, Chitragr\u00edva, have arrived.\" And when the mouse heard\nthrough the entrance, and saw that his friend had come, he came out\nfrom that hole with a hundred openings. The mouse went up to him,\nand when he had heard what had taken place, proceeded with the utmost\neagerness to gnaw asunder the meshes, that kept the pigeon-king and\nhis retinue prisoners. And when he had gnawed the meshes asunder,\nChitragr\u00edva took leave of him with kind words, and flew up into the\nair with his companions.\n\nAnd when the crow, who had followed the pigeons, saw that, he came to\nthe entrance of the hole, and said to the mouse who had re-entered it;\n\"I am Laghup\u00e1tin, a crow; seeing that you tender your friends dearly,\nI choose you for my friend, as you are a creature capable of delivering\nfrom such calamities.\" When the mouse saw that crow from the inside\nof his hole, he said, \"Depart! what friendship can there be between\nthe eater and his prey?\" Then the crow said,--\"God forbid! If I were\nto eat you, my hunger might be satisfied for a moment, but if I make\nyou my friend, my life will be always preserved by you.\" When the\ncrow had said this, and more, and had taken an oath, and so inspired\nconfidence in the mouse, the mouse came out, and the crow made friends\nwith him. The mouse brought out pieces of flesh and grains of rice,\nand there they both remained eating together in great happiness.\n\nAnd one day the crow said to his friend the mouse: \"At a considerable\ndistance from this place there is a river in the middle of a forest,\nand in it there lives a tortoise named Mantharaka, who is a friend of\nmine; for his sake I will go to that place where flesh and other food\nis easily obtained; it is difficult for me to obtain sustenance here,\nand I am in continual dread of the fowler.\" When the crow said this\nto him, the mouse answered,--\"Then we will live together, take me\nthere also; for I too have an annoyance here, and when we get there,\nI will explain the whole matter to you.\" When Hiranya said this,\nLaghup\u00e1tin took him in his beak, and flew to the bank of that forest\nstream. And there he found his friend, the tortoise Mantharaka,\nwho welcomed him, and he and the mouse sat with him. And after they\nhad conversed a little, that crow told the tortoise the cause of his\ncoming, together with the circumstance of his having made friends\nwith Hiranya. Then the tortoise adopted the mouse, as his friend on\nan equal footing with the crow, and asked the cause of the annoyance\nwhich drove him from his native place. Then Hiranya gave this account\nof his experiences in the hearing of the crow and the tortoise.\n\n\n\nStory of the Mouse and the Hermit. [59]\n\nI lived in a great hole near the city, and one night I stole a\nnecklace from the palace, and laid it up in my hole. And by looking\nat that necklace I acquired strength, [60] and a number of mice\nattached themselves to me, as being able to steal food for them. In\nthe meanwhile a hermit had made a cell near my hole, and he lived on\na large stock of food, which he obtained by begging. Every evening he\nused to put the food, which remained over after he had eaten, in his\nbeggar's porringer on an inaccessible peg, meaning to eat it the next\nday. [61] And, every night, when he was asleep, I entered by a hole,\nand jumping up, carried it off.\n\nOnce on a time, another hermit, a friend of his, came there, and\nafter eating, conversed with him during the night. And I was at that\ntime attempting to carry off the food, so the first hermit, who was\nlistening, made the pot resound frequently by striking it with a\npiece of split cane. And the hermit, who was his guest, said, \"Why\ndo you interrupt our conversation to do this?\" Whereupon the hermit\nto whom the cell belonged, answered him, \"I have got an enemy here\nin the form of this mouse, who is always jumping up and carrying off\nthis food of mine, though it is high up. I am trying to frighten him\nby moving the pot of food with a piece of cane.\" When he said this,\nthe other hermit said to him, \"In truth this covetousness is the bane\nof creatures, hear a story illustrative of this.\"\n\n\n\nStory of the Br\u00e1hman's wife and the sesame-seeds. [62]\n\nOnce on a time, as I was wandering from one sacred bathing-place to\nanother, I reached a town, and there I entered the house of a certain\nBr\u00e1hman to stay. And while I was there, the Br\u00e1hman said to his wife,\n\"Cook to-day, as it is the change of the moon, a dish composed of\nmilk, sesame, and rice, for the Br\u00e1hmans.\" She answered him, \"How\ncan a pauper, like you, afford this?\" Then the Br\u00e1hman said to her,\n\"My dear, though we should hoard, we should not direct our thoughts\nto excessive hoarding--hear this tale.\"\n\n\n\nStory of the greedy Jackal. [63]\n\nIn a certain forest a hunter, after he had been hunting, fixed an arrow\nin a self-acting bow, [64] and after placing flesh on it, pursued\na wild boar. He pierced the wild boar with a dart, but was mortally\nwounded by his tusks, and died; and a jackal beheld all this from a\ndistance. So he came, but though he was hungry, he would not eat any\nof the abundant flesh of the hunter and the boar, wishing to hoard it\nup. But he went first to eat what had been placed on the bow, and that\nmoment the arrow fixed in it flew up, and pierced him so that he died.\n\n\"So you must not indulge in excessive hoarding.\" When the Br\u00e1hman said\nthis, his wife consented, and placed some sesame-seeds in the sun. And\nwhile she went into the house, a dog tasted them and defiled them,\nso nobody would buy that dish of sesame-seeds and rice. [65]\n\n\"So, you see, covetousness does not give pleasure, it only causes\nannoyance to those who cherish it.\" When the hermit, who was a visitor,\nhad said this, he went on to say; \"If you have a spade, give it me,\nin order that I may take steps to put a stop to this annoyance caused\nby the mouse.\" Thereupon the hermit, to whom the cell belonged,\ngave the visitor a spade, and I, who saw it all from my place of\nconcealment, entered my hole. Then the cunning hermit, who had come\nto visit the other, discovering the hole by which I entered, began to\ndig. And while I retired further and further in, he went on digging,\nuntil at last he reached the necklace and the rest of my stores. And\nhe said to the hermit, who resided there, in my hearing, \"It was by\nthe power of this necklace that the mouse had such strength.\" So they\ntook away all my wealth and placed the necklace on their necks, and\nthen the master of the cell and the visitor went to sleep with light\nhearts. But when they were asleep, I came again to steal, and the\nresident hermit woke up and hit me with a stick on the head. That\nwounded me, but, as it chanced, did not kill me, and I returned\nto my hole. But after that, I had never strength to make the bound\nnecessary for stealing the food. For wealth is youth to creatures,\nand the want of it produces old age; owing to the want of it, spirit,\nmight, beauty, and enterprise fail. So all my retinue of mice, seeing\nthat I had become intent on feeding myself only, left me. Servants\nleave a master who does not support them, bees a tree without flowers,\nswans a tank without water, in spite of long association.\n\n\"So I have been long in a state of despondency, but now, having\nobtained this Laghup\u00e1tin for a friend, I have come here to visit you,\nnoble tortoise.\" When Hiranya had said this, the tortoise Manthara\nanswered--\"This is a home to you; so do not be despondent, my\nfriend. To a virtuous man no country is foreign; a man who is content\ncannot be unhappy; for the man of endurance calamity does not exist;\nthere is nothing impossible to the enterprising.\" While the tortoise\nwas saying this, a deer, named Chitr\u00e1nga, came to that wood from a\ngreat distance, having been terrified by the hunters. When they saw\nhim, and observed that no hunter was pursuing him, the tortoise and\nhis companions made friends with him, and he recovered his strength\nand spirits. And those four, the crow, the tortoise, the mouse, and\nthe deer, long lived there happily as friends, engaged in reciprocal\ncourtesies.\n\nOne day Chitr\u00e1nga was behind time, and Laghup\u00e1tin flew to the top\nof a tree to look for him, and surveyed the whole wood. And he saw\nChitr\u00e1nga on the bank of the river, entangled in the fatal noose, and\nthen he came down and told this to the mouse and the tortoise. Then\nthey deliberated together, and Laghup\u00e1tin took up the mouse in his\nbeak, and carried him to Chitr\u00e1nga. And the mouse Hiranya comforted\nthe deer, who was distressed at being caught, and in a moment set\nhim at liberty by gnawing his bonds asunder. [66] In the meanwhile\nthe tortoise Manthara, who was devoted to his friends, came up the\nbank near them, having travelled along the bed of the river. At that\nvery moment the hunter, who had set the noose, arrived from somewhere\nor other, and when the deer and the others escaped, caught and made\nprize of the tortoise. And he put it in a net, and went off, grieved\nat having lost the deer. In the meanwhile the friends saw what had\ntaken place, and by the advice of the far-seeing mouse, the deer went\na considerable distance off, and fell down as if he were dead. [67]\nAnd the crow stood upon his head, and pretended to peck his eyes. When\nthe hunter saw that, he imagined that he had captured the deer, as\nit was dead, and he began to make for it, after putting down the\ntortoise on the bank of the river. When the mouse saw him making\ntowards the deer, he came up, and gnawed a hole in the net which held\nthe tortoise, so the tortoise was set at liberty, and he plunged into\nthe river. And when the deer saw the hunter coming near, without the\ntortoise, he got up, and ran off, and the crow, for his part, flew up\na tree. Then the hunter came back, and finding that the tortoise had\nescaped by the net's having been gnawed asunder, he returned home,\nlamenting that the tortoise had fled and could not be recovered.\n\nThen the four friends came together again in high spirits, and the\ngratified deer addressed the three others as follows; \"I am fortunate\nin having obtained you for friends, for you have to-day delivered me\nfrom death at the risk of your lives.\" In such words the deer praised\nthe crow and the tortoise and the mouse, and they all lived together\ndelighting in their mutual friendship.\n\nThus, you see, even animals attain their ends by wisdom, and they\nrisk their lives sooner than abandon their friends in calamity. So\nfull of love is the attachment that subsists among friends; but\nattachment to women is not approved because it is open to jealousy;\nhear a story in proof of this.\n\n\n\nStory of the wife who falsely accused her husband of murdering a\nBhilla. [68]\n\nThere lived once on a time in a certain town a jealous husband, who\nhad for wife a beautiful woman, whom he loved exceedingly. But being\nsuspicious he never left her alone, for he feared that she might be\nseduced even by men in pictures. However, one day he had to go to\nanother country on unavoidable business, and he took his wife with\nhim. And seeing that a forest inhabited by Bhillas lay in his way, he\nleft his wife in the house of an old Br\u00e1hman villager, and proceeded\non his journey. But, while she was there, she saw some Bhillas, who had\ncome that way, and she eloped with a young Bhilla whom she saw. And she\nwent with him to his village, [69] following her inclinations, having\nescaped from her jealous husband, as a river that has broken a dam.\n\nIn the meanwhile her husband finished his business, and returned, and\nasked the Br\u00e1hman villager for his wife, and the Br\u00e1hman answered him,\n\"I do not know where she has gone; so much only I know, that some\nBhillas came here: she must have been carried off by them. And their\nvillage is near here, go there quickly, you will find your wife there,\nwithout doubt.\" When the Br\u00e1hman told him this, he wept, and blamed his\nown folly, and went to that village of Bhillas, and there he saw his\nwife. When the wicked woman saw him, she approached him in fear and\nsaid, \"It is not my fault, the Bhilla brought me here by force.\" Her\nhusband, blind with love, said, \"Come along, let us return home,\nbefore any one discovers us.\" But she said to him, \"Now is the time\nwhen the Bhilla returns from hunting; when he returns he will certainly\npursue you and me, and kill us both. So enter this cavern at present,\nand remain concealed. But at night we will kill him when he is asleep,\nand leave this place in perfect safety.\" When the wicked woman said\nthis to him, he entered the cave; what room is there for discernment\nin the heart of one blinded with love?\n\nThe Bhilla returned at the close of the day, and that wicked woman\nshewed him her husband in the cave, whom his passion had enabled\nher to decoy there. And the Bhilla, who was a strong man, and cruel,\ndragged out the husband, and tied him firmly to a tree, in order that\nhe might next day offer him to Bhav\u00e1n\u00ed.\n\nAnd he ate his dinner, and at night lay down to sleep by the side of\nthe faithless wife, before the eyes of the husband. Then that jealous\nhusband, who was tied to the tree, seeing him asleep, implored Bhav\u00e1n\u00ed\nto help him in his need, praising her with hymns. She appeared and\ngranted him a boon, so that he escaped from his bonds, and cut off\nthe head of the Bhilla with his own sword. Then he woke up his wife,\nand said to her: \"Come, I have killed this villain,\" and she rose\nup much grieved. And the faithless woman set out at night with her\nhusband, but she secretly took with her the head of the Bhilla. And\nthe next morning, when they reached a town, she shewed the head,\nand laying hands upon her husband, cried out, \"This man has killed\nmy husband.\" Then the city police took her with her husband before\nthe king. And the jealous husband, being questioned, told the whole\nstory. Then the king enquired into it, and finding that it was true,\nhe ordered the ears and nose of that faithless wife to be cut off,\nand set her husband at liberty. And he went home freed from the demon\nof love for a wicked woman.\n\n\"This, prince, is how a woman behaves when over-jealously watched,\nfor the jealousy of the husband teaches the wife to run after other\nmen. So a wise man should guard his wife without shewing jealousy. And\na man must by no means reveal a secret to a woman, if he desires\nprosperity. Hear a story shewing this.\"\n\n\n\nStory of the snake who told his secret to a woman.\n\nA certain snake, [70] out of fear of Garuda, fled to earth, and taking\nthe form of a man, concealed himself in the house of a het\u00e6ra. And\nthat het\u00e6ra used to take as payment five hundred elephants; [71]\nand the snake by his power gave her five hundred every day. And the\nlady importuned him to tell her how he acquired so many elephants\nevery day, and who he was. And he, blinded with love, replied--\"I am\na snake hiding here from fear of Garuda, do not tell any one.\" But\nthe het\u00e6ra privately told all this to the kuttin\u00ed.\n\nNow Garuda, searching through the world for the snake, came there in\nthe form of a man, and he came to the kuttin\u00ed and said; \"I wish to\nremain to-day in your daughter's house, take my payment.\" And the\nkuttin\u00ed said to him, \"There is a snake living here, who gives us\nfive hundred elephants every day. What do we care about one day's\npay?\" Then Garuda, finding out that the snake was living there,\nentered as a guest that het\u00e6ra's house. And there he saw the snake\non the flat roof, and revealing himself in his real form, he swooped\ndown, and killed him, and ate him.\n\n\"So a wise man should not recklessly tell secrets to women.\" Having\nsaid this, Gomukha told him another story of a simpleton.\n\n\n\nStory of the bald man and the hair-restorer.\n\nThere was a bald man, with a head like a copper pot. And he,\nbeing a fool, was ashamed because, though a rich man in the world,\nhe had no hair on his head. Then a rogue, who lived upon others,\ncame to him and said, \"There is a physician who knows a drug that\nwill produce hair.\" When he heard it, he said;--\"If you bring him\nto me, I will give wealth to you and to that physician also.\" When\nhe said this, the rogue for a long time devoured his substance, and\nbrought to that simpleton a doctor who was a rogue also. And after\nthe doctor too had long lived at his expense, he one day removed\nhis head-dress designedly, and shewed him his bald head. In spite of\nthat, the blockhead, without considering, asked him for a drug which\nwould produce hair, then the physician said to him,--\"Since I am bald\nmyself, how can I produce hair in others? It was in order to explain\nthis to you, that I showed you my bald head. But out on you! you do\nnot understand even now.\" With these words the physician went away.\n\n\"So you see, prince, rogues perpetually make sport of fools. You have\nheard the story of the simpleton and his hair, now hear that of the\nsimpleton and the oil.\"\n\n\n\nStory of a foolish servant.\n\nA certain gentleman had a simpleton for a servant. His master sent\nhim once to fetch oil from a merchant, and he received from him the\noil in a vessel. And as he was returning, with the vessel in his hand,\na friend of his said to him,--\"Take care of this oil-vessel, it leaks\nat the bottom.\" When the blockhead heard this, he turned the vessel\nupside down to look at the bottom of it, and that made all the oil\nfall on the ground. When his master heard that, he turned out of his\nhouse that fool, who was the laughing-stock of the place.\n\n\"So it is better for a simpleton to rely upon his own sense, and\nnot to take advice. You have heard about the simpleton and the oil,\nnow hear the story of the simpleton and the bones.\"\n\n\n\nStory of the faithless wife who was present at her own Sr\u00e1ddha. [72]\n\nThere was once a foolish man, and he had an unchaste wife. Once on\na time, when her husband had gone away for some business to another\ncountry, she placed in charge of the house a confidential servant of\nhers, a truly unique maid, after giving her instructions as to what\nshe was to do, and went away alone to the house of her paramour,\nintent on enjoying herself without being interfered with. When\nthe lady's husband returned, the maid, who had been well schooled\nbeforehand, said with a voice choked with tears: \"Your wife is dead\nand burnt.\" She then took him to the burning-ghaut, and shewed him\nthe bones belonging to the pyre of some other person; the fool brought\nthem home with tears, and after bathing at the sacred bathing-places,\nand strewing her bones there, he proceeded to perform her sr\u00e1ddha. And\nhe made his wife's paramour the officiating Br\u00e1hman at the ceremony,\nas the maid brought him, saying that he was an excellent Br\u00e1hman. And\nevery month his wife came with that Br\u00e1hman, splendidly dressed, and\nate the sweetmeats. And then the maid said to him, \"See, master, by\nvirtue of her chastity your wife is enabled to return from the other\nworld, and eat with the Br\u00e1hman.\" And the matchless fool believed\nmost implicitly what she said.\n\n\"In this way people of simple dispositions are easily imposed upon\nby wicked women. You have heard about the simpleton and the bones;\nnow hear the story of the Chand\u00e1la maiden.\"\n\n\n\nStory of the ambitious Chand\u00e1la maiden.\n\nThere was once a simple but good-looking Chand\u00e1la maiden. And she\nformed in her heart the determination to win for her bridegroom a\nuniversal monarch. Once on a time, she saw the supreme sovereign go\nout to make a progress round his city, and she proceeded to follow\nhim, with the intention of making him her husband. At that moment a\nhermit came that way; and the king, though mounted on an elephant,\nbowed at his feet, and returned to his own palace. When she saw that,\nshe thought that the hermit was a greater man even than the king,\nand abandoning him, she proceeded to follow the hermit. The hermit,\nas he was going along, beheld in front of him an empty temple\nof Siva, and kneeling on the ground, he worshipped Siva, and then\ndeparted. Then the Chand\u00e1la maiden thought that Siva was greater even\nthan the hermit, and she left the hermit, and attached herself to the\ngod, with the intention of marrying him. Immediately a dog entered,\nand going up on to the pedestal of the idol, lifted up his leg, and\nbehaved after the manner of the dog tribe. Then the Chand\u00e1la maiden\nthought that the dog was superior even to Siva, and leaving the god,\nfollowed the departing dog, desiring to marry him. And the dog entered\nthe house of a Chand\u00e1la, and out of affection rolled at the feet of\na young Chand\u00e1la whom it knew. When she saw that, she concluded that\nthe young Chand\u00e1la was superior to the dog, and satisfied with her\nown caste, she chose him as her husband.\n\n\"So fools, after aspiring high, fall into their proper place. And\nnow hear in a few words the tale of the foolish king.\"\n\n\n\nStory of the miserly king.\n\nThere was a certain foolish king, who was niggardly, though he\npossessed an abundant treasure, and once on a time his ministers,\nwho desired his prosperity, said to him: \"King, charity here averts\nmisery in the next life. So bestow wealth in charity; life and riches\nare perishable.\" When the king heard this, he said, \"Then I will bestow\nwealth, when I am dead, and see myself reduced to a state of misery\nhere.\" Then the ministers remained silent, laughing in their sleeves.\n\n\"So, you see, a fool never takes leave of his wealth, until his wealth\ntakes leave of him. You have heard, prince, of the foolish king,\nnow hear the story of the two friends, by way of an episode in these\ntales of fools.\"\n\n\n\nStory of Dhavalamukha, his trading friend, and his fighting\nfriend. [73]\n\nThere was a king in K\u00e1nyakubja, named Chandrap\u00edda. And he had a servant\nnamed Dhavalamukha. And he, whenever he came to his house, had eaten\nand drunk abroad. And one day his wife asked him,--\"Where do you always\neat and drink before you come home?\" And Dhavalamukha answered her,\n\"I always eat and drink with my friends before I come home, for\nI have two friends in the world. The one is called Kaly\u00e1navarman,\nwho obliges me with food and other gifts, and the other is V\u00edrab\u00e1hu,\nwho would oblige me with the gift of his life.\" When his wife heard\nthis, she said to Dhavalamukha, \"Then shew me your two friends.\"\n\nThen he went with her to the house of Kaly\u00e1navarman, and Kaly\u00e1navarman\nhonoured him with a splendid entertainment. The next day he went\nwith his wife to V\u00edrab\u00e1hu, and he was gambling at the time, so he\nwelcomed him and dismissed him. Then Dhavalamukha's wife, being full\nof curiosity, said to him: \"Kaly\u00e1navarman entertained you splendidly,\nbut V\u00edrab\u00e1hu only gave you a welcome. So why do you think more\nhighly of V\u00edrab\u00e1hu than of the other?\" When he heard that, he said,\n\"Go and tell them both in succession this fabrication, that the king\nhas suddenly become displeased with us, and you will find out for\nyourself.\" She agreed, and went to Kaly\u00e1navarman and told him that\nfalsehood, and he answered: \"Lady, I am a merchant's son, what can\nI do against the king?\" When he gave her this answer, she went to\nV\u00edrab\u00e1hu, and told him also that the king was angry with her husband;\nand the moment he heard it, he came running with his shield and his\nsword. But Dhavalamukha induced him to return home, saying that the\nking's ministers had pacified his resentment. And he said to his\nwife: \"This, my dear, is the difference between those two friends of\nmine.\" And she was quite satisfied.\n\n\"So you see that a friend, that shews his friendship by ceremonious\nentertainment only, is a different thing from a real friend; though\noil and ghee both possess the property of oiliness, [74] oil is oil,\nand ghee is ghee.\" When Gomukha had told this story, he continued\nhis tales of fools for the benefit of Narav\u00e1hanadatta.\n\n\n\nStory of the thirsty fool that did not drink.\n\nA certain foolish traveller, tormented by thirst, having with\ndifficulty got through a wood, reached a river; however, he did not\ndrink of it, but kept looking at the water. Some one said to him:\n\"Why do you not drink water, though you are thirsty?\" But the blockhead\nanswered, \"How could I drink so much water as this?\" The other person\nridiculed him, saying, \"What! will the king punish you, if you drink\nit all up?\" But still the foolish man did not drink the water.\n\n\"So you see that in this world fools will not even do a part of a\ntask to the best of their power, if they are not able to complete\nit altogether. Now you have heard about the fool and the water,\nhear the story of the son-slayer.\"\n\n\n\nStory of the fool who killed his son.\n\nThere was once a foolish man, who was poor and had many sons. When one\nof his sons died, he killed another, saying, How could this child go\nsuch a long journey alone? So he was banished by the people, as being\na fool and a criminal.\n\n\"Thus a fool is as void of sense and discernment as an animal. You\nhave heard of the son-killer, now hear the story of the fool and\nhis brother.\"\n\n\n\nStory of the fool and his brother.\n\nA certain stupid fellow was talking in a crowd of men. Seeing a\nrespectable man some way off, he said: \"That man there is brother\nto me, so I shall inherit his property, but I am no relation to him,\nso I am not liable for his debts.\" When the fool said this, even the\nstones laughed at him.\n\nThus fools shew folly, and people blinded by the thought of their\nown advantage behave in a very wonderful way. So you have heard the\nstory of the fool and his brother, now hear the story of the man\nwhose father followed a strict vow of chastity.\"\n\n\n\nStory of the Brahmach\u00e1rin's son.\n\nA certain fool was engaged in relating his father's good qualities\nin the midst of his friends. And describing his father's superior\nexcellence, he said: \"My father has followed a strict vow of chastity\nfrom his youth, there is no man who can be compared with him.\" When his\nfriends heard that, they said, \"How did you come into the world?\" He\nanswered \"Oh! I am a mind-born son of his;\" whereupon the matchless\nfool was well laughed at by the people. [75]\n\n\"Thus foolish people make self-contradictory statements with regard\nto others. You have heard the story of the son of the man who observed\na strict vow of chastity. Hear now the story of the astrologer.\"\n\n\n\nStory of the astrologer who killed his son.\n\nThere was a certain astrologer wanting in discernment. He left his own\ncountry with his wife and son, because he could not earn a subsistence,\nand went to another country. There he made a deceitful display of\nhis skill, in order to gain complimentary presents by a factitious\nreputation for ability. He embraced his son before the public and shed\ntears. When the people asked him why he did this, the wicked man said:\n\"I know the past, the present, and the future, and that enables me to\nforesee that this child of mine will die in seven days from this time:\nthis is why I am weeping.\" By these words he excited the wonder of\nthe people, and when the seventh day arrived, he killed his son in the\nmorning, as he lay asleep. When the people saw that his son was dead,\nthey felt confidence in his skill, and honoured him with presents,\nand so he acquired wealth and returned leisurely to his own country.\n\n\"Thus foolish men, through desire of wealth, go so far as to kill\ntheir sons, in order to make a false display of prescience; the wise\nshould not make friends with such. Now hear the story of the foolish\nman who was addicted to anger.\"\n\n\n\nStory of the violent man who justified his character.\n\nOne day a man was relating to his friends, inside a house, the good\nqualities of a man, who was listening outside. Then a person present\nsaid: \"It is true, my friend, that he possesses many good qualities,\nbut he has two faults; he is violent and irascible.\" While he was\nsaying this, the man, who was outside, overhearing him, entered\nhastily, and twisted his garment round his throat, and said: \"You fool,\nwhat violence have I done, what anger have I been guilty of?\" This\nhe said in an abusive way, inflamed with the fire of anger. Then\nthe others who were there laughed, and said to him, \"Why should he\nspeak? You have been good enough to give us ocular demonstration of\nyour anger and your violence.\"\n\n\"So you see that fools do not know their own faults, though they\nare patent to all men. Now hear about the foolish king who made his\ndaughter grow.\"\n\n\n\nStory of the foolish king who made his daughter grow. [76]\n\nA certain king had a handsome daughter born to him. On account of his\ngreat affection for her, he wished to make her grow, so he quickly\nsummoned physicians, and said politely to them: \"Make some preparation\nof salutary drugs, in order that my daughter may grow up quickly,\nand be married to a good husband.\" When the physicians heard this,\nthey said, in order to get a living out of the silly king: \"There\nis a medicine which will do this, but it can only be procured in a\ndistant country, and while we are sending for it, we must shut up\nyour daughter in concealment, for this is the treatment laid down\nfor such cases.\" When they had said this, they placed his daughter\nin concealment there for many years, saying that they were engaged in\nbringing that medicine. And when she grew up to be a young woman, they\nshewed her to that king, telling him that she had been made to grow by\nthe medicine; and he was pleased, and loaded them with heaps of wealth.\n\n\"In this way rogues by means of imposture live on foolish\nsovereigns. Now hear the story of a man who shewed his cleverness by\nrecovering half a pana.\"\n\n\n\nStory of the man who recovered half a pana from his servant. [77]\n\nThere was once on a time a man living in a town, who was vain of\nhis wisdom. And a certain villager, who had served him for a year,\nbeing dissatisfied with his salary, left him and went home. And when\nhe had gone, the town-bred gentleman said to his wife,--\"My dear,\nI hope you did not give him anything before he went?\" She answered,\n\"Half a pana.\" Then he spent ten panas in provisions for the journey,\nand overtook that servant on the bank of a river, and recovered from\nhim that half pana. And when he related it as a proof of his skill\nin saving money, he became a public laughing-stock.\n\n\"Thus men, whose minds are blinded with wealth, fling away much to\ngain little. Now hear the story of the man who took notes of the spot.\"\n\n\n\nStory of the fool who took notes of a certain spot in the sea. [78]\n\nA certain foolish person, while travelling by sea, let a silver vessel\nfall from his hand into the water. The fool took notes of the spot,\nobserving the eddies and other signs in the water, and said to himself:\n\"I will bring it up from the bottom, when I return.\" He reached the\nother side of the sea, and as he was re-crossing, he saw the eddies\nand other signs, and thinking he recognized the spot, he plunged\ninto the water again and again to recover his silver vessel. When\nthe others asked him what his object was, he told them, and got well\nlaughed at and abused for his pains.\n\n\"Now hear the story of the king who wished to substitute other flesh\nfor what he had taken away.\"\n\n\n\nStory of the king who replaced the flesh. [79]\n\nA foolish king saw from his palace two men below. And seeing that\none of them had taken flesh from the kitchen, he had five palas\nof flesh cut from his body. When the flesh had been cut away, the\nman groaned and fell on the earth, and the king, seeing him, was\nmoved with compassion, and said to the warder: \"His grief cannot be\nassuaged because five palas of flesh were cut from him, so give him\nmore than five palas of flesh by way of compensation.\" The warder\nsaid: \"When a man's head is cut off, does he live even if you give\nhim a hundred heads?\" Then he went outside and had his laugh out,\nand comforted the man from whom the flesh had been cut, and handed\nhim over to the physicians.\n\n\"So you see, a silly king knows how to punish, but not how to shew\nfavour. Hear this story of the silly woman who wanted another son.\"\n\n\n\nStory of the woman who wanted another son. [80]\n\nOne day a woman with only one son, desiring another, applied to a\nwicked female ascetic belonging to a heretical sect. The ascetic told\nher that, if she killed her young son and offered him to the divinity,\nanother son would certainly be born to her. When she was preparing\nto carry out this advice, another and a good old woman said to her in\nprivate: \"Wicked woman, you are going to kill the son you have already,\nand wish to get another. Supposing a second is not born to you,\nwhat will you do?\" So that good old woman dissuaded her from crime.\n\n\"So women, who associate with witches, fall into evil courses, but\nthey are restrained and saved by the advice of the old. Now, prince,\nhear the story of the man who brought the \u00e1malaka fruit.\"\n\n\n\nStory of the servant who tasted the fruit. [81]\n\nA certain householder had a stupid servant. As the householder was\nfond of \u00e1malakas, he said to his servant, \"Go, and bring me some\nperfectly sweet \u00e1malakas from the garden.\" The foolish fellow bit\nevery one, to taste if it was sweet, and then brought them, and said;\n\"Look, master, I tasted these and found them sweet, before bringing\nthem.\" And his master, seeing that they were half eaten, sent them\naway in disgust and his stupid servant too.\n\n\"Thus a foolish person ruins his master's interests and then his own,\nand here by way of episode hear the story of the two brothers.\"\n\n\n\nStory of the two brothers Yajnasoma and K\u00edrtisoma.\n\nThere were two Br\u00e1hmans, brothers, in the city of P\u00e1taliputra; the\nelder was called Yajnasoma and the younger K\u00edrtisoma. And those two\nyoung Br\u00e1hmans had much wealth derived from their father. K\u00edrtisoma\nincreased his share by business, but Yajnasoma exhausted his by\nenjoying and giving. Then, being reduced to poverty, he said to his\nwife; \"My dear, how can I, who am reduced from riches to poverty, live\namong my relations? Let us go to some foreign country.\" She said,--\"How\ncan we go without money for the journey.\" Still her husband insisted,\nso she said to him: \"If you really must go, then first go and ask\nyour younger brother K\u00edrtisoma for some money for the journey.\" So\nhe went and asked his younger brother for his travelling expenses,\nbut his younger brother's wife said to him: \"How can we give even the\nsmallest sum to this man who has wasted his substance. For every one\nwho falls into poverty will sponge on us.\" When K\u00edrtisoma heard this,\nhe no longer felt inclined to give anything to his elder brother,\nthough he loved him. Subjection to bad women is pernicious!\n\nThen Yajnasoma went away silent, and told that to his wife, and set\nout with her, relying upon the help of Heaven only. When they reached\nthe wood, it happened that, as he was going along, he was swallowed by\na monstrous serpent. And when his wife saw it, she fell on the ground\nand lamented. And the serpent said with a human voice to the lady:\n\"Why do you lament, my good woman?\" The Br\u00e1hman lady answered the\nsnake: \"How can I help lamenting, mighty sir, when you have deprived\nme in this remote spot of my only means of obtaining alms?\" When the\nserpent heard that, he brought out of his mouth a great vessel of gold\nand gave it her, saying, \"Take this as a vessel in which to receive\nalms.\" [82] The good Br\u00e1hman lady said, \"Who will give me alms in this\nvessel, for I am a woman?\" The serpent said: \"If any one refuses to\ngive you alms in it, his head shall that moment burst into a hundred\npieces. What I say is true.\" When the virtuous Br\u00e1hman lady heard that,\nshe said to the serpent, \"If this is so, then give me my husband in\nit by way of alms.\" The moment the good lady said this, the serpent\nbrought her husband out of his mouth alive and unharmed. As soon as\nthe serpent had done this, he became a man of heavenly appearance,\nand being pleased, he said to the joyful couple: \"I am a king of the\nVidy\u00e1dharas, named K\u00e1nchanavega, and by the curse of Gautama I was\nreduced to the condition of a serpent. And it was appointed that my\ncurse should end when I conversed with a good woman.\" When the king of\nthe Vidy\u00e1dharas had said this, he immediately filled the vessel with\njewels, and delighted flew up into the sky. And the couple returned\nhome with abundance of jewels. And there Yajnasoma lived in happiness\nhaving obtained inexhaustible wealth.\n\n\"Providence gives to every one in accordance with his or her\ncharacter. Hear the story of the foolish man who asked for the barber.\"\n\n\n\nStory of the fool who wanted a barber.\n\nA certain inhabitant of Karn\u00e1ta pleased his king by his daring\nbehaviour in battle. His sovereign was pleased, and promised to\ngive him whatever he asked for, but the spiritless warrior chose the\nking's barber.\n\n\"Every man chooses what is good or bad according to the measure of\nhis own intellect: now hear the story of the foolish man who asked\nfor nothing at all.\"\n\n\n\nStory of the man who asked for nothing at all.\n\nA certain foolish man, as he was going along the road, was asked by\na carter to do something to make his cart balance evenly. He said,\n\"If I make it right, what will you give me?\" The carter answered;\n\"I will give you nothing at all.\" Then the fool put the cart even, and\nsaid, \"Give me the nothing-at-all you promised.\" But the carter laughed\nat him. \"So you see, king, fools are for ever becoming the object of\nthe scorn and contempt and reproach of men, and fall into misfortune,\nwhile the good on the other hand are thought worthy of honour.\"\n\nWhen the prince surrounded by his ministers, had heard at night\nthese amusing stories from Gomukha, he was enabled to enjoy sleep,\nwhich refreshes the whole of the three worlds.\n\n\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER LXII.\n\n\nThe next morning Narav\u00e1hanadatta got up, and went into the presence\nof the king of Vatsa his loving father. There he found Sinhavarman,\nthe brother of the queen Padm\u00e1vat\u00ed and the son of the king of Magadha,\nwho had come there from his own house. The day passed in expressions\nof welcome, and friendly conversation, and after Narav\u00e1hanadatta had\nhad dinner, he returned home. There the wise Gomukha told this story\nat night, in order to console him who was longing for the society\nof Saktiyasas.\n\n\n\nStory of the war between the crows and the owls. [83]\n\nThere was in a certain place a great and shady banyan-tree, which\nseemed, with the voices of its birds, to summon travellers to\nrepose. There a king of the crows, named Meghavarna, had established\nhis home, and he had an enemy named Avamarda, king of the owls. The\nking of the owls surprised the king of the crows there at night, and\nafter inflicting a defeat on him and killing many crows, departed. The\nnext morning the king of the crows, after the usual compliments,\nsaid to his ministers Udd\u00edvin, \u00c1d\u00edvin, Sand\u00edvin, Prad\u00edvin, [84] and\nChiraj\u00edvin: \"That powerful enemy, who has thus defeated us, may get\ntogether a hundred thousand soldiers, and make another descent on\nus. So let some preventive measure be devised for this case.\" When\nUdd\u00edvin heard this, he said; \"King, with a powerful enemy, one must\neither retire to another country, or adopt conciliation.\" When \u00c1d\u00edvin\nheard this, he said, \"The danger is not immediate; let us consider\nthe intentions of the adversary and our own power, and do the best we\ncan.\" Then Sand\u00edvin said, \"King, death is preferable to submission to\nthe foe, or retiring to another country. We must go and fight with that\nfeeble enemy; a brave and enterprising king, who possesses allies,\nconquers his foes.\" Then Prad\u00edvin said, \"He is too powerful to be\nconquered in battle, but we must make a truce with him, and kill him\nwhen we get an opportunity.\" Then Chiraj\u00edvin said, \"What truce? Who\nwill be ambassador? There is war between the crows and the owls from\ntime immemorial; who will go to them? This must be accomplished by\npolicy; policy is said to be the very foundation of empires.\" When the\nking of the crows heard that, he said to Chiraj\u00edvin,--\"You are old;\ntell me if you know, what was originally the cause of the war between\nthe crows and the owls. You shall state your policy afterwards.\" When\nChiraj\u00edvin heard this, he answered, \"It is all due to an inconsiderate\nutterance. Have you never heard the story of the donkey?\"\n\n\n\nStory of the ass in the panther's skin. [85]\n\nA certain washerman had a thin donkey; so, in order to make it fat,\nhe used to cover it with the skin of a panther and let it loose to\nfeed in his neighbour's corn. While it was eating the corn, people\nwere afraid to drive it away, thinking that it was a panther. One\nday a cultivator, who had a bow in his hand, saw it. He thought it\nwas a panther, and through fear bending down, and making himself\nhumpbacked, he proceeded to creep away, with his body covered with a\nrug. When the donkey saw him going away in this style, he thought he\nwas another donkey, and being primed with corn, he uttered aloud his\nown asinine bray. Then the cultivator came to the conclusion that it\nwas a donkey, and returning, killed with an arrow the foolish animal,\nwhich had made an enemy with its own voice. \"In the same way our feud\nwith the crows is due to an inconsiderate utterance.\"\n\n\n\nHow the crow dissuaded the birds from choosing the owl king. [86]\n\nFor once upon a time the birds were without a king. They all assembled\ntogether, and bringing an umbrella and a chowrie, were proceeding\nto anoint the owl king of the birds. In the meanwhile a crow,\nflying in the air above, saw it, and said; \"You fools, are there not\nother birds, cuckoos and so on, that you must make this cruel-eyed\nunpleasant-looking wicked bird king? Out on the inauspicious owl! You\nmust elect a heroic king whose name will ensure prosperity. Listen now,\nI will tell you a tale.\n\n\n\nStory of the elephants and the hares. [87]\n\nThere is a great lake abounding in water, called Chandrasaras. And on\nits bank there lived a king of the hares, named Sil\u00edmukha. Now, once on\na time, a leader of a herd of elephants, named Chaturdanta, came there\nto drink water, because all the other reservoirs of water were dried\nup in the drought that prevailed. Then many of the hares, who were the\nsubjects of that king, were trampled to death by Chaturdanta's herd,\nwhile entering the lake. When that monarch of the herd had departed,\nthe hare-king Sil\u00edmukha, being grieved, said to a hare named Vijaya\nin the presence of the others; \"Now that that lord of elephants has\ntasted the water of this lake, he will come here again and again,\nand utterly destroy us all, so think of some expedient in this\ncase. Go to him, and see if you have any artifice which will suit\nthe purpose or not. For you know business and expedients, and are an\ningenious orator. And in all cases in which you have been engaged\nthe result has been fortunate.\" When despatched with these words,\nthe hare was pleased, and went slowly on his way. And following up\nthe track of the herd, he overtook that elephant-king and saw him,\nand being determined somehow or other to have an interview with\nthe mighty beast, the wise hare climbed up to the top of a rock,\nand said to the elephant; \"I am the ambassador of the moon, and\nthis is what the god says to you by my mouth; 'I dwell in a cool\nlake named Chandrasaras; [88] there dwell hares whose king I am,\nand I love them well, and thence I am known to men as the cool-rayed\nand the hare-marked; [89] now thou hast defiled that lake and slain\nthose hares of mine. If thou do that again, thou shalt receive thy due\nrecompense from me.'\" When the king of elephants heard this speech of\nthe crafty hare's, he said in his terror; \"I will never do so again:\nI must shew respect to the awful moon-god.\" The hare said,--\"So come,\nmy friend, I pray, and we will shew him to you.\" After saying this,\nthe hare led the king of elephants to the lake, and shewed him the\nreflection of the moon in the water. When the lord of the herd saw\nthat, he bowed before it timidly at a distance, oppressed with awe,\nand never came there again. And Sil\u00edmukha, the king of the hares,\nwas present, and witnessed the whole transaction, and after honouring\nthat hare, who went as an ambassador, he lived there in security.\n\nWhen the crow had told this story, he went on to say to the birds,\n\"This is the right sort of king, whose name alone ensures none of his\nsubjects being injured. So why does this base owl, who cannot see in\nthe day, deserve a throne? And a base creature is never to be trusted,\nhear this tale in proof of it.\"\n\n\n\nStory of the bird, the hare, and the cat. [90]\n\nOnce on a time I lived in a certain tree, and below me in the same\ntree a bird, named Kapinjala, had made a nest and lived. One day he\nwent away somewhere, and he did not return for many days. In the\nmeanwhile a hare came and took possession of his nest. After some\ndays Kapinjala returned, and an altercation arose between him and the\nhare, as both laid claim to the nest, exclaiming; \"It is mine, not\nyours.\" Then they both set out in search of a qualified arbitrator. And\nI, out of curiosity, followed them unobserved, to see what would turn\nup. After they had gone a little way they saw on the bank of a lake\na cat, who pretended to have taken a vow of abstinence from injury\nto all creatures, with his eyes half-closed in meditation. They said\nto one another; \"Why should we not ask this holy cat here to declare\nwhat is just?\"--Then they approached the cat and said; \"Reverend sir,\nhear our cause, for you are a holy ascetic.\" When the cat heard that,\nhe said to them in a low voice,--\"I am weak from self-mortification,\nso I cannot hear at a distance, pray, come near me. For a case wrongly\ndecided brings temporal and eternal death.\" With these words the\ncat encouraged them to come just in front of him, and then the base\ncreature killed at one spring both the hare and Kapinjala.\n\n\"So, you see, one cannot confide in villains whose actions are\nbase. Accordingly you must not make this owl king, for he is a great\nvillain.\" When the crow said this to the birds, they admitted the force\nof it, and gave up the idea of anointing the owl king, and dispersed\nin all directions. And the owl said to the crow; \"Remember; from this\nday forth you and I are enemies. Now I take my leave of you.\" And\nhe went away in a rage. But the crow, though he thought that he had\nspoken what was right, was for a moment despondent. Who is not grieved\nwhen he has involved himself in a dangerous quarrel by a mere speech?\n\n\"So you see that our feud with the owls arose from an inconsiderate\nutterance.\" Having said this to the king, Chiraj\u00edvin continued, \"The\nowls are numerous and strong, and you cannot conquer them. Numbers\nprevail in this world, hear an instance.\"\n\n\n\nStory of the Br\u00e1hman, the goat, and the rogues. [91]\n\nA Br\u00e1hman had bought a goat, and was returning from a village with\nit on his shoulder, when he was seen on the way by many rogues, who\nwished to deprive him of the goat. And one of them came up to him,\nand pretending to be in a great state of excitement, said; \"Br\u00e1hman,\nhow come you to have this dog on your shoulder? Put it down.\" When\nthe Br\u00e1hman heard that, he paid no attention to it, but went on his\nway. Then two more came up and said the very same thing to him. Then\nhe began to doubt, and went along examining the goat carefully,\nwhen three other rascals came up to him and said: \"How comes it that\nyou carry a dog and a sacrificial thread at the same time? Surely\nyou must be a hunter, not a Br\u00e1hman, and this is the dog with the\nhelp of which you kill game.\" When the Br\u00e1hman heard that, he said:\n\"Surely some demon has smitten my sight and bewildered me. Can all\nthese men be under the influence of an optical delusion?\" Thereupon\nthe Br\u00e1hman flung down the goat, and after bathing, returned home,\nand the rogues took the goat and made a satisfactory meal off it.\n\nAfter Chiraj\u00edvin had told this tale, he said to the king of the crows:\n\"So you see, king, numerous and powerful foes are hard to conquer. So\nyou had better adopt, in this war with powerful foes, the following\nexpedient, which I suggest. Pluck out some of my feathers, [92] and\nleave me under this tree, and go to that hill there, until I return,\nhaving accomplished my object. The king of the crows agreed, and\nplucked out some of his feathers, as if in anger, and placed him\nunder the tree, and went off to the mountain with his followers:\nand Chiraj\u00edvin remained lying flat under the tree which was his home.\n\nThen the king of the owls, Avamarda, came there at night with\nhis followers, and he did not see a single crow on the tree. At\nthat moment Chiraj\u00edvin uttered a feeble caw below, and the king\nof the owls, hearing it, came down, and saw him lying there. In his\nastonishment he asked him who he was, and why he was in that state. And\nChiraj\u00edvin answered, pretending that his voice was weak from pain;\n\"I am Chiraj\u00edvin, the minister of that king of the crows. And he\nwished to make an attack on you in accordance with the advice of his\nministers. Then I rebuked those other ministers, and said to him,\n'If you ask me for advice, and if I am valued by you, in that case\nyou will not make war with the powerful king of the owls. But you will\nendeavour to propitiate him, if you have any regard for policy.' When\nthe foolish king of the crows heard that, he exclaimed, 'This fellow\nis a partisan of my enemies,' and in his wrath, he and his followers\npecked me, and reduced me to this state. And he flung me down under\nthe tree, and went off somewhere or other with his followers.\" When\nChiraj\u00edvin had said this, he sighed, and turned his face to the\nground. And then the king of the owls asked his ministers what they\nought to do with Chiraj\u00edvin. When his minister D\u00edptanayana heard this,\nhe said, \"Good people spare even a thief, though ordinarily he ought\nnot to be spared, if they find that he is a benefactor.\"\n\n\n\nStory of the old merchant and his young wife. [93]\n\nFor once on a time there was a certain merchant in a certain town, who,\nthough old, managed to marry by the help of his wealth a young girl\nof the merchant caste. And she was always averse to him on account of\nhis old age, as the bee turns away from the forest-tree when the time\nof flowers is past. [94] And one night a thief got into his house,\nwhile the husband and wife were in bed; and, when the wife saw him,\nshe was afraid, and turned round and embraced her husband. The merchant\nthought that a wonderful piece of good fortune, and while looking in\nall directions for the explanation, he saw the thief in a corner. The\nmerchant said; \"You have done me a benefit, so I will not have you\nkilled by my servants.\" And so he spared his life and sent him away.\n\n\"So we ought to spare the life of this Chiraj\u00edvin, as he is\nour benefactor.\" When the minister D\u00edptanayana had said this, he\nremained silent. Then the king of the owls said to another minister,\nnamed Vakran\u00e1sa, \"What ought we to do? Give me proper advice.\" Then\nVakran\u00e1sa said, \"He should be spared, for he knows the secrets of\nour foes. This quarrel between the enemies' king and his minister\nis for our advantage. Listen, and I will tell you a story which will\nillustrate it.\"\n\n\n\nStory of the Br\u00e1hman, the thief, and the R\u00e1kshasa. [95]\n\nA certain excellent Br\u00e1hman received two cows as a donation. A thief\nhappened to see them, and began plotting how to carry them off. At\nthat very time a R\u00e1kshasa was longing to eat that Br\u00e1hman. It happened\nthat the thief and the R\u00e1kshasa, as they were going to his house at\nnight to accomplish their objects, met, and telling one another their\nerrands, went together. When the thief and the R\u00e1kshasa entered the\nBr\u00e1hman's dwelling, they began to wrangle. The thief said; \"I will\ncarry off the oxen first, for if you lay hold of the Br\u00e1hman first,\nand he wakes up, how can I get the yoke of oxen?\" The R\u00e1kshasa said;\n\"By no means! I will first carry off the Br\u00e1hman, otherwise he will\nwake up with the noise of the feet of the oxen, and my labour will\nall be in vain.\" While this was going on, the Br\u00e1hman woke up. Then he\ntook his sword, and began to recite a charm for destroying R\u00e1kshasas,\nand the thief and the R\u00e1kshasa both fled.\n\n\"So the quarrel between those two, Chiraj\u00edvin and the king of the\ncrows, will be to our advantage, as the quarrel between the thief\nand the R\u00e1kshasa was to the advantage of the Br\u00e1hman.\" When Vakran\u00e1sa\nsaid this, the king of the owls asked his minister Pr\u00e1k\u00e1rakarna for\nhis opinion, and he answered him; \"This Chiraj\u00edvin should be treated\nwith compassion, as he is in distress, and has applied to us for\nprotection: in old time Sivi offered his flesh for the sake of one\nwho sought his protection. [96] When the king of the owls heard this\nfrom Pr\u00e1k\u00e1rakarna, he asked the advice of his minister Kr\u00faralochana,\nand he gave him the same answer.\n\nThen the king of the owls asked a minister named Rakt\u00e1ksha, and he,\nbeing a discreet minister, said to him; \"King, these ministers have\ndone their best to ruin you by impolitic advice. Those, who know\npolicy, place no confidence in the acts of a hereditary enemy. It\nis only a fool that, though he sees the fault, is satisfied with\ninsincere flattery.\"\n\n\n\nStory of the carpenter and his wife. [97]\n\nFor once on a time there was a carpenter, who had a wife whom he loved\ndearly; and the carpenter heard from his neighbours that she was in\nlove with another man; so, wishing to test the fidelity of his wife,\nhe said to her one day: \"My dear, I am by command of the king going a\nlong journey to-day, in order to do a job, so give me barley-meal and\nother things as provision for the journey.\" She obeyed and gave him\nprovisions, and he went out of the house; and then secretly came back\ninto it, and with a pupil of his hid himself under the bed. As for the\nwife, she summoned her paramour. And while she was sitting with him on\nthe bed, the wicked woman happened to touch her husband with her foot,\nand found out that he was there. And a moment after, her paramour,\nbeing puzzled, asked her which she loved the best, himself or her\nhusband. When she heard this, the artful and treacherous woman said\nto that lover of hers; \"I love my husband best, for his sake I would\nsurrender my life. As for this unfaithfulness of mine, it is natural\nto women; they would even eat dirt, if they had no noses.\"\n\nWhen the carpenter heard this hypocritical speech of the adulteress,\nhe came out from under the bed, and said to his pupil; \"You have seen,\nyou are my witness to this; though my wife has betaken herself to\nthis lover, she is still so devoted to me; so I will carry her on my\nhead.\" When the silly fellow had said this, he immediately took them\nboth up, as they sat on the bed, upon his head, with the help of his\npupil, and carried them about.\n\n\"So an undiscerning blockhead, though he sees a crime committed before\nhis eyes, is satisfied with hypocritical flattery, and makes himself\nridiculous. So you must not spare Chiraj\u00edvin, who is a follower of your\nenemy, for, if not carefully watched, he might slay your Majesty in\na moment, like a disease.\" When the king of the owls heard Rakt\u00e1ksha\nsay this, he answered; \"It was in trying to benefit us that the worthy\ncreature was reduced to this state. So how can we do otherwise than\nspare his life? Besides, what harm can he do us unaided?\" So the king\nof the owls rejected the advice of Rakt\u00e1ksha, and comforted that crow\nChiraj\u00edvin. Then Chiraj\u00edvin said to the king of the owls, \"What is\nthe use to me of life, now that I am in this state? So have logs of\nwood brought me, in order that I may enter the fire. And I will ask\nthe fire as a boon, that I may be born again as an owl, in order that\nI may wreak my vengeance upon this king of the crows.\" When he said\nthis, Rakt\u00e1ksha laughed and said to him; \"By the favour of our master\nyou will be well enough off: what need is there of fire? Moreover\nyou will never become an owl, as long as you have the nature of a\ncrow. Every creature is such as he is made by the Creator.\"\n\n\n\nStory of the mouse that was turned into a maiden. [98]\n\nFor once on a time a hermit found a young mouse, which had escaped\nfrom the claws of a kite, and pitying it, made it by the might of his\nasceticism into a young maiden. And he brought her up in his hermitage;\nand, when he saw that she had grown up, wishing to give her to a\npowerful husband, he summoned the sun. And he said to the sun; \"Marry\nthis maiden, whom I wish to give in marriage to some mighty one.\" Then\nthe sun answered, \"The cloud is more powerful than I, he obscures me\nin a moment.\" When the hermit heard that, he dismissed the sun, and\nsummoned the cloud, and made the same proposal to him. He replied,\n\"The wind is more powerful than I: he drives me into any quarter of\nthe heaven he pleases.\" When the hermit got this answer, he summoned\nthe wind and made the same proposal to him. And the wind replied,\n\"The mountains are stronger than I, for I cannot move them.\" When the\ngreat hermit heard this, he summoned the Him\u00e1laya, and made the same\nproposal to him. That mountain answered him; \"The mice are stronger\nthan I am, for they dig holes in me.\"\n\nHaving thus got these answers in succession from those wise divinities,\nthe great rishi summoned a forest mouse, and said to him, \"Marry this\nmaiden.\" Thereupon the mouse said, \"Shew me how she is to be got\ninto my hole.\" Then the hermit said, \"It is better that she should\nreturn to her condition as a mouse.\" So he made her a mouse again,\nand gave her to that male mouse.\n\n\"So a creature returns to what it was, at the end of a long\nperegrination, accordingly you, Chiraj\u00edvin, will never become an\nowl.\" When Rakt\u00e1ksha said this to Chiraj\u00edvin, the latter reflected;\n\"This king has not acted on the advice of this minister, who is skilled\nin policy. All these others are fools, so my object is gained.\" While\nhe was thus reflecting, the king of the owls took Chiraj\u00edvin with\nhim to his own fortress, confiding in his own strength, disregarding\nthe advice of Rakt\u00e1ksha. And Chiraj\u00edvin, being about his person, and\nfed with pieces of meat and other delicacies by him, soon acquired\nas splendid a plumage as a peacock. [99] One day, Chiraj\u00edvin said\nto the king of the owls; \"King, I will go and encourage that king\nof the crows and bring him back to his dwelling, in order that you\nmay attack him this night and slay him, and that I may make [100]\nsome return for this favour of yours. But do you all fortify your\ndoor with grass and other things, and remain in the cave where your\nnests are, that they may not attack you by day.\" When, by saying this,\nChiraj\u00edvin had made the owls retire into their cave, and barricade\nthe door and the approaches to the cave, with grass and leaves,\nhe went back to his own king. And with him he returned, carrying\na brand from a pyre, all ablaze, in his beak, and every one of the\ncrows that followed him had a piece of wood hanging down from his\nbeak. And the moment he arrived, he set on fire the door of the cave,\nin which were those owls, creatures that are blind by day, which had\nbeen barricaded with dry grass and other stuff.\n\nAnd every crow, in the same way, threw down at the same time his piece\nof wood, and so kindled a fire and burnt the owls, king and all. [101]\nAnd the king of the crows, having destroyed his enemies with the help\nof Chiraj\u00edvin, was highly delighted, and returned with his tribe\nof crows to his own banyan-tree. Then Chiraj\u00edvin told the story of\nhow he lived among his enemies, to king Meghavarna, the king of the\ncrows, and said to him; \"Your enemy, king, had one good minister\nnamed Rakt\u00e1ksha; it is because he was infatuated by confidence,\nand did not act on that minister's advice, that I was allowed to\nremain uninjured. Because the villain did not act on his advice,\nthinking it was groundless, I was able to gain the confidence of the\nimpolitic fool, and to deceive him. It was by a feigned semblance of\nsubmission that the snake entrapped and killed the frogs.\"\n\n\n\nStory of the snake and the frogs. [102]\n\nA certain old snake, being unable to catch frogs easily on the bank of\na lake, which was frequented by men, remained there motionless. And\nwhen he was there, the frogs asked him, keeping at a safe distance;\n\"Tell us, worthy sir, why do you no longer eat frogs as of old?\" When\nthe snake was asked this question by the frogs, he answered, \"While\nI was pursuing a frog, I one day bit a Br\u00e1hman's son in the finger\nby mistake, and he died. And his father by a curse made me a bearer\nof frogs. So how can I eat you now? On the contrary I will carry you\non my back.\"\n\nWhen the king of the frogs heard that, he was desirous of being\ncarried, and putting aside fear, he came out of the water, and\njoyfully mounted on the back of the snake. Then the snake, having\ngained his good-will by carrying him about with his ministers,\nrepresented himself as exhausted, and said cunningly; \"I cannot go\na step further without food, so give me something to eat. How can\na servant exist without subsistence?\" When the frog-king, who was\nfond of being carried about, heard this, he said to him; \"Eat a few\nof my followers then.\" So the snake ate all the frogs in succession,\nas he pleased, and the king of the frogs put up with it, being blinded\nwith pride at being carried about by the snake.\n\n\"Thus a fool is deceived by a wise man who worms himself into his\nconfidence. And in the same way I ingratiated myself with your enemies\nand brought about their ruin. So a king must be skilled in policy\nand self-restrained; a fool is plundered by his servants and slain\nby his foes at will. And this goddess of prosperity, O king, is ever\ntreacherous as gambling, fickle as a wave, intoxicating as wine. But\nshe remains as persistently constant to a king, who is self-contained,\nwell-advised, free from vice, and knows differences of character,\nas if she were tied with a rope. So you must now remain attentive\nto the words of the wise, and glad at the slaughter of your enemies,\nrule a realm free from opponents.\" When the minister Chiraj\u00edvin said\nthis to the crow-king Meghavarna, the latter loaded him with honours,\nand ruled as he recommended.\n\nWhen Gomukha had said this, he went on to say to the son of the\nking of Vatsa; \"So you see, king, that even animals are able to rule\nprosperously by means of discretion, but the indiscreet are always\nruined and become the laughing-stock of the public.\"\n\n\n\nStory of the foolish servant.\n\nFor instance a certain rich man had a foolish servant. He, while\nshampooing him, in his extreme folly gave him a slap on his body,\n(for he fancied in his conceit that he thoroughly understood the\nbusiness while he really knew nothing about it,) and so broke his\nskin. Then he was dismissed by that master and sank into utter despair.\n\n\"The fact is a man who, while ignorant, thinks himself wise, and\nrushes impetuously at any business, is ruined; hear another story in\nproof of it.\"\n\n\n\nStory of the two brothers who divided all that they had. [103]\n\nIn M\u00e1lava there were two Br\u00e1hman brothers, and the wealth they\ninherited from their father was left jointly between them. And while\ndividing that wealth, they quarrelled about one having too little\nand the other having too much, and they made a teacher learned in the\nVedas arbitrator, and he said to them; \"You must divide every single\nthing into two halves, in order that you may not quarrel about the\ninequality of the division.\" When the two fools heard this, they\ndivided every single thing into two equal parts, house, beds, et\ncetera; in fact all their wealth, even the cattle. They had only one\nfemale slave; her also they cut in two. When the king heard of that,\nhe punished them with the confiscation of all their property.\n\n\"So fools, following the advice of other fools, lose this world and\nthe next. Accordingly a wise man should not serve fools: he should\nserve wise men. Discontent also does harm, for listen to this tale.\"\n\n\n\nThe story of the mendicants who became emaciated from discontent.\n\nThere were some wandering mendicants, who became fat by being satisfied\nwith what they got by way of alms. Some friends saw this and began\nto remark to one another; \"Well! these mendicants are fat enough,\nthough they do live on what they get by begging.\" Then one of them\nsaid,--\"I will shew you a strange sight. I will make these men thin,\nthough they eat the same things as before.\" When he had said this,\nhe proceeded to invite the mendicants for one day to his house,\nand gave them to eat the best possible food, containing all the\nsix flavours. [104] And those foolish men, remembering the taste\nof it, no longer felt any appetite for the food they got as alms;\nso they became thin. So that man who had entertained them, when he\nsaw these mendicants near, pointed them out to his friends, and said;\n\"Formerly these men were sleek and fat, because they were satisfied\nwith the food which they got as alms, now they have become thin, owing\nto disgust, being dissatisfied with their alms. Therefore a wise man,\nwho desires happiness, should establish his mind in contentment; for\ndissatisfaction produces in both worlds intolerable and unceasing\ngrief.\" When he had given his friends this lesson, they abandoned\ndiscontent, the source of crime; to whom is not association with the\ngood improving? \"Now king, hear of the fool and the gold.\"\n\n\n\nStory of the fool who saw gold in the water. [105]\n\nA certain young man went to a tank to drink water. There the fool saw\nin the water the reflection of a golden-crested bird, that was sitting\non a tree. [106] This reflection was of a golden hue, and, thinking it\nwas real gold, he entered the tank to get it, but he could not lay hold\nof it, as it kept appearing and disappearing in the moving water. But\nas often as he ascended the bank, he again saw it in the water, and\nagain and again he entered the tank to lay hold of it, and still he\ngot nothing. Then his father saw him and questioned him, and drove away\nthe bird, and then, when he no longer saw the reflection in the water,\nexplained to him the whole thing, and took the foolish fellow home.\n\n\"Thus foolish people, who do not reflect, are deceived by false\nsuppositions, and become the source of laughter to their enemies, and\nof sorrow to their friends. Now hear another tale of some great fools.\"\n\n\n\nStory of the servants who kept rain off the trunks. [107]\n\nThe camel of a certain merchant gave way under its load on a\njourney. He said to his servants, \"I will go and buy another camel\nto carry the half of this camel's load. And you must remain here,\nand take particular care that, if it clouds over, the rain does not\nwet the leather of these trunks, which are full of clothes.\" With\nthese words the merchant left the servants by the side of the camel,\nand went off, and suddenly a cloud came up and began to discharge\nrain. Then the fools said; \"Our master told us to take care that the\nrain did not touch the leather of the trunks;\" and after they had made\nthis sage reflection, they dragged the clothes out of the trunks and\nwrapped them round the leather. The consequence was, that the rain\nspoiled the clothes. Then the merchant returned, and in a rage said\nto his servants; \"You rascals! Talk of water! Why the whole stock of\nclothes is spoiled by the rain.\" And they answered him; \"You told us\nto keep the rain off the leather of the trunks. What fault have we\ncommitted?\" He answered; \"I told you that, if the leather got wet,\nthe clothes would be spoiled: I told it you in order to save the\nclothes, not the leather.\" Then he placed the load on another camel,\nand when he returned home, imposed a fine on his servants amounting\nto the whole of their wealth.\n\n\"Thus fools, with undiscerning hearts, turn things upside down, and\nruin their own interests and those of other people, and give such\nabsurd answers. Now hear in a few words the story of the fool and\nthe cakes.\"\n\n\n\nStory of the fool and the cakes. [108]\n\nA certain traveller bought eight cakes for a pana; and he ate six of\nthem without being satisfied, but his hunger was satisfied by eating\nthe seventh. Then the blockhead exclaimed; \"I have been cheated;\nwhy did I not eat this cake, which has allayed the pangs of hunger,\nfirst of all? Why did I waste those others, why did I not store them\nup?\" In these words he bewailed the fact that his hunger was only\ngradually satisfied, and the people laughed at him for his ignorance.\n\n\n\nStory of the servant who looked after the door. [109]\n\nA certain merchant said to his foolish servant; \"Take care of the\ndoor of my shop, I am going home for a moment. After the merchant had\nsaid this, he went away, and the servant took the shop-door on his\nshoulder and went off to see an actor perform. And as he was returning,\nhis master met him and gave him a scolding. And he answered, \"I have\ntaken care of this door as you told me.\"\n\n\"So a fool, who attends only to the words of an order and does not\nunderstand the meaning, causes detriment. Now hear the wonderful\nstory of the buffalo and the simpletons.\"\n\n\n\nStory of the simpletons who ate the buffalo.\n\nSome villagers took a buffalo belonging to a certain man, and killed\nit in an enclosure outside the village, under a banyan-tree, and,\ndividing it, ate it up. The proprietor of the buffalo went and\ncomplained to the king, and he had the villagers, who had eaten\nthe buffalo, brought before him. And the proprietor of the buffalo\nsaid before the king, in their presence; \"These foolish men took\nmy buffalo under a banyan-tree near the tank, and killed it and ate\nit before my eyes.\" Whereupon an old fool among the villagers said,\n\"There is no tank or banyan-tree in our village. He says what is not\ntrue: where did we kill his buffalo or eat it?\"\n\nWhen the proprietor of the buffalo heard this, he said; \"What! is there\nnot a banyan-tree and a tank on the east side of the village? Moreover,\nyou ate my buffalo on the eighth day of the lunar month.\" When\nthe proprietor of the buffalo said this, the old fool replied,\n\"There is no east side or eighth day in our village.\" When the king\nheard this, he laughed, and said, to encourage the fool; \"You are a\ntruthful person, you never say anything false, so tell me the truth,\ndid you eat that buffalo or did you not?\" When the fool heard that,\nhe said, \"I was born three years after my father died, and he taught\nme skill in speaking. So I never say what is untrue, my sovereign;\nit is true that we ate his buffalo, but all the rest that he alleges\nis false.\" When the king heard this, he and his courtiers could not\nrestrain their laughter; so the king restored the price of the buffalo\nto the plaintiff, and fined those villagers.\n\n\"So, fools, in the conceit of their folly, while they deny what need\nnot be denied, reveal what it is their interest to suppress, in order\nto get themselves believed.\"\n\n\n\nStory of the fool who behaved like a Brahmany drake.\n\nA certain foolish man had an angry wife, who said to him; \"To-morrow\nI shall go to my father's house, I am invited to a feast. So if\nyou do not bring me a garland of blue lotuses from somewhere or\nother, you will cease to be my husband, and I shall cease to be\nyour wife.\" Accordingly he went at night to the king's tank to fetch\nthem. And when he entered it, the guards saw him, and cried out; \"Who\nare you?\" He said, \"I am a Brahmany drake,\" but they took him prisoner;\nand in the morning he was brought before the king, and when questioned,\nhe uttered in his presence the cry of that bird. Then the king himself\nsummoned him and questioned him persistently, and when he told his\nstory, being a merciful monarch, he let the wretched man go unpunished.\n\n\n\nStory of the physician who tried to cure a hunchback.\n\nAnd a certain Br\u00e1hman said to a foolish physician; \"Drive in the hump\non the back of my son who is deformed.\" When the physician heard that,\nhe said; \"Give me ten panas, I will give you ten times as many, if I\ndo not succeed in this.\" Having thus made a bet, and having taken the\nten panas from the Br\u00e1hman, the physician only tortured the hunchback\nwith sweating and other remedies. But he was not able to remove the\nhump; so he paid down the hundred panas; for who in this world would\nbe able to make straight a hunchbacked man?\n\n\"So the boastful fashion of promising to accomplish impossibilities\nonly makes a man ridiculous. Therefore a discreet person should not\nwalk in these ways of fools.\" When the wise prince Narav\u00e1hanadatta\nhad heard, at night, these tales of fools from his auspicious-mouthed\nminister, named Gomukha, he was exceedingly pleased with him.\n\nAnd though he was pining for Saktiyasas, yet, owing to the pleasure\nhe derived from the stories that Gomukha told him, he was enabled\nto get to sleep, when he went to bed, and slept surrounded by his\nministers who had grown up with him.\n\n\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER LXIII.\n\n\nThe next morning Narav\u00e1hanadatta woke up, and thinking on his beloved\nSaktiyasas, became distracted. And thinking that the rest of the month,\nuntil he married her, was as long as an age, he could not find pleasure\nin anything, as his mind was longing for a new wife. When the king,\nhis father, heard that from the mouth of Gomukha, out of love for\nhim, he sent him his ministers, and Vasantaka was among them. Then,\nout of respect for them, the prince of Vatsa managed to recover\nhis composure. And the discreet minister Gomukha said to Vasantaka;\n\"Noble Vasantaka, tell some new and romantic tale to delight the mind\nof the crown-prince. Then the wise Vasantaka began to tell this tale.\n\n\n\nStory of Yasodhara and Lakshm\u00eddhara and the two wives of the\nwater-genius.\n\nThere was a famous Br\u00e1hman in M\u00e1lava, named Sr\u00eddhara. And twin sons,\nof like feature, were born to him. The eldest was named Yasodhara,\nand his younger brother was Lakshm\u00eddhara. And when they grew up,\nthe two brothers set out together for a foreign country to study,\nwith the approval of their father. And as they were travelling along,\nthey reached a great wilderness, without water, without the shade of\ntrees, full of burning sand; and being fatigued with passing through\nit, and exhausted with heat and thirst, they reached in the evening\na shady tree laden with fruit. And they saw, at a little distance\nfrom its foot, a lake with cold and clear water, perfumed with the\nfragrance of lotuses. They bathed in it, and refreshed themselves\nwith drinking the cold water, and sitting down on a slab of rock,\nrested for a time. And when the sun set, they said their evening\nprayers, and through fear of wild beasts they climbed up the tree,\nto spend the night there. And in the beginning of the night, many men\nrose out of the water of that tank below them, before their eyes. And\none of them swept the ground, another painted it, and another strewed\non it flowers of five colours. And another brought a golden couch\nand placed it there, and another spread on it a mattress with a\ncoverlet. Another brought, and placed in a certain spot, under the\ntree, delicious food and drink, flowers and unguents. Then there arose\nfrom the surface of that lake a man wearing a sword, and adorned with\nheavenly ornaments, surpassing in beauty the god of Love. [110] When\nhe had sat down on the couch, his attendants threw garlands round his\nneck, and anointed him with unguents, and then they all plunged again\ninto the lake. Then he brought out of his mouth a lady of noble form\nand modest appearance, wearing auspicious garlands and ornaments,\nand a second, rich in celestial beauty, resplendent with magnificent\nrobes and ornaments. [111] These were both his wives, but the second\nwas the favourite. Then the first and good wife placed jewelled plates\non the table, and handed food in two plates to her husband and her\nrival. When they had eaten, she also ate; and then her husband reclined\non the couch with the rival wife, and went to sleep. And the first\nwife shampooed his feet, and the second remained awake on the couch.\n\nWhen the Br\u00e1hman's sons who were in the tree, saw this, they said\nto one another, \"Who can this be? Let us go down and ask the lady\nwho is shampooing his feet, for all these are immortal beings.\" Then\nthey got down and approached the first wife, and then the second saw\nYasodhara: then she rose up from the couch in her inordinate passion,\nwhile her husband was asleep, and approaching that handsome youth,\nsaid, \"Be my lover.\" He answered, \"Wicked woman, you are to me the\nwife of another, and I am to you a strange man. Then why do you\nspeak thus?\" She answered, \"I have had a hundred lovers. Why are you\nafraid? If you do not believe it, look at these hundred rings, [112]\nfor I have taken one ring from each of them.\" With these words she\ntook the rings out of the corner of her garment, and shewed them to\nhim. Then Yasodhara said, \"I do not care whether you have a hundred\nor a hundred thousand lovers, to me you are as a mother; I am not\na person of that sort.\" When the wicked woman was repelled by him\nin this way, she woke up her husband in her wrath, and, pointing to\nYasodhara, said with tears, \"This scoundrel, while you were asleep,\nused violence to me.\" When her husband heard this, he rose up and\ndrew his sword. Then the first and virtuous wife embraced his feet,\nand said, \"Do not commit a crime on false evidence. Hear what I have\nto say. This wicked woman, when she saw him, rose up from your side,\nand eagerly importuned him, and the virtuous man did not consent to her\nproposal.\" When he repelled her, saying, 'You are to me as a mother,'\nbeing unable to endure that, in her anger she woke you up, to make\nyou kill him. And she has already before my eyes had a hundred lovers\nhere on various nights, travellers who were reposing in this tree, and\ntaken their rings from them. But I never told you, not wishing to give\nrise to unpleasantness. However, to-day I am necessarily compelled to\nreveal this secret, lest you should be guilty of a crime. Just look at\nthe rings in the corner of her garment, if you do not believe it. And\nmy wifely virtue is of such a kind that I cannot tell my husband what\nis untrue. In order that you may be convinced of my faithfulness,\nsee this proof of my power.\" After saying this, she reduced that tree\nto ashes with an angry look, and restored it more magnificent than\nit was before with a look of kindness. When her husband saw that,\nhe was at last satisfied and embraced her. And he sent that second\nwife, the adulteress, about her business, after cutting off her nose,\nand taking the rings from the corner of her garment.\n\nHe restrained his anger, when he beheld that student of the scripture,\nYasodhara, with his brother, and he said to him despondingly; \"Out\nof jealousy I always keep these wives of mine in my heart. But still\nI have not been able to keep safe this wicked woman. Who can arrest\nthe lightning? Who can guard a disloyal woman? As for a chaste woman,\nshe is guarded by her own modesty alone, and being guarded by it,\nshe guards [113] her husband in both worlds, as I have to-day been\nguarded by this woman, whose patience is more admirable even than her\npower of cursing. By her kindness I have got rid of an unfaithful wife,\nand avoided the awful crime of killing a virtuous Br\u00e1hman.\" When he\nhad said this, he made Yasodhara sit down, and said to him, \"Tell\nme whence you come and whither you are going.\" Then Yasodhara told\nhim his history, and having gained his confidence, said to him out of\ncuriosity, \"Noble sir, if it is not a secret, tell me now, who you are,\nand why, though you possess such luxury, you dwell in the water.\" When\nthe man who lived in the water heard this, he said, \"Hear! I will\ntell you.\" And he began to tell his history in the following words.\n\n\n\nStory of the water-genius in his previous birth.\n\nThere is a region in the south of the Him\u00e1laya, called Kasm\u00edra;\nwhich Providence seems to have created in order to prevent mortals\nfrom hankering after Heaven; where Siva and Vishnu, as self-existent\ndeities, inhabit a hundred shrines, forgetting their happy homes in\nKail\u00e1sa and Svetadv\u00edpa; which is laved by the waters of the Vitast\u00e1,\nand full of heroes and sages, and proof against treacherous crimes\nand enemies, though powerful. There I was born in my former life,\nas an ordinary villager of the Br\u00e1hman caste, with two wives, and my\nname was Bhavasarman. There I once struck up a friendship with some\nBuddhist mendicants, and undertook the vow, called the fast Uposhana,\nprescribed in their scriptures. And when this vow was almost completed,\none of my wives wickedly came and slept in my bed. And in the fourth\nwatch of the night, bewildered with sleep, I broke my vow. But as\nit fell only a little short of completion, I have been born as a\nwater-genius, and these two wives of mine have been born as my present\nwives here. That wicked woman was born as that unfaithful wife,\nthe second as this faithful one. So great was the power of my vow,\nthough it was rendered imperfect, that I remember my former birth,\nand enjoy such luxuries every night. If I had not rendered my vow\nimperfect, I should never have been born as what I am.\n\nWhen he had told his story in these words, he honoured those two\nbrothers as guests, with delicious food and heavenly garments. Then\nhis faithful wife, having heard of her former life, knelt on the\nground, and looking at the moon, uttered this prayer, \"O guardians\nof the world, if I am in truth virtuous and devoted to my husband,\nmay this husband of mine be at once delivered from the necessity of\ndwelling in the water and go to heaven.\" The moment she had said this,\na chariot descended from heaven, and the husband and wife ascended it\nand went to heaven. Nothing in the three worlds is unattainable by\nreally chaste women. And the two Br\u00e1hmans, when they saw that, were\ngreatly astonished. And Yasodhara and Lakshm\u00eddhara, after spending the\nrest of the night there, set out in the morning. And in the evening\nthey reached the foot of a tree in a lonely wilderness. And while\nthey were longing to get water, they heard this voice from the tree,\n\"Wait a little, Br\u00e1hmans! I will entertain you to-day with a bath\nand food, for you are come to my house.\" Then the voice ceased,\nand there sprang up there a tank of water, and meats and drinks of\nevery kind were provided on its bank. The two Br\u00e1hman youths said\nwith astonishment to one another,--\"What does this mean?\" And after\nbathing in the tank, they ate and drank. Then they said the evening\nprayer and remained under the tree, and in the meanwhile a handsome\nman appeared from it. They saluted him, and he welcomed them, and he\nsat down. Thereupon the two Br\u00e1hman youths asked him who he was. Then\nthe man said--\n\n\n\nStory of the Br\u00e1hman who became a Yaksha.\n\nLong ago I was a Br\u00e1hman in distress, and when I was in this condition,\nI happened to make friends with some Buddhist ascetics. But while\nI was performing the vow called Uposhana, which they had taught me,\na wicked man made me take food in the evening by force. That made my\nvow incomplete, so I was born as a Guhyaka; if I had only completed\nit, I should have been born as a god in heaven.\n\n\"So I have told you my story, but now do you two tell me, who you are,\nand why you have come to this desert.\" When Yasodhara heard this, he\ntold him their story. Thereupon the Yaksha went on to say; \"If this\nis the case, I will by my own power bestow on you the sciences. Go\nhome with a knowledge of them. What is the use of roaming about in\nforeign countries?\" When he had said this, he bestowed on them the\nsciences, and by his power they immediately possessed them. Then\nthe Yaksha said to them, \"Now I entreat you to give me a fee as your\ninstructor. You must perform, on my behalf, this Uposhana vow, which\ninvolves the speaking of the truth, the observing of strict chastity,\nthe circumambulating the images of the gods with the right side turned\ntowards them, the eating only at the time when Buddhist mendicants do,\nrestraint of the mind, and patience. You must perform this for one\nnight, and bestow the fruit of it on me, in order that I may obtain\nthat divinity, which is the proper fruit of my vow, when completely\nperformed.\" When the Yaksha said this, they bowed before him and\ngranted his request, and he disappeared in that very same tree.\n\nAnd the two brothers, delighted at having accomplished their object\nwithout any toil, after they had passed the night, returned to\ntheir own home. There they told their adventures and delighted their\nparents, and performed that vow of fasting for the benefit of the\nYaksha. Then that Yaksha, who taught them, appeared in a sky-chariot,\nand said to them; \"Through your kindness I have ceased to be a Yaksha\nand have become a god. So now you must perform this vow for your own\nadvantage, in order that at your death you may attain divinity. And in\nthe meanwhile I give you a boon, by which you will have inexhaustible\nwealth.\" When the deity, who roamed about at will, had said this, he\nwent to heaven in his chariot. Then the two brothers, Yasodhara and\nLakshm\u00eddhara, lived happily, having performed that vow, and having\nobtained wealth and knowledge.\n\n\"So you see that, if men are addicted to righteousness, and do not,\neven in emergencies, desert their principles, even the gods protect\nthem and cause them to attain their objects.\" Narav\u00e1hanadatta,\nwhile longing for his beloved Saktiyasas, was much delighted with\nthis marvellous story told by Vasantaka; but having been summoned\nby his father at the dinner hour, he went to his palace with his\nministers. There he took the requisite refreshment, and returned\nto his palace, with Gomukha and his other ministers. Then Gomukha,\nin order to amuse him, again said,--\"Listen, prince, I will tell you\nanother string of tales.\"\n\n\n\nStory of the monkey and the porpoise. [114]\n\nThere lived in a forest of udumbaras, on the shore of the sea, a king\nof monkeys, named Val\u00edmukha, who had strayed from his troop. While he\nwas eating an udumbara fruit, it fell from his hand and was devoured\nby a porpoise that lived in the water of the sea. The porpoise,\ndelighted at the taste of the fruit, uttered a melodious sound, which\npleased the monkey so much, that he threw him many more fruits. And\nso the monkey went on throwing fruits, [115] and the porpoise went\non making a melodious sound, until a friendship sprang up between\nthem. So every day the porpoise spent the day in the water near the\nmonkey, who remained on the bank, and in the evening he went home.\n\nThen the wife of the porpoise came to learn the facts, and as she did\nnot approve of the friendship between the monkey and her husband, which\ncaused the latter to be absent all day, she pretended to be ill. Then\nthe porpoise was afflicted, and asked his wife again and again what\nwas the nature of her sickness, and what would cure it. Though he\nimportuned her persistently, she would give no answer, but at last a\nfemale confidante of hers said to him: \"Although you will not do it,\nand she does not wish you to do it, still I must speak. How can a\nwise person conceal sorrow from friends? A violent disease has seized\nyour wife, of such a kind that it cannot be cured without soup made\nof the lotus-like heart of a monkey.\" [116] When the porpoise heard\nthis from his wife's confidante, he reflected;--\"Alas! how shall I\nobtain the lotus-like heart of a monkey? Is it right for me to plot\ntreachery against the monkey, who is my friend? On the other hand\nhow else can I cure my wife, whom I love more than my life?\" When the\nporpoise had thus reflected, he said to his wife; \"I will bring you\na whole monkey, my dear, do not be unhappy.\" When he had said this,\nhe went to his friend the monkey, and said to him, after he had got\ninto conversation; \"Up to this day you have never seen my home and\nmy wife; so come, let us go and rest there one day. Friendship is\nbut hollow, when friends do not go without ceremony and eat at one\nanother's houses, and introduce their wives to one another.\" With\nthese words the porpoise beguiled the monkey, and induced him to come\ndown into the water, and took him on his back and set out. And as he\nwas going along, the monkey saw that he was troubled and confused,\nand said, \"My friend, you seem to be altered to-day.\" And when he\nwent on persistently enquiring the reason, the stupid porpoise,\nthinking that the ape was in his power, said to him; \"The fact is,\nmy wife is ill, and she has been asking me for the heart of a monkey\nto be used as a remedy; that is why I am in low spirits to-day.\" When\nthe wise monkey heard this speech of his, he reflected, \"Ah! This is\nwhy the villain has brought me here! Alas! this fellow is overpowered\nby infatuation for a female, and is ready to plot treachery against\nhis friend. Will not a person possessed by a demon eat his own flesh\nwith his teeth?\" After the monkey had thus reflected, he said to the\nporpoise; \"If this is the case, why did you not inform me of this\nbefore, my friend? I will go and get my heart for your wife. For I\nhave at present left it on the udumbara-tree on which I live. [117]\nWhen the silly porpoise heard this, he was sorry and he said; \"Then\nbring it, my friend, from the udumbara-tree.\" And thereupon the\nporpoise took him back to the shore of the sea. When he got there,\nhe bounded up the bank, as if he had just escaped from the grasp of\ndeath, and climbing up to the top of the tree, said to that porpoise,\n\"Off with you, you fool! Does any animal keep his heart outside his\nbody? However, by this artifice I have saved my life, and I will not\nreturn to you. Have you not heard, my friend, the story of the ass?\"\n\n\n\nStory of the sick lion, the jackal, and the ass. [118]\n\nThere lived in a certain forest a lion, who had a jackal for a\nminister. A certain king, who had gone to hunt, once found him, and\nwounded him so sorely with his weapons, that he with difficulty escaped\nto his den alive. When the king was gone, the lion still remained in\nthe den, and his minister, the jackal, who lived on his leavings, being\nexhausted for want of food, said to him; \"My lord, why do you not go\nout and seek for food to the best of your ability, for your own body\nis being famished as well as your attendants?\" When the jackal said\nthis to the lion, he answered; \"My friend, I am exhausted with wounds,\nand I cannot roam about outside my den. If I could get the heart and\nears of a donkey to eat, my wounds would heal, and I should recover my\nformer health. So go and bring me a donkey quickly from somewhere or\nother.\" The jackal agreed to do so and sallied out. As he was wandering\nabout, he found a washerman's ass in a solitary place, and he went up\nto him, and said in a friendly way; \"Why are you so exhausted?\" The\ndonkey answered, \"I am reduced by perpetually carrying this washerman's\nload.\" The jackal said, \"Why do you endure all this toil? Come with\nme and I will take you to a forest as delightful as Heaven, where you\nmay grow fat in the society of she-asses.\" When the donkey, who was\nlonging for enjoyment, heard this, he went to the forest, in which\nthat lion ranged, in the company of that jackal. And when the lion\nsaw him, being weak from impaired vitality, he only gave him a blow\nwith his paw behind, and the donkey, being wounded by the blow, was\nterrified and fled immediately, and did not come near the lion again,\nand the lion fell down confused and bewildered. And then the lion,\nnot having accomplished his object, hastily returned to his den. Then\nthe jackal, his minister, said to him reproachfully; \"My lord, if you\ncould not kill this miserable donkey, what chance is there of your\nkilling deer and other animals?\" Then the lion said to him, \"If you\nknow how, bring that donkey again. I will be ready and kill him.\"\n\nWhen the lion had despatched the jackal with these words, he went\nto the donkey and said; \"Why did you run away, sir? And the donkey\nanswered, \"I received a blow from some creature.\" Then the jackal\nlaughed and said, \"You must have experienced a delusion. There is no\nsuch creature there, for I, weak as I am, dwell there, in safety. So\ncome along with me to that forest, where pleasure is without\nrestraint.\" [119] When he said this, the donkey was deluded, and\nreturned to the forest. And as soon as the lion saw him, he came out\nof his den, and springing on him from behind, tore him with his claws\nand killed him. And the lion, after he had divided the donkey, placed\nthe jackal to guard it, and being fatigued, went away to bathe. And\nin the meanwhile the deceitful jackal devoured the heart and ears of\nthat donkey, to gratify his appetite. The lion, after bathing, came\nback, and perceiving the donkey in this condition, asked the jackal\nwhere its ears and heart were. The jackal answered him; \"The creature\nnever possessed ears or a heart,--otherwise how could he have returned\nwhen he had once escaped?\" When the lion heard that, he believed it,\nand ate his flesh, and the jackal devoured what remained over.\n\nWhen the ape had told this tale, he said again to the porpoise; \"I\nwill not come again, why should I behave like the jackass.\" When the\nporpoise heard this from the monkey, he returned home, grieving that he\nhad through his folly failed to execute his wife's commission, while\nhe had lost a friend. But his wife recovered her former tranquillity,\non account of the termination of her husband's friendship with the\nape. And the ape lived happily on the shore of the sea.\n\n\"So a wise person should place no confidence in a wicked person. How\ncan he, who confides in a wicked person or a black cobra, enjoy\nprosperity?\" When Gomukha had told this story, he again said to\nNarav\u00e1hanadatta, to amuse him; \"Now hear in succession about the\nfollowing ridiculous fools. Hear first about the fool who rewarded\nthe minstrel.\"\n\n\n\nStory of the fool who gave a verbal reward to the musician. [120]\n\nA certain musician once gave great pleasure to a rich man, by\nsinging and playing before him. He thereupon called his treasurer,\nand said in the hearing of the musician, \"Give this man two thousand\npanas.\" The treasurer said, \"I will do so,\" and went out. Then the\nminstrel went and asked him for those panas. But the treasurer,\nwho had an understanding with his master, refused to give them.\n\nThen the musician came and asked the rich man for the panas, but he\nsaid; \"What did you give me, that I should make you a return? You gave\na short-lived pleasure to my ears by playing on the lyre, and I gave\na short-lived pleasure to your ears by promising you money.\" When\nthe musician heard that, he despaired of his payment, laughed, and\nwent home.\n\n\"Would not that speech of the miser's make even a stone laugh? And now,\nprince, hear the story of the two foolish pupils.\"\n\n\n\nStory of the teacher and his two jealous pupils. [121]\n\nA certain teacher had two pupils who were jealous of one another. And\none of those pupils washed and anointed every day the right foot of\nhis instructor, and the other did the same to the left foot. Now it\nhappened that one day the pupil, whose business it was to anoint the\nright foot, had been sent to the village, so the teacher said to the\nsecond pupil, whose business it was to anoint the left foot,--\"To-day\nyou must wash and anoint my right foot also.\" When the foolish pupil\nreceived this order, he coolly said to his teacher; \"I cannot anoint\nthis foot that belongs to my rival.\" When he said this, the teacher\ninsisted. Then that pupil, who was the very opposite of a good pupil,\ntook hold of his teacher's foot in a passion, and exerting great force,\nbroke it. Then the teacher uttered a cry of pain, and the other pupils\ncame in and beat that wicked pupil, but he was rescued from them by\nthat teacher, who felt sorry for him.\n\nThe next day, the other pupil came back from the village, and when he\nsaw the injury that had been done to his teacher's foot, he asked the\nhistory of it, and then he was inflamed with rage, and he said, \"Why\nshould I not break the foot that belongs to that enemy of mine?\" So he\nlaid hold of the teacher's second leg, and broke it. Then the others\nbegan to beat that wicked pupil, but the teacher, both of whose legs\nwere broken, in compassion begged him off too. Then those two pupils\ndeparted, laughed to scorn by the whole country, but their teacher,\nwho deserved so much credit for his patient temper, gradually got well.\n\nThus foolish attendants, by quarrelling with one another, ruin their\nmaster's interests, and do not reap any advantage for themselves. Hear\nthe story of the two-headed serpent.\n\n\n\nStory of the snake with two heads. [122]\n\nA certain snake had two heads, one in the usual place and one in his\ntail. But the head, that he had in his tail, was blind, the head,\nthat was in the usual place, was furnished with eyes. And there was a\nquarrel between them, each saying that it was the principal head. Now\nthe serpent usually roamed about with his real head foremost. But\nonce on a time the head in the tail caught hold of a piece of wood,\nand fastening firmly round it, prevented that snake from going on. The\nconsequence was that the snake considered this head very powerful,\nas it had vanquished the head in front. And so the snake roamed about\nwith his blind head foremost, and in a hole he fell into fire, owing\nto his not being able to see the way, and so he was burnt. [123]\n\n\n\nStory of the fool who was nearly choked with rice.\n\n\"So those foolish people, many in number, who are quite at home in\na small accomplishment, through their attachment to this unimportant\naccomplishment, are brought to ruin.\"\n\n\"Hear now about the fool who ate the grains of rice.\"\n\nA certain foolish person came for the first time to his father-in-law's\nhouse, and there he saw some white grains of rice, which his\nmother-in-law had put down to be cooked, and he put a handful of\nthem into his mouth, meaning to eat them. And his mother-in-law\ncame in that very moment. Then the foolish man was so ashamed, that\nhe could not swallow the grains of rice, nor bring them up. And his\nmother-in law, seeing that his throat was swollen and distended, and\nthat he was speechless, was afraid that he was ill, and summoned her\nhusband. And he, when he saw his state, quickly brought the physician,\nand the physician, fearing that there was an internal tumour, seized\nthe head of that fool and opened his jaw. [124] Then the grains of\nrice came out, and all those present laughed.\n\n\"Thus a fool does an unseemly act, and does not know how to conceal\nit.\"\n\n\n\nStory of the boys that milked the donkey. [125]\n\nCertain foolish boys, having observed the process of milking in the\ncase of cows, got a donkey, and having surrounded it, proceeded to\nmilk it vigorously. One milked and another held the milk-pail, and\nthere was great emulation among them, as to who should first drink\nthe milk. And yet they did not obtain milk, though they laboured hard.\n\n\"The fact is, prince, a fool, who spends his labour on a chimera,\nmakes himself ridiculous.\"\n\n\n\nStory of the foolish boy that went to the village for nothing.\n\nThere was a certain foolish son of a Br\u00e1hman, and his father said\nto him one evening, \"My son, you must go to the village early\nto-morrow.\" Having heard this, he set out in the morning, without\nasking his father what he was to do, and went to the village without\nany object, and came back in the evening fatigued. He said to his\nfather, \"I have been to the village.\" \"Yes, but you have not done\nany good by it,\" answered his father.\n\n\"So a fool, who acts without an object, becomes the laughing-stock\nof people generally; he suffers fatigue, but does not do any\ngood.\" When the son of the king of Vatsa had heard from Gomukha,\nhis chief minister, this series of tales, rich in instruction,\nand had declared that he was longing to obtain Saktiyasas, and had\nperceived that the night was far spent, he closed his eyes in sleep,\nand reposed surrounded by his ministers.\n\n\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER LXIV.\n\n\nThen, the next evening, as Narav\u00e1hanadatta was again in his private\napartment, longing for union with his beloved, at his request Gomukha\ntold the following series of tales to amuse him.\n\n\n\nStory of the Br\u00e1hman and the mungoose. [126]\n\nThere was in a certain village a Br\u00e1hman, named Devasarman; and he\nhad a wife of equally high birth, named Yajnadatt\u00e1. And she became\npregnant, and in time gave birth to a son, and the Br\u00e1hman, though\npoor, thought he had obtained a treasure in him. And when she had given\nbirth to the child, the Br\u00e1hman's wife went to the river to bathe, but\nDevasarman remained in the house, taking care of his infant son. In\nthe meanwhile a maid came from the womens' apartments of the palace\nto summon that Br\u00e1hman, who lived on presents received for performing\ninauguratory ceremonies. Then he, eager for a fee, went off to the\npalace, leaving a mungoose, which he had brought up from its birth,\nto guard his child. After he had gone, a snake suddenly came near the\nchild, and the mungoose, seeing it, killed it out of love for his\nmaster. Then the mungoose saw Devasarman returning at a distance,\nand delighted, ran out to meet him, all stained with the blood of\nthe snake. And Devasarman, when he saw its appearance, felt certain\nthat it had killed his young child, and, in his agitation killed it\nwith a stone. But when he went into the house, and saw the snake\nkilled by the mungoose, and his boy alive, he repented of what he\nhad done. And when his wife returned and heard what had happened,\nshe reproached him, saying, \"Why did you inconsiderately kill the\nmungoose, which had done you a good turn?\"\n\n\"Therefore a wise man, prince, should never do anything rashly. For a\nperson who acts rashly is destroyed in both worlds. And one who does\nanything contrary to the prescribed method, obtains a result which\nis the opposite of that desired.\"\n\n\n\nStory of the fool that was his own doctor.\n\nFor instance, there was a man suffering from flatulence. And once\non a time the doctor gave him a medicine, to be used as a clyster,\nand said to him, \"Go to your house, and bruise this, and wait till\nI come.\" The physician, after giving this order, delayed a little,\nand in the meanwhile the fool, having reduced the drug to powder,\nmixed it with water and drank it. That made him very ill, and when\nthe doctor came, he had to give him an emetic, and with difficulty\nbrought him round, when he was at the point of death. And he scolded\nhis patient, saying to him, \"A clyster is not meant to be drunk, but\nmust be administered in the proper way. Why did you not wait for me?\"\n\n\"So an action, useful in itself, if done contrary to rule, has bad\neffects. Therefore a wise man should do nothing contrary to rule. And\nthe man, who acts without consideration, does what is wrong, and\nimmediately incurs reproach.\"\n\n\n\nStory of the fool who mistook hermits for monkeys.\n\nFor instance, there was in a certain place a foolish man. He was\nonce going to a foreign country, accompanied by his son, and when\nthe caravan encamped in the forest, the boy entered the wood to amuse\nhimself. There he was scratched by monkeys, and with difficulty escaped\nwith life, and when his father asked him what had happened, the silly\nboy, not knowing what monkeys were, said; \"I was scratched in this\nwood by some hairy creatures that live on fruits.\" When the father\nheard it, he drew his sword in a rage, and went to that wood. And\nseeing some ascetics with long matted hair, picking fruits there,\nhe ran towards them, saying to himself, \"Those hairy rascals injured\nmy son.\" But a certain traveller there prevented him from killing\nthem, by saying; \"I saw some monkeys scratch your son; do not kill\nthe hermits.\" So by good luck he was saved from committing a crime,\nand returned to the caravan.\n\n\"So a wise man should never act without reflection. What is ever\nlikely to go wrong with a man who reflects? But the thoughtless are\nalways ruined and made the objects of public ridicule.\"\n\n\n\nStory of the fool who found a purse.\n\nFor instance, a certain poor man, going on a journey, found a bag of\ngold, that had been dropped by the head of a caravan. The fool, the\nmoment he found it, instead of going away, stood still where he was,\nand began to count the gold. In the meanwhile the merchant, who was on\nhorseback, discovered his loss, and galloping back, he saw the bag of\ngold in the poor man's possession, and took it away from him. So he\nlost his wealth as soon as he got it, and went on his way sorrowful,\nwith his face fixed on the ground.\n\n\"Fools lose wealth as soon as they get it.\"\n\n\n\nStory of the fool who looked for the moon.\n\nA certain foolish man, who wished to see the new moon, was told by a\nman who saw it, to look in the direction of his finger. He averted\nhis eyes from the sky, and stood staring at his friend's finger,\nand so did not see the new moon, but saw the people laughing at him.\n\n\"Wisdom accomplishes the impossible, hear a story in proof of it.\"\n\n\n\nStory of the woman who escaped from the monkey and the cowherd.\n\nA certain woman set out alone to go to another village. And on the way\na monkey suddenly came and tried to lay hold of her, but she avoided\nit by going to a tree and dodging round it. The foolish monkey threw\nits arms round the tree, and she laid hold of its arms with her hands,\nand pressed them against the tree.\n\nThe monkey, which was held tight, became furious, but at that moment\nthe woman saw a cowherd coming that way, and said to him; \"Sir, hold\nthis ape by the arms a moment, until I can arrange my dress and hair,\nwhich are disordered.\" He said, \"I will do so, if you promise to\ngrant me your love,\" and she consented. And he held the monkey. Then\nshe drew his dagger and killed the monkey, and said to the cowherd,\n\"Come to a lonely spot,\" and so took him a long distance. At last they\nfell in with some travellers, so she left him and went with them to the\nvillage that she wished to reach, having avoided outrage by her wisdom.\n\n\"So you see that wisdom is in this world the principal support of\nmen; the man who is poor in wealth lives, but the man who is poor in\nintellect does not live. Now hear, prince, this romantic wonderful\ntale.\"\n\n\n\nStory of the two thieves, Ghata and Karpara. [127]\n\nThere were in a certain city two thieves, named Ghata and Karpara. One\nnight Karpara left Ghata outside the palace, and breaking through the\nwall, entered the bedchamber of the princess. And the princess, who\ncould not sleep, saw him there in a corner, and suddenly falling in\nlove with him, called him to her. And she gave him wealth, and said\nto him; \"I will give you much more if you come again.\" Then Karpara\nwent out, and told Ghata what had happened, and gave him the wealth,\nand having thus got hold of the king's property, sent him home. But\nhe himself again entered the women's apartments of the palace; who,\nthat is attracted by love and covetousness, thinks of death? There he\nremained with the princess, and bewildered with love and wine, he fell\nasleep, and did not observe that the night was at an end. And in the\nmorning the guards of the women's apartments entered, and made him\nprisoner, and informed the king, and he in his anger ordered him to\nbe put to death. \"While he was being led to the place of execution,\nhis friend Ghata came to look for him, as he had not returned in\nthe course of the night. Then Karpara saw Ghata, and made a sign to\nhim that he was to carry off and take care of the princess. And he\nanswered by a sign that he would do so. Then Karpara was led away\nby the executioners, and being at their mercy, was quickly hanged up\nupon a tree, and so executed.\n\nThen Ghata went home, sorrowing for his friend, and as soon as\nnight arrived, he dug a mine and entered the apartment of the\nprincess. Seeing her in fetters there alone, he went up to her and\nsaid; \"I am the friend of Karpara, who was to-day put to death on\naccount of you. And out of love for him I am come here to carry you\noff, so come along, before your father does you an injury.\" Thereupon\nshe consented joyfully, and he removed her bonds. Then he went out\nwith her, who at once committed herself to his care, by the underground\npassage he had made, and returned to his own house.\n\nAnd next morning the king heard that his own daughter had been carried\noff by some one, who had dug a secret mine, and that king thought\nto himself, \"Undoubtedly that wicked man whom I punished has some\naudacious friend, who has carried off my daughter in this way.\" So he\nset his servants to watch the body of Karpara, and he said to them,\n\"You must arrest any one who may come here lamenting, to burn the\ncorpse and perform the other rites, and so I shall recover that wicked\ngirl who has disgraced her family.\" When those guards had received\nthis order from the king, they said, \"We will do so,\" and remained\ncontinually watching the corpse of Karpara.\n\nThen Ghata made enquiries, and found out what was going on, and said to\nthe princess; \"My dear, my comrade Karpara was a very dear friend to\nme, and by means of him I gained you and all these valuable jewels;\nso until I have paid to him the debt of friendship, I cannot rest\nin peace. So I will go and see his corpse, and by a device of mine\nmanage to lament over it, and I will in due course burn the body,\nand scatter the bones in a holy place. And do not be afraid, I am not\nreckless like Karpara.\" After he had said this to her, he immediately\nassumed the appearance of a P\u00e1supata ascetic, and taking boiled rice\nand milk in a pot, he went near the corpse of Karpara, as if he were a\nperson passing that way casually, and when he got near it, he slipped,\nand let fall from his hand and broke that pot of milk and rice, and\nbegan lamenting, \"O Karpara full of sweetness,\" [128] and so on. And\nthe guards thought that he was grieving for his pot full of food,\nthat he had got by begging. And immediately he went home and told\nthat to the princess. And the next day he made a servant, dressed as\na bride, go in front of him, and he had another behind him, carrying a\nvessel full of sweetmeats, in which the juice of the Dhatt\u00fara had been\ninfused. And he himself assumed the appearance of a drunken villager,\nand so in the evening he came reeling along past those guards, who were\nwatching the body of Karpara. They said to him, \"Who are you, friend,\nand who is this lady, and where are you going?\" Then the cunning fellow\nanswered them with stuttering accents, \"I am a villager; this is my\nwife; I am going to the house of my father-in-law; and I am taking\nfor him this complimentary present of sweetmeats. But you have now\nbecome my friends by speaking to me, so I will take only half of the\nsweetmeats there; take the other half for yourselves.\" Saying this,\nhe gave a sweetmeat to each of the guards. And they received them,\nlaughing, and all of them partook of them. Accordingly Ghata, having\nstupefied the guards with Dhatt\u00fara, at night brought fuel [129]\nand burnt the body of Karpara.\n\nThe next morning, after he had departed, the king hearing of it,\nremoved those guards who had been stupefied, and placed others there,\nand said; \"You must guard these bones, and you must arrest whoever\nattempts to take them away, and you must not accept food from any\noutsider.\" When the guards were thus instructed by the king, they\nremained on the lookout day and night, and Ghata heard of it. Then he,\nbeing acquainted with the operation of a bewildering charm granted\nhim by Durg\u00e1, made a wandering mendicant his friend, in order to make\nthem repose confidence in him. And he went there with that wandering\nmendicant, who was muttering spells, and bewildered those guards,\nand recovered the bones of Karpara. And after throwing them into the\nGanges, he came and related what he had done, and lived happily with\nthe princess, accompanied by the mendicant. But the king, hearing that\nthe bones had been carried off, and the men guarding them stupefied,\nthought that the whole exploit, beginning with the carrying off of\nhis daughter, was the doing of a magician. And he had the following\nproclamation made in his city; \"If that magician, who carried off my\ndaughter, and performed the other exploits connected with that feat,\nwill reveal himself, I will give him half my kingdom.\" When Ghata heard\nthis, he wished to reveal himself, but the princess dissuaded him,\nsaying, \"Do not do so, you cannot repose any confidence in this king,\nwho treacherously puts people to death.\" [130] Then, for fear that,\nif he remained there, the truth might come out, he set out for another\ncountry with the princess and the mendicant.\n\nAnd on the way the princess said secretly to the mendicant, \"The\nother one of these thieves seduced me, and this one made me fall\nfrom my high rank. The other thief is dead, as for this, Ghata, I do\nnot love him, you are my darling.\" When she had said this, she united\nherself to the mendicant, and killed Ghata in the dead of night. Then,\nas she was journeying along with that mendicant, the wicked woman\nfell in with a merchant on the way, whose name was Dhanadeva. So\nshe said, \"Who is this skull-bearer? You are my darling,\" and she\nleft that mendicant, while he was asleep, and went off with that\nmerchant. And in the morning the mendicant woke up, and reflected,\n\"There is no love in women, and no courtesy free from fickleness,\nfor, after lulling me into security, the wicked woman has gone off,\nand robbed me too. However, I ought perhaps to consider myself lucky,\nthat I have not been killed like Ghata.\" After these reflections,\nthe mendicant returned to his own country.\n\n\n\nStory of Dhanadeva's wife.\n\nAnd the princess, travelling on with the merchant, reached his\ncountry. And when Dhanadeva arrived there, he said to himself; \"Why\nshould I rashly introduce this unchaste woman into my house? So,\nas it was evening, he went into the house of an old woman in that\nplace, with the princess. And at night he asked that old woman,\nwho did not recognize him, \"Mother, do you know any tidings about\nthe family of Dhanadeva?\" When the old woman heard that, she said,\n\"What tidings is there except that his wife is always ready to take\na new lover. For a basket, covered with leather, is let down every\nnight from the window here, and whoever enters it, is drawn up into the\nhouse, and is dismissed in the same way at the end of the night. And\nthe woman is always stupefied with drink, so that she is absolutely\nvoid of discernment. And this state of hers has become well-known\nin the whole city. And though her husband has been long away, he has\nnot yet returned.\"\n\nWhen Dhanadeva heard this speech of the old woman's, he went out that\nmoment on some pretext, and repaired to his own house, being full\nof inward grief and uncertainty. And seeing a basket let down by the\nfemale servants with ropes, he entered it, and they pulled up him into\nthe house. And his wife, who was stupefied with drink, embraced him\nmost affectionately, without knowing who he was. But he was quite cast\ndown at seeing her degradation. And thereupon she fell into a drunken\nsleep. And at the end of the night, the female servants let him down\nagain quickly from the window, in the basket suspended with ropes. And\nthe merchant reflected in his grief, \"Enough of the folly of being a\nfamily man, for women in a house are a snare! It is always this story\nwith them, so a life in the forest is much to be preferred.\" Having\nformed this resolve, Dhanadeva abandoned the princess into the bargain,\nand set out for a distant forest. And on the way he met, and struck up\na friendship with, a young Br\u00e1hman, named Rudrasoma, who had lately\nreturned from a long absence abroad. When he told him his story,\nthe Br\u00e1hman became anxious about his own wife; and so he arrived in\nthe company of that merchant at his own village in the evening.\n\n\n\nStory of the wife of the Br\u00e1hman Rudrasoma.\n\nAnd when he arrived there, he saw a cowherd, on the bank of the river,\nnear his house, singing with joy, like one beside himself. So he said\nto him in joke, \"Cowherd, is any young woman in love with you, that you\nsing thus in your rapture, counting the world as stubble?\" \"When the\ncowherd heard that, he laughed and said, \"I have a great secret. [131]\nThe head of this village, a Br\u00e1hman, named Rudrasoma, has been long\naway, and I visit his wife every night; her maid introduces me into\nthe house dressed as a woman.\" When Rudrasoma heard this, he restrained\nhis anger, and wishing to find out the truth, he said to the cowherd;\n\"If such kindness is shewn to guests here, give me this dress of yours,\nand let me go there to-night: I feel great curiosity about it.\" The\ncowherd said, \"Do so, take this black rug of mine, and this stick,\nand remain here until her maid comes. And she will take you for me,\nand will give you a female dress, and invite you to come, so go there\nboldly at night, and I will take repose this night.\" When the cowherd\nsaid this, the Br\u00e1hman Rudrasoma took from him the stick and the rug,\nand stood there, personating him. And the cowherd stood at a little\ndistance, with that merchant Dhanadeva, and then the maid came. She\nwalked silently up to him in the darkness, and wrapped him up in a\nwoman's dress, and said to him, \"Come along,\" and so took him off\nto his wife, thinking that he was the cowherd. When his wife saw\nRudrasoma, she sprang up and embraced him, supposing that he was\nthe cowherd, and then Rudrasoma thought to himself; \"Alas! wicked\nwomen fall in love with a base man, if only he is near them, for this\nvicious wife of mine has fallen in love with a cowherd, merely because\nbe is near at hand.\" Then he made some excuse with faltering voice,\nand went, disgusted in mind, to Dhanadeva. And after he had told his\nadventure in his own house, he said to that merchant; \"I too will\ngo with you to the forest; perish my family!\" So Rudrasoma and the\nmerchant Dhanadeva set out together for the forest.\n\n\n\nStory of the wife of Sasin.\n\nAnd on the way a friend of Dhanadeva's, named Sasin, joined them. And\nin the course of conversation they told him their circumstances. And\nwhen Sasin heard that, being a jealous man, and having just returned\nfrom a long absence in a foreign land, he became anxious about his\nwife, though he had locked her up in a cellar. And Sasin, travelling\nalong with them, came near his own house in the evening, and was\ndesirous of entertaining them. But he saw there a man singing in an\namorous mood, who had an evil smell, and whose hands and feet were\neaten away with leprosy. And in his astonishment, he asked him; \"Who\nare you, sir, that you are so cheerful?\" And the leper said to him,\n\"I am the god of love.\" Sasin answered, \"There can be no mistake\nabout that. The splendour of your beauty is sufficient evidence for\nyour being the god of love.\" Thereupon the leper continued, \"Listen,\nI will tell you something. A rogue here, named Sasin, being jealous\nof his wife, locked her up in a cellar with one servant to attend on\nher, and went to a foreign land. But that wife of his happened to see\nme here, and immediately surrendered herself to me, her heart being\ndrawn towards me by love. And I spend every night with her, for the\nmaid takes me on her back and carries me in. So tell me if I am not\nthe god of love. Who, that was the favoured lover of the beautiful\nwife of Sasin, could care for other women?\" When Sasin heard this\nspeech of the leper's, he suppressed his grief, intolerable as a\nhurricane, and wishing to discover the truth, he said to the leper,\n\"In truth you are the god of love, so I have a boon to crave of your\ngodship. I feel great curiosity about this lady from your description\nof her, so I will go there this very night disguised as yourself. Be\npropitious to your suppliant: you will lose but little, as you can\nattain this object every day.\" When Sasin made this request, the\nleper said to him; \"So be it! take this dress of mine and give me\nyours, and remain covering up your hands and feet with your clothes,\nas you see me do, until her maid comes, which will be as soon as it\nbecomes dark. And she will mistake you for me, and put you on her\nback, and you must submit to go there in that fashion, for I always\nhave to go in that way, having lost the use of my hands and feet from\nleprosy.\" Thereupon Sasin put on the leper's dress and remained there,\nbut the leper and Sasin's two companions remained a little way off.\n\nThen Sasin's wife's maid came, and supposing that he was the leper,\nas he had his dress on, said, \"Come along,\" and took him up on her\nback. And so she took him at night into that cellar to his wife, who\nwas expecting her paramour the leper. Then Sasin made out for certain\nthat it was his wife, who was lamenting there in the darkness, by\nfeeling her limbs, and he became an ascetic on the spot. And when she\nwas asleep, he went out unobserved, and made his way to Dhanadeva and\nRudrasoma. And he told them his experiences, and said in his grief,\n\"Alas! women are like torrents that flow in a ravine, they are ever\ntending downwards, capricious, beautiful at a distance, prone to\nturbidness, and so they are as difficult to guard as such rivers are\nto drink, and thus my wife, though kept in a cellar, has run after\na leper. So for me also the forest is the best thing. Out on family\nlife!\" And so he spent the night in the company of the merchant and\nthe Br\u00e1hman, whose affliction was the same as his. And next morning\nthey all set out together for the forest, and at evening they reached\na tree by the roadside, with a tank at its foot. And after they had\neaten and drunk, they ascended the tree to sleep, and while they were\nthere, they saw a traveller come and lie down underneath the tree.\n\n\n\nStory of the snake-god and his wife.\n\nAnd soon they saw another man arise from the tank, and he brought\nout of his mouth a couch and a lady. Then he lay down on the couch\nbeside that wife of his, and went to sleep, and the moment she saw it,\nshe went and embraced the traveller. And he asked her who they were,\nand she answered; \"This is a snake-god, and I am his wife, a daughter\nof the snake race. Do not fear, I have had ninety-nine lovers among\ntravellers, and you make the hundredth.\" But, while she was saying\nthis, it happened that the snake-god woke up, and saw them. And he\ndischarged fire from his mouth, and reduced them both to ashes.\n\nWhen the snake-god had gone, the three friends said to one another,\n\"If it is impossible to guard one's wife by enclosing her in one's\nown body, what chance is there of keeping her safe in a house? Out on\nthem all!\" So they spent the night in contentment, and next morning\nwent on to the forest. There they became completely chastened in\nmind, with hearts quieted by practising the four meditations, [132]\nwhich were not interfered with by their friendship, and they became\ngentle to all creatures, and attained perfection in contemplation,\nwhich produces unequalled absolute beatification; and all three in\ndue course destroyed the inborn darkness of their souls, and became\nliberated from the necessity of future births. But their wicked\nwives fell into a miserable state by the ripening of their own sin,\nand were soon ruined, losing both this and the next world.\n\n\"So attachment to women, the result of infatuation, produces misery\nto all men. But indifference to them produces in the discerning\nemancipation from the bonds of existence.\"\n\nWhen the prince, who was longing for union with Saktiyasas, had\npatiently listened to this diverting tale, told by his minister\nGomukha, he again went to sleep.\n\n\n\nNOTE ON THE STORY OF GHATA AND KARPARA.\n\nThe portion of the story of \"the Shifty lad,\" which so nearly resembles\nthe story of Ghata and Karpara, runs as follows: The shifty lad\nremarks to his master the wright, that he might get plenty from the\nking's store-house which was near at hand, if only he would break into\nit. The two eventually rob it together. \"But the king's people missed\nthe butter and cheese and the other things that had been taken out\nof the store-house, and they told the king how it had happened. The\nking took the advice of the Seanagal about the best way of catching\nthe thieves, and the counsel that he gave them was, that they should\nset a hogshead of soft pitch under the hole where they were coming\nin. That was done, and the next day the shifty lad and his master\nwent to break into the king's store-house.\"\n\nThe consequence was that the wright was caught in the pitch. Thereupon\nthe shifty lad cut off his head, which he carried home and buried\nin the garden. When the king's people came into the store-house,\nthey found a body, without a head and they could not make out whose\nit was. By the advice of the Seanagal the king had the trunk carried\nabout from town to town by the soldiers on the points of spears. They\nwere directed to observe if any one cried out on seeing it. When they\nwere going past the house of the wright, the wright's wife made a\ntortured scream, and swift the shifty lad cut himself with an adze,\nand he kept saying to the wright's wife, \"It is not as bad as thou\nthinkest.\" He then tells the soldier that she is afraid of blood,\nand therefore the soldier supposed that he was the wright and she his\nwife. The king had the body hung up in an open place, and set soldiers\nto watch if any should attempt to take it away, or show pity or grief\nfor it. The shifty lad drives a horse past with a keg of whisky on\neach side, and pretends to be hiding it from the soldiers. They pursue\nhim, capture the whisky, get dead drunk, and the shifty lad carries\noff and buries the wright's body. The king now lets loose a pig to\ndig up the body. The soldiers follow the pig, but the wright's widow\nentertains them. Meanwhile the shifty lad kills the pig and buries\nit. The soldiers are then ordered to live at free quarters among the\npeople, and wherever they get pig's flesh, unless the people could\nexplain how they came by it, to make a report to the king. But the\nshifty lad kills the soldiers who visit the widow, and persuades\nthe people to kill all the others in their sleep. The Seanagal next\nadvises the king to give a feast to all the people. Whoever dared\nto dance with the king's daughter would be the culprit. The shifty\nlad asks her to dance, she makes a black mark on him, but he puts\na similar black mark on twenty others. The king now proclaims that,\nif the author of these clever tricks will reveal himself, he shall\nmarry his daughter. All the men with marks on them contend for\nthe honour. It is agreed that to whomsoever a child shall give an\napple, the king is to give his daughter. The shifty lad goes into\nthe room where they are all assembled, with a shaving and a drone,\nand the child gives him the apple. He marries the princess, but is\nkilled by accident. K\u00f6hler (Orient und Occident, Vol. II, p. 303 and\nff.) compares the story of Dolopathos quoted in Loiseleur II, 123,\ned. Brunet, p. 183, a story of the Florentine Ser Giovanni, (Pecorone,\nIX, 1,) an old Netherland story in Haupt's Zeitschrift f\u00fcr Deutsches\nAlterthum 5, 385-404, called \"The thief of Bruges,\" and a Tyrolese\nstory in Zingerle, Kinder- und Hausm\u00e4rchen aus S\u00fcd-Deutschland, p. 300;\nalso a French Romance of chivalry entitled, \"The knight Berinus and\nhis son Aigres of the Magnet mountain.\" There is also a story in the\nSeven Wise Masters (Ellis, specimens of early English metrical romances\nnew ed. by Halliwell, London, 1848, p. 423) of a father and his son\nbreaking into the treasure-house of the emperor Octavianus. K\u00f6hler also\ncompares the story of Trophonius and his brother or father Agamedes\n(Scholiast to Aristophanes, Nubes, 508; Pausanias, IX, 37, 3.) This\nstory will also be found in Simrock's Deutsche Volksb\u00fccher, Vol. XII,\np. 148. The story appears in Melusine, 1878 p. 17 under the title of\n\"Le Voleur Avis\u00e9, Conte Breton.\" See also Ralston's Tibetan Tales,\nIntroduction, pp. xlvii and ff.\n\n\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER LXV.\n\n\nThe next evening Gomukha told Narav\u00e1hanadatta this story to amuse\nhim as before.\n\n\n\nStory of the ungrateful Wife. [133]\n\nIn a certain city there lived the son of a rich merchant, who was an\nincarnation of a portion of a Bodhisattva. His mother died, and his\nfather became attached to another wife, so he sent him away; and the\nson went forth from his father's house with his wife to live in the\nforest. His younger brother also was banished by his father, and went\nwith him, but as he was not of a chastened disposition, the elder\nbrother parted company with him, and went in another direction. And\nas he was going along, he at last came to a great desert wilderness,\nwithout water, grass, or tree, scorched by the fierce rays of the sun,\nand his supplies were exhausted. And he travelled through it for seven\ndays, and kept his wife, who was exhausted with hunger and thirst,\nalive, by giving her his own flesh and blood, and she drank the blood\nand ate the flesh. And on the eighth day he reached a mountain forest,\nresounding with the surging waters of a torrent, abounding in shady\ntrees laden with fruit, and in delightful turf. There he refreshed\nhis wife with water and fruits, and went down into the mountain-stream\nthat was wreathed with waves, to take a bath. And there he saw a man\nwith his two feet and his two hands cut off, being carried along by\nthe current, in need of assistance. Though exhausted with his long\nfast, the brave man entered the river, and rescued this mutilated\nperson. And the compassionate man landed him on the bank, and said;\n\"Who did this to you, my brother?\" Then the maimed man answered,\n\"My enemies cut off my hands and feet, and threw me into the river,\ndesiring to inflict on me a painful death. But you have saved me\nfrom the water.\" When the maimed man told him this, he bandaged his\nwounds, and gave him food, and then the noble fellow bathed and took\nfood himself. Then this merchant's son, who was an incarnation of\na Bodhisattva, remained in that wood with his wife, living on roots\nand fruits, and engaged in austerities.\n\nOne day, when he was away in search of fruits and roots, his wife fell\nin love with that maimed man, whose wounds were healed. And determining\nto kill her husband, the wicked woman devised a plot for doing so in\nconcert with that mutilated man, and she pretended to be ill. And she\npointed out a plant growing in the ravine, where it was difficult\nto descend, and the river hard to cross, and said to her husband;\n\"I may live if you bring me that sovereign plant, for I am sure that\nthe god indicated to me its position in a dream.\" He consented, and\ndescended into the ravine to get the plant, by the help of a rope\nplaited of grass and fastened to a tree. But when he had got down,\nshe unfastened the rope; so he fell into the river, and was swept\naway by it, as its current was strong. And he was carried an enormous\ndistance by the river, and flung up on the bank near a certain city,\nfor his merits preserved his life. Then he climbed up on to the firm\nground, and rested under a tree, as he was fatigued by his immersion\nin the water, and thought over the wicked behaviour of his wife. Now\nit happened that at that time the king of that city had just died,\nand in that country there was an immemorial custom, that an auspicious\nelephant was driven about by the citizens, and any man, that he took\nup with his trunk and placed on his back, was anointed king. [134]\nThe elephant, wandering about, came near the merchant's son, and, as\nif he were Providence pleased with his self-control, took him up, and\nput him on his back. Then the merchant's son, who was an incarnation\nof a portion of a Bodhisattva, was immediately taken to the city and\nanointed king by the people. When he had obtained the crown, he did\nnot associate with charming women of coquettish behaviour, but held\nconverse with the virtues of compassion, cheerfulness and patience.\n\nAnd his wife wandered about hither and thither, carrying that\nmaimed man, who was her paramour, on her back, [135] without fear\nof her husband, whom she supposed to have been swept away by the\nriver. And she begged from village to village, and city to city,\nsaying, \"This husband of mine has had his hands and feet cut off by\nhis enemies; I am a devoted wife and support him by begging, so give\nme alms. At last she reached the town in which that husband of hers\nwas king. She begged there in the same way, and, as she was honoured\nby the citizens as a devoted wife the fame of her virtue reached\nthe ears of the king. And the king had her summoned, with the maimed\nman on her back, and, when she came near, he recognized her and said;\n\"Are you that devoted wife?\" And the wicked woman, not recognizing her\nhusband, when surrounded by the splendour of the kingly office, said,\n\"I am that devoted wife, your Majesty.\" Then that incarnation of a\nBodhisattva laughed, and said; \"I too have had practical experience of\nyour wifely devotion. How comes it that, though I your own husband,\nwho possess hands and feet, could not tame you, even by giving you\nmy own flesh and blood, which you kept feeding on like an ogress in\nhuman form, this maimed fellow, though defective in his limbs, has\nbeen able to tame you and make you his beast of burden? Did you carry\non your back your innocent husband, whom you threw into the river? It\nis owing to that deed that you have to carry and support this maimed\nman.\" When her husband in these words revealed her past conduct, she\nrecognized him, and fainting from fear, became like a painted or dead\nwoman. The ministers in their curiosity said, \"Tell us, king, what this\nmeans.\" Then the king told them the whole story. And the ministers,\nwhen they heard that she had conspired against her husband's life,\ncut off her nose and ears, and branded her, and banished her from\nthe country with the maimed man. And in this matter Fate shewed a\nbecoming combination, for it united a woman without nose and ears\nwith a man without hands and feet, and a man who was an incarnation\nof a portion of a Bodhisattva, with the splendour of royalty.\n\n\"Thus the way of woman's heart, which is a thing full of hate,\nindiscriminating, prone to the base, is difficult to fathom. And\nthus good fortune comes spontaneous and unexpected, as if pleased\nwith them, to those of noble soul, who do not swerve from virtue and\nwho conquer anger.\" When the minister Gomukha had told this tale,\nhe proceeded to relate the following story.\n\n\n\nStory of the grateful animals and the ungrateful woman. [136]\n\nThere was a certain man of noble soul, who was an incarnation of\na portion of a Bodhisattva, whose heart was melted by compassion\nonly, who had built a hut in a forest and lived there, performing\nausterities. He, while living there, by his power rescued living\nbeings in distress and Pis\u00e1ehas, and others he gratified by presents\nof water and jewels. One day, as he was roaming about in the wood to\nassist others, he saw a great well and looked into it. And a woman,\nwho was in it, said to him in a loud voice; \"Noble sir, here are\nfour of us; myself a woman, a lion, and a golden-crested bird, and a\nsnake, fallen into this well in the night; so take us out; have mercy\nupon us.\" When he heard this, he said, \"Granted that you three fell\nin because the darkness made it impossible for you to see your way,\nbut how did the bird fall in?\" The woman answered him, \"It fell in by\nbeing caught in a fowler's net.\" Then the ascetic tried to lift them\nout by the supernatural power of his asceticism, but he could not; on\nthe contrary, his power was gone. He reflected, \"Surely this woman is\na sinner, and owing to my having conversed with her, my power is gone\nfrom me. So I will use other means in this case.\" Then he plaited a\nrope of grass, and so drew them all four up out of the well, and they\npraised him. And in his astonishment he said to the lion, the bird,\nand the snake; \"Tell me, how come you to have articulate voice, and\nwhat is your history?\" Then the lion said, \"We have articulate speech\nand we remember our former births, and we are mutual enemies; hear our\nstories in turns.\" So the lion began to tell his own story as follows:\n\n\n\nThe lion's story.\n\nThere is a splendid city on the Him\u00e1layas, called Vaid\u00faryasringa; and\nin it there is a prince of the Vidy\u00e1dharas named Padmavesa, and to him\na son was born named Vajravega. That Vajravega, while he dwelt in the\nworld of the Vidy\u00e1dharas, being a vain-glorious person, quarrelled\nwith any body and every body, confiding in his courage. His father\nordered him to desist, but he paid no attention to his command. Then\nhis father cursed him, saying, \"Fall into the world of mortals.\" Then\nhis arrogance was extinguished, and his knowledge left him, and\nsmitten with the curse he wept, and asked his father to name a time\nwhen it should end. Then his father Padmavega thought a little, and\nsaid immediately; \"You shall become a Br\u00e1hman's son on the earth,\nand display this arrogance once more, and by your father's curse you\nshall become a lion and fall into a well. And a man of noble character,\nout of compassion, shall draw you out, and when you have recompensed\nhim in his calamity, you shall be delivered from this curse.\" This\nwas the termination of the curse which his father appointed for him.\n\nThen Vajravega was born in M\u00e1lava as Devaghosha, the son of Harighosha\na Br\u00e1hman. And in that birth also he fought with many, confiding\nin his heroism, and his father said to him, \"Do not go on in this\nway quarrelling with every body.\" But he would not obey his father's\norders, so his father cursed him--\"Become immediately a foolish lion,\nover-confident in its strength.\" In consequence of this speech of\nhis father's, Devaghosha, that incarnation of a Vidy\u00e1dhara, was again\nborn as a lion in this forest.\n\n\"Know that I am that lion. I was wandering about here at night, and as\nchance would have it, I fell into this well; and you, noble sir, have\ndrawn me up out of it. So now I will depart, and, if you should fall\ninto any difficulty, remember me; I will do you a good turn and so get\nreleased from my curse.\" After the lion had said this be went away,\nand the golden-crested bird, being questioned by that Bodhisattva,\ntold his tale.\n\n\n\nThe golden-crested bird's story.\n\nThere is on the Him\u00e1layas a king of the Vidy\u00e1dharas, named\nVajradanshtra. His queen gave birth to five daughters in\nsuccession. And then the king propitiated Siva with austerities\nand obtained a son, named Rajatadanshtra, whom he valued more than\nlife. His father, out of affection, bestowed the knowledge of the\nsciences upon him when he was still a child, and he grew up, a feast\nto the eyes of his relations.\n\nOne day he saw his eldest sister, by name Somaprabh\u00e1, playing upon\na pinjara. In his childishness he kept begging for the pinjara,\nsaying, \"Give it me, I too want to play on it.\" And when she would\nnot give it him, in his flightiness he seized the pinjara, and\nflew up to heaven with it in the form of a bird. Then his sister\ncursed him, saying;--\"Since you have taken my pinjara from me by\nforce, and flown away with it, you shall become a bird with a golden\ncrest.\" When Rajatadanshtra heard this, he fell at his sister's feet,\nand entreated her to fix a time for his curse to end, and she said,\n\"When, foolish boy, you fall, in your bird-form, into a blind well,\nand a certain merciful person draws you out, and you do him a service\nin return, then you shall be released from this curse.\" When she had\nsaid this to her brother, he was born as a bird with a golden crest.\n\n\"I am that same golden-crested bird, that fell into this pit\nin the night, and have now been drawn out by you, so now I will\ndepart. Remember me when you fall into calamity, for by doing you a\nservice in return I shall be released from my curse.\" When the bird\nhad said this, he departed. Then the snake, being questioned by that\nBodhisattva, told his story to that great-souled one.\n\n\n\nThe snake's story.\n\nFormerly I was the son of a hermit in the hermitage of Kasyapa. And\nI had a companion there who was also the son of a hermit. And one\nday my friend went down into the lake to bathe, and I remained on\nthe bank. And while I was there, I saw a serpent come with three\nheads. And, in order to terrify that friend of mine in fun, I fixed\nthe serpent immoveable on the bank, opposite to where he was, by the\npower of a spell. My friend got through his bathing in a moment, and\ncame to the bank, and unexpectedly seeing that great serpent there,\nhe was terrified and fainted. After some time I brought my friend\nround again, but he, finding out by meditation that I had terrified\nhim in this way, became angry, and cursed me, saying, \"Go and become\na similar great snake with three crests.\" Then I entreated him to fix\nan end to my curse, and he said,--\"When, in your serpent condition,\nyou fall into a well, and at a critical moment do a service to the\nman who pulls you out, then you shall be freed from your curse.\"\n\n\"After he had said this, he departed, and I became a serpent, and now\nyou have drawn me out of the well; so now I will depart. And when\nyou think of me I will come; and by doing you a service I shall be\nreleased from my curse.\"\n\nWhen the snake had said this, he departed, and the woman told her\nstory.\n\n\n\nThe woman's story.\n\nI am the wife of a young Kshatriya in the king's employ,\na man in the bloom of youth, brave, generous, handsome, and\nhigh-minded. Nevertheless I was wicked enough to enter into an intrigue\nwith another man. When my husband found it out, he determined to\npunish me. And I heard of this from my confidante, and that moment\nI fled, and entered this wood at night, and fell into this well,\nand was dragged out by you.\n\n\"And thanks to your kindness I will now go and maintain myself\nsomewhere. May a day come when I shall be able to requite your\ngoodness.\"\n\nWhen the sinful woman had said this to the Bodhisattva, she went to\nthe town of a king named Gotravardhana. She obtained an interview,\nwith him, and remained among his attendants, in the capacity of maid\nto the king's principal queen. But because that Bodhisattva talked\nwith that woman, he lost his power, and could not procure fruits and\nroots and things of that kind. Then, being exhausted with hunger and\nthirst, he first thought of the lion. And, when he thought of him,\nhe came and fed him with the flesh of deer, [137] and in a short time\nhe restored him to his former health with their flesh; and then the\nlion said, \"My curse is at an end, I will depart.\" When he had said\nthis, the Bodhisattva gave him leave to depart, and the lion became\na Vidy\u00e1dhara and went to his own place.\n\nThen that incarnation of a portion of a Bodhisattva, being again\nexhausted by want of food, thought upon that golden-crested bird,\nand he came, when thought of by him. And when he told the bird of\nhis sufferings, the bird went and brought a casket full of jewels\n[138] and gave it him, and said, \"This wealth will support you for\never, and so my curse has come to an end, now I depart; may you enjoy\nhappiness!\" When he had said this, he became a young Vidy\u00e1dhara prince,\nand went through the air to his own world, and received the kingdom\nfrom his father. And the Bodhisattva, as he was wandering about to\nsell the jewels, reached that city, where the woman was living whom\nhe had rescued from the well. And he deposited those jewels in an\nout-of-the-way house belonging to an old Br\u00e1hman woman, and went to the\nmarket, and on the way he saw coming towards him the very woman whom\nhe had saved from the well, and the woman saw him. And the two fell\ninto a conversation, and in the course of it the woman told him of her\nposition about the person of the queen. And she asked him about his own\nadventures: so the confiding man told her how the golden-crested bird\nhad given him the jewels. And he took her and shewed her the jewels\nin the house of the old woman, and the wicked woman went and told her\nmistress the queen of it. Now it happened that the golden-crested bird\nhad managed artfully to steal this casket of jewels from the interior\nof the queen's palace, before her eyes. And when the queen heard\nfrom the mouth of that woman, who knew the facts, that the casket\nhad arrived in the city, she informed the king. And the king had\nthe Bodhisattva pointed out by that wicked woman, and brought by his\nservants as a prisoner from that house with the ornaments. And after\nhe had asked him the circumstances, though he believed his account,\nhe not only took the ornaments from him, but he put him in prison.\n\nThen the Bodhisattva, terrified at being put in prison, thought upon\nthe snake, who was an incarnation of the hermit's son, and the snake\ncame to him. And when the snake had seen him, and enquired what his\nneed was, he said to the good man, \"I will go and coil round the king\nfrom his head to his feet. [139] And I will not let him go until\nI am told to do so by you. And you must say here, in the prison,\n'I will deliver the king from the serpent.' And when you come and\ngive me the order, I will let the king go. And when I let him go, he\nwill give you half his kingdom.\" After he had said this, the snake\nwent and coiled round the king, and placed his three hoods on his\nhead. And the people began to cry out, \"Alas! the king is bitten by\na snake.\" Then the Bodhisattva said, \"I will deliver the king from\nthis snake.\" And the king's servants, having heard this, informed\nhim. Thereupon the king, who was in the grasp of the snake, had the\nBodhisattva summoned, and said to him, \"If you deliver me from this\nsnake, I will give you half my kingdom, and these my ministers are your\nguarantees that I will keep my promise.\" When his ministers heard this,\nthey said,--\"Certainly,\" and then the Bodhisattva said to that snake,\n\"Let the king go at once.\" Then the snake let the king go, and the\nking gave half his kingdom to that Bodhisattva, and thus he became\nprosperous in a moment. And the serpent, as its curse was at an end,\nbecame a young hermit, and he told his story in the presence of the\ncourt and went back to his hermitage.\n\n\"Thus you see that good fortune certainly befalls those of good\ndispositions. And transgression brings suffering even upon the\ngreat. And the mind of women cannot be relied upon, it is not touched\neven by such a service as rescue from death; so what other benefit\ncan move them?\" When Gomukha had told this tale, he said to the king\nof Vatsa, \"Listen, I will tell you some more stories of fools.\"\n\n\n\nStory of the Buddhist monk who was bitten by a dog.\n\nThere was in a certain Buddhist monastery a Buddhist monk of dull\nintellect. One day, as he was walking in the high road, he was bitten\nby a dog on the knee. And when he had been thus bitten, he returned to\nhis monastery, and thus reflected,--\"Every body, one after another,\nwill ask me, 'What has happened to your knee?' And what a time it\nwill take me to inform them all one by one! So I will make use of\nan artifice to let them all know at once.\" Having thus reflected, he\nquickly went to the top of the monastery, and taking the stick with\nwhich the gong was struck, he sounded the gong. And the mendicant\nmonks, hearing it, came together in astonishment, and said to him,\n\"Why do you without cause sound the gong at the wrong time?\" He\nanswered the mendicants, at the same time shewing them his knee,\n\"The fact is, a dog has bitten my knee, so I called you together,\nthinking that it would take a long time for me to tell each of you\nseparately such a long story: so hear it all of you now, and look\nat my knee.\" Then all the mendicants laughed till their sides ached,\nand said, \"What a great fuss he has made about a very small matter!\"\n\n\"You have heard of the foolish Buddhist monk, now hear of the foolish\nTakka.\"\n\n\n\nStory of the man who submitted to be burnt alive sooner than share\nhis food with a guest.\n\nThere lived somewhere a rich but foolish Takka, [140] who was a\nmiser. And he and his wife were always eating barley-meal without\nsalt. And he never learned to know the taste of any other food. Once\nProvidence instigated him to say to his wife, \"I have conceived\na desire for a milk-pudding: cook me one to-day.\" His wife said,\n\"I will,\" and set about cooking the pudding, and the Takka remained\nin doors concealed, taking to his bed, for fear some one should see\nhim and drop in on him as a guest.\n\nIn the meanwhile a friend of his, a Takka who was fond of mischief,\ncame there, and asked his wife where her husband was. And she,\nwithout giving an answer, went in to her husband, and told him of\nthe arrival of his friend. And he, lying on the bed, said to her;\n\"Sit down here, and remain weeping and clinging to my feet, and say\nto my friend, 'My husband is dead.' [141] When he is gone, we will\neat this pudding happily together.\" When he gave her this order, she\nbegan to weep, and the friend came in, and said to her, \"What is the\nmatter?\" She said to him \"Look, my husband is dead.\" But he reflected,\n\"I saw her a moment ago happy enough cooking a pudding. How comes it\nthat her husband is now dead, though he has had no illness? The two\nthings are incompatible. No doubt the two have invented this fiction\nbecause they saw I had come as a guest. So I will not go.\" Thereupon\nthe mischievous fellow sat down, and began crying out, \"Alas my\nfriend! Alas, my friend!\" Then his relations, hearing the lamentation,\ncame in and prepared to take that silly Takka to the burning-place,\nfor he still continued to counterfeit death. But his wife came to him\nand whispered in his ear, \"Jump up, before these relations take you\noff to the pyre and burn you.\" But the foolish man answered his wife\nin a whisper, \"No! that will never do, for this cunning Takka wishes\nto eat my pudding. I cannot get up, for it was on his arrival that I\ndied. For to people like me the contemplation of one's possessions is\ndearer than life.\" Then that wicked friend and his relations carried\nhim out, but he remained immoveable, even while he was being burned,\nand kept silence till he died. So the foolish man sacrificed his life\nbut saved his pudding, and others enjoyed at ease the wealth he had\nacquired with much toil.\n\n\"You have heard the story of the miser, now hear the story of the\nfoolish pupils and the cat.\"\n\n\n\nStory of the foolish teacher, the foolish pupils, and the cat.\n\nIn Ujjayin\u00ed there lived in a convent a foolish teacher. And he could\nnot sleep, because mice troubled him at night. And wearied with\nthis infliction, he told the whole story to a friend. The friend,\nwho was a Br\u00e1hman, said to that teacher, \"You must set up a cat,\nit will eat the mice.\" The teacher said, \"What sort of creature is\na cat? Where can one be found? I never came across one.\" When the\nteacher said this, the friend replied, \"Its eyes are like glass,\nits colour is a brownish grey, it has a hairy skin on its back, and\nit wanders about in roads. So, my friend, you must quickly discover a\ncat by these signs and have one brought.\" After his friend had said\nthis, he went home. Then that foolish teacher said to his pupils,\n\"You have been present and heard all the distinguishing marks of\na cat. So look about for a cat, such as you have heard described,\nin the roads here.\" Accordingly the pupils went and searched hither\nand thither, but they did not find a cat anywhere.\n\nThen at last they saw a Br\u00e1hman boy coming from the opening of a road,\nhis eyes were like glass, his colour brownish grey, and he wore on his\nback a hairy antelope-skin. And when they saw him they said, \"Here we\nhave got the cat according to the description.\" So they seized him,\nand took him to their teacher. Their teacher also observed that he\nhad got the characteristics mentioned by his friend; so he placed\nhim in the convent at night. And the silly boy himself believed that\nhe was a cat, when he heard the description that those fools gave of\nthe animal. Now it happened that the silly boy was a pupil of that\nBr\u00e1hman, who out of friendship gave that teacher the description of\nthe cat. And that Br\u00e1hman came in the morning, and, seeing the boy in\nthe convent, said to those fools, \"Who brought this fellow here?\" The\nteacher and his foolish pupils answered, \"We brought him here as a\ncat, according to the description which we heard from you.\" Then the\nBr\u00e1hman laughed and said, \"There is considerable difference between\na stupid human being, and a cat, which is an animal with four feet\nand a tail.\" When the foolish fellows heard this, they let the boy\ngo and said, \"So let us go and search again for a cat such as has\nbeen now described to us.\" And the people laughed at those fools.\n\n\"Ignorance makes every one ridiculous. You have heard of the fools\nand their cat, now hear the story of another set of fools.\"\n\n\n\nStory of the fools and the bull of Siva.\n\nThere was in a certain convent, full of fools, a man who was the\ngreatest fool of the lot. He once heard in a treatise on law, which\nwas being read out, that a man, who has a tank made, gains a great\nreward in the next world. Then, as he had a large fortune, he had\nmade a large tank full of water, at no great distance from his own\nconvent. One day this prince of fools went to take a look at that tank\nof his, and perceived that the sand had been scratched up by some\ncreature. The next day too he came, and saw that the bank had been\ntorn up in another part of that tank, and being quite astonished,\nhe said to himself, \"I will watch here to-morrow the whole day,\nbeginning in the early morning, and I will find out what creature\nit is that does this.\" After he had formed this resolution, he came\nthere early next morning, and watched, until at last he saw a bull\ndescend from heaven and plough up the bank with its horns. He thought,\n\"This is a heavenly bull, so why should I not go to heaven with\nit?\" And he went up to the bull, and with both his hands laid hold of\nthe tail behind. Then the holy bull lifted up with the utmost force\nthe foolish man, who was clinging to its tail, and carried him in a\nmoment to its home in Kail\u00e1sa. There the foolish man lived for some\ntime in great comfort, feasting on heavenly dainties, sweetmeats, and\nother things which he obtained. And seeing that the bull kept going\nand returning, that king of fools, bewildered by destiny, thought,\n\"I will go down clinging to the tail of the bull and see my friends,\nand after I have told them this wonderful tale, I will return in the\nsame way.\" Having formed this resolution, the fool went and clung to\nthe tail of the bull one day when it was setting out, and so returned\nto the surface of the earth.\n\nWhen he returned to the convent, the other blockheads, who were there,\nembraced him, and asked him where he had been, and he told them. Then\nall those foolish men, having heard the tale of his adventures,\nmade this petition to him; \"Be kind and take us also there, enable\nus also to feast on sweetmeats.\" He consented, and told them his plan\nfor doing it, and the next day he led them to the border of the tank\nand the bull came there. And the principal fool seized the tail of\nthe bull with his two hands, and another took hold of his feet, and\na third in turn took hold of his. So, when they had formed a chain by\nclinging on to one another's feet, the bull flew rapidly up into the\nair. And while the bull was going along, with all the fools clinging\nto his tail, it happened that one of the fools said to the principal\nfool; \"Tell us now, to satisfy our curiosity; how large were those\nsweetmeats which you ate, of which a never-failing supply can be\nobtained in heaven?\" Then the leader had his attention diverted from\nthe business in hand, and quickly joined his hands together like the\ncup of a lotus, and exclaimed in answer, \"So big.\" But in so doing he\nlet go the tail of the bull. And accordingly he and all those others\nfell from heaven, and were killed, and the bull returned to Kail\u00e1sa;\nbut the people, who saw it, were much amused. [142]\n\n\"Fools do themselves an injury by asking questions and giving answers\nwithout reflection. You have heard about the fools who flew through\nthe air; hear about this other fool.\"\n\n\n\nStory of the fool who asked his way to the village.\n\nA certain fool, while going to another village, forgot the way. And\nwhen he asked his way, the people said to him; \"Take the path that\ngoes up by the tree on the bank of the river.\"\n\nThen the fool went and got on the trunk of that tree, and said\nto himself, \"The men told me that my way lay up the trunk of this\ntree.\" And as he went on climbing up it, the bough at the end bent\nwith his weight, and it was all he could do to avoid falling by\nclinging to it.\n\nWhile he was clinging to it, there came that way an elephant, that had\nbeen drinking water, with his driver on his back. When the fool, who\nwas clinging to the tree, saw him, he said with humble voice to that\nelephant-driver, \"Great Sir, take me down.\" And the elephant-driver\nlet go the elephant-hook, and laid hold of the man by the feet with\nboth his hands, to take him down from the tree. In the meanwhile the\nelephant went on, and the elephant-driver found himself clinging to the\nfeet of that fool, who was clinging to the end of the tree. Then the\nfool said urgently to the elephant-driver, \"Sing something quickly,\nif you know anything, in order that the people may hear, and come\nhere at once to take us down. Otherwise we shall fall, and the river\nwill carry us away.\" When the elephant-driver had been thus appealed\nto by him, he sang so sweetly that the fool was much pleased. And in\nhis desire to applaud him properly, he forgot what he was about, and\nlet go his hold of the tree, and prepared to clap him with both his\nhands. Immediately he and the elephant-driver fell into the river and\nwere drowned, for association with fools brings prosperity to no man.\n\nAfter Gomukha had told this story, he went on to tell that of\nHirany\u00e1ksha.\n\n\n\nStory of Hirany\u00e1ksha and Mrig\u00e1nkalekh\u00e1.\n\nThere is in the lap of the Him\u00e1layas a country called Kasm\u00edra,\nwhich is the very crest-jewel of the earth, the home of sciences and\nvirtue. In it there was a town, named Hiranyapura, and there reigned\nin it a king, named Kanak\u00e1ksha. And there was born to that king,\nowing to his having propitiated Siva, a son, named Hirany\u00e1ksha,\nby his wife Ratnaprabh\u00e1. The prince was one day playing at ball,\nand he purposely managed to strike with the ball a female ascetic\nwho came that way. That female ascetic possessing supernatural\npowers, who had overcome the passion of anger, laughed and said\nto Hirany\u00e1ksha, without altering the expression of her face, [143]\n\"If your youth and other qualities make you so insolent, what will\nyou become if you obtain Mrig\u00e1nkalekh\u00e1 for a wife.\" [144] When the\nprince heard that, he propitiated the female ascetic and said to her;\n\"Who is this Mrig\u00e1nkalekh\u00e1? tell me, reverend madam.\" Then she said to\nhim, \"There is a glorious king of the Vidy\u00e1dharas on the Him\u00e1layas,\nnamed Sasitejas. He has a beautiful daughter, named Mrig\u00e1nkalekh\u00e1,\nwhose loveliness keeps the princes of the Vidy\u00e1dharas awake at\nnight. And she will be a fitting wife for you, and you will be a\nsuitable husband for her.\" When the female ascetic, who possessed\nsupernatural power, said this to Hirany\u00e1ksha, he replied, \"Tell me,\nreverend mother, how she is to be obtained.\" Thereupon she said,\n\"I will go and find out how she is affected towards you, by talking\nabout you. And then I will come and take you there. And you will find\nme to-morrow in the temple of the god here, named Amaresa, for I come\nhere every day to worship him.\" After the female ascetic had said this,\nshe went through the air by her supernatural power to the Him\u00e1layas,\nto visit that Mrig\u00e1nkalekh\u00e1. Then she praised to her so artfully\nthe good qualities of Hirany\u00e1ksha, that the celestial maiden became\nvery much in love with him, and said to her, \"If, reverend mother,\nI cannot manage to obtain a husband of this kind, of what use to me\nis this my purposeless life?\" So the emotion of love was produced in\nMrig\u00e1nkalekh\u00e1, and she spent the day in talking about him, and passed\nthe night with that female ascetic. In the meanwhile Hirany\u00e1ksha spent\nthe day in thinking of her, and with difficulty slept at night, but\ntowards the end of the night P\u00e1rvat\u00ed said to him in a dream, \"Thou\nart a Vidy\u00e1dhara, become a mortal by the curse of a hermit, and thou\nshalt be delivered from it by the touch of the hand of this female\nascetic, and then thou shalt quickly marry this Mrig\u00e1nkalekh\u00e1. Do not\nbe anxious about it, for she was thy wife in a former state.\" Having\nsaid this, the goddess disappeared from his sight. And in the morning\nthe prince woke and rose up, and performed the auspicious ceremonies\nof bathing and so on. Then he went and adored Amaresa and stood in\nhis presence, since it was there that the female ascetic had appointed\nhim a rendezvous.\n\nIn the meanwhile Mrig\u00e1nkalekh\u00e1 fell asleep with difficulty in her\nown palace, and P\u00e1rvat\u00ed said to her in a dream, \"Do not grieve,\nthe curse of Hirany\u00e1ksha is at an end, and he will again become a\nVidy\u00e1dhara by the touch of the hand of the female ascetic, and thou\nshalt have him once more for a husband.\" When the goddess had said\nthis, she disappeared, and in the morning Mrig\u00e1nkalekh\u00e1 woke up and\ntold the female ascetic her dream. And the holy ascetic returned\nto the earth, and said to Hirany\u00e1ksha, who was in the temenos of\nAmaresa, \"Come to the world of Vidy\u00e1dharas.\" When she said this,\nhe bent before her, and she took him up in her arms, and flew up\nwith him to heaven. Then Hirany\u00e1ksha's curse came to an end, and\nhe became a prince of the Vidy\u00e1dharas, and he remembered his former\nbirth, and said to the female ascetic, \"Know that I was a king of the\nVidy\u00e1dharas named Amritatejas in a city named Vajrak\u00fata. And long ago I\nwas cursed by a hermit, angry because I had treated him with neglect,\nand I was doomed to live in the world of mortals until touched by\nyour hand. And my wife, who then abandoned the body because I had\nbeen cursed, has now been born again as Mrig\u00e1nkalekh\u00e1, and so has\nbefore been loved by me. And now I will go with you and obtain her\nonce more, for I have been purified by the touch of your hand, and\nmy curse is at an end.\" So said Amritatejas, the Vidy\u00e1dhara prince,\nas he travelled through the air with that female ascetic to the\nHim\u00e1layas. There he saw Mrig\u00e1nkalekh\u00e1 in a garden, and she saw him\ncoming, as he had been described by the female ascetic. Wonderful to\nsay, these lovers first entered one another's minds by the ears, and\nnow they entered them by the eyes, without ever having gone out again.\n\nThen that outspoken female ascetic said to Mrig\u00e1nkalekh\u00e1, \"Tell this\nto your father with a view to your marriage.\" She instantly went,\nwith a face downcast from modesty, and informed her father of all\nthrough her confidante. And it happened that her father also had been\ntold how to act by P\u00e1rvat\u00ed in a dream, so he received Amritatejas\ninto his palace with all due honour. And he bestowed Mrig\u00e1nkalekh\u00e1\non him with the prescribed ceremonies, and after he was married, he\nwent to the city of Vajrak\u00fata. There he got back his kingdom as well\nas his wife, and he had his father Kanak\u00e1ksha brought there, by means\nof the holy female ascetic, as he was a mortal, and he gratified him\nwith heavenly enjoyments and sent him back again to earth, and long\nenjoyed his prosperity with Mrig\u00e1nkalekh\u00e1.\n\n\"So you see that the destiny fixed for any creature in this world,\nby works in a former birth, falls as it were before his feet,\nand he attains it with ease, though apparently unattainable.\" When\nNarav\u00e1hanadatta heard this tale of Gomukha's, he was enabled to sleep\nthat night, though pining for Saktiyasas.\n\n\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER LXVI.\n\n\nThe next night Gomukha told the following story to Narav\u00e1hanadatta\nto amuse him.\n\nIn the holy place of Siva, called Dhanesvara, there lived long ago\na great hermit, who was waited upon by many pupils. He once said\nto his pupils, \"If any one of you has seen or heard in his life a\nstrange occurrence of any kind, let him relate it.\" When the hermit\nsaid this, a pupil said to him, \"Listen, I will tell a strange story\nwhich I once heard.\"\n\n\n\nStory of the mendicant who travelled from Kasm\u00edra to P\u00e1taliputra.\n\nThere is in Kasm\u00edra a famous holy place, sacred to Siva, called\nVijaya. In it there lived a certain mendicant, who was proud of his\nknowledge. He worshipped Siva, and prayed--\"May I be always victorious\nin controversy,\"--and thereupon he set out for P\u00e1taliputra to exhibit\nhis skill in dispute. And on the way he passed forests, rivers,\nand mountains, and having reached a certain forest, he became tired,\nand rested under a tree. And immediately he saw, as he was refreshing\nhimself in the cool breeze of the tank, a student of religion, who had\ncome there dusty with a long journey, with his staff and water-pot\nin his hand. When he sat down, the wandering mendicant asked him\nwhence he came and whither he was going. The student of religion\nanswered, \"I come from that seat of learning P\u00e1taliputra, and I am\ngoing to Kasm\u00edra to conquer the Pandits there in discussion. When the\nmendicant heard this speech of the religious student's, he thought,\n\"If I cannot conquer this one man who has left P\u00e1taliputra, how shall\nI manage to go and overcome the many who remain there?\"\n\nSo reflecting, he began to reproach that religious student, \"Tell me,\nreligious student, what is the meaning of this inconsistent conduct\non your part? How comes it that you are at the same time a religious\nstudent, eager for liberation, and a man afflicted with the madness of\ndisputatiousness? Do you seek to be delivered from the world by binding\nyourself with the conceit of controversy? You are quenching heat with\nfire, and removing the feeling of cold with snow; you are trying to\ncross the sea on a boat of stone; you are striving to put out a fire\nby fanning it. The virtue of Br\u00e1hmans is patience, that of Kshatriyas\nis the rescue of the distressed; the characteristic quality of one who\ndesires liberation is quietism; disputatiousness is said to be the\ncharacteristic of R\u00e1kshasas. Therefore a man who desires liberation\nmust be of a quiet temperament, putting away the pain arising from\nalternations of opposites, fearing the hindrances of the world. So\ncut down with the axe of quietism this tree of mundane existence,\nand do not water it with the water of controversial conceit.\" When he\nsaid this to the religious student, he was pleased, and bowed humbly\nbefore him, and saying, \"Be you my spiritual guide,\"--he departed by\nthe way that he came. And the mendicant remained, laughing, where\nhe was, at the foot of the tree, and then he heard from within it\nthe conversation of a Yaksha, who was joking with his wife. [145]\nAnd while the mendicant was listening, the Yaksha in sport struck\nhis wife with a garland of flowers, and she, like a cunning female,\npretended that she was dead, and immediately her attendants raised a\ncry of grief. And after a long time she opened her eyes, as if her\nlife had returned to her. Then the Yaksha her husband said to her;\n\"What have you seen?\" Then she told the following invented story;\n\"When you struck me with the garland, I saw a black man come, with\na noose in his hand, with flaming eyes, tall, with upstanding hair,\nterrible, darkening the whole horizon with his shadow. The ruffian took\nme to the abode of Yama, but his officers there turned him back, and\nmade him let me go.\" When the Yakshin\u00ed said this, the Yaksha laughed,\nand said to her, \"O dear! women cannot be free from deception in any\nthing that they do. Who ever died from being struck with flowers? Who\never returned from the house of Yama? You silly woman, you have\nimitated the tricks of the women of P\u00e1taliputra.\"\n\n\n\nStory of the wife of king Sinh\u00e1ksha, and the wives of his principal\ncourtiers.\n\nFor in that city there is a king named Sinh\u00e1ksha: and his wife, taking\nwith her the wives of his minister, commander-in-chief, chaplain,\nand physician, went once on the thirteenth day of the white fortnight\nto make a pilgrimage to the shrine of Sarasvat\u00ed, the protecting deity\nof that land. There they, queen and all, met on the way sick persons,\nhumpbacked, blind, and lame, and were thus implored by them, \"Give\nmedicine to us wretched diseased men, in order that we may be delivered\nfrom our infirmity; have mercy upon the distressed. For this world\nis wavering as a wave of the sea, transient as a flash of lightning,\nand its beauty is short-lived like that of a religious festival. So\nin this unreal world the only real thing is mercy to the wretched,\nand charity to the poor; it is only the virtuous person that can\nbe said truly to live. What is the use of giving to the rich or the\ncomfortable? [146] What does the cold moon profit a shivering man,\nor what is the use of a cloud when winter has arrived? So rescue us\nmiserable creatures from the affliction of sickness.\"\n\nWhen the queen and the other ladies had been thus supplicated by these\ndiseased persons, they said to one another; \"These poor afflicted men\nsay what is true, and to the point, so we must endeavour to restore\nthem to health even at the cost of all our substance.\" Then they\nworshipped the goddess, and each took one of those sick people to\nher own house, and, urging on their husbands, they had them treated\nwith the potent drugs of Mah\u00e1dev\u00ed, and they never left off watching\nthem. And from being always with them, they fell in love with them,\nand became so attached to them that they thought of nothing else in\nthe world. And their minds, bewildered with love, never reflected what\na difference there was between these wretched sick men and their own\nhusbands, the king and his chief courtiers.\n\nThen their husbands remarked that they had on them the marks of\nscratches and bites, due to their surprising intimacy with these\ninvalids. And the king, the commander-in-chief, the minister, the\nchaplain, and the physician talked of this to one another without\nreserve, but not without anxiety. Then the king said to the others,\n\"You keep quiet at present; I will question my wife dexterously.\" So\nhe dismissed them, and went to his private apartments, and assuming an\nexpression of affectionate anxiety, he said to his wife, \"Who bit you\non the lower lip? Who scratched you on the breast? If you tell me the\ntruth, it will be well with you, but not otherwise.\" When the queen was\nthus questioned by the king, she told him a fictitious tale, saying,\n\"Ill-fated that I am, I must tell this wonder, though it ought not to\nbe revealed. Every night a man, with a discus and club, comes out of\nthe painted wall, and does this to me, and disappears into it in the\nmorning. And though you, my husband, are alive, he reduces to this\nstate my body, which not even the sun or moon has ever beheld.\" When\nthe foolish king heard this story of hers, told with much semblance\nof grief, he believed it, and thought that it was all a trick played\nby Vishnu. And he told it to the minister and his other servants,\nand they, like blockheads, also believed that their wives had been\nvisited by Vishnu, and held their tongues.\n\n\"In this way wicked and cunning females, of bad character, by\nconcurring in one impossible story, deceive silly people, but I am\nnot such a fool as to be taken in.\" The Yaksha by saying this covered\nhis wife with confusion. And the mendicant at the foot of the tree\nheard it all. Then the mendicant folded his hands, and said to that\nYaksha, \"Reverend sir, I have arrived at your hermitage, and now\nI throw myself on your protection. So pardon my sin in overhearing\nwhat you have been saying.\" By thus speaking the truth he gained the\ngood will of the Yaksha. And the Yaksha said to him, \"I am a Yaksha,\nSarvasth\u00e1nagav\u00e1ta by name, and I am pleased with you. So choose a\nboon.\" Then the mendicant said to the Yaksha; \"Let this be my boon that\nyou will not be angry with this wife of yours.\" Then the Yaksha said,\n\"I am exceedingly pleased with you. This boon is already granted,\nso choose another.\" Then the mendicant said, \"Then this is my second\npetition, that from this day forward you and your wife will look\nupon me as a son.\" When the Yaksha heard this, he immediately became\nvisible to him with his wife, and said, \"I consent, my son, we regard\nyou as our own child. And owing to our favour you shall never suffer\ncalamity. And you shall be invincible in disputation, altercation,\nand gambling.\" When the Yaksha had said this, he disappeared, and the\nmendicant worshipped him, and after spending the night there, he went\non to P\u00e1taliputra. Then he announced to king Sinh\u00e1ksha, by the mouth\nof the doorkeeper, that he was a disputant come from Kasm\u00edra. And\nthe king permitted him to enter the hall of assembly, and there he\ntauntingly challenged the learned men to dispute with him. And after he\nhad conquered them all by virtue of the boon of the Yaksha, he again\ntaunted them in the presence of the king in these words: \"I ask you\nto explain this. What is the meaning of this statement, 'A man with a\ndiscus and mace comes out of the painted wall, and bites my lower lip,\nand scratches my chest, and then disappears in the wall again.' Give\nme an answer.\" [147] When the learned men heard his riddle, as they\ndid not know the real reference, they gave no answer, but looked at\none another's faces. Then the king Sinh\u00e1ksha himself said to him,\n\"Explain to us yourself the meaning of what you said.\" Thereupon\nthe mendicant told the king of the deceitful behaviour of his wife,\nwhich he had heard about from the Yaksha. And he said to the king,\n\"So a man should never become attached to women, which will only\nresult in his knowing wickedness.\" The king was delighted with the\nmendicant, and wished to give him his kingdom. But the mendicant,\nwho was ardently attached to his own native land, would not take\nit. Then the king honoured him with a rich present of jewels. The\nmendicant took the jewels and returned to his native land of Kasm\u00edra,\nand there by the favour of the Yaksha he lived in great comfort.\n\nWhen Gomukha had said this, he remarked, \"So strange are these actions\nof bad women, and the dispensations of Providence, and the conduct of\nmankind. Now hear this story of another woman who killed eleven. [148]\n\n\n\nStory of the woman who had eleven husbands.\n\nThere was in M\u00e1lava a certain householder, who lived in a village. He\nhad born to him a daughter, who had two or three elder brothers. Now,\nas soon as she was born her mother died, and a few days after one of\nthe man's sons died. And then his brother was gored by an ox and died\nof it. So the householder named his daughter, \"Three-slayer,\" because\nowing to the birth of this ill-omened girl three had met their death.\n\nIn course of time she grew up, and then the son of a rich man, who\nlived in that village, asked her in marriage, and her father gave\nher to him with the usual rejoicings. She lived for some time with\nthat husband, but he soon died. In a few days the fickle woman took\nanother husband. And the second husband met his death in a short\ntime. Then, led astray by her youthful feelings, she took a third\nhusband. And the third husband of this husband-slayer died like the\nothers. In this way she lost ten husbands in succession. So she got\naffixed to her by way of ridicule the name of \"Ten-slayer.\" Then\nher father was ashamed and would not let her take another husband,\nand she remained in her father's house avoided by people. But one day\na handsome young traveller entered it, and was allowed by her father\nto stop as his guest for a night. When Ten-slayer saw him, she fell\nin love with him, and when he looked at that charming young woman,\nhe too was captivated. Then Love robbed her of her modesty, and she\nsaid to her father, \"I choose this traveller as one husband more;\nif he dies I will then take a vow.\" She said this in the hearing of\nthe traveller, but her father answered her, \"Do not think of such a\nthing, it is too disgraceful; you have lost ten husbands, and if this\none dies too, people will laugh consumedly. When the traveller heard\nthis, he abandoned all reserve, and said, \"No chance of my dying,\nI have lost ten wives one after another. So we are on a par; I swear\nthat it is so by the touch of the feet of Siva.\" When the traveller\nsaid this, every body was astonished. And the villagers assembled, and\nwith one consent gave permission to Ten-slayer to marry the traveller,\nand she took him for her husband. And she lived some time with him,\nbut at last he was seized with an ague and died. Then she was called\n\"Eleven-slayer,\" and even the stones could not help laughing at her:\nso she betook herself in despondency to the bank of the Ganges and\nlived the life of an ascetic.\n\n\n\nThe story of the man, who, thanks to Durg\u00e1, had always one ox.\n\nWhen Gomukha had told this amusing story, he went on to say--\"Hear\nalso the story of the man who subsisted on one ox.\"\n\nThere was a certain poor householder in a certain village; and the\nonly wealth he had in his house was one ox. He was so mean-spirited\nthat, though his family was on the point of perishing for want of food,\nand he himself had to fast, he could not make up his mind to part with\nthat ox. But he went to the shrine of Durg\u00e1 in the Vindhya hills, and\nthrowing himself down on a bed of darbha-grass, he performed asceticism\nwithout taking food, in order that he might obtain wealth. The goddess\nsaid to him in a dream, \"Rise up; your wealth shall always consist of\none ox, and by selling it you shall live in perpetual comfort.\" So\nthe next morning he woke, and got up, took some food, and returned\nto his house. But even then he had not strength of mind to sell that\nox, for he thought that, if he sold it, he would have nothing left\nin the world, and be unable to live. Then, as, thin with fasting,\nhe told his dream with reference to the command of the goddess, a\ncertain intelligent friend said to him, \"The goddess told you that\nyou should always have one ox, and that you should live by selling it,\nso why did you not, foolish man, obey the command of the goddess? So,\nsell this ox, and support your family. When you have sold this one,\nyou will get another, and then another.\" The villager, on receiving\nthis suggestion from his friend, did so. And he received ox after ox,\nand lived in perpetual comfort by selling them.\n\n\"So you see, Destiny produces fruit for every man according to his\nresolution. So a man should be resolute; good fortune does not select\nfor favour a man wanting in resolution. Hear now this story of the\ncunning rogue who passed himself off as a minister.\"\n\n\n\nStory of the rogue who managed to acquire wealth by speaking to the\nking. [149]\n\nThere was a certain king in a city in the Dekkan. In that city there\nwas a rogue who lived by imposing upon others. And one day he said\nto himself, being too ambitious to be satisfied with small gains;\n\"Of what use to me is this petty rascality, which only provides me\nwith subsistence? Why should I not do a stroke of business which would\nbring me great prosperity?\" Having thus reflected, he dressed himself\nsplendidly as a merchant, and went to the palace-gate and accosted\nthe warder. And he introduced him into the king's presence, and he\noffered a complimentary gift, and said to the king, \"I wish to speak\nwith your Majesty in private.\" The king was imposed upon by his dress,\nand much influenced in his favour by the present, so he granted him a\nprivate interview, and then the rogue said to him, \"Will your Majesty\nhave the goodness every day, in the hall of assembly, to take me aside\nfor a moment in the sight of all, and speak to me in private? And as\nan acknowledgment of that favour I will give your Majesty every day\nfive hundred d\u00edn\u00e1rs, and I do not ask for any gift in return.\" When\nthe king heard that, he thought to himself, \"What harm can it do? What\ndoes he take away from me? On the contrary he is to give me d\u00edn\u00e1rs\nevery day. What disgrace is there in carrying on a conversation with\na great merchant?\" So the king consented, and did as he requested,\nand the rogue gave the king the d\u00edn\u00e1rs as he had promised, and the\npeople thought that he had obtained the position of a Cabinet Minister.\n\nNow one day the rogue, while he was talking with the king, kept\nlooking again and again at the face of one official with a significant\nexpression. And after he came out, that official asked him why he\nhad looked at his face so, and the rogue was ready with this fiction;\n\"The king is angry because he supposes that you have been plundering\nhis realm. This is why I looked at your face, but I will appease\nhis anger.\" When the sham minister said this, the official went home\nin a state of anxiety, and sent him a thousand gold pieces. And the\nnext day the rogue talked in the same way with the king, and then he\ncame out and said to the official, who came towards him; \"I appeased\nthe king's anger against you with some judicious words. Cheer up;\nI will now stand by you in all emergencies.\" Thus he artfully made\nhim his friend, and then dismissed him, and then the official waited\nupon him with all kinds of presents.\n\nThus gradually this dexterous rogue, by means of his continual\nconversations with the king, and by many artifices, extracted from the\nofficials, the subordinate monarchs, the R\u00e1jp\u00fats, and the servants,\nso much wealth, that he amassed altogether fifty millions of gold\npieces. Then the scoundrelly sham minister said in secret to the king,\n\"Though I have given you every day five hundred d\u00edn\u00e1rs, nevertheless,\nby the favour of your Highness, I have amassed fifty millions of\ngold pieces. So have the goodness to accept of this gold. What have\nI to do with it?\" Then he told the king his whole stratagem. But it\nwas with difficulty that the king could be induced to take half the\nmoney. Then he gave him the post of a Cabinet Minister, and the rogue,\nhaving obtained riches and position, kept complimenting the people\nwith entertainments.\n\n\"Thus a wise man obtains great wealth without committing a very great\ncrime, and when he has gained the advantage, he atones for his fault\nin the same way as a man who digs a well.\" Then Gomukha went on to\nsay to the prince; \"Listen now to this one story, though you are\nexcited about your approaching marriage.\"\n\n\n\nStory of Ratnarekh\u00e1 and Lakshm\u00edsena.\n\nThere lived in a city, named Ratn\u00e1kara, a king, named Buddhiprabha,\nwho was a very lion to the infuriated elephant-herd of his enemies, and\nthere was born to him by his queen, named Ratnarekh\u00e1, a daughter, named\nHemaprabh\u00e1, the most beautiful woman in the whole world. And since she\nwas a Vidy\u00e1dhar\u00ed, that had fallen to earth by a curse, she was fond\nof amusing herself by swinging, on account of the pleasure that she\nfelt in recalling the impressions of her roaming through the air in\nher former existence. Her father forbade her, being afraid that she\nwould fall, but she did not desist, so her father was angry and gave\nher a slap. The princess was angry at receiving so great an indignity,\nand wishing to retire to the forest, she went to a garden outside\nthe city, on the pretence of amusing herself. She made her servants\ndrunk with wine, and roaming on, she entered a dense tree-jungle,\nand got out of their sight. And she went alone to a distant forest,\nand there she built herself a hut, and remained feeding on roots and\nfruits, engaged in the adoration of Siva. As for her father, he found\nout that she had fled to some place or other, and made search for\nher, but did not find her. Then he fell into great grief. And after\nsome time the king's grief abated a little, so he went out hunting to\ndistract his mind. And, as it happened, that king Buddhiprabha went\nto that distant forest, in which his daughter Hemaprabh\u00e1 was engaged\nin ascetic practices. There the king saw her hut, and he went into it,\nand unexpectedly beheld there his own daughter emaciated with ascetic\npractices. And she, when she saw him, rose up at once and embraced\nhis feet, and her father embraced her with tears and seated her on\nhis lap. And seeing one another again after so long a separation,\nthey wept so that even the eyes of the deer in the forest gushed with\ntears. Then the king at last comforted his daughter, and said to her,\n\"Why did you abandon, my daughter, the happiness of a palace, and act\nthus? So come back to your mother, and give up this forest.\" When\nher father said this to her, Hemaprabh\u00e1 answered him, \"I have been\ncommanded by the god to act thus. What choice have I in the matter? So\nI will not return to the palace to indulge in pleasure, and I will\nnot abandon the joys of asceticism.\" When the king discovered from\nthis speech of hers that she would not abandon her intention, he had\na palace made for her in that very forest. And when he returned to\nhis capital, he sent her every day cooked food and wealth, for the\nentertainment of her guests. And Hemaprabh\u00e1 remained in the forest,\nhonouring her guests with wealth and jewels, while she lived herself\non roots and fruits.\n\nNow one day there came to the hermitage of that princess a female\nmendicant, who was roaming about, having observed a vow of chastity\nfrom her earliest youth. This lady, who had been a mendicant from\nher childhood, was honoured by Hemaprabh\u00e1, and when asked by her the\nreason why she took the vow, she answered, \"Once, when I was a girl,\nI was shampooing my father's feet, and my eyes closed in sleep,\nand I let my hands drop. Then my father gave me a kick, and said,\n'Why do you go to sleep?' And I was so angry at that that I left his\nhouse and became a mendicant.\" Then Hemaprabh\u00e1 was so delighted with\nthe female mendicant, on account of the resemblance of her character\nto her own, that she made her share her forest life. And one morning\nshe said to that friend; \"My friend, I remember that I crossed in my\ndreams a broad river, then I mounted a white elephant, after that\nI ascended a mountain, and there I saw in a hermitage the holy god\nSiva. And having obtained a lyre, I sang and played on it before him,\nand then I saw a man of celestial appearance approach. When I saw\nhim, I flew up into the sky with you, and when I had seen so much,\nI awoke, and lo! the night was at an end.\" When the friend heard\nthis, she said to Hemaprabh\u00e1, \"Undoubtedly, auspicious girl, you\nmust be some heavenly being born on earth in consequence of a curse;\nand this dream means that your curse is nearly at an end.\" When the\nprincess heard this speech of her friend's, she received it with joy.\n\nAnd when the sun, the lamp of the world, had mounted high in\nthe heaven, there came there a certain prince on horseback. When\nhe saw Hemaprabh\u00e1 dressed as an ascetic, he dismounted from his\nhorse, and conceiving admiration for her, he went and saluted her\nrespectfully. She, for her part, entertained him, and made him take a\nseat, and feeling love for him, said, \"Who are you, noble sir?\" Then\nthe prince said, \"Noble lady, there is a king of auspicious name,\ncalled Prat\u00e1pasena. He was once going through a course of asceticism\nto propitiate Siva, with the view of obtaining a son. And that merciful\ngod appeared to him, and said, 'Thou shalt obtain one son, who shall be\nan incarnation of a Vidy\u00e1dhara, and he, when his curse is at an end,\nshall return to his own world. And thou shalt have a second son, who\nshall continue thy race and uphold thy realm.' When Siva said this\nto him, he rose up in high spirits, and took food. Then he had one\nson born to him, named Lakshm\u00edsena, and in course of time a second,\nnamed S\u00farasena. Know, lovely one, that I am that same Lakshm\u00edsena,\nand that to-day when I went out to hunt, my horse, swift as the wind,\nran away with me and brought me here.\" Then he asked her history,\nand she told it him, and thereupon she remembered her former birth,\nand was very much elated, and said to him, \"Now that I have seen you, I\nhave remembered my birth and the sciences which I knew as a Vidy\u00e1dhar\u00ed,\n[150] for I and this friend of mine here are both Vidy\u00e1dhar\u00eds, that\nhave been sent down to earth by a curse. And you were my husband,\nand your minister was the husband of this friend of mine. And now\nthat curse of me and of my friend has lost its power. We shall all\nmeet again in the world of Vidy\u00e1dharas.\" Then she and her friend\nassumed divine forms and flew up to heaven, and went to their own\nworld. But Lakshm\u00edsena stood for a moment lost in wonder, and then\nhis minister arrived tracking his course. While the prince was\ntelling the whole story to him, king Buddhiprabha arrived, anxious\nto see his daughter. When he could not see his daughter, but found\nLakshm\u00edsena there, he asked for news of her, and Lakshm\u00edsena told him\nwhat had happened. Then Buddhiprabha was cast down, but Lakshm\u00edsena\nand his minister remembered their former existence, their curse\nhaving spent its force, and they went to their own world through\nthe air. He recovered his wife Hemaprabh\u00e1 and returned with her,\nand then taking leave of Buddhiprabha, he went to his own town. And\nhe went with his minister, who had recovered his wife, and told their\nadventures to his father Prat\u00e1pasena, who bestowed on him his kingdom\nas his successor by right of birth. But he gave it to his younger\nbrother S\u00farasena, and returned to his own city in the country of the\nVidy\u00e1dharas. There Lakshm\u00edsena, united with his consort Hemaprabh\u00e1,\nand assisted by his minister, long enjoyed the delights of sovereignty\nover the Vidy\u00e1dharas.\n\nBy hearing these stories told one after another by Gomukha,\nNarav\u00e1hanadatta, though he was excited about his approaching marriage\nwith his new wife Saktiyasas, spent that night as if it were a\nmoment. In this way the prince whiled away the days, until the day of\nhis marriage arrived, when, as he was in the presence of his father\nthe king of Vatsa, he suddenly saw the army of the Vidy\u00e1dharas descend\nfrom heaven, gleaming like gold. And he saw, in the midst of them,\nSphatikayasas the king of the Vidy\u00e1dharas, who had come out of love,\nholding the hand of his dear daughter, whom he wished to bestow on\nthe prince, and he joyfully went towards him, and saluted him by\nthe title of father-in-law, after his father had first entertained\nhim with the arghya and other usual ceremonies. And the king of the\nVidy\u00e1dharas stated the object of his coming, and immediately created\na display of heavenly magnificence becoming his high position, and\nby the might of his supernatural power loaded the prince with jewels,\nand then bestowed on him in due form his daughter previously promised\nto him. And Narav\u00e1hanadatta, having obtained that Saktiyasas, the\ndaughter of the king of the Vidy\u00e1dharas, was resplendent as the lotus\nafter collecting the rays of the sun. Then Sphatikayasas departed,\nand the son of the king of Vatsa remained in the city of Kaus\u00e1mb\u00ed,\nwith his eyes fixed on the face of Saktiyasas, as the bee clings to\nthe lotus.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nBOOK XI.\n\n\nCHAPTER LXVII.\n\n\nHonour to the elephant-headed god who averts all hindrances, who is the\ncause of every success, who ferries us over the sea of difficulties.\n\nThus Narav\u00e1hanadatta obtained Saktiyasas, and besides he had those\nwives he married before, Ratnaprabh\u00e1 and others, and his consort\nthe head wife Madanamanchuk\u00e1, and with them and his friends he led\na happy life at the court of his father in Kaus\u00e1mb\u00ed.\n\n\n\nStory of the race between the elephant and the horses.\n\nAnd one day, when he was in the garden, two brothers, who were princes,\nand who had come from a foreign land, suddenly paid him a visit. He\nreceived them cordially, and they bowed before him, and one of them\nsaid to him; \"We are the sons by different mothers of a king in the\ncity of Vais\u00e1kha. My name is Ruchiradeva and the name of this brother\nof mine is Potraka. I have a swift female elephant, and he has two\nhorses. And a dispute has arisen between us about them; I say that\nthe elephant is the fleetest, he maintains that his horses are both\nfleeter. I have agreed that if I lose the race, I am to surrender the\nelephant, but if he loses, he is to give me both his horses. Now no\none but you is fit to be a judge of their relative speed, so come\nto my house, my lord, and preside over this trial. Accede to our\nrequest. For you are the wishing-tree that grants all petitions,\nand we have come from afar to petition you about this matter.\"\n\nWhen the prince received this invitation from Ruchiradeva, he\nconsented out of good nature, and out of the interest he took in the\nelephant and the horses. He set out in a chariot drawn by swift horses,\nwhich the brothers had brought, and he reached with them that city of\nVais\u00e1kha. When he entered that splendid city, the ladies, bewildered\nand excited, beheld him with eyes the lashes of which were turned up,\nand made these comments on him; \"Who can this be! Can it be the god of\nLove new-created from his ashes without Rati? Or a second moon roaming\nthrough the heaven without a spot on its surface? Or an arrow of desire\nmade by the Creator, in the form of a man, for the sudden complete\noverthrow of the female heart.\" Then the king beheld the all-lovely\ntemple of the god of Love, whose worship had been established there\nby men of old time. He entered and worshipped that god, the source of\nsupreme felicity, and rested for a moment, and shook off the fatigue\nof the journey. Then he entered as a friend the house of Ruchiradeva,\nwhich was near that temple, and was honoured by being made to walk\nin front of him. He was delighted at the sight of that magnificent\npalace, full of splendid horses and elephants, which was in a state\nof rejoicing on account of his visit. There he was entertained with\nvarious hospitalities by Ruchiradeva, and there he beheld his sister\nof splendid beauty. His mind and his eyes were so captivated by her\nglorious beauty, that he forgot all about his absence from home and\nhis separation from his family. She too threw lovingly upon him her\nexpanded eye, which resembled a garland of full blown blue lotuses,\nand so chose him as her husband. [151] Her name was Jayendrasen\u00e1,\nand he thought so much upon her that the goddess of sleep did not\ntake possession of him at night, much less did other females. [152]\n\nThe next day Potraka brought that pair of horses equal to the wind\nin swiftness; but Ruchiradeva, who was skilled in all the secrets of\nthe art of driving, himself mounted the female elephant, and partly\nby the animal's natural speed, partly by his dexterity in urging it\non, beat them in the race. When Ruchiradeva had beaten those two\nsplendid horses, the son of the king of Vatsa entered the palace,\nand at that very moment arrived a messenger from his father. The\nmessenger, when he saw the prince, fell at his feet, and said; \"The\nking, hearing from your retinue that you have come here, has sent me\nto you with this message. 'How comes it that you have gone so far from\nthe garden without letting me know? I am impatient for your return,\nso abandon the diversion that occupies your attention, and return\nquickly.'\" When he heard this message from his father's messenger,\nNarav\u00e1hanadatta, who was also intent on obtaining the object of his\nflame, was in a state of perplexity.\n\nAnd at that very moment a merchant, in a great state of delight, came,\nbowing at a distance, and praised that prince, saying, \"Victory to\nthee, O thou god of love without the flowery bow! Victory to thee,\nO Lord, the future emperor of the Vidy\u00e1dharas! Wast thou not seen to\nbe charming as a boy, and when growing up, the terror of thy foes? So\nsurely the gods shall behold thee like Vishnu, striding victorious\nover the heaven, conquering Bali.\" With these and other praises the\ngreat merchant magnified the prince; then having been honoured by him,\nhe proceeded at his request to tell the story of his life.\n\n\n\nStory of the merchant and his wife Vel\u00e1.\n\nThere is a city called Lamp\u00e1, the crown of the earth; in it there\nwas a rich merchant named Kusumas\u00e1ra. I, prince of Vatsa, am the son\nof that merchant, who lives and moves in religion, and I was gained\nby the propitiation of Siva. Once on a time I went with my friends\nto witness a procession of idols, and I saw other rich men giving\nto beggars. Then I formed the design of acquiring wealth to give\naway, as I was not satisfied with the vast fortune accumulated by my\nfather. So I embarked in a ship, laden with many jewels, to go across\nthe sea to another country. And my ship, impelled by a favorable\nwind, as if by fate, reached that island in a few days. There the\nking found out that I was an unknown man dealing in valuable jewels,\nand out of avarice he threw me into prison. While I was remaining\nin that prison, which resembled hell, on account of its being full\nof howling criminals, suffering from hunger and thirst, like wicked\nghosts, a merchant, named Mah\u00eddhara, a resident in that town, who knew\nmy family, went and interceded with the king on my behalf, and said;\n\"King, this is the son of a great merchant, who lives in the city of\nLamp\u00e1, and, as he is innocent, it is not creditable to your majesty\nto keep him in prison.\" On his making representations of this kind,\nthe king ordered me to be released from prison, and summoned me into\nhis presence, and honoured me with a courteous reception. So, by the\nfavour of the king and the support of that merchant, I remained there\ndoing a splendid business.\n\nOne day I saw, at a spring festival in a garden, a handsome girl,\nthe daughter of a merchant named Sikhara. I was quite carried off\nmy feet by her, who was like a wave of the sea of Love's insolence,\nand when I found out who she was, I demanded her in marriage from her\nfather. Her father reflected for a moment, and at last said to me;\n\"I cannot give her to you myself, there is a reason for my not doing\nso. But I will send her to her grandfather by the mother's side,\nin the island of Ceylon; go there and ask for her again, and marry\nher. And I will send her there with such instructions that your suit\nwill certainly be accepted.\" When Sikhara had said this, and had\npaid me the usual courtesies, he dismissed me to my own house. And\nthe next day he put the maiden on board ship, with her attendants,\nand sent her to the island of Ceylon, across the sea.\n\nI was preparing with the utmost eagerness to go there, when this\nrumour, which was terrible as a lightning-stroke, was spread abroad\nwhere I was; \"The ship, in which the daughter of Sikhara started,\nhas gone to pieces in the open sea, and not a soul has been saved\nout of it.\" That report altogether broke down my self-command, and\nbeing anxious about the ship, I suddenly fell into a hopeless sea of\ndespondency. So I, though comforted by my elders, made up my mind to\nthrow away my property and prospects, and I determined to go to that\nisland to ascertain the truth. Then, though patronized by the king\nand loaded with all manner of wealth, I embarked in a ship on the sea\nand set out. Then a terrible pirate, in the form of a cloud, suddenly\narose against me as I was pursuing my course, and discharged at me\npattering drops of rain, like showers of arrows. The contrary wind,\nwhich it brought with it, tossed my ship to and fro like powerful\ndestiny, and at last broke it up. My attendants and my wealth were\nwhelmed in the sea, but I myself, when I fell into the water, laid\nhold of a large spar. [153] By the help of this, which seemed like\nan arm suddenly extended to me by the Creator, I managed to reach\nthe shore of the sea, being slowly drifted there by the wind. I\nclimbed up upon it in great affliction, exclaiming against destiny,\nand suddenly I found a little gold which had been left by accident\nin an out-of-the-way part of the shore. I sold it in a neighbouring\nvillage, and bought with it food and other necessaries, and after\npurchasing a couple of garments, I gradually began to get over to a\ncertain extent the fatigue produced by my immersion in the sea.\n\nThen I wandered about, not knowing my way, separated from my beloved,\nand I saw the ground full of lingas of Siva formed of sand. And\ndaughters of hermits were wandering about among them. And in one place\nI saw a maiden engaged in worshipping a linga, who was beautiful,\nalthough dressed in the garb of a dweller in the forest. I began\nto think, \"This girl is wonderfully like my beloved. Can she be my\nbeloved herself? But how comes it, that I am so lucky as to find her\nhere?\" And while these thoughts were passing in my mind, my right eye\nthrobbed frequently, as if with joy, [154] and told me that it was no\nother than she. And I said to her, \"Fair one, you are fitted to dwell\nin a palace, how comes it that you are here in the forest?\" But she\ngave me no answer. Then, through fear of being cursed by a hermit,\nI stood concealed by a bower of creepers, looking at her with an eye\nthat could not have enough. And after she had performed her worship,\nshe went slowly away from the spot, as if thinking over something,\nand frequently turned round to look at me with loving eye. When\nshe had gone out of sight, the whole horizon seemed to be obscured\nwith darkness as I looked at it, and I was in a strange state of\nperturbation like the Brahmany drake at night.\n\nAnd immediately I beheld the daughter of the hermit M\u00e1tanga,\nwho appeared unexpectedly. She was in brightness like the sun,\nsubject to a vow of chastity from her earliest youth, with body\nemaciated by penance, she possessed divine insight, and was of\nauspicious countenance like Resignation incarnate. She said to me,\n\"Chandras\u00e1ra, call up all your patience and listen. There is a great\nmerchant in another island named Sikhara. When a lovely girl was\nborn to him, he was told by a mendicant, his friend, who possessed\nsupernatural insight, and whose name was Jinarakshita, [155]\n'You must not give away this maiden yourself, for she has another\nmother. You would commit a crime in giving her away yourself, such\nis the righteous prescription of the law.' Since the mendicant had\ntold him this, the merchant wished to give his daughter, when she was\nof marriageable age, and you asked her hand, to you, by the agency\nof her maternal grandfather. Then she was sent off on a voyage to\nher maternal grandfather in the island of Ceylon, but the vessel was\nwrecked, and she fell into the sea. And as she was fated not to die,\na great wave brought her here like destiny, and flung her up upon\nthe shore. Just at that time my father, the hermit M\u00e1tanga, came to\nthe sea to bathe with his disciples, and saw her almost dead. He,\nbeing of compassionate nature, brought her round, and took her to his\nhermitage, and entrusted her to me saying--'Yamun\u00e1, you must cherish\nthis girl.' And because he found her on the shore (vel\u00e1) of the sea,\nhe called the girl, who was beloved by all the hermits, Vel\u00e1. And\nthough I have renounced the world by a vow of perpetual chastity,\nit still impedes my soul, on account of my affection for her, in the\nform of love and tenderness for offspring. And my mind is grieved,\nChandras\u00e1ra, as often as I look upon her, unmarried, though in the\nbloom of youth and beauty. Moreover she was your wife in a former\nlife. So knowing, my son, by the power of my meditation that you had\ncome here, I have come to meet you. Now follow me and marry that Vel\u00e1,\nwhom I will bestow on you. Let the sufferings, which you have both\nendured, produce fruits of happiness.\"\n\nSpeaking thus, the saintly woman refreshed me with her voice as with\ncloudless rain, and then she took me to the hermitage of her father,\nthe great hermit M\u00e1tanga. And at her request the hermit bestowed on\nme that Vel\u00e1, like the happiness of the kingdom of the imagination\nincarnate in bodily form. But one day, as I was living happily\nwith Vel\u00e1, I commenced a splashing match with her in the water of a\ntank. And I and Vel\u00e1, not seeing the hermit M\u00e1tanga, who had come there\nto bathe, sprinkled him inopportunely with some of the water which we\nthrew. That annoyed him, and he denounced a curse on me and my wife,\nsaying, \"You shall be separated, you wicked couple.\" Then Vel\u00e1 clung\nto his knees, and asked him with plaintive voice to appoint a period\nfor the duration of our curse, and he, after thinking, fixed its end\nas follows, \"When thou shalt behold at a distance Narav\u00e1hanadatta\nthe future mighty emperor of the Vidy\u00e1dharas, who shall beat with\na swift elephant a pair of fleet horses, then thy curse shall be at\nan end, and thou shalt be re-united with thy wife.\" When the rishi\nM\u00e1tanga had said this, he performed the ceremony of bathing and other\nceremonies, and went to Svetadv\u00edpa through the air, to visit the\nshrine of Vishnu. And Yamun\u00e1 said to me and my wife--\"I give you now\nthat shoe covered with valuable jewels, which a Vidy\u00e1dhara long ago\nobtained, when it had slipped off from Siva's foot, and which I seized\nin childish sport.\" Thereupon Yamun\u00e1 also went to Svetadv\u00edpa. Then\nI having obtained my beloved, and being disgusted with dwelling in\nthe forest, through fear of being separated from my wife, felt a\ndesire to return to my own country. And setting out for my native\nland, I reached the shore of the sea; and finding a trading vessel,\nI put my wife on board, and was preparing to go on board myself,\nwhen the wind, conspiring with the hermit's curse, carried off that\nship to a distance. When the ship carried off my wife before my eyes,\nmy whole nature was stunned by the shock, and distraction seemed\nto have found an opening in me, and broke into me and robbed me of\nconsciousness. Then an ascetic came that way, and seeing me insensible,\nhe compassionately brought me round and took me to his hermitage. There\nhe asked me the whole story, and when he found out that it was the\nconsequence of a curse, and that the curse was to end, he animated\nme with resolution to bear up. Then I found an excellent friend, a\nmerchant, who had escaped from his ship that had foundered in the sea,\nand I set out with him in search of my beloved. And supported by the\nhope of the termination of the curse, I wandered through many lands and\nlasted out many days, until I finally reached this city of Vais\u00e1kha,\nand heard that you, the jewel of the noble family of the king of Vatsa,\nhad come here. Then I saw you from a distance beat that pair of swift\nhorses with the female elephant, and the weight of the curse fell from\nme, and I felt my heart lightened. [156] And immediately I saw that\ndear Vel\u00e1 coming to meet me, whom the good merchants had brought in\ntheir ship. Then I was re-united with my wife, who had with her the\njewels bestowed by Yamun\u00e1, and having by your favour crossed the ocean\nof separation, I came here, prince of Vatsa, to pay you my respects,\nand I will now set out cheerfully for my native land with my wife.\n\nWhen that excellent merchant Chandras\u00e1ra, who had accomplished his\nobject, had gone, after prostrating himself before the prince, and\ntelling his story, Ruchiradeva, pleased at beholding the greatness of\nhis guest, was still more obsequious to him. And in addition to the\nelephant and the pair of horses, he gave his sister, making the duty of\nhospitality an excuse for doing so, to the prince who was captivated\nby her beauty. She was a good match for the prince, and her brother\nhad long desired to bestow her upon him in marriage. Narav\u00e1hanadatta\nthen took leave of Ruchiradeva, and with his new wife, the elephant,\nand the two horses, returned to the city of Kaus\u00e1mb\u00ed. And he remained\nthere, gladdening his father with his presence, living happily with\nher and his other wives, of whom Madanamanchuk\u00e1 was the chief.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nBOOK XII.\n\n\nCHAPTER LXVIII.\n\n\nMay Ganesa protect you, who, when he sports, throws up his trunk,\nround which plays a continual swarm of bees, like a triumphal pillar\ncovered with letters, erected on account of the overthrow of obstacles!\n\nWe worship Siva, who, though free from the hue of passion, abounds in\ncolours, the skilful painter who is ever producing new and wonderful\ncreations. Victorious are the arrows of the god of love, for, when\nthey descend, though they are made of flowers, the thunderbolt and\nother weapons are blunted in the hands of those who bear them.\n\nSo the son of the king of Vatsa remained in Kaus\u00e1mb\u00ed, having obtained\nwife after wife. But though he had so many wives, he ever cherished the\nhead queen Madanamanchuk\u00e1 more than his own life, as Krishna cherishes\nRukmin\u00ed. But one night he saw in a dream that a heavenly maiden came\nand carried him off. And when he awoke, he found himself on a slab\nof the t\u00e1rkshya gem, on the plateau of a great hill, a place full of\nshady trees. And he saw that maiden near him, illuminating the wood,\nthough it was night, [157] like a herb used by the god of love for\nbewildering the world. He thought that she had brought him there,\nand he perceived that modesty made her conceal her real feelings;\nso the cunning prince pretended to be asleep, and in order to test\nher, he said, as if talking in his sleep, \"Where are you, my dear\nMadanamanchuk\u00e1? Come and embrace me.\" When she heard it, she profited\nby his suggestion, and assumed the form of his wife, and embraced\nhim without the restraint of modesty. Then he opened his eyes, and\nbeholding her in the form of his wife, he said, \"O how intelligent you\nare!\" and smiling threw his arms round her neck. Then she dismissed all\nshame, and exhibiting herself in her real shape, she said--\"Receive,\nmy husband, this maiden, who chooses you for her own.\" And when she\nsaid that, he married her by the G\u00e1ndharva form of marriage.\n\nBut next morning he said to her, by way of an artifice to discover\nher lineage, about which he felt curious; \"Listen, my dear, I will\ntell you a wonderful story.\"\n\n\n\nStory of the jackal that was turned into an elephant.\n\nThere lived in a certain wood of ascetics a hermit, named Brahmasiddhi,\nwho possessed by meditation supernatural power, and near his hermitage\nthere was an old female jackal dwelling in a cave. One day it was\ngoing out to find food, having been unable to find any for some time\non account of bad weather, when a male elephant, furious on account of\nits separation from its female, rushed towards it to kill it. When the\nhermit saw that, being compassionate as well as endowed with magical\npower, he turned the female jackal into a female elephant, by way of a\nkindness, to please both. Then the male elephant, beholding a female,\nceased to be furious, and became attached to her, and so she escaped\ndeath. Then, as he was roaming about with the jackal transformed into\na female elephant, he entered a tank full of the mud produced by the\nautumn rains, to crop a lotus. He sank in the mud there, and could not\nmove, but remained motionless, like a mountain that has fallen owing\nto its wings having been cut off by the thunderbolt. When the female\nelephant, that was before a jackal, saw the male in this distress,\nshe went off that moment and followed another male elephant. Then\nit happened that the elephant's own mate, that he had lost, came\nthat way in search of her spouse. The noble creature, seeing her\nhusband sinking in the mud, entered the mud of the tank in order to\njoin him. At that moment the hermit Brahmasiddhi came that way with\nhis disciples, and was moved with pity when he saw that pair. And\nhe bestowed by his power great strength on his disciples, and made\nthem extricate the male and female from the mud. Then the hermit went\naway, and that couple of elephants, having been delivered both from\nseparation and death, roamed where they would.\n\n\"So you see, my dear, that even animals, if they are of a noble strain,\ndo not desert a lord or friend in calamity, but rescue him from it. But\nas for those which are of low origin, they are of fickle nature, and\ntheir hearts are never moved by noble feelings or affection.\" When\nthe prince of Vatsa said this, the heavenly maiden said to him--\"It\nis so, there can be no doubt about this. But I know what your real\nobject is in telling me this tale; so in return, my husband, hear\nthis tale from me.\"\n\n\n\nStory of V\u00e1madatta and his wicked wife.\n\nThere was an excellent Br\u00e1hman in K\u00e1nyakubja, named S\u00faradatta,\npossessor of a hundred villages, respected by the king B\u00e1husakti. And\nhe had a devoted wife, named Vasumat\u00ed, and by her he begot a\nhandsome son, named V\u00e1madatta. V\u00e1madatta, the darling of his father,\nwas instructed in all the sciences, and soon married a wife, of the\nname of Sasiprabh\u00e1. In course of time his father went to heaven,\nand his wife followed him, [158] and the son undertook with his wife\nthe duties of a householder. But without his knowledge his wife was\naddicted to following her lusts, and by some chance or other she\nbecame a witch possessed of magical powers. [159]\n\nOne day, when the Br\u00e1hman was in the king's camp, engaged in his\nservice, his paternal uncle came and said to him in secret, \"Nephew,\nour family is disgraced, for I have seen your wife in the company of\nyour cowherd.\" When V\u00e1madatta heard this, he left his uncle in the\ncamp in his stead, and went, with his sword for his only companion,\nback to his own house. He went into the flower-garden and remained\nthere in concealment, and in the night the cowherd came there. And\nimmediately his wife came eagerly to meet her paramour, with all kinds\nof food in her hand. After he had eaten, she went off to bed with him,\nand then V\u00e1madatta rushed upon them with uplifted sword, exclaiming,\n\"Wretches, where are you going?\" When he said that, his wife rose up\nand said, \"Away fool,\" and threw some dust in his face. Then V\u00e1madatta\nwas immediately changed from a man into a buffalo, but in his new\ncondition he still retained his memory. Then his wicked wife put him\namong the buffaloes, and made the herdsman beat him with sticks. [160]\n\nAnd the cruel woman immediately sold him in his helpless bestial\ncondition to a trader, who required a buffalo. The trader put a load\nupon the man, who found his transformation to a buffalo a sore trial,\nand took him to a village near the Ganges. He reflected, \"A wife of\nvery bad character that enters unsuspected the house of a confiding\nman, is never likely to bring him prosperity, any more than a snake\nwhich gets into the female apartments.\" While full of these thoughts,\nhe was sorrowful, with tears gushing from his eyes, moreover he\nwas reduced to skin and bone by the fatigue of carrying burdens,\nand in this state he was beheld by a certain white witch. She knew\nby her magic power the whole transaction, and sprinkling him with\nsome charmed water, she released him from his buffalo condition. And\nwhen he had returned to human form, she took him to her own house,\nand gave him her virgin daughter named K\u00e1ntimat\u00ed. And she gave him\nsome charmed mustard-seeds, and said to him; \"Sprinkle your wicked\nformer wife with these, and turn her into a mare.\" Then V\u00e1madatta,\ntaking with him his new wife, went with the charmed mustard-seeds to\nhis own house. Then he killed the herdsman, and with the mustard-seeds\nhe turned [161] his former wife into a mare, and tied her up in the\nstable. And in order to revenge himself, he made it a rule to give\nher every day seven blows with a stick, before he took any food. [162]\n\nOne day, while he was living there in this way with K\u00e1ntimat\u00ed, a\nguest came to his house. The guest had just sat down to his meal, when\nsuddenly V\u00e1madatta got up and rushed quickly out of the room without\neating anything, because he recollected that he had not beaten his\nwicked wife with a stick that day. And after he had given his wife,\nin the form of a mare, the appointed number of blows, he came in with\nhis mind easy, and took his food. Then the guest, being astonished,\nasked him, out of curiosity, where he had gone in such a hurry,\nleaving his food. Thereupon V\u00e1madatta told him his whole story from\nthe beginning, and his guest said to him, \"What is the use of this\npersistent revenge? Petition that mother-in-law of yours, who first\nreleased you from your animal condition, and gain some advantage for\nyourself.\" When the guest gave this advice to V\u00e1madatta, he approved\nit, and the next morning dismissed him with the usual attentions.\n\nThen that witch, his mother-in-law, suddenly paid him a visit, and\nhe supplicated her persistently to grant him a boon. The powerful\nwitch instructed him and his wife in the method of gaining the\nlife-prolonging charm, with the proper initiatory rites. [163] So he\nwent to the mountain of Sr\u00ed and set about obtaining that charm, and\nthe charm, when obtained, appeared to him in visible shape, and gave\nhim a splendid sword. And when the successful V\u00e1madatta had obtained\nthe sword, he and his wife K\u00e1ntimat\u00ed became glorious Vidy\u00e1dharas. Then\nhe built by his magic power a splendid city on a peak of the Malaya\nmountain, named Rajatak\u00fata. There, in time, that prince among the\nVidy\u00e1dharas had born to him by his queen an auspicious daughter,\nnamed Lalitalochan\u00e1. And the moment she was born, she was declared\nby a voice, that came from heaven, to be destined to be the wife of\nthe future emperor of the Vidy\u00e1dharas.\n\n\"Know, my husband, that I am that very Lalitalochan\u00e1, and that knowing\nthe facts by my science and being in love with you, I have brought\nyou to this very Malaya mountain, which is my own home.\" When she had\nin these words told him her story, Narav\u00e1hanadatta was much pleased,\nand entertained great respect for his new wife. And he remained there\nwith her, and immediately the king of Vatsa and his entourage learnt\nthe truth, by means of the supernatural knowledge of Ratnaprabh\u00e1,\nand the other wives of Narav\u00e1hanadatta that possessed the same powers.\n\n\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER LXIX.\n\n\nThen Narav\u00e1hanadatta, having obtained that new bride Lalitalochan\u00e1,\nsported with her on that very Malaya mountain, delightful on account\nof the first burst of spring, in various forest purlieus adorned with\nflowering trees.\n\nAnd in one grove his beloved, in the course of gathering flowers,\ndisappeared out of his sight into a dense thicket, and while he was\nwandering on, he saw a great tank with clear water, that, on account\nof the flowers fallen from the trees on its bank, resembled the heaven\nstudded with stars. [164]\n\nAnd he thought--\"I will wait until my beloved, who is gathering\nflowers, returns to me; and in the meanwhile I will bathe in this lake\nand rest for a little upon its bank.\" So he bathed and worshipped\nthe gods, and then he sat down on a slab of rock in the shade of\na sandal-wood tree. While sitting there he thought of his beloved\nMadanamanchuk\u00e1, who was so far off, beholding the gait of the female\nswans that rivalled hers, and hearing the singing of the female cuckoos\nin the mango-creepers that equalled hers, and seeing the eyes of the\ndoes that recalled hers to his mind. And as soon as he recollected\nher, the fire of love sprang up in his breast, and tortured him so\nthat he fainted; and at that moment a glorious hermit came there to\nbathe, whose name was Pisangajata. He, seeing the prince in such a\nstate, sprinkled him with sandal-water, refreshing as the touch of\nhis beloved. Then he recovered consciousness and bowed before the\nhermit. But the hermit said to him, \"My son, in order that you may\nobtain your wish, acquire endurance. For by means of that quality every\nthing is acquired, and in order that you may understand this, come\nto my hermitage and hear the story of Mrig\u00e1nkadatta, if you have not\nalready heard it. When the hermit had said this, he bathed and took the\nprince to his hermitage, and quickly performed his daily prayers. And\nPisangajata entertained him there with fruits, and ate fruits himself,\nand then he began to tell him this tale of Mrig\u00e1nkadatta.\n\n\n\nStory of Mrig\u00e1nkadatta. [165]\n\nThere is a city of the name of Ayodhy\u00e1 famous in the three worlds. In\nit there lived in old time a king named Amaradatta. He was of\nresplendent brightness, and he had a wife named Surataprabh\u00e1, who\nwas as closely knit to him as the oblation to the fire. [166] By her\nthere was born to him a son named Mrig\u00e1nkadatta, who was adored for\nhis ten million virtues, as his bow was bent by the string reaching\nthe notches. [167]\n\nAnd that young prince had ten ministers of his own, Prachandasakti\nand Sth\u00falab\u00e1hu, and Vikramakesarin, Dridhamushti, and Meghabala and\nBh\u00edmapar\u00e1krama, and Vimalabuddhi, and Vy\u00e1ghrasena and Gun\u00e1kara, and\nthe tenth Vichitrakatha. They were all of good birth, young, brave,\nand wise, and devoted to their master's interests. And Mrig\u00e1nkadatta\nled a happy life with them in his father's house, but he did not\nobtain a suitable wife.\n\nAnd one day his minister Bh\u00edmapar\u00e1krama said to him in secret,--\"Hear,\nprince, what happened to me in the night. I went to sleep last night\non the roof of the palace, and I saw in a dream a lion, with claws\nterrible as the thunderbolt, rushing upon me. I rose up, sword in\nhand, and then the lion began to flee, and I pursued him at my utmost\nspeed. He crossed a river, and stuck out his long tongue [168] at me,\nand I cut it off with my sword. And I made use of it to cross that\nriver, for it was as broad as a bridge. And thereupon the lion became\na deformed giant. I asked him who he was and the giant said, 'I am a\nVet\u00e1la, and I am delighted with your courage, my brave fellow.' Then\nI said to him, 'If this is the case, then tell me who is to be the\nwife of my master Mrig\u00e1nkadatta.' When I said this to the Vet\u00e1la,\nhe answered,--'There is in Ujjayin\u00ed a king named Karmasena. He has a\ndaughter, who in beauty surpasses the Apsarases, being, as it were, the\nreceptacle of the Creator's handiwork in the form of loveliness. Her\nname is Sas\u00e1nkavat\u00ed, and she shall be his wife, and by gaining her,\nhe shall become king of the whole earth.' When the Vet\u00e1la had said\nthis, he disappeared, and I came home; this is what happened to me\nin the night, my sovereign.\"\n\nWhen Mrig\u00e1nkadatta heard this from Bh\u00edmapar\u00e1krama, he summoned all his\nministers, and had it told to them, and then he said, \"Hear, what I\ntoo saw in a dream; I thought we all entered a certain wood; and in it,\nbeing thirsty with travelling, we reached with difficulty some water;\nand when we wished to drink it, five armed men rose up and tried to\nprevent us. We killed them, and then in the torments of our thirst we\nagain turned to drink the water, but lo! neither the men nor the water\nwere to be seen. Then we were in a miserable state; but on a sudden\nwe saw the god Siva come there, mounted on his bull, resplendent\nwith the moon on his forehead; we bent before him in prayer and he\ndropped from his right eye a tear-drop on the ground. That became\na sea, and I drew from it a splendid pearl-necklace and fastened it\nround my neck. And I drank up that sea in a human skull stained with\nblood. And immediately I awoke, and lo! the night was at an end.\"\n\nWhen Mrig\u00e1nkadatta had described this wonderful sight that he had\nseen in his dream, the other ministers rejoiced, but Vimalabuddhi\nsaid; \"You are fortunate, prince, in that Siva has shewn you this\nfavour. As you obtained the necklace and drank up the sea, you shall\nwithout fail obtain Sas\u00e1nkavat\u00ed and rule the whole earth. But the\nrest of the dream indicates some slight amount of misfortune.\" When\nVimalabuddhi had said this, Mrig\u00e1nkadatta again said to his ministers,\n\"Although the fulfilment of my dream will no doubt come to pass in\nthe way which my friend Bh\u00edmapar\u00e1krama heard predicted by the Vet\u00e1la,\nstill I must win from that Karmasena, who confides in his army and\nhis forts, his daughter Sas\u00e1nkavat\u00ed by force of policy. And the force\nof policy is the best instrument in all undertakings. Now listen,\nI will tell you a story to prove this.\"\n\n\n\nStory of king Bhadrab\u00e1hu and his clever minister.\n\nThere was a king in Magadha, named Bhadrab\u00e1hu. He had a minister named\nMantragupta, most sagacious of men. That king once said of his own\naccord to that minister; \"The king of V\u00e1r\u00e1nas\u00ed, named Dharmagopa, has\na daughter named Anangal\u00edl\u00e1, the chief beauty of the three worlds. I\nhave often asked for her in marriage, but out of hostility that king\nwill not give her to me. And he is a formidable foe, on account of\nhis possessing an elephant named Bhadradanta. Still I cannot bear to\nlive any longer without that daughter of his. So I have no measure\nwhich I can adopt in this business. Tell me, my friend, what I am to\ndo.\" When the king said this, his minister answered him; \"Why, king,\ndo you suppose that courage and not policy ensures success? Dismiss\nyour anxiety; I will manage the matter for you by my own ingenuity.\"\n\nSo, the next day, the minister set out for V\u00e1r\u00e1nas\u00ed, disguised as a\nP\u00e1supata ascetic, and he took six or seven companions with him, who\nwere disguised as his pupils, and they told all the people, who came\ntogether from all quarters to adore him, that he possessed supernatural\npowers. Then, as he was roaming about one night to find out some\nmeans of accomplishing his object, he saw in the distance the wife\nof the keeper of the elephants leave her house, going along quickly\nthrough fear, escorted in some direction or other by three or four\narmed men. He at once said to himself, \"Surely this lady is eloping\nsomewhere, so I will see where she is going.\" So he followed her with\nhis attendants. And he observed from a distance the house into which\nshe went, and then he returned to his own lodging. And the next day,\nas the elephant-keeper was wandering about in search of his wife, who\nhad gone off with his wealth, the minister contrived to send his own\nfollowers to meet him. They found that he had just swallowed poison\nbecause he could not find his wife, and they counteracted by their\nknowledge the effect of the poison, pretending that they did it out\nof pure compassion. And they said to him; \"Come to our teacher, for\nhe is a seer and knows every thing:\" and so they brought him to the\nminister. And the elephant-keeper fell at the feet of the minister,\nwho was rendered more majestic by the insignia of his vow, and asked\nhim for news of his wife. The minister pretended to meditate, and\nafter a time told him the place where she was taken by the strange\nmen at night, with all the signs by which he might recognise it. Then\nthe elephant-keeper bowed again before him, and went with a host of\npolicemen and surrounded that place. And he killed those wicked men\nwho had carried off his wife, and recovered her, together with her\nornaments and his wealth.\n\nAnd the next day he went and bowed before, and praised that supposed\nseer, and invited him to an entertainment. And as the minister did not\nwish to enter a house, and said that he must eat at night, he made an\nentertainment for him at nightfall in the elephant-stables. So the\nminister went there and feasted with his followers, taking with him\na concealed serpent, that he had by means of a charm got to enter the\nhollow of a bamboo. Then the elephant-keeper went away, and while the\nothers were asleep, the minister introduced, by means of the bamboo,\nthe serpent into the ear of the elephant Bhadradanta, while it was\nasleep, and he spent the night there, and in the morning went back\nto Magadha his native land; but the elephant died from the bite of\nthe snake.\n\nWhen the clever minister returned, having smitten down the elephant as\nif it were the pride of that king Dharmagopa, the king Bhadrab\u00e1hu was\nin ecstasies. Then he sent off an ambassador to V\u00e1r\u00e1nas\u00ed to ask for\nthe hand of Anangal\u00edl\u00e1. The king, who was helpless from the loss of\nhis elephant, gave her to him; for kings, who know times and seasons,\nbend like canes, if it is expedient to do so.\n\n\"So, by the sagacity of that minister Mantragupta, the king Bhadrab\u00e1hu\nobtained Anangal\u00edl\u00e1. And in the same way I must obtain that wife by\nwisdom.\" When Mrig\u00e1nkadatta said this, his minister Vichitrakatha\nsaid to him--\"You will succeed in all by the favour of Siva which was\npromised you in a dream. What will not the effective favour of the\ngods accomplish? Hear in proof of it the story I am now going to tell.\"\n\n\n\nStory of Pushkar\u00e1ksha and Vinayavat\u00ed.\n\nThere was in the city of Takshasil\u00e1 a king of the name of\nBhadr\u00e1ksha. He, desiring a son, was worshipping Lakshm\u00ed every day\nwith one hundred and eight white lotuses upon a sword. One day, as\nthe king was worshipping her without breaking silence, he happened to\ncount the lotuses mentally, and found that there was one missing. He\nthen gave the goddess the lotus of his heart spitted on the sword, and\nshe was pleased and granted him a boon that would ensure his having\na son that would rule the whole earth. And she healed the wound of\nthe king and disappeared. Then there was born a son to the king by\nhis queen, and he possessed all the auspicious marks. And the king\ncalled him Pushkar\u00e1ksha, because he obtained him by the gift of the\nlotus of his heart. And when the son, in course of time, grew up to\nmanhood, Bhadr\u00e1ksha anointed him king, as he possessed great virtues,\nand himself repaired to the forest.\n\nPushkar\u00e1ksha, for his part, having obtained the kingdom, kept\nworshipping Siva every day, and one day at the end of his worship,\nhe asked him to bestow on him a wife. Then he heard a voice come from\nheaven, saying, \"My son, thou shalt obtain all thy desire.\" Then he\nremained in a happy state, as he had now a good hope of success. And\nit happened that one day he went to a wood inhabited by wild beasts,\nto amuse himself with hunting. There he saw a camel about to eat two\nsnakes entwined together, and in his grief he killed the camel. The\ncamel immediately became a Vidy\u00e1dhara, abandoning its camel body,\nand being pleased said to Pushkar\u00e1ksha \"You have done me a benefit. So\nhear what I have to tell you.\"\n\n\n\nStory of the birth of Vinayavat\u00ed.\n\nThere is, king, a mighty Vidy\u00e1dhara named Rankum\u00e1lin. And a beautiful\nmaiden of the Vidy\u00e1dhara race, named T\u00e1r\u00e1val\u00ed, who admired good looks,\nsaw him and fell in love with him, and chose him for her husband. And\nthen her father, angry because they had married without consulting\nanything but their own inclination, laid on them a curse that would\nseparate them for some time. Then the couple, T\u00e1r\u00e1val\u00ed and Rankum\u00e1lin,\nsported, with ever-growing love, in various regions belonging to them.\n\nBut one day, in consequence of that curse, they lost sight of one\nanother in a wood, and were separated. Then T\u00e1r\u00e1val\u00ed, in her search\nfor her husband, at last reached a forest on the other side of the\nwestern sea, inhabited by a hermit of supernatural powers. There\nshe saw a large jambu-tree in flower, which seemed compassionately\nto console her with the sweet buzzing of its bees. And she took the\nform of a bee, and sat down on it to rest, and began to drink the\nhoney of a flower. And immediately she saw her husband, from whom she\nhad been so long separated, come there, and she bedewed that flower\nwith a tear of joy. And she abandoned the body of a bee, and went\nand united herself to her husband Rankum\u00e1lin, who had come there in\nsearch of her, as the moonlight is united to the moon.\n\nThen she went with him to his home: but from the jambu-flower bedewed\nwith her tear a fruit was produced. [169] And in course of time a\nmaiden was produced inside the fruit. Now once on a time the hermit,\nwho was named Vijit\u00e1su, was wandering about in search of fruits\nand roots, and came there, and that fruit, being ripe, fell from\nthe jambu-tree and broke, and a heavenly maiden came out of it, and\nrespectfully bowing, saluted the feet of that hermit. That hermit,\nwho possessed divine insight, when he beheld her, at once knew her\ntrue history, and being astonished, took her to his hermitage, and\ngave her the name of Vinayavat\u00ed. Then in course of time she grew up\nto womanhood in his hermitage, and I, as I was roaming in the air,\nsaw her, and being infatuated by pride in my own good looks and by\nlove, I went to her, and tried to carry her off by force against\nher will. At that moment the hermit Vijit\u00e1su, who heard her cries,\ncame in, and denounced this curse upon me, \"O thou whose whole body\nis full of pride in thy beauty, become an ugly camel. But when thou\nshalt be slain by king Pushkar\u00e1ksha, thou shalt be released from thy\ncurse. And he shall be the husband of this Vinayavat\u00ed.\"\n\n\"When cursed in these words by the hermit I became a camel on this\nearth, and now, thanks to you, my curse is at an end; so go to that\nforest on the other side of the western sea, named Surabhim\u00e1ruta, and\nobtain for a wife that heavenly creature, who would make Sr\u00ed herself\nlose all pride in her own beauty.\" When the heavenly Vidy\u00e1dhara had\nsaid this to Pushkar\u00e1ksha, he flew up to the sky. Then Pushkar\u00e1ksha\nreturned to his city, and entrusted his kingdom to his ministers, and\nmounting his horse, went off alone at night. And at last he reached\nthe shore of the western sea, and there he reflected, \"How shall I\ncross over this sea?\" Then he saw there an empty temple of Durg\u00e1,\nand he entered it, and bathed, and worshipped the goddess. And he\nfound there a lyre, which had been deposited there by some one, and\nhe devoutly sang to it in honour of the goddess songs composed by\nhimself. And then he lay down to sleep there. And the goddess was so\npleased with his lyric worship, that in the night she had him conveyed\nacross the sea by her attendant demons, while he was asleep.\n\nThen he woke up in the morning on the other side of the sea, and saw\nhimself no longer in the temple of Durg\u00e1, but in a wood. And he rose\nup in astonishment, and wandered about, and beheld a hermitage, which\nseemed to bow before him hospitably by means of its trees weighed down\nwith fruit, and to utter a welcome with the music of its birds. So\nhe entered it, and saw a hermit surrounded by his pupils. And the\nking approached the hermit, and bowed at his feet. The hermit, who\npossessed supernatural insight, received him hospitably and said to\nhim; \"King Pushkar\u00e1ksha, Vinayavat\u00ed, for whom you have come, has gone\nout for a moment to fetch firewood, so wait a little: you shall to-day\nmarry her who was your wife in a former life.\" Then Pushkar\u00e1ksha said\nto himself--\"Bravo! this is that very hermit Vijit\u00e1su, and this is\nthat very wood, no doubt the goddess has had me carried across the\nocean. But this that the hermit tells me is strange, that she was my\nwife in a previous state of existence.\" Then he asked the hermit in\nhis joy the following question, \"Tell me, reverend sir, how was she\nmy wife before?\" Then the hermit said, \"Listen, if you feel curious\non the point.\"\n\n\n\nThe adventures of Pushkar\u00e1ksha and Vinayavat\u00ed in a former life.\n\nThere was in old time a merchant in T\u00e1mralipt\u00ed, named Dharmasena,\nand he had a beautiful wife named Vidyullekh\u00e1. As it happened, he\nwas robbed by bandits and wounded with weapons by them, and longing\nfor death, he went out with his wife to enter the fire. And the two\nsaw suddenly a beautiful couple of swans coming through the air. Then\nthey entered the fire, and died with their minds fixed on those swans,\nand so the husband and wife were born in the next birth as swans.\n\nNow, one day in the rains, as they were in their nest in a\ndate-palm-tree, a storm uprooted the tree and separated them. The next\nday the storm was at an end, and the male swan went to look for his\nfemale, but he could not find her in the lakes or in any quarter of\nthe sky. At last he went, distracted with love, to the M\u00e1nasa lake,\nthe proper place for swans at that season of the year, and another\nfemale swan, that he met on the way, gave him hopes that he would\nfind her there. There he found his female, and he spent the rainy\nseason there, and then he went to a mountain-peak to enjoy himself\nwith her. There his female was shot by a fowler; when he saw that,\nhe flew away distracted with fear and grief. The fowler went off,\ntaking with him the dead female swan, and on the way he saw many armed\nmen at a distance, coming towards him, and he thought that they would\nperhaps take the bird from him, so he cut some grass with his knife,\nand covering up the bird with that, left her on the ground. After\nthe men had gone, the fowler returned to take the female swan. But\nit happened that among the grass which he had cut was a herb, which\npossessed the power of raising the dead to life. By means of the\njuice of this herb the female swan was restored to life, [170] and\nbefore his eyes she flung off the grass, and flew up into the sky,\nand disappeared.\n\nBut in the meanwhile the male swan went and settled on the shore of\na lake among a flock of swans, distracted with grief at seeing his\nmate in this state. [171] Immediately a certain fisherman threw a\nnet, and caught all those birds, and thereupon sat down to take his\nfood. Then the female swan came there in search of her husband, and\nfound him caught in the net, and in her grief she cast her eyes in\nevery direction. Then she saw on the bank of the lake a necklace of\ngems, which a certain person, who had gone into the water to bathe,\nhad laid on top of his clothes. She went and carried off the necklace\nwithout that person seeing her do it, and she flew gently through\nthe air past the fisherman, to shew him the necklace. The fisherman,\nwhen he saw the female swan with the necklace in her beak, left the\nnet full of birds, and ran after her, stick in hand. But the female\nswan deposited the necklace upon the top of a distant rock, and the\nfisherman proceeded to climb up the rock to get the necklace. When the\nfemale swan saw that, she went and struck in the eye with her beak a\nmonkey that was asleep on a tree, near where her husband lay caught\nin the net. The monkey, being terrified by the blow, fell on the net\nand tore it, and so all the swans escaped from it. Then the couple\nof swans were re-united, and they told one another their adventures,\nand in their joy amused themselves as they would. The fisherman,\nafter getting the necklace, came back to fetch the birds, and the man\nwhose necklace had been taken away, met him as he was looking for it,\nand as the fact of the fisherman's being in possession of the necklace\nwas revealed by his fear, he recovered it from him and cut off his\nright hand with his sword. And the two swans, sheltering themselves\nunder one lotus by way of umbrella, rose up in the middle of the day\nfrom the lake and roamed in the sky.\n\nAnd soon the two birds reached the bank of a river haunted by a\ncertain hermit, who was employed in worshipping Siva. Then the couple\nof swans were shot through with one arrow by a fowler, as they were\nflying along, and fell together to the earth. And the lotus, which\nthey had used as an umbrella, fell on the top of a linga of Siva,\nwhile the hermit was engaged in worship. Then the fowler, seeing them,\ntook the male swan for himself, and gave the female swan to the hermit,\nwho offered it to Siva. [172]\n\n\"Now you, Pushkar\u00e1ksha, were that very male swan; and by the virtue of\nthat lotus, which fell on the top of the linga, you have been now born\nin a royal family. And that female swan has been born in a family of\nVidy\u00e1dharas as Vinayavat\u00ed, for Siva was abundantly worshipped with\nher flesh. Thus Vinayavat\u00ed was your wife in a former birth.\" When\nthe hermit Vijit\u00e1su said this to Pushkar\u00e1ksha, the king asked him\nanother question; How comes it, hermit, that the entering the fire,\nwhich atones for a multitude of sins, produced in our case the fruit\nof birth in the nature of a bird? Thereupon the hermit replied,\n\"A creature receives the form of that which it was contemplating at\nthe moment of death.\"\n\n\n\nStory of L\u00e1vanyamanjar\u00ed.\n\nFor there was in the city of Ujjayin\u00ed a holy Br\u00e1hman virgin of the\nname of L\u00e1vanyamanjar\u00ed, who observed a vow of perpetual chastity;\nshe once saw a Br\u00e1hman youth of the name of Kamalodaya, and her mind\nwas suddenly attracted to him, and she was consumed with the fire of\nlove but she did not abandon her vow. She went to the shore of the\nGandhavat\u00ed, and abandoned her life in a holy place, with her thoughts\nintently fixed on his love.\n\nBut on account of that intent meditation she was born in the\nnext birth as a het\u00e6ra, of the name of R\u00fapavat\u00ed, in a town named\nEkalavy\u00e1. However, owing to the virtue of her vow and of the holy\nbathing-place, she remembered her former birth, and in conversation she\nrelated that secret of her former birth to a Br\u00e1hman named Chodakarna,\nwho was always engaged in muttering prayers, in order to cure him of\nhis exclusive devotion to muttering, and at last, though she was a\nhet\u00e6ra, as her will was purified she attained blessedness.\n\n\"So, king, you see that a person attains similarity to that which he\nthinks of. Having said this to the king, the hermit dismissed him to\nbathe, and he himself performed his midday ablutions.\"\n\nBut the king Pushkar\u00e1ksha went to the bank of the river, that flowed\nthrough the forest, and saw Vinayavat\u00ed there gathering flowers. Her\nbody gleamed as if she were the light of the sun, come to visit the\nwood out of curiosity, as it had never been able to penetrate its\nthickets. He thought to himself, \"Who can this be?\" And she, as she\nwas sitting in conversation with her maid, said to her; \"My friend,\nthe Vidy\u00e1dhara, who wished long ago to carry me off, came here to-day\nreleased from his curse, and announced the arrival of my husband.\" When\nthe friend heard that, she answered the hermit-maiden; \"It is true,\nfor this morning the hermit Vijit\u00e1su said to his pupil Munjakesa;\n'Go and bring here quickly T\u00e1r\u00e1val\u00ed and Rankum\u00e1lin, for to-day will\ncertainly take place the marriage of their daughter Vinayavat\u00ed to king\nPushkar\u00e1ksha.' When Munjakesa received this order from his teacher,\nhe said, 'I obey,' and started on his journey. So come, my friend,\nlet us now go to the hermitage.\"\n\nWhen she said this, Vinayavat\u00ed departed, and Pushkar\u00e1ksha heard the\nwhole conversation from a distance without being seen. And the king\nreturned quickly to the hermitage of Vijit\u00e1su, after he had plunged\nin the river, as if to cool the burning heat of love. There T\u00e1r\u00e1val\u00ed\nand Rankum\u00e1lin, who had arrived, honoured him when he bent before\nthem, and the hermits gathered round him. Then, on an altar-platform\nilluminated by the great hermit Vijit\u00e1su with his austerities, as if\nby a second fire in human form, Rankum\u00e1lin gave that Vinayavat\u00ed to the\nking, and he bestowed on him at the same time a heavenly chariot, that\nwould travel in the sky. And the great hermit Vijit\u00e1su conferred on\nhim this boon; \"Rule, together with her, the earth with its four seas.\"\n\nThen, with the permission of the hermit, the king Pushkar\u00e1ksha took\nhis new wife with him, and mounted that heavenly chariot that travelled\nthrough the air, and, crossing the sea, went quickly to his own city,\nbeing like the rising of the moon to the eyes of his subjects.\n\nAnd then he conquered the earth and became emperor of it by virtue\nof his chariot, and lived a long time in enjoyment with Vinayavat\u00ed\nin his own capital.\n\n\"So a task, which is very difficult in itself, succeeds in this world,\nif the gods are propitious, and so, king, you may be certain that\nyour enterprise also will succeed soon by the favour of the god Siva,\npromised you in a dream.\"\n\nWhen Mrig\u00e1nkadatta had heard this romantic story from his minister,\nbeing very eager to obtain Sas\u00e1nkavat\u00ed, he made up his mind to go to\nUjjayin\u00ed with his ministers.\n\n\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER LXX.\n\n\nAccordingly Mrig\u00e1nkadatta, being desirous to obtain Sas\u00e1nkavat\u00ed the\ndaughter of king Karmasena, who had been described by the Vet\u00e1la,\nplanned with his ministers to leave his city secretly, disguised as\na P\u00e1supata ascetic, in order to travel to Ujjayin\u00ed. And the prince\nhimself directed his minister Bh\u00edmapar\u00e1krama to bring the necessary\nstaves like bed-posts, the skulls, and so on. And the head minister of\nthe king his father found out, by means of a spy, that Bh\u00edmapar\u00e1krama\nhad collected all these things in his house. And at that time it\nhappened that Mrig\u00e1nkadatta, while walking about on the top of his\npalace, spit down some betel-juice. And as ill-luck would have it,\nit fell on the head of his father's minister, who happened to be\nwalking below, unseen by the prince. [173] But the minister, knowing\nthat Mrig\u00e1nkadatta had spit down that betel-juice, bathed, and laid up\nin his heart a grudge against Mrig\u00e1nkadatta on account of the insult.\n\nNow it happened that the next day king Amaradatta, the father of\nMrig\u00e1nkadatta, had an attack of cholera, and then the minister saw\nhis chance, and, after imploring an assurance of safety, he said\nin secret to the king, who was tortured with his sudden attack of\ndisease, \"The fact is, my sovereign, your son Mrig\u00e1nkadatta has begun\nincantations against you in the house of Bh\u00edmapar\u00e1krama, that is why\nyou are suffering. I found it out by means of a spy, and the thing is\nobvious for all to see, so banish your son from your realm and your\ndisease from your body at the same time.\" When the king heard that, he\nwas terrified, and sent his own general to the house of Bh\u00edmapar\u00e1krama,\nto investigate the matter. And he found the hair, and the skulls, and\nother articles, [174] and immediately brought those very things and\nshewed them to the king. And the king in his anger said to the general,\n\"That son of mine is conspiring against me, because he wishes to reign\nhimself, so expel him from the kingdom this very moment without delay,\ntogether with his ministers.\" For a confiding [175] king never sees\nthrough the wicked practices of his ministers. So the general went\nand communicated that order of the king's, and expelled Mrig\u00e1nkadatta\nfrom the city, together with his ministers. [176]\n\nThen Mrig\u00e1nkadatta was delighted at having obtained his object,\nand he worshipped Ganesa, and mentally took a humble leave of his\nparents, and started off. And after they had gone a great distance\nfrom the town of Ayodhy\u00e1, the prince said to Prachandasakti and the\nother nine ministers who were travelling with him, \"There is here a\ngreat king of the Kir\u00e1tas, named Saktirakshita; he is a student in\nthe sciences, observing a vow of chastity, and he is a friend of mine\nfrom childhood. For, when his father was long ago captured in battle,\nhe sent him here to be imprisoned as a substitute for himself, in order\nto obtain his own release. And when his father died, his relations by\nthe father's side rose against him, and at my instigation my father\nestablished him on the throne of his father with a military force. So\nlet us go to him, my friends, and then we will travel on to Ujjayin\u00ed,\nto find that Sas\u00e1nkavat\u00ed.\"\n\nWhen he said this, all the ministers exclaimed, \"So be it,\" and he\nset out with them and reached in the evening a great wilderness. It\nwas devoid of trees and water, and it was with difficulty that\nat last he found a tank, with one withered tree growing upon its\nbanks. There he performed the evening ceremonies, and drank water,\nand being fatigued, he went to sleep with his ministers under that dry\ntree. And in the night, which was illuminated by the moon, he woke\nup, and saw that the tree first put forth abundance of leaves, then\nof flowers, then of fruit. And when he saw its ripe fruit falling,\nhe immediately woke up his ministers, and pointed out that marvel\nto them. Then they were astonished, and as they were hungry, he\nand they ate the delicious fruits of that tree together, and after\nthey had eaten them, the dry tree suddenly became a young Br\u00e1hman,\nbefore the eyes of them all. And when Mrig\u00e1nkadatta questioned him,\nhe told his tale in the following words.\n\n\n\nStory of Srutadhi.\n\nThere was an excellent Br\u00e1hman in Ayodhy\u00e1 named D\u00e1madhi. I am his son,\nand my name is Srutadhi. And once in a time of famine he was wandering\nabout with me, and he reached this place almost dead. Here he got\nfive fruits which some one gave him, and though he was exhausted with\nhunger, he gave three to me, and set aside two for himself. Then he\nwent into the water of the lake to bathe, and in the meanwhile I ate\nall the five fruits, and pretended to be asleep. He returned after\nbathing, and beholding me cunningly lying here as motionless as a\nlog, he cursed me, saving, \"Become a dry tree here on the bank of the\nlake. And on moonlight nights flowers and fruit shall spring from you,\nand when once on a time you shall have refreshed guests with fruits,\nyou shall be delivered from your curse.\" [177] As soon as my father\nhad pronounced this curse on me, I became a dry tree, but now that\nyou have tasted my fruit, I have been delivered from the curse,\nafter enduring it for a long time.\n\nAfter Srutadhi had related his own history, he asked Mrig\u00e1nkadatta\nfor his, and he told it him. Then Srutadhi, who had no relations,\nand was well-read in policy, asked Mrig\u00e1nkadatta to permit him, as\na favour, to attach himself to his service. So, after he had spent\nthe night in this way, Mrig\u00e1nkadatta set out next morning with his\nministers. And in the course of his journey he came to a forest named\nKarimandita. There he saw five wild looking men with long hair, who\naroused his wonder. Then the five men came and respectfully addressed\nhim as follows:\n\n\"We were born in the city of K\u00e1s\u00ed as Br\u00e1hmans who lived by keeping\ncows. And during a famine we came from that country, where the grass\nwas scorched by drought, with our cows, to this wood which abounds\nin grass. And here we found an elixir in the form of the water of\na tank, continually flavoured with the three kinds of fruits [178]\nthat drop from the trees growing on its bank. And five hundred years\nhave passed over our heads in this uninhabited wood, while we have\nbeen drinking this water and the milk of cows. It is thus, prince,\nthat we have become such as you see, and now destiny has sent you to\nus as guests, so come to our hermitage.\"\n\nWhen thus invited by them, Mrig\u00e1nkadatta went with them to their\nhermitage, taking his companions with him, and spent the day there\nliving on milk. And he set out from it in the morning, and in course\nof time he reached the country of the Kir\u00e1tas, seeing other wonderful\nsights on the way. And he sent on Srutadhi to inform his friend\nSaktirakshita, the king of the Kir\u00e1tas, of his arrival. When the\nsovereign of the Kir\u00e1tas heard of it, he went to meet Mrig\u00e1nkadatta\nwith great courtesy, and conducted him with his ministers into his\ncity. Mrig\u00e1nkadatta told him the cause of his arrival, and remained\nthere for some days, being entertained by him. And the prince arranged\nthat Saktirakshita should be ready to assist him in his undertaking\nwhen the proper time came, and then he set out, on an auspicious day,\nfor Ujjayin\u00ed, with his eleven companions, having been captivated\nby Sas\u00e1nkavat\u00ed.\n\nAnd as he went along, he reached an uninhabited forest and saw standing\nunder a tree an ascetic, with ashes on his body, a deer-skin, and\nmatted hair. So he went up to him, with his followers, and said\nto him; \"Reverend sir, why do you live alone in this forest in\nwhich there is no hermitage?\" Then the hermit answered him, \"I am\na pupil of the great sage named Suddhak\u00edrti and I know innumerable\nspells. Once on a time I got hold of a certain Kshatriya boy with\nauspicious marks, and I exerted all my diligence to cause him to be\npossessed, while alive, by a spirit, and, when the boy was possessed,\nI questioned him, and he told me of many places for potent drugs and\nliquors, and then said this; 'There is in this Vindhya forest in the\nnorthern quarter a solitary asoka-tree, and under it there is a great\npalace of a snake-king. [179] In the middle of the day its water\nis concealed with moistened dust, but it can be discovered by the\ncouples of swans sporting there together with the water-cranes. [180]\nThere dwells a mighty chief of the snakes, named P\u00e1r\u00e1vat\u00e1ksha, and\nhe obtained a matchless sword from the war of the gods and Asuras,\nnamed Vaid\u00faryak\u00e1nti; whatever man obtains that sword will become a\nchief of the Siddhas and roam about unconquered, and that sword can\nonly be obtained by the aid of heroes.' When the possessed boy had\nsaid this, I dismissed him. So I have wandered about over the earth\ndesirous to obtain that sword, and caring for nothing else, but,\nas I have not been able to find men to help me, in disgust I have\ncome here to die.\" When Mrig\u00e1nkadatta heard the ascetic say this, he\nsaid to him, \"I and my ministers will help you.\" The ascetic gladly\naccepted his offer, and went with him and his followers, by the help\nof an ointment rubbed on the feet, to the dwelling-place of that\nsnake. There he found the sign by which it could be recognised, and he\nplaced there at night Mrig\u00e1nkadatta and his companions, duly initiated,\nfixed with spells; and throwing enchanted mustard-seed he cleared the\nwater from dust, and began to offer an oblation with snake-subduing\nspells. And he conquered by the power of his spells the impediments,\nsuch as earthquakes, clouds, and so on. Then there came out from that\nasoka-tree a heavenly nymph, as it were, murmuring spells with the\ntinkling of her jewelled ornaments, and approaching the ascetic she\npierced his soul with a sidelong glance of love. And then the ascetic\nlost his self-command and forgot his spells; and the shapely fair one,\nembracing him, flung from his hand the vessel of oblation. And then\nthe snake P\u00e1r\u00e1vat\u00e1ksha had gained his opportunity, and he came out\nfrom that palace like the dense cloud of the day of doom. Then the\nheavenly nymph vanished, and the ascetic beholding the snake terrible\nwith flaming eyes, roaring horribly, died of a broken heart.\n\nWhen he was destroyed, the snake laid aside his awful form, and\ncursed Mrig\u00e1nkadatta and his followers, for helping the ascetic,\nin the following words, \"Since you did what was quite unnecessary\nafter all coming here with this man, you shall be for a certain time\nseparated from one another.\" Then the snake disappeared, and all of\nthem at the same time had their eyes dimmed with darkness, and were\ndeprived of the power of hearing sounds. And they immediately went\nin different directions, separated from one another by the power\nof the curse, though they kept looking for one another and calling\nto one another. And when the delusion of the night was at an end,\nMrig\u00e1nkadatta found himself roaming about in the wood without his\nministers.\n\nAnd, after two or three months had passed, the Br\u00e1hman Srutadhi,\nwho was looking for him, suddenly fell in with him. Mrig\u00e1nkadatta\nreceived him kindly, and asked for news of his ministers, whereupon\nSrutadhi fell at his feet weeping, and consoled him, and said to him,\n\"I have not seen them, prince, but I know they will go to Ujjayin\u00ed,\nfor that is the place we all have to go to.\" With these and similar\nspeeches he urged the prince to go there, so Mrig\u00e1nkadatta set out\nwith him slowly for Ujjayin\u00ed.\n\nAnd after he had journeyed a few days, he found his own minister\nVimalabuddhi who suddenly came that way. When the minister saw him,\nhe bowed before him with eyes filled with tears at seeing him, and\nthe prince embraced him, and making him sit down, he asked him for\ntidings of the other ministers. Then Vimalabuddhi said to that prince,\nwho was so beloved by his servants, \"I do not know, king, where each\nof them has gone in consequence of the curse of the snake. But hear\nhow I know that you will find them again.\"\n\n\n\nThe adventures of Vimalabuddhi after he was separated from the prince.\n\nWhen the snake cursed me, I was carried far away by the curse, and\nwandered in the eastern part of the forest. And being fatigued, I was\ntaken by a certain kind person to the hermitage of a certain hermit,\nnamed Brahmadandin. There my fatigue was removed by the fruits and\nwater which the sage gave me, and, roaming away far from the hermitage,\nI saw a vast cave. I entered it out of curiosity, and I saw inside it a\npalace made of jewels, and I began to look into the palace through the\nlattice-windows. And lo! there was in it a woman causing to revolve\na wheel with bees, and those bees made some of them for a bull, and\nothers for a donkey, both which creatures were standing there. And\nsome drank the foam of milk sent forth by the bull, and others the\nfoam of blood sent forth by the donkey, and became white and black,\naccording to the colour of the two objects on which they settled;\nand then they all turned into spiders. And the spiders, which were\nof two different colours, made two different-coloured webs with their\nexcrements. And one set of webs was hung on wholesome flowers, and the\nother on poisonous flowers. And the spiders, that were clinging to\nthose webs as they pleased, were bitten by a great snake which came\nthere, having two mouths, one white, and the other black. Then the\nwoman put them in various pitchers, but they got out again, and began\nto occupy the same webs again respectively. Then those, that were on\nthe webs attached to the poisonous flowers, began to cry out, owing\nto the violence of the poison. And thereupon the others, that were\non the other webs, began to cry out also. But the noise interrupted\nthe meditation of a certain merciful ascetic who was there, who\ndischarged fire at the webs. Then the webs, in which the spiders were\nentangled, were burnt up, and the spiders entered a hollow coral rod,\nand disappeared in a gleaming light at the top of it. In the meanwhile\nthe woman disappeared with her wheel, her bull, and her donkey.\n\nWhen I had seen this, I continued to roam about there in a state of\nastonishment; and then I saw a charming lake, which seemed by means\nof its lotuses, round which bees hummed, to summon me thither to\nlook at it. And while I sat on the bank and looked at it, I beheld a\ngreat wood inside the water, and in the wood was a hunter, and the\nhunter had got hold of a lion's cub with ten arms which he brought\nup, and then banished from the wood in anger, on the ground that it\nwas disobedient. [181] The lion then heard the voice of a lioness in\na neighbouring wood, and was going in the direction of the sound,\nwhen his ten arms were scattered by a whirlwind. Then a man with a\nprotuberant belly came and restored his arms as they were before,\nand he went to that forest in search of the lioness. He endured for\nher sake much hardship in that other forest, and at last obtained her\nwhom he had had for a wife in a former state, and with her returned\nto his own forest. And when the hunter saw that lion return with his\nmate to the forest, which was his hereditary abode, [182] he resigned\nit to him and departed.\n\nWhen I had seen this, I returned to the hermitage and described both\nthose very wonderful spectacles to Brahmadandin. And that hermit,\nwho knows the past, present, and future, kindly said to me, \"You\nare fortunate; Siva has shewn you all this by way of favour. That\nwoman, whom you saw, is Illusion, and the wheel which she caused to\nrevolve, is the wheel of mundane existence, and the bees are living\ncreatures. And the bull and the donkey are respectively symbols of\nRighteousness and Unrighteousness, and the foam of milk and the foam\nof blood discharged by them, to which the bees repaired, are typical\nof good and evil actions. And they acquired properties arising from\nthe things on which they respectively settled, and became spiders of\ntwo kinds, white and foul respectively; and then with their energy,\nwhich was symbolized by excrement, they produced entangling nets of two\nkinds, such as offspring and so on, which were attached to wholesome\nand poisonous flowers, which signify happiness and misery. And while\nclinging each to its own web, they were bitten by a snake, typical\nof Death, with its two mouths, the white set with the white mouth\nsymbolical of good fortune, the other with the black mouth symbolical\nof evil fortune.\n\nThen that female, typifying Illusion [183] plunged them into various\nwombs typified by the jars, and they again emerged from them, and\nassuming forms white and black, corresponding to what they had before,\nthey fell into entangling webs, which are symbolical of sons and\nother worldly connexions, resulting in happiness and misery. Then\nthe black spiders, entangled in their webs, being tortured by the\npoison, symbolical of pain, began in their affliction to invoke the\nsupreme lord as their help. When the white spiders, who were in their\nown webs, perceived that, they also became averse to their state,\nand began to invoke that same lord. Then the god, who was present\nin the form of an ascetic, awoke from his trance, and consumed all\ntheir entangling webs with the fire of knowledge. Accordingly they\nascended into the bright coral tube, typical of the orb of the sun,\nand reached the highest home, which lies above it. And then Illusion\nvanished, with the revolving wheel of births, and with her ox, and\nher ass, typical of Righteousness and Unrighteousness.\n\nEven thus in the circle of existence revolve creatures, fair and foul\naccording to their actions, and they are liberated by propitiating\nSiva; and this spectacle has been shown to you by Siva to teach you\nthis lesson, and to put an end to your delusion. As for that sight\nwhich you saw in the water of the tank, this is the explanation of\nit. The holy god produced this apparent reflection in the water,\nin order to teach you what was destined to befall Mrig\u00e1nkadatta. For\nhe may be compared to a young lion-whelp, and he was brought up with\nten ministers round him resembling ten arms, and he was banished in\nanger by his father, (typified by the hunter) from his native land,\ntypified by the forest: and on hearing the report of Sas\u00e1nkavat\u00ed,\n(who may be compared to a lioness,) coming from the land of Avanti,\n(symbolized by the other wood, [184]) he made towards her, and the\nwind which stripped him of his arms is the curse of the snake, which\nseparated him from his ministers. Then Vin\u00e1yaka [185] appeared as a\nman with a pendulous belly, and restored to him his arms, (that is to\nsay, his ministers,) and so he recovered his former condition. Then\nhe went and after enduring great hardship, obtained from another place\nthe lioness, (that is Sas\u00e1nkavat\u00ed,) and returned. And when the hunter,\n(that is his father,) saw him coming near with his wife, having swept\naway the obstacles which his foes put in his way, [186] he resigned\nto him the whole of his forest, (that is his kingdom,) and retired\nto a grove of ascetics. Thus has Siva shewn you the future as if it\nhad already taken place. So you may be sure, your master will recover\nyou, his ministers, and obtain his wife and his kingdom.\" When the\nexcellent hermit had thus instructed me, I recovered hope and left\nthat hermitage, and travelling along slowly I have met you here,\nprince, to-day. So you may rest assured, prince, that you will recover\nPrachandasakti, and your other ministers, and gain your object; you\ncertainly gained the favour of Ganesa by worshipping him before you\nset out.\n\nWhen Mrig\u00e1nkadatta had listened for a while to this strange story of\nVimalabuddhi's, he was much pleased, and after he had again deliberated\nwith him, he set out for the city of Avanti, with the double object\nof accomplishing his enterprise and recovering his other ministers.\n\n\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER LXXI.\n\n\nThen, as Mrig\u00e1nkadatta was journeying to Ujjayin\u00ed, with Srutadhi\nand Vimalabuddhi, to find Sas\u00e1nkavat\u00ed, he reached the Narmad\u00e1 which\nlay in his path. The fickle stream, when she beheld him, shook her\nwaves like twining arms, and gleamed white with laughing foam, as\nif she were dancing and smiling because he had so fortunately been\nreunited with his ministers. And when he had gone down into the bed\nof the river to bathe, it happened that a king of the Savaras, named\nM\u00e1y\u00e1vatu, came there for the same purpose. When he had bathed, three\nwater-genii [187] rose up at the same time and seized the Bhilla,\nwhose retinue fled in terror. When Mrig\u00e1nkadatta saw that, he went\ninto the water with his sword drawn, and killed those water-genii,\nand delivered that king of the Bhillas. When the king of the Bhillas\nwas delivered from the danger of those monsters, he came up out of the\nwater and fell at the feet of the prince, and said to him,--\"Who are\nyou, that Providence has brought here to save my life on the present\noccasion? Of what virtuous father do you adorn the family? And what is\nthat country favoured by fortune to which you are going?\" When he said\nthis, Srutadhi told him the prince's whole story from the beginning,\nand then the Savara king shewed him exceeding respect, and said to him;\n\"Then I will be your ally in this undertaking which you have in view,\nas you were directed by the god, and with me will come my friend\nDurgapis\u00e1cha the king of M\u00e1tangas. So do me the favour, my lord,\nof coming to my palace, since I am your slave.\"\n\nThus he entreated Mrig\u00e1nkadatta with various humble speeches, and\nthen took him to his own village. And there he entertained the prince\nfittingly with all the luxuries he could command, and all the people\nof the village shewed him respect. And the king of the M\u00e1tangas came\nand honoured him as the saviour of his friend's life, and placed his\nhead on the ground to shew that he was his slave. Then Mrig\u00e1nkadatta\nremained there some days, to please that M\u00e1y\u00e1vatu, the king of the\nBhillas.\n\nAnd one day, while he was staying there, that king of the Savaras began\nto gamble with Chandaketu his own warder. And while he was playing, the\nclouds began to roar, and the domestic peacocks lifted up their heads\nand began to dance, and king M\u00e1y\u00e1vatu rose up to look at them. Then\nthe warder, who was an enthusiastic gambler, said to his sovereign,\n\"What is the use, my master, of looking at these peacocks which are\nnot skilled in dancing? I have a peacock in my house, to which you\nwould not find an equal in the world. I will show it you to-morrow,\nif you take pleasure in such things.\" When the king heard that, he\nsaid to the warder, \"You must certainly shew it to me,\" and then he\nset about the duties of the day. And Mrig\u00e1nkadatta, when he heard all\nthat, rose up with his companions, and performed his duties such as\nbathing and eating.\n\n\n\nThe adventures of Mrig\u00e1nkadatta and the warder.\n\nAnd when the night came, and thick darkness was diffused over the face\nof things, the prince went out alone and self-impelled from the chamber\nin which his companions were sleeping, in search of adventures, with\nhis body smeared with musk, wearing dark-blue garments and with his\nsword in his hand. And as he was roaming about, a certain man, who was\ncoming along the road and did not see him on account of the darkness,\njostled against him, and struck his shoulder against his. Then he\nrushed at him angrily and challenged him to fight. But the person\nchallenged, being a man not easily abashed, made an appropriate reply,\n\"Why are you perplexed by want of reflection? If you reflect, you will\nsee that you ought to blame the moon for not lighting up this night,\nor the Governor of the world for not appointing that it should rule\nwith full sway here, [188] since in such darkness causeless quarrels\ntake place.\"\n\nMrig\u00e1nkadatta was pleased with this clever answer and he said\nto him, \"You are right. Who are you?\" The man answered, \"I am a\nthief.\" Whereupon the prince said falsely, \"Give me your hand,\nyou are of the same profession as myself.\" And the prince made\nan alliance with him, and went along with him out of curiosity,\nand at last reached an old well covered with grass. And there the\nman entered a tunnel, and Mrig\u00e1nkadatta went along it with him,\nand reached the harem of that king M\u00e1y\u00e1vatu. And when he got there,\nhe recognized the man by the light of the lamp, and lo! it was the\nwarder Chandaketu, and not a robber. But the warder, who was the\nsecret paramour of the king's wife, did not recognize the prince,\nbecause he had other garments on than those he usually wore, [189]\nand kept in a corner where there was not much light.\n\nBut the moment the warder arrived, the king's wife, who was named\nManjumat\u00ed, and was desperately in love with him, rose up and threw her\narms round his neck. And she made him sit down on a sofa, and said to\nhim, \"Who is this man that you have brought here to-day?\" Then he said\nto her, \"Make your mind easy, it is a friend of mine.\" But Manjumat\u00ed\nsaid excitedly, \"How can I, ill-starred woman that I am, feel at ease,\nnow that this king has been saved by Mrig\u00e1nkadatta, after entering the\nvery jaws of death?\" When the warder heard her say that, he answered,\n\"Do not grieve, my dear! I will soon kill the king and Mrig\u00e1nkadatta\ntoo.\" When he said this, she answered, as fate would have it, \"Why\ndo you boast? When the king was seized that day by monsters in the\nwater of the Narmad\u00e1, Mrig\u00e1nkadatta alone was ready to rescue him;\nwhy did you not kill him then? The fact is, you fled in fear. So be\nsilent, lest some one hear this speech of yours, and then you would\ncertainly meet with calamity at the hands of Mrig\u00e1nkadatta, who is\na brave man.\" When she said this, her paramour the warder lost his\ntemper with her. He said, \"Wretched woman, you are certainly in love\nwith Mrig\u00e1nkadatta, so receive now from me the just recompense of that\ntaunt.\" And he rose up to kill her, dagger in hand. Then a maid, who\nwas her confidante, ran and laid hold of the dagger with her hand and\nheld it. In the meanwhile Manjumat\u00ed escaped into another room. And\nthe warder dragged the dagger out of the maid's hand, cutting her\nfingers in the process; and returned home by the way which he came,\nsomewhat confused, with Mrig\u00e1nkadatta, who was much astonished.\n\nThen Mrig\u00e1nkadatta, who could not be recognized in the darkness,\nsaid to the warder, \"You have reached your own house, so I will\nleave you.\" But the warder said to the prince, \"Sleep here to-night,\nwithout going further, for you are very tired.\" Then the prince\nconsented, as he wished to learn something of his goings on; and\nthe warder called one of his servants and said to him, \"Take this\nman to the room where the peacock is, and let him rest there and\ngive him a bed.\" The servant said--\"I will do as you command,\" and\ntook the prince to the room and placed a light in it, and gave him\na bed. He then departed, fastening the outer door with a chain, and\nMrig\u00e1nkadatta saw the peacock there in a cage. He said to himself,\n\"This is the very peacock, that the warder was speaking of,\" and out\nof curiosity he opened its cage. And the peacock came out and, after\nlooking intently at Mrig\u00e1nkadatta, it fell down and rolled at his\nfeet again and again. And as it was rolling, the prince saw a string\ntied round its neck and at once untied it, thinking that it gave the\nbird pain. The peacock, the moment that the thread was loosed from\nits neck, became before his eyes his minister Bh\u00edmapar\u00e1krama. Then\nMrig\u00e1nkadatta embraced the affectionate minister, who bowed before\nhim, and in his astonishment said to him, \"Tell me, friend, what is\nthe meaning of this?\" Then Bh\u00edmapar\u00e1krama said to him in his delight,\n\"Listen, prince, I will tell you my story from the beginning.\"\n\n\n\nThe adventures of Bh\u00edmapar\u00e1krama after his separation from the prince.\n\nWhen I was separated from you by the curse of the N\u00e1ga, I wandered\nabout in the wood until I reached a salmali tree. [190] And I saw an\nimage representing Ganesa carved in the tree, which I worshipped,\nand then I sat down at the foot of the tree being tired, and I\nsaid to myself, \"All this mischief has been brought about by me,\nby telling my master that time the incident of the Vet\u00e1la which took\nplace at night. So I will abandon here this my sinful body.\" In this\nframe of mind I remained there, fasting, in front of the god. And\nafter some days an old traveller came that way, and sat in the shade\nof that tree. And the good man, seeing me, questioned me with much\npersistence, saying, \"Why do you remain in this solitary place, my son,\nwith such a downcast face?\" Then I told him my story, exactly as it\ntook place, and the old traveller kindly said to me, to encourage me;\n\"Why, being a man, are you killing yourself like a woman? Moreover,\neven women do not lose their courage in calamity; hear the following\ntale in proof of it.\"\n\n\n\nStory of Kamal\u00e1kara and Hans\u00e1val\u00ed.\n\nIn the city of Kosala there was a king, named Vimal\u00e1kara, and he\nhad a son named Kamal\u00e1kara, who was made by the Creator admirable in\nrespect of the qualities of courage, beauty and generosity, as if to\noutdo Skanda, Kandarpa, and the wishing-tree of heaven. Then one day\na bard, whom he had known before, came and recited a certain stanza\nin the presence of that prince, who deserved to be praised by bards in\nall the regions of the world. \"Where can the row of swans [191] obtain\nsatisfaction, until it reaches the lotus-bed, [192] round which sings a\nhost of many noisy birds [193] delighted at obtaining the lotus-flower\n[194]?\" When the bard, named Manorathasiddhi, had frequently recited\nthis stanza, prince Kamal\u00e1kara questioned him, and he said to him:\n\"Prince, as I was roaming about, I reached the city of king Megham\u00e1lin,\nnamed Vidis\u00e1, the pleasure-ground of the goddess of prosperity. There\nI was staying in the house of a professor of singing, named Dardura,\nand one day he happened to say to me, 'To-morrow the daughter of\nthe king, named Hans\u00e1val\u00ed, will exhibit in his presence her skill\nin dancing, which she has lately been taught.' When I heard that,\nI was filled with curiosity, and managed to enter the king's palace\nwith him the following day, and went into the dancing-hall. There I\nsaw the slender-waisted princess Hans\u00e1val\u00ed dancing before her father,\nto the music of a great tabor, looking like a creeper of the tree of\nLove agitated by the wind of youth, shaking her ornaments like flowers,\ncurving her hand like a shoot. Then I thought, 'There is no one fitted\nto be the husband of this fawn-eyed one, except the prince Kamal\u00e1kara;\nso, if she, being such, is not joined to him, why has the god of love\ntaken the trouble of stringing his bow of flowers thus fruitlessly? So\nI will adopt some expedient in this matter.' Thus minded I went, after\nI had seen the spectacle, to the door of the king's court, and I put up\na notice with this inscription on it; 'If there is any painter here,\nwho is a match for me, let him paint a picture.' When no one else\ndared to tear it down, the king coming to hear of it, appointed me\nto paint his daughter's bower. Then I painted you and your servants,\nprince Kamal\u00e1kara, on the wall of the bower of that Hans\u00e1val\u00ed.\n\n\"I thought to myself, 'If I declare the matter openly, she will know\nthat I am scheming, so I will let the princess know it by means of\nan artifice.' So I persuaded a handsome fellow, who was an intimate\nfriend of mine, to come near the palace, and pretend to be mad, and\nI arranged with him beforehand how he was to behave. Now he was seen\na long way off by the princes, as he was roaming about singing and\ndancing, and they had him brought into their presence to make game of\nhim. Then Hans\u00e1val\u00ed saw him, and had him brought by way of a joke into\nher bower, and, when he saw the picture of you, which I had painted\nthere, he began to praise you, saying, 'I am fortunate in beholding\nthis Kamal\u00e1kara, who is, like Vishnu, an endless store of virtues,\nwith his hand marked with the lotus and conch, the object of the favour\nof the goddess of Fortune.' When the princess heard him singing such\nsongs, as he danced, she said to me, 'What does this fellow mean? Who\nis it that you have painted here?' When she asked me this persistently,\nI said, 'This mad fellow must have previously seen this prince, whom I\nhave painted here out of regard for his beauty.' And then I told her\nyour name, and described to her your good qualities. Then the young\ntree of passion grew up in the heart of Hans\u00e1val\u00ed, which was irrigated\nby the overflowing streams of gushing love for you. Then the king her\nfather came and saw what was going on, and in wrath had the pretended\nmadman, who was dancing, and myself, both turned out of doors. After\nthat she pined away day by day with longing, and was reduced to such\na state that, like a streak of the moon during the wane, she had only\nher beauty left. And on the pretence of illness she went to a temple\nof Vishnu that dispels calamity, and so managed to live a solitary\nlife by the permission of her father. And being unable to sleep,\nowing to thinking on you, she could not endure the cruel moonlight,\nand remained there ignorant of the changes of day and night. Then she\nsaw me one day from a window, as I was entering there, and she summoned\nme, and honoured me respectfully with dresses and ornaments. [195]\nAnd then I went out, and saw this stanza which I have repeated to\nyou written on the border of a garment that she had given me: hear\nit again; 'Where can the row of swans obtain satisfaction, until it\nreaches the lotus-bed, round which sings a host of many noisy birds\ndelighted at obtaining the lotus-flower.' And when I read it, I knew\nfor certain how she felt towards you, and I came here to inform you\nand recited the stanza in your presence, and here is the garment on\nwhich she wrote the stanza.\" When Kamal\u00e1kara heard the speech of the\nbard, and saw the stanza, he joyed exceedingly, thinking on Hans\u00e1val\u00ed,\nwho had entered his heart, he knew not whether by eye or ear.\n\nNow it happened that, while he was thinking with eager longing about\nthe best means of obtaining this princess, his father summoned him\nand said to him; \"My son, unenterprising kings perish like snakes\narrested by a charm, and how can kings rise up again when they have\nonce perished? But you have been addicted to pleasures, and up to the\npresent time you have not been visited by any longing for conquest;\nso arouse yourself, and fling off sloth; advance and conquer that\nenemy of mine the king of Anga, who has left his own country on an\nenterprise against me, and I will remain at home. When the brave\nKamal\u00e1kara heard this, he agreed to undertake the enterprise, being\ndesirous of marching towards the country of his beloved. Then he\nset out with the forces which his father assigned him, making the\nearth and the hearts of his enemies tremble. And he reached in a few\nmarches the army of the king of Anga, and when that prince turned\nround to make a counter-attack, he fought with him. And the brave\nhero drank up his army, as Agastya did the water of the sea, and being\nvictorious, captured the king alive. And he sent that enemy in chains\nto his father, committing him to the care of the principal warder in\naccordance with a letter, which he sent with him. But he commissioned\nthe warder to give the following message by word of mouth to the king,\n\"I now leave this place, my father, to conquer other enemies.\" So\nhe went on conquering other enemies, and with his army augmented by\ntheir forces, he at last arrived in the vicinity of the city of Vidis\u00e1.\n\nAnd encamping there he sent an ambassador to Megham\u00e1lin the father\nof Hans\u00e1val\u00ed, to ask for her in marriage. When that king learnt from\nthe ambassador that he had come, not as an enemy, but for the sake of\nhis daughter, he paid a friendly visit to him in person. The prince\nwelcomed him; and Megham\u00e1lin, after he had complimented the prince,\nsaid to him, \"Why did you take the trouble of coming in person about\na business which might have been negotiated by an ambassador? For\nI desire this marriage; hear the reason. Seeing that this Hans\u00e1val\u00ed\nwas even in her childhood devoted to the worship of Vishnu, and that\nshe had a frame delicate as a sir\u00edsha, I became anxious about her,\nand kept saying to myself, 'Who will be a fitting husband for this\ngirl.' And, as I could not think of a suitable husband for her, I was\ndeprived of sleep by my anxiety about the matter, and contracted a\nviolent fever. And in order to allay it, I worshipped and petitioned\nVishnu, and one night, when I was only able to sleep a little on\naccount of pain, Vishnu said to me in a dream, 'Let that Hans\u00e1val\u00ed,\non account of whom you have contracted this fever, touch you with\nher hand, my son, then your fever will be allayed. For her hand is so\nholy from worshipping me, that whenever she touches any one with it,\nhis fever, even though incurable, will certainly pass away. And you\nneed have no more anxiety about her marriage, since prince Kamal\u00e1kara\nis destined to be her husband. But she will endure some misery for\na short time.' When I had been thus instructed by Vishnu in a dream,\nI woke up at the end of the night. Then my fever was removed by the\ntouch of Hans\u00e1val\u00ed's hand. And so the union of you two is appointed\nby the god. Accordingly I bestow on you Hans\u00e1val\u00ed.\" When he had said\nthis, he had an auspicious moment fixed for the marriage and returned\nto his capital.\n\nThere he told all that he had done, and when Hans\u00e1val\u00ed had heard it,\nshe said in secret to her confidante, named Kanakamanjar\u00ed, \"Go and\nsee with your own eyes whether that prince, to whom I am to be given,\nis the same as he, who, when painted here by the artist, captivated my\nheart. For it is just possible that my father may wish, out of fear,\nto bestow me as a gift on some prince of the same name, that has\ncome here with an army.\" With these words she sent off Kanakamanjar\u00ed,\nacting in accordance with her own will only.\n\nAnd the confidante, having assumed the complete disguise of an ascetic,\nwith rosary of Aksha beads, deer-skin, and matted hair, went to\nthe camp of that prince, and entered introduced by his attendants,\nand beheld him looking like the god that presides over the weapon\nwith which the god of love conquers the world. And her heart was\nfascinated by his beauty, and she remained a moment looking as if she\nwere in profound meditation. And full of longing she said to herself,\n\"If I am not united with this charming prince, I shall have been born\nin vain. So I will take the necessary steps to ensure that, whatever\ncomes of it.\" Then she went up to him, and gave him her blessing,\nand bestowed on him a jewel, and he received the gem politely and sat\ndown; then she said to him, \"This is an excellent jewel of which I\nhave often seen the properties tested. By holding it in your hand you\ncan render ineffectual the best weapon of your enemy. And I give it\nyou out of regard for your excellence, for it is not of so much use\nto me, prince, as it is to you.\" When she said this, the prince began\nto speak to her, but she forbade him, on the ground that she had vowed\nan exclusive devotion to the life of a beggar, and departed thence.\n\nThen she laid aside the dress of a female ascetic, and assumed a\ndowncast expression of face, and went into the presence of Hans\u00e1val\u00ed,\nand when questioned by her, made the following false statement;\n\"I must out of love for you reveal the king's secret, although it is\na matter which ought to be concealed. When I went from here to the\ncamp of the prince dressed as a female ascetic, a man came up to me\nof his own accord and said in a low voice, 'Reverend madam, do you\nknow the rites for exorcising demons?' When I heard that, I said to\nhim, looking upon him as the warder, 'I know them very well. This is\na trifling matter for me.' Then I was immediately introduced into\nthe presence of that prince Kamal\u00e1kara. And I saw him crouching,\npossessed by a demon, having horns on his head, and his attendants\nwere trying to restrain him; besides he had herbs and a talismanic\njewel on him. I performed certain pretended ceremonies to avert evil,\nand went out immediately, saying, 'To-morrow I will come and take\naway his affliction.' Accordingly, being exceedingly grieved with the\nsight of such an unexpected calamity, I have come here to tell you;\nit is for you to decide what you will do next.\"\n\nWhen the unsuspecting Hans\u00e1val\u00ed heard this trumped-up tale of\nher maid's, terrible as a thunderstroke, she was distracted and\nsaid to her, \"Out on the spite of destiny! she brings trouble on\nher handiwork, even when full of excellences; indeed the spot on\nthe moon is a disgrace to him who created it. As for this prince,\nI chose him as my husband, but I cannot see him, so it is best for me\nto die or to retire into some forest. So tell me what I had better do\nin this matter.\" When the guileless lady said this, the treacherous\nKanakamanjar\u00ed answered, \"Have some maid of yours, dressed in your\nclothes, married to him, and we will escape to some place of refuge;\nfor the people of the palace will be all in a state of excitement\nat that time.\" When the princess heard that, she said to her wicked\nconfidante, \"Then do you put on my clothes, and marry that prince; who\nelse is as faithful to me as you?\" The wicked Kanakamanjar\u00ed answered,\n\"Cheer up, I will manage to effect this by a stratagem, happen to me\nwhat may. But when the time comes, you must do as I direct you.\" When\nshe had consoled her with these words, she went and told an intimate\nfriend of hers, named Asokakar\u00ed, her secret object. And with her she\nwaited during three days on the desponding Hans\u00e1val\u00ed, who agreed with\nthem on the measures to he taken.\n\nAnd when the wedding-day came, the bridegroom Kamal\u00e1kara arrived\nat night, with a train of elephants, horses, and footmen. While\nall the people of the palace were occupied with festal rejoicing,\nKanakamanjar\u00ed, keeping by an artifice the other maids out of the way,\nquickly took Hans\u00e1val\u00ed into her chamber, ostensibly for the purpose\nof decking her, and put the princess's dress on herself, and clothed\nher in the dress of Asokakar\u00ed, and put her own dress on her accomplice\nAsokakar\u00ed, and when night came, said to Hans\u00e1val\u00ed, \"If you go out only\nthe distance of a cos from the western gate of this city, you will\nfind an old hollow Salmali-tree. Go and hide inside it, and await my\narrival. And after the business is accomplished, I will certainly come\nthere to you.\" When Hans\u00e1val\u00ed heard these words of her treacherous\nfriend, she agreed, and went out from the female apartments at night\nclad in her garments, and she passed out unperceived by the western\ngate of the city, which was crowded with the bridegroom's attendants,\nand reached the foot of that Salmali-tree. But when she saw that the\nhollow of it was black with thick darkness, she was afraid to go into\nit, so she climbed up a banyan-tree near it. There she remained hidden\nby the leaves, watching for the arrival of her treacherous friend,\nfor she did not see through her villainy, being herself of a guileless\nnature. [196]\n\nIn the palace meanwhile, the auspicious moment having arrived, the\nking brought Kanakamanjar\u00ed, who was dressed as Hans\u00e1val\u00ed, and placed\nher on the sacrificial platform, and Kamal\u00e1kara married that fair-hued\nmaid, and on account of its being night nobody detected her. And the\nmoment the marriage was over, the prince set out for his own camp\nat full speed by that same western gate of the city, in order to\ngain the benefit of propitious constellations, and he took with him\nthe supposed Hans\u00e1val\u00ed, together with Asokakar\u00ed, who was personating\nKanakamanjar\u00ed. And as he went along, he came near that Salmali-tree,\nin the banyan-tree near which was concealed Hans\u00e1val\u00ed, who had been so\ncruelly deceived. And when he arrived there, the supposed Hans\u00e1val\u00ed,\nwho was on the back of the elephant, which the king had mounted,\nembraced him, as if she were terrified. And he asked her eagerly the\nreason of that terror, whereupon she artfully replied with gushing\ntears; \"My husband, I remember that, last night, in a dream, a woman\nlike a R\u00e1kshas\u00ed rushed out from this tree, and seized me to eat\nme. Then a certain Br\u00e1hman ran forward and delivered me, and after\nhe had consoled me, he said, 'My daughter, you should have this tree\nburnt, and if this woman should come out of it, she must be thrown\nback into it. So all will turn out well.' When the Br\u00e1hman had said\nthis, he disappeared. And I woke up. Now that I have seen this tree\nI remember it. That is why I am frightened.\" When she said this,\nKamal\u00e1kara immediately ordered his servants to burn the tree and\nthe woman too. So they burned the tree; and the pretended Hans\u00e1val\u00ed\nthought that her mistress was burned in it, as she did not come out\nof it. Then she was satisfied, and Kamal\u00e1kara returned with her to\nthe camp, thinking that he had got the real Hans\u00e1val\u00ed. And the next\nmorning he returned rapidly from that place to his city of Kosala,\nand he was anointed king by his father, who was pleased at his\nsuccess. And after his father had gone to the forest, he ruled the\nearth, having for his wife Kanakamanjar\u00ed the pretended Hans\u00e1val\u00ed. But\nthe bard Manorathasiddhi kept at a distance from the palace, because\nhe feared for his own safety in case she were to find out who he was.\n\nBut when Hans\u00e1val\u00ed, who remained that night in the banyan-tree,\nheard and saw all that, she perceived that she had been tricked. And\nshe said to herself, as soon as Kamal\u00e1kara had departed; \"Alas! my\nwicked confidante has robbed me of my lover by treachery. Alas! she\neven desires to have me burned in order to ensure her own peace of\nmind. But to whom is reliance upon treacherous people not a source\nof calamity? So I will throw my unlucky self into the glowing\nashes of the Salmali-tree, that was burnt for me, and so pay my\ndebt to the tree.\" After these reflections she descended from the\ntree, determined to destroy herself, but as fate would have it,\nshe returned to her sober reason, and thought thus within herself;\n\"Why should I destroy myself without reason? If I live, I shall soon be\nrevenged on that betrayer of her friend. For when my father was seized\nwith that fever, Vishnu appeared to him in a dream, and after saying\nthat he was to be healed by the touch of my hand, said this to him,\n'Hans\u00e1val\u00ed shall obtain Kamal\u00e1kara, who will be a suitable husband\nfor her, but she shall endure calamity for a short time.' So I will\ngo somewhere and wait a little.\" When she had formed this resolution,\nshe set out for an uninhabited forest.\n\nAnd after she had gone a long distance, and was weary, and her\nsteps began to falter, the night disappeared, as if out of pity,\nin order to let her see her way. And the heaven being, as it were,\nmoved with compassion at beholding her, let fall a flood of tears in\nthe form of drops of dew. And the sun, the friend of the virtuous,\nrose up so as to comfort her, by revealing to her both hopes and the\nface of the country, and stretched out the fingers of his rays to\nwipe away her tears. Then the princess, being a little consoled, went\non slowly by by-paths, avoiding the sight of men; and wounded by the\nspikes of kusa grass, she at last reached with difficulty a certain\nforest, full of birds which seemed to be singing, \"Come here, come\nhere!\" She entered the wood fatigued, and was, as it were, courteously\nfanned by the trees with their creepers waving in the wind. So she,\nfull of longing for her beloved, beheld that wood in all the pomp of\nspring, where the cuckoos cooed sweetly on fragrant mango-trees in\nfull blossom. And in her despondency she said to herself; \"Although\nthis breeze from the Malaya mountain, red with the pollen of flowers,\nscorches me like a fire, and these showers of flowers falling from\nthe trees, while the bees hum, strike me like showers of the arrows\nof Love, still I will remain here worshipping with these flowers the\nhusband of Ram\u00e1, [197] and by so doing purge away my sin.\" Having\nformed this resolution, she remained bathing in tanks and living on\nfruit, devoted to the worship of Vishnu, in order to gain Kamal\u00e1kara.\n\nIn the meanwhile it happened that Kamal\u00e1kara was seized with a chronic\nquartan fever. Then the wicked Kanakamanjar\u00ed, who personated Hans\u00e1val\u00ed,\nwas terrified, and thought thus in her heart, \"I have always one\nfear in my heart, lest Asokakar\u00ed should reveal my secret, and now a\nsecond has come on the top of it. For the father of Hans\u00e1val\u00ed said\nto my husband, in the presence of a large number of persons, that\nthe touch of his daughter's hand removed fever; and as soon as in his\npresent attack he shall call that to mind, I shall be exposed, as not\nhaving that power, and ruined. So I will perform on his behalf with\nall due rites an incantation for obtaining control over an imp of the\nfever-demon, who has the power of removing fever, and who was mentioned\nto me long ago by a certain witch. And I will by a stratagem kill this\nAsokakar\u00ed, in front of the imp, in order that the offering to him may\nbe made with human flesh, and so he may be enlisted in my service and\nbring about the desired result. So the king's fever will be cured and\nAsokakar\u00ed removed at the same time, and both my fears will be ended;\nI do not see any chance of a prosperous issue in any other way.\"\n\nHaving formed this resolution, she told Asokakar\u00ed all the harmless\npoints of her plan, taking care to omit the necessity of slaying\na human being. Then Asokakar\u00ed consented, and brought the necessary\nutensils, and Kanakamanjar\u00ed by an artifice dismissed her attendants,\nand, accompanied by Asokakar\u00ed only, went out from the women's\napartments secretly at night by a postern-door, and sword in hand,\n[198] made for a deserted temple of Siva in which there was one\nlinga. There she killed with the sword a goat, and anointed the\nlinga with its blood, and made an offering to it of its flesh,\nand threw the animal's entrails round it by way of a garland, and\nhonoured it by placing on its summit the goat's lotus-like heart,\nand fumigated it with the smoke of its eyes, and lastly presented to\nit the animal's head by way of oblation. Then she smeared the front\nof the sacrificial platform with blood and sandalwood, and painted on\nit with yellow paint a lotus, having eight leaves, and on its pericarp\nshe traced with crushed mango a representation of the demon of fever,\nwith three feet and three mouths, and with a handful of ashes by way of\nweapon; and she represented on the leaves the fever's attendant imps in\nproper form, and summoned them with a spell which she knew. [199] And\nthen she wished to make an offering to them, preparatory to bathing,\nwith human flesh, as I said before, so she said to Asokakar\u00ed, \"Now,\nmy friend, prostrate yourself flat on the earth before the god, for\nthus you will obtain prosperous fortune.\" Then she consented, and\nflung herself flat on the earth, and the wicked Kanakamanjar\u00ed gave\nher a cut with the sword. As it happened, the sword only wounded her\nslightly on the shoulder, and she rose up terrified, and ran away,\nand seeing Kanakamanjar\u00ed pursuing her, she exclaimed again and again,\n\"Help, help!\" And thereupon some policemen, who happened to be near,\nran to her assistance. When they saw Kanakamanjar\u00ed pursuing her, sword\nin hand, with a ferocious expression of countenance, they thought she\nwas a R\u00e1kshas\u00ed, and slashed her with their swords till she was almost\ndead. But when they heard from the lips of Asokakar\u00ed the real state\nof the case, they took both the women to the king's court, with the\ngovernor of the town at their head. When king Kamal\u00e1kara heard their\nstory, he had that wicked wife and her confidante brought into his\npresence. And when they were brought, what with fear and the severe\npain of her wounds, Kanakamanjar\u00ed died on the spot.\n\nThen the king, in great despondency, said to Asokakar\u00ed, who was\nwounded, \"What is the meaning of this? Tell me without fear.\" Then\nAsokakar\u00ed related from the very beginning the history of the daring\ntreachery accomplished by Kanakamanjar\u00ed. Then king Kamal\u00e1kara,\nhaving found out the truth, thus bewailed his lot on that occasion,\n\"Alas! I have been deceived by this supposed Hans\u00e1val\u00ed into burning\nthe real Hans\u00e1val\u00ed with my own hand, fool that I was! Well! this\nwicked woman has met the just reward of her actions, in that, after\nbecoming the wife of a king, she has been thus put to death. But\nhow came I to permit cruel Destiny to deceive me with mere outward\nappearances, like a child, and so to rob me by taking away my jewel\nand giving me glass instead. Moreover, I did not remember that touch\nof the hand of Hans\u00e1val\u00ed, of which Vishnu spoke to her father, which\nhas given evidence of its power to remove fever.\" While Kamal\u00e1kara\nwas thus lamenting, he suddenly recollected the words of Vishnu and\nsaid to himself, \"Her father Megham\u00e1lin told me that Vishnu said that\nshe should obtain a husband, but that she should suffer some little\naffliction, and that word of the god, made known to men, will not\nhave been spoken in vain. So it is quite possible that she may have\ngone somewhere else, and be still alive, for who knows the mysterious\nways of a woman's heart, any more than those of destiny? So in this\nmatter the bard Manorathasiddhi must once more be my refuge.\"\n\nThus reflecting, the king sent for that excellent bard, and said\nto him, \"How is it, my good friend, that you are never seen in the\npalace?\" But how can those obtain their wishes, who are deceived by\nrogues? When the bard heard that, he said, \"My excuse is that this\nAsokakar\u00ed was well nigh slain, out of fear that she would reveal the\nsecret. But you must not be despondent about Hans\u00e1val\u00ed, for Vishnu\nrevealed that she would suffer calamity for a short time. And he\ncertainly protects her, because she is ever intent on worshipping him;\nfor virtue prevails; has it not been seen in the present instance? So\nI will go, king, to obtain tidings of her.\" When the bard said this\nto the king, he answered him, \"I myself will go in search of her with\nyou. For otherwise my mind cannot be at rest even for a moment.\"\n\nWhen the king had said this, he resolved on the course to be taken,\nand next day he entrusted his kingdom to the care of his minister\nPrajn\u00e1dhya. And though the minister did all he could to dissuade\nhim, the king left the town unobserved with Manorathasiddhi. And he\nwent round to many holy places, hermitages, and forests in search of\nher, disregarding physical suffering, for weighty is the command of\nLove. And it happened that he and Manorathasiddhi at last reached the\nwood, where Hans\u00e1val\u00ed was performing austerities. There he saw her\nat the foot of a red Asoka-tree, thin and pale, but yet charming,\nlike the last digit of the gleaming moon. And he said to the bard;\n\"Who is this silent and motionless, engaged in meditation? Can she\nbe a goddess, for her beauty is more than human?\" When the bard\nheard that, he looked and said, \"You are fortunate, my sovereign, in\nfinding Hans\u00e1val\u00ed; for it is she herself that is standing there.\" When\nHans\u00e1val\u00ed heard that, she looked at them, and recognising that bard,\nshe cried out with renewed grief; \"Alas! my father, I am ruined! alas\nmy husband, Kamal\u00e1kara! alas Manorathasiddhi! alas, Destiny, source\nof untoward events!\" Thus lamenting, she fell on the ground in a\nfaint, and when Kamal\u00e1kara heard and saw her, he too fell on the\nearth overpowered with grief. Then they were both brought round by\nManorathasiddhi; and when they had recognised one another for certain,\nthey were much delighted, and, having crossed the ocean of separation,\nthey experienced indescribable joy, and they told one another in due\ncourse all their adventures. Then Kamal\u00e1kara returned with Hans\u00e1val\u00ed\nand that bard to the city of Kosala. There he received in marriage her\nhand that had the power of removing disease, after summoning her father\nthe famous Megham\u00e1lin. Then Kamal\u00e1kara shone exceedingly bright, being\nunited with Hans\u00e1val\u00ed, both whose wings were pure. [200] And having\nattained his object in life, he lived happily with her whose endurance\nhad borne fruit, ruling the earth, inseparable from Manorathasiddhi.\n\n\"So you see those who do not lose heart, even in calamity, obtain\nall they desire, and on the same principle you should abstain from\nsuicide, for, if you live, you will be reunited to that lord.\" With\nthese words the old traveller closed his tale, and after dissuading\nme from death, departed whither he would.\n\nAfter Bh\u00edmapar\u00e1krama had told all this to Mrig\u00e1nkadatta at night in\nthe house of Chandaketu, he went on to say:\n\n\n\nContinuation of the adventures of Bh\u00edmapar\u00e1krama.\n\nSo, having received useful admonition, I left that forest and went\nto the city of Ujjayin\u00ed, for which I knew you were making, to find\nyou. When I did not find you there, I entered the house of a certain\nwoman to lodge, as I was worn out, and gave her money for food. She\ngave me a bed, and being tired I slept for some time, but then I\nwoke up, and out of curiosity I remained quiet, and watched her, and\nwhile I was watching, the woman took a handful of barley, and sowed\nit all about inside the house, her lip trembling all the time with\nmuttering spells. Those grains of barley immediately sprang up, and\nproduced ears, and ripened, and she cut them down, and parched them,\nand ground them, and made them into barley-meal. And she sprinkled\nthe barley-meal with water, and put it in a brass pot, and, after\narranging her house as it was before, she went out quickly to bathe.\n\nThen, as I saw that she was a witch, I took the liberty of rising up\nquickly; and taking that meal out of the brass pot, I transferred it\nto the meal-bin, and I took as much barley-meal out of the meal-bin,\nand placed it in the brass vessel, taking care not to mix the two\nkinds. Then I went back again to bed, and the woman came in, and roused\nme up, and gave me that meal from the brass pot to eat, and she ate\nsome herself, taking what she ate from the meal-bin, and so she ate\nthe charmed meal, not knowing that I had exchanged the two kinds. The\nmoment she had eaten that barley-meal, she became a she-goat; then\nI took her and sold her by way of revenge to a butcher. [201]\n\nThen the butcher's wife came up to me and said angrily, \"You have\ndeceived this friend of mine--you shall reap the fruit of this.\" When\nI had been thus threatened by her, I went secretly out of the town,\nand being weary I lay down under a banyan-tree, and went to sleep. And\nwhile I was in that state, that wicked witch, the butcher's wife, came\nand fastened a thread on my neck. Then the wicked woman departed, and\nimmediately I woke up, and when I began to examine myself, lo! I had\nturned into a peacock, though I still retained my intelligence. [202]\n\nThen I wandered about for some days much distressed, and one day\nI was caught alive by a certain fowler. He brought me here and\ngave me to this Chandaketu, the principal warder of the king of the\nBhillas, by way of a complimentary present. The warder, for his part,\nimmediately made me over to his wife, and she put me in this house as\na pet bird. And to-day, my prince, you have been guided here by fate,\nand have loosened the thread round my neck, and so I have recovered\nmy human shape.\n\n\"So let us leave this place quickly, for this warder always murders\nnext morning [203] the companions of his midnight rambles, for fear\nhis secrets should be disclosed. And to-day he has brought you here,\nafter you have been a witness of his nightly adventures, so fasten,\nmy prince, on your neck this thread prepared by the witch, and turn\nyourself into a peacock, and go out by this small window; then I\nwill stretch out my hand and loosen the thread from your neck, which\nyou must put up to me, and I will fasten it on my own neck and go\nout quickly in the same way. Then you must loosen the thread round\nmy neck, and we shall both recover our former condition. But it is\nimpossible to go out by the door which is fastened from outside.\"\n\nWhen the sagacious Bh\u00edmapar\u00e1krama had said this, Mrig\u00e1nkadatta\nagreed to his proposal and so escaped from the house with him; and\nhe returned to his lodging where his other two friends were; there\nhe and his friends all spent the night pleasantly in describing to\none another all their adventures.\n\nAnd in the morning M\u00e1y\u00e1vatu, the Bhilla king, the head of that town,\ncame to Mrig\u00e1nkadatta, and after asking him whether he had spent the\nnight pleasantly, he said to amuse him, \"Come, let us play dice.\" Then\nMrig\u00e1nkadatta's friend Srutadhi, observing that the Bhilla had come\nwith his warder, said to him, \"Why should you play dice? Have you\nforgotten? To-day we are to see the dance of the warder's peacock,\nwhich was talked about yesterday.\" When the Savara king heard that,\nhe remembered, and out of curiosity sent the warder to fetch the\npeacock. And the warder remembered the wounds he had inflicted,\nand thought to himself, \"Why did I in my carelessness forget to put\nto death that thief, who witnessed my secret nightly expedition,\nthough I placed him in the peacock's house? So I will go quickly,\nand do both the businesses.\" And thereupon he went quickly home.\n\nBut when he reached his own palace and looked into the house\nwhere the peacock was, he could not find either the thief or the\npeacock. Then terrified and despondent he returned and said to his\nsovereign; \"My lord, that peacock has been taken away in the night\nby a thief.\" Then Srutadhi said smiling, \"The man who took away your\npeacock is renowned as a clever thief.\" And when M\u00e1y\u00e1vatu saw them\nall smiling, and looking at one another, he asked with the utmost\neagerness what it all meant. Then Mrig\u00e1nkadatta told the Savara king\nall his adventures with the warder; how he met him in the night,\nand how the warder entered the queen's apartment as a paramour, and\nhow he drew his knife in a quarrel; how he himself went to the house\nof the warder, and how he set Bh\u00edmapar\u00e1krama free from his peacock\ntransformation, and how he escaped thence.\n\nThen M\u00e1y\u00e1vatu, after hearing that, and seeing that the maid in\nthe harem had a knife-wound in the hand, and that when that thread\nwas replaced for a moment on the neck of Bh\u00edmapar\u00e1krama, he again\nbecame a peacock, put his warder to death at once as a violator of\nhis harem. But he spared the life of that unchaste queen, on the\nintercession of Mrig\u00e1nkadatta, and renouncing her society, banished\nher to a distance from his court. And Mrig\u00e1nkadatta, though eager\nto win Sas\u00e1nkavat\u00ed, remained some more days in the Pulinda's town,\ntreated with great consideration by him, looking for the arrival of\nthe rest of his friends and his re-union with them.\n\n\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER LXXII.\n\n\nWhile Mrig\u00e1nkadatta was thus residing in the palace of M\u00e1y\u00e1vatu, the\nking of the Bhillas, accompanied by Vimalabuddhi and his other friends,\none day the general of the Bhilla sovereign came to him in a state of\ngreat excitement, and said to him in the presence of Mrig\u00e1nkadatta;\n\"As by your Majesty's orders I was searching for a man to offer as a\nvictim to Durg\u00e1, I found one so valiant that he destroyed five hundred\nof your best warriors, and I have brought him here disabled by many\nwounds.\" When the Pulinda chief heard that, he said to the general,\n\"Bring him quickly in here, and shew him to me.\" Then he was brought\nin, and all beheld him smeared with the blood that flowed from his\nwounds, begrimed with the dust of battle, bound with cords, and\nreeling, like a mad elephant tied up that is stained with the fluid\nthat flows from his temples mixed with the vermilion painting on his\ncheek. Then Mrig\u00e1nkadatta recognised him as his minister Gun\u00e1kara, and\nran and threw his arms round his neck, weeping. Then the king of the\nBhillas, hearing from Mrig\u00e1nkadatta's friends that it was Gun\u00e1kara,\nbowed before him, and comforted him as he was clinging to the feet\nof his master, and brought him into his palace, and gave him a bath,\nand bandaged his wounds, and supplied him attentively with wholesome\nfood and drink, such as was recommended by the physicians. Then\nMrig\u00e1nkadatta, after his minister had been somewhat restored, said to\nhim; \"Tell me, my friend, what adventures have you had?\" Then Gun\u00e1kara\nsaid in the hearing of all, \"Hear, prince, I will tell you my story.\"\n\n\n\nThe adventures of Gun\u00e1kara after his separation from the prince.\n\nAt that time when I was separated from you by the curse of the N\u00e1ga,\nI was so bewildered that I was conscious of nothing, but went on\nroaming through that far-extending wilderness. At last I recovered\nconsciousness and thought in my grief, \"Alas! this is a terrible\ndispensation of unruly destiny. How will Mrig\u00e1nkadatta, who would\nsuffer even in a palace, exist in this desert of burning sand? And how\nwill his companions exist? Thus reflecting frequently in my mind, I\nhappened, as I was roaming about, to come upon the abode of Durg\u00e1. And\nI entered her temple, in which were offered day and night many and\nvarious living creatures, and which therefore resembled the palace of\nthe god of Death. After I had worshipped the goddess there, I saw the\ncorpse of a man who had offered himself, and who held in his hand a\nsword that had pierced his throat. When I saw that, I also, on account\nof my grief at being separated from you, determined to propitiate the\ngoddess by the sacrifice of myself. So I ran and seized his sword. But\nat that moment some compassionate female ascetic, after forbidding\nme from a distance by a prohibitive shake of the head, came up to me,\nand dissuaded me from death, and after asking me my story said to me;\n\"Do not act so, the re-union even of the dead has been seen in this\nworld, much more of the living. Hear this story in illustration of it.\"\n\n\n\nStory of king Vin\u00edtamati who became a holy man.\n\nThere is a celebrated city on the earth, of the name of Ahichchhatr\u00e1,\n[204] in it there dwelt of old time a mighty king, of the name of\nUdayatunga. And he had a noble warder named Kamalamati. This warder had\na matchless son named Vin\u00edtamati. The lotus, in spite of its threads,\nand the bow, in spite of its string, could not be compared to that\nyouth who possessed a string of good qualities, for the first was\nhollow and the second crooked. One day, as he was on a platform on\nthe top of a palace white with plaster, he saw the moon rising in the\nbeginning of the night, like a splendid ear-ornament on the darkness of\nthe eastern quarter, made of a shoot from the wishing-tree of love. And\nVin\u00edtamati, seeing the world gradually illuminated with its numerous\nrays, felt his heart leap within him, and said to himself, \"Ha! the\nways are seen to be lighted up by the moonlight, as if whitened with\nplaster, so why should I not go there and roam about? Accordingly\nhe went out with his bow and arrows, and roamed about, and after he\nhad gone only a cos, he suddenly heard a noise of weeping. He went\nin the direction of the sound and saw a certain maiden of heavenly\nappearance weeping, as she reclined at the foot of a tree. And he said\nto her, \"Fair one, who are you? And why do you make the moon of your\ncountenance like the moon when flecked with spots, by staining it\nwith tears?\" When he said this to her, she answered, \"Great-souled\none, I am the daughter of a king of the snakes named Gandham\u00e1lin,\nand my name is Vijayavat\u00ed. Once on a time my father fled from battle,\nand was thus cursed by V\u00e1suki--'Wicked one, you shall be conquered\nand become the slave of your enemy.' In consequence of that curse, my\nfather was conquered by his enemy, a Yaksha named K\u00e1lajihva, and made\nhis servant, and forced to carry a load of flowers for him. Grieved\nthereat, I tried for his sake to propitiate Gaur\u00ed with asceticism,\nand the holy goddess appeared to me in visible form, and said this\nto me, 'Listen, my child; there is in the M\u00e1nasa lake a great and\nheavenly lotus of crystal expanded into a thousand leaves. Its rays\nare scattered abroad when it is touched by the sun-beams, and it\ngleams like the many-crested head of Sesha, yellow with the rays of\njewels. Once on a time Kuvera beheld it, and conceived a desire for\nthat lotus, and after he had bathed in the M\u00e1nasa lake, he began to\nworship Vishnu in order to obtain it. And at that time the Yakshas,\nhis followers, were playing in the water, in the shapes of Brahmany\nducks and geese, and other aquatic creatures. And it happened that\nthe elder brother of your enemy K\u00e1lajihva, a Yaksha named Vidyujj\u00edva,\nwas playing with his beloved in the form of a Brahmany drake, and\nwhile flapping his wings, he struck and upset the argha vessel held in\nthe extremity of Kuvera's hand. Then the god of wealth was enraged,\nand by a curse made Vidyujj\u00edva and his wife Brahmany ducks [205]\non this very M\u00e1nasa lake. And K\u00e1lajihva, now that his elder brother\nis so transformed and is unhappy at night on account of the absence\nof his beloved, assumes out of affection her form every night to\nconsole him, and remains there in the day in his own natural form,\naccompanied by your father Gandham\u00e1lin, whom he has made a slave. So\nsend there, my daughter, the brave and enterprising Vin\u00edtamati, of the\ntown of Ahichchhatr\u00e1, the son of the warder, and take this sword [206]\nand this horse, for with these that hero will conquer that Yaksha, and\nwill set your father at liberty. And whatever man becomes the possessor\nof this excellent sword, will conquer all his enemies and become a\nking on the earth.' After saying this, the goddess gave me the sword\nand horse, and disappeared. So I have come here to-day in due course\nto excite you to the enterprise, and seeing you going out at night\nwith the favour of the goddess, I brought you here by an artifice,\nhaving caused you to hear a sound of weeping. So accomplish for me\nthat desire of mine, noble sir!\" When Vin\u00edtamati was thus entreated\nby her, he immediately consented.\n\nThen the snake-maiden went at once and brought that swift white\nhorse, that looked like the concentrated rays of the moon, rushing\nforth into the extreme points of the earth to slay the darkness,\nand that splendid sword, equal in brightness to the starlight sky,\nappearing like a glance of the goddess of Fortune in search of\na hero, and gave them both to Vin\u00edtamati. And he set out with the\nsword, after mounting that horse with the maiden, and thanks to its\nspeed he reached that very lake M\u00e1nasa. The lotus-clumps of the lake\nwere shaken by the wind, and it seemed by the plaintive cries of its\nBrahmany ducks to forbid his approach out of pity for K\u00e1lajihva. And\nseeing Gandham\u00e1lin there in the custody of some Yakshas, he wounded\nthose miserable creatures with his sword and dispersed them, in order\nto set him at liberty. When K\u00e1lajihva saw that, he abandoned the form\nof a Brahmany duck and rose from the middle of the lake, roaring like a\ncloud of the rainy season. In the course of the fight K\u00e1lajihva soared\nup into the air, and Vin\u00edtamati, with his horse, soared up after him,\nand seized him by the hair. And when he was on the point of cutting off\nhis head with his sword, the Yaksha, speaking in a plaintive voice,\nimplored his protection. And being spared, he gave him his own ring,\nthat possessed the power of averting all the calamities called \u00edti,\n[207] and with all marks of deference he released Gandham\u00e1lin from\nslavery, and Gandham\u00e1lin, in his delight, gave Vin\u00edtamati his daughter\nVijayavat\u00ed, and returned home. Then Vin\u00edtamati, being the possessor\nof a splendid sword, ring, horse, and maiden, returned home as soon\nas the day broke. There his father welcomed him and questioned him,\nand was delighted at the account of his exploits, and so was his\nsovereign, and then he married that N\u00e1ga maiden. [208]\n\nAnd one day his father Kamalamati said in secret to the youth,\nwho was happy in the possession of these four priceless things,\nand of many accomplishments; \"The king Udayatunga here has a\ndaughter named Udayavat\u00ed, well taught in all the sciences, and he\nhas publicly announced that he will give her to the first Br\u00e1hman or\nKshatriya who conquers her in argument. And by her wonderful skill\nin argument she has silenced all other disputants, as by her beauty,\nwhich is the theme of the world's wonder, she has put to shame the\nnymphs of heaven. You are a distinguished hero, you are a disputant\nof the Kshatriya caste; why do you remain silent? Conquer her in\nargument, and marry her.\" [209] When Vin\u00edtamati's father said this\nto him, he answered,--\"My father, how can men like me contend with\nweak women? Nevertheless, I will obey this order of yours.\" When\nthe bold youth said this, his father went to the king, and said to\nhim,--\"Vin\u00edtamati will dispute with the princess to-morrow.\" And the\nking approved the proposal, and Kamalamati returned home, and informed\nhis son Vin\u00edtamati of his consent.\n\nThe next morning the king, like a swan, took up his position in\nthe midst of the lotus-bed of the assembly of learned men, and the\ndisputant Vin\u00edtamati entered the hall, resplendent like the sun,\nand being gazed on by the eyes of all the accomplished men who\nwere assembled there, that were turned towards him, he, as it were,\nanimated the lotus-bed with circling bees. And soon after the princess\nUdayavat\u00ed came there slowly, like the bow of the god of love bent\nwith the string of excellence; adorned with splendid sweetly-tinkling\nornaments, that seemed, as it were, to intimate her first objection\nbefore it was uttered. [210] A pure streak of the moon in a clear\nheaven would give some idea of her appearance when she was seated on\nher emerald throne. Then she made her first objection, stringing on\nthe threads of her glittering teeth a chain of elegant words like\njewels. But Vin\u00edtamati proved that her objection was based upon\npremisses logically untenable, and he soon silenced the fair one,\nrefuting her point by point. Then the learned audience commended him,\nand the princess, though beaten in argument, considered that she had\ntriumphed, as she had gained an excellent husband. And Udayatunga\nbestowed on Vin\u00edtamati his daughter, whom he had won in the arguing\nmatch. And the king loaded Vin\u00edtamati with jewels, and he lived united\nto the daughter of a snake and the daughter of a king.\n\nOnce on a time, when he was engaged in gambling, and was being beaten\nby other gamblers, and much distressed in mind thereat, a Br\u00e1hman\ncame and asked him for food with great importunity.\n\nHe was annoyed at that, and whispered in the ear of his servant, and\ncaused to be presented to the Br\u00e1hman a vessel full of sand wrapped\nup in a cloth. The simple-minded Br\u00e1hman thought, on account of its\nweight, that it must be full of gold, and went to a solitary place and\nopened [211] it. And seeing that it was full of sand, he flung it down\non the earth, and saying to himself, \"The man has deceived me,\" he went\nhome despondent. But Vin\u00edtamati thought no more of the matter, and left\nthe gambling, and remained at home with his wives in great comfort.\n\nAnd in course of time, the king Udayatunga became unable to bear\nthe burden of the empire, as his vigour in negotiations and military\noperations was relaxed by old age. [212] Then, as he had no son, he\nappointed his son-in-law Vin\u00edtamati his successor, and went to the\nGanges to lay down his body. And as soon as Vin\u00edtamati obtained the\ngovernment, he conquered the ten cardinal points by the virtue of his\nhorse and his sword. And, by the might of his calamity-averting ring,\nhis kingdom was free from sickness and famine, like that of R\u00e1ma.\n\nNow, once on a time, there came to that king from a foreign country\na mendicant, named Ratnachandr\u00e1mati, who was among other disputants\nlike the lion among elephants. The king, who was fond of accomplished\nmen, entertained him, and the mendicant challenged him to dispute\non the following terms, which he uttered in the form of a verse;\n\"If thou art vanquished, O king, thou must adopt the law of Buddha;\nif I am vanquished, I will abandon the rags of a Buddhist mendicant,\nand listen to the teaching of the Br\u00e1hmans.\" The king accepted this\nchallenge, and argued with the mendicant for seven days, and on the\neighth day the mendicant conquered that king, who in the dispute with\nUdayavat\u00ed had conquered the \"Hammer of Shavelings.\" Then faith arose\nin the breast of the king, and he adopted the Bauddha law taught by\nthat mendicant, which is rich in the merit of benefiting all creatures;\nand becoming devoted to the worship of Jina, he built monasteries and\nalms-houses for Buddhist mendicants, Br\u00e1hmans, and other sectaries,\nand all men generally.\n\nAnd being subdued in spirit by the practice of that law, he asked\nthat mendicant to teach him the rule for the discipline leading to the\nrank of a Bodhisattva, a rule which involves benefits to all. And the\nmendicant said to him; \"King, the great discipline of a Bodhisattva is\nto be performed by those who are free from sin, and by no others. Now\nyou are not tainted with any sin which is palpable, and therefore\nvisible to men like myself, but find out by the following method,\nif you have any minute sin, and so destroy it.\" With these words\nthe mendicant taught him a charm [213] for producing dreams, and the\nking, after having had a dream, said to the mendicant in the morning,\n\"Teacher, I fancied in my dream last night that I went to the other\nworld, and being hungry I asked for some food. And then some men with\nmaces in their hands said to me, 'Eat, O king, these numerous grains of\nhot sand earned by you, which you gave long ago to the hungry Br\u00e1hman,\nwhen he came to beg of you. If you give away ten crores of gold,\nyou will be liberated from this guilt.' When the men with maces had\nsaid this to me, I woke up, and lo! the night had come to an end.\"\n\nWhen the king had related his dream, he gave away, by order of the\nmendicant, ten crores of gold as an atonement for his sin, and again\nemployed the charm for producing dreams. And again he had that dream,\nand in the morning when he got up, he related it, and said; \"Last night\nalso those mace-bearers in the other world gave me sand to eat, when\nI was hungry, and then I said to them,--'Why should I eat this sand,\nthough I have bestowed alms?' Then they said to me--'Your gift was of\nno avail, for among the gold coins was one belonging to a Br\u00e1hman;'\nwhen I heard this I woke up.\" Having told his dream in these words,\nthe king gave away another ten crores of gold to beggars.\n\nAnd again, when the night came, he used that charm for producing\ndreams, and again he had a dream, and next morning when he got up, he\nrelated it in the following words; \"Last night too those men in the\nother world gave me sand to eat in my dream, and when I questioned\nthem, they said this to me, 'King, that gift of yours also is of no\navail, for to-day a Br\u00e1hman has been robbed and murdered in a forest\nin your country by bandits, and you did not protect him, so your gift\nis of no avail on account of your not protecting your subjects; so\ngive to-day double the gift of yesterday.' When I heard this I woke\nup.\" After the king had related his dream to his spiritual guide in\nthese words, he gave double his former gift.\n\nThen he said to the mendicant, \"Teacher, how can men like myself obey\nin this world a law which admits of so many infractions.\"\n\nWhen the mendicant heard that, he said, \"Wise men should not allow\nsuch a little thing to damp their ardour in the keeping of the law\nof righteousness. The gods themselves protect firm men, endowed with\nperseverance, that swerve not from their duty, and they bring their\nwishes to fulfilment. Have you not heard the story of the adorable\nBodhisattva in his former birth as a boar? Listen, I will tell it you.\"\n\n\n\nStory of the Holy Boar.\n\nLong ago there dwelt in a cavern in the Vindhya mountains a wise\nboar, who was an incarnation of a portion of a Buddha, together\nwith his friend a monkey. He was a benefactor of all creatures, and\nhe remained always in the society of that friend, honouring guests,\nand so he spent the time in occupations suited to him. But once on a\ntime there came on a storm lasting for five days, which was terrible,\nin that it hindered with its unintermitting rainfall the movements of\nall living creatures. On the fifth day, as the boar was lying asleep\nwith the monkey at night, there came to the door of the cave a lion\nwith his mate and his cub. Then the lion said to his mate, \"During\nthis long period of bad weather we shall certainly die of hunger from\nnot obtaining any animal to eat.\" The lioness answered, \"It is clear\nthat hunger will prevent all of us from surviving, so you two had\nbetter eat me and so save your lives. For you are my lord and master,\nand this son of ours is our very life; you will easily get another\nmate like me, so ensure the welfare of you two by devouring me.\"\n\nNow, as chance would have it, that noble boar woke up and heard\nthe conversation of the lion and his mate. And he was delighted,\nand thought to himself, \"The idea of my receiving such guests on\nsuch a night in such a storm! Ah! to-day my merit in a former state\nof existence has brought forth fruit. So let me satiate these guests\nwith this body that perishes in a moment, while I have a chance of\ndoing so.\" Having thus reflected, the boar rose up, and went out,\nand said to the lion with an affectionate voice; \"My good friend,\ndo not despond. For here I am ready to be eaten by you and your\nmate and your cub: so eat me.\" When the boar said this, the lion\nwas delighted and said to his mate, \"Let this cub eat first, then\nI will eat, and you shall eat after me.\" She agreed, and first the\ncub ate some of the flesh of the boar, and then the lion himself\nbegan to eat. And while he was eating, the noble boar said to him,\n\"Drink my blood quickly, before it sinks into the ground, and satisfy\nyour hunger with my flesh, and let your mate eat the rest.\" While\nthe boar was saying this, the lion gradually devoured his flesh until\nnothing but bones was left, but still the virtuous boar did not die,\nfor his life remained in him, as if to see what would be the end of his\nendurance. And in the meanwhile the lioness, exhausted with hunger,\ndied in the cave, and the lion went off somewhere or other with his\ncub, and the night came to an end. At this juncture his friend the\nmonkey woke up, and went out, and seeing the boar reduced to such a\ncondition, said to him in the utmost excitement, \"Who reduced you to\nsuch a state? Tell me, my friend, if you can.\" Thereupon the heroic\nboar told him the whole story. Then the monkey prostrated himself at\nhis feet, and said to him with tears,--\"You must be a portion of some\ndivinity, since you have thus rescued yourself from this animal nature:\nso tell me any wish that you may have, and I will endeavour to fulfil\nit for you.\" When the monkey said this to the boar, the boar answered;\n\"Friend, the only wish that I have is one difficult for even Destiny\nto fulfil. For my heart longs that I may recover my body as before,\nand that this unfortunate lioness that died of hunger before my eyes,\nmay return to life, and satiate her hunger by devouring me.\"\n\nWhile the boar was saying this, the god of Justice appeared in\nbodily form, and stroking him with his hand, turned him into a\nchief of sages possessing a celestial body. And he said to him;\n\"It was I that assumed the form of this lion, and lioness, and cub,\nand produced this whole illusion, because I wished to conquer thee\nwho art exclusively intent on benefiting thy fellow-creatures; but\nthou, possessing perfect goodness, gavest thy life for others, and\nso hast triumphed over me the god of Justice, and gained this rank\nof a chief of sages.\" The sage, hearing this, and seeing the god of\nJustice standing in front of him, said, \"Holy lord, this rank of chief\nof sages, even though attained, gives me no pleasure, since my friend\nthis monkey has not as yet thrown off his animal nature.\" When the\ngod of Justice heard this, he turned the monkey also into a sage. Of\na truth association with the great produces great benefit. Then the\ngod of Justice and the dead lioness disappeared.\n\n\"So you see, king, that it is easy for those, who in the strength of\ngoodness do not relax their efforts after virtue, and are aided by\ngods, to attain the ends which they desire.\" When the generous king\nVin\u00edtamati had heard this tale from the Buddhist mendicant, he again\nused, when the night came, that charm for obtaining a dream. And after\nhe had had a dream, he told it the next morning to the mendicant:\n\"I remember, a certain divine hermit said to me in my dream 'Son,\nyou are now free from sin, enter on the discipline for obtaining the\nrank of a Bodhisattva.' And having heard that speech I woke up this\nmorning with a mind at ease.\" When the king had said this to the\nmendicant, who was his spiritual guide, he took upon himself, with\nhis permission, that difficult vow on an auspicious day; and then he\nremained continually showering favours on suitors, and yet his wealth\nproved inexhaustible, for prosperity is the result of virtue.\n\nOne day a Br\u00e1hman suitor came and said to him: \"King, I am a Br\u00e1hman,\nan inhabitant of the city of P\u00e1taliputra. There a Br\u00e1hman-R\u00e1kshasa\nhas occupied my sacrificial fire-chamber and seized my son, and no\nexpedient, which I can make use of, is of any avail against him. So I\nhave come here to petition you, who are the wishing-tree of suppliants;\ngive me that ring of yours that removes all noxious things, in order\nthat I may have success.\" When the Br\u00e1hman made this request to the\nking, he gave him without reluctance the ring he had obtained from\nK\u00e1lajihva. And when the Br\u00e1hman departed with it, the fame of the\nking's Bodhisattva-vow was spread abroad throughout the world.\n\nAfterwards there came to him one day another guest, a prince named\nIndukalasa, from the northern region. The self-denying king, who knew\nthat the prince was of high lineage, shewed him respect, and asked him\nwhat he desired. The prince answered, \"You are celebrated on earth as\nthe wishing-stone of all suitors, you would not send away disappointed\na man who even asked you for your life. Now I have come to you as a\nsuppliant, because I have been conquered and turned out of my father's\nkingdom by my brother, whose name is Kanakakalasa. So give me, hero,\nyour excellent sword and horse, in order that by their virtue I may\nconquer the pretender and obtain my kingdom.\" When king Vin\u00edtamati\nheard that, be gave that prince his horse, and his sword, though\nthey were the two talismanic jewels that protected his kingdom, and\nso unshaken was his self-denial that he never hesitated for a moment,\nthough his ministers heaved sighs with downcast faces. So the prince,\nhaving obtained the horse and sword, went and conquered his brother\nby their aid, and got possession of his kingdom.\n\nBut his brother Kanakakalasa, who was deprived of the kingdom he had\nseized, came to the capital of that king Vin\u00edtamati; and there he was\npreparing in his grief to enter the fire, but Vin\u00edtamati, hearing of\nit, said to his ministers; \"This good man has been reduced to this\nstate by my fault, so I will do him the justice, which I owe him,\nby giving him my kingdom. Of what use is this kingdom to me, unless\nit is employed to benefit my fellow-creatures? As I have no children,\nlet this man be my son and inherit my kingdom.\" After saying this,\nthe king summoned Kanakakalasa, and in spite of the opposition of\nhis ministers gave him the kingdom.\n\nAnd after he had given away the kingdom, he immediately left the\ncity with unwavering mind, accompanied by his two wives. And his\nsubjects, when they saw it, followed him distracted, bedewing the\nground with their tears, and uttering such laments as these, \"Alas! the\nnectar-rayed moon had become full so as to refresh the world, and now\na cloud has suddenly descended and hid it from our eyes. Our king,\nthe wishing-tree of his subjects, had begun to satisfy the desires\nof all living creatures, when lo! he is removed somewhere or other by\nfate.\" Then Vin\u00edtamati at last prevailed on them to return, and with\nunshaken resolution went on his way, with his wives, to the forest,\nwithout a carriage.\n\nAnd in course of time he reached a desert without water or tree, with\nsands heated by the sun, which appeared as if created by Destiny to\ntest his firmness. Being thirsty and exhausted with the fatigue of\nthe long journey, he reclined for a moment in a spot in this desert,\nand both he and his two wives were overtaken by sleep. When he woke\nup and looked about him, he beheld there a great and wonderful garden\nproduced by the surpassing excellence of his own virtue. It had in\nit tanks full of cool pure water adorned with blooming lotuses, it\nwas carpeted with dark green grass, its trees bent with the weight\nof their fruit, it had broad, high, smooth slabs of rock in shady\nplaces, in fact it seemed like Nandana drawn down from heaven by\nthe power of the king's generosity. The king looked again and again,\nand was wondering whether it could be a dream, or a delusion, or a\nfavour bestowed on him by the gods, when suddenly he heard a speech\nuttered in the air by two Siddhas, who were roaming through the sky\nin the shape of a pair of swans, \"King, why should you wonder thus\nat the efficacy of your own virtue? So dwell at your ease in this\ngarden of perennial fruits and flowers.\" When king Vin\u00edtamati heard\nthis speech of the Siddhas, he remained in that garden with mind at\nease, practising austerities, together with his wives.\n\nAnd one day, when he was on a slab of rock, he beheld near him a\ncertain man about to commit suicide by hanging himself. He went to him\nimmediately, and with kindly words talked him over, and prevailed on\nhim not to destroy himself, and asked him the reason of his wishing to\ndo so. Then the man said, \"Listen, I will tell you the whole story from\nthe beginning. I am the son of N\u00e1gas\u00fara, Somas\u00fara by name, of the race\nof Soma. It was said by those versed in the study of astrology, that\nmy nativity prognosticated that I should be a thief, so my father,\nafraid that that would come to pass, instructed me diligently in\nthe law. Though I studied the law, I was led by association with bad\ncompanions to take to a career of thieving. For who is able to alter\nthe actions of a man in his previous births?\n\n\"Then I was one day caught among some thieves by the police, and taken\nto the place of impalement, in order to be put to death. At that\nmoment a great elephant belonging to the king, which had gone mad,\nand broken its fastening, and was killing people in all directions,\ncame to that very place. The executioners, alarmed at the elephant,\nleft me and fled somewhere or other, and I escaped in that confusion\nand made off. But I heard from people that my father had died on\nhearing that I was being led off to execution, and that my mother\nhad followed him. Then I was distracted with sorrow, and as I was\nwandering about despondent, intent on self-destruction, I happened to\nreach in course of time this great uninhabited wood. No sooner had I\nentered it, than a celestial nymph suddenly revealed herself to me,\nand approached me, and consoling me said to me; 'My son, this retreat,\nwhich you have come to, belongs to the royal sage Vin\u00edtamati, so your\nsin is destroyed, and from him you shall learn wisdom.' After saying\nthis, she disappeared; and I wandered about in search of that royal\nsage, but not being able to find him, I was on the point of abandoning\nthe body, out of disappointment, when I was seen by you.\"\n\nWhen Somas\u00fara had said this, that royal sage took him to his own hut,\nand made himself known to him, and honoured him as a guest; and after\nhe had taken food, the kingly hermit, among many pious discourses,\ntold him, as he listened submissively, the following tale, with the\nobject of dissuading him from ignorance.\n\n\n\nStory of Devabh\u00fati.\n\nIgnorance, my son, is to be avoided, for it brings harm in both\nworlds upon men of bewildered intellects: listen to this legend of\nsacred story. There lived in Panch\u00e1la, of old time, a Br\u00e1hman named\nDevabh\u00fati, and that Br\u00e1hman, who was learned in the Vedas, had a\nchaste wife named Bhogadatt\u00e1. One day when he had gone to bathe,\nhis wife went into the kitchen-garden to get vegetables, and saw a\ndonkey belonging to a washerman eating them. So she took up a stick\nand ran after the donkey, and the animal fell into a pit, as it was\ntrying to escape, and broke its hoof. When its master heard of that,\nhe came in a passion, and beat with a stick, and kicked the Br\u00e1hman\nwoman. Accordingly she, being pregnant, had a miscarriage; but the\nwasherman returned home with his donkey.\n\nThen her husband, hearing of it, came home after bathing, and\nafter seeing his wife, went, in his distress, and complained to\nthe chief magistrate of the town. The foolish man immediately had\nthe washerman, whose name was Bal\u00e1sura, brought before him, and,\nafter hearing the pleadings of both parties, delivered this judgment,\n\"Since the donkey's hoof is broken, let the Br\u00e1hman carry the donkey's\nload for the washerman, until the donkey is again fit for work. And\nlet the washerman make the Br\u00e1hman's wife pregnant again, since he\nmade her miscarry. Let this be the punishment of the two parties\nrespectively.\" When the Br\u00e1hman heard this, he and his wife, in their\ndespair, took poison and died. And when the king heard of it, he put to\ndeath that inconsiderate judge, who had caused the death of a Br\u00e1hman,\nand he had to be born for a long time in the bodies of animals.\n\n\"So people, who are obscured by the darkness of ignorance, stray\ninto the evil paths of their vices, and not setting in front of them\nthe lamp of sound treatises, of a surety stumble. When the royal\nsage had said this, Somas\u00fara begged him to instruct him further,\nand Vin\u00edtamati, in order to train him aright, said, \"Listen, my son,\nI will teach you in due order the doctrine of perfections.\"\n\n\n\nStory of the generous Induprabha.\n\nThere lived a long time ago in Kurukshetra a king of the name\nof Malayaprabha. One day the king was about to give money to his\nsubjects in a time of famine. But his ministers dissuaded him from\ndoing so, out of avarice; thereupon his son Induprabha said to him;\n\"Father, why do you neglect your subjects at the bidding of wicked\nministers? For you are their wishing-tree, and they are your cows\nof plenty.\" When his son persisted in saying this, the king, who\nwas under the influence of his ministers, got annoyed, and said to\nhim--\"What, my son, do I possess inexhaustible wealth? If, without\ninexhaustible wealth, I am to be a wishing-tree to my subjects,\nwhy do you not take upon yourself that office.\" When the son heard\nthat speech of his father's, he made a vow that he would attain by\nausterities the condition of a wishing-tree, or die in the attempt.\n\nHaving formed this determination, the heroic prince went off to a\nforest where austerities were practised, and as soon as he entered\nit, the famine ceased. And when Indra was pleased with his severe\nausterities, he craved a boon from him, and became a wishing-tree\nin his own city. And he seemed to attract the distant, and to summon\nsuitors with his boughs stretched out in all directions, and with the\nsongs of his birds. And every day he granted the most difficult boons\nto his petitioners. And he made his father's subjects as happy as if\nthey were in Paradise, since they had nothing left to wish for. One day\nIndra came to him and said to him, tempting him; \"You have fulfilled\nthe duty of benefiting others; come to Paradise.\" Then that prince,\nwho had become a wishing-tree, answered him, \"When these other\ntrees with their pleasing flowers and fruits are for ever engaged in\nbenefiting others, regardless of their own interests, how can I, who\nam a wishing-tree, disappoint so many men, by going to heaven for the\nsake of my own happiness?\" When Indra heard this noble answer of his,\nhe said, \"Then let all these subjects come to heaven also.\" Then the\nprince, who had become a wishing-tree, replied, \"If you are pleased\nwith me, take all these subjects to heaven; I do not care for it:\nI will perform a great penance for the sole object of benefiting\nothers.\" When Indra heard this, he praised him as an incarnation\nof Buddha, and being pleased, granted his petition, and returned to\nheaven, taking those subjects with him. And Induprabha left the shape\nof a tree, and living in the forest, obtained by austerities the rank\nof a Bodhisattva.\n\n\"So those, who are devoted to charity, attain success, and now I have\ntold you the doctrine of the perfection of charity; hear that of the\nperfection of chastity.\"\n\n\n\nStory of the parrot, who was taught virtue by the king of the parrots.\n\nA long time ago there lived on the Vindhya mountain a continent king\nof parrots, named Hemaprabha, who was an incarnation of a portion of a\nBuddha, and was rich in chastity that he had practised during a former\nbirth. He remembered his former state and was a teacher of virtue. He\nhad for warder a parrot named Ch\u00e1rumati, who was a fool enslaved to\nhis passions. Once on a time, a female parrot, his mate, was killed by\na fowler, who was laying snares, and he was so much grieved at being\nseparated from her, that he was reduced to a miserable condition. Then\nHemaprabha, the wise king of the parrots, in order by an artifice\nto rescue him from his grief, told him this false tale for his good;\n\"Your wife is not dead, she has escaped from the snare of the fowler,\nfor I saw her alive a moment ago. Come, I will shew her to you.\" Having\nsaid this, the king took Ch\u00e1rumati through the air to a lake. There\nhe shewed him his own reflection in the water, and said to him;\n\"Look! here is your wife!\" When the foolish parrot heard that, and saw\nhis own reflection in the water, he went into it joyfully, and tried\nto embrace and kiss his wife. But not being embraced in return by his\nbeloved, and not hearing her voice, he said to himself: \"Why does not\nmy beloved embrace me and speak to me.\" Supposing therefore that she\nwas angry with him, he went and brought an \u00e1malaka fruit, and dropped\nit on his own reflection, thinking that it was his beloved, in order\nto coax her. The \u00e1malaka fruit sank into the water, and rose again to\nthe surface, and the parrot, supposing that his gift had been rejected\nby his beloved, went full of grief to king Hemaprabha and said to him,\n\"King, that wife of mine will not touch me or speak to me. Moreover\nshe rejected the \u00e1malaka fruit which I gave her.\" When the king heard\nthat, he said to him slowly, as if he were reluctant to tell it,\n\"I ought not to tell you this, but nevertheless I will tell you,\nbecause I love you so much. Your wife is at present in love with\nanother, so how can she shew you affection? And I will furnish you\nwith ocular proof of it in this very tank.\" After saying this, he\ntook him there, and shewed him their two reflections close together\nin the tank. When the foolish parrot saw it, he thought his wife was\nin the embrace of another male parrot, and turning round disgusted,\nhe said to the king, \"Your Majesty, this is the result of my folly\nin not listening to your advice: So tell me, now, what I ought to\ndo.\" When the warder said this, king Hemaprabha, thinking that he\nhad now an opportunity of instructing him, thus addressed him; \"It\nis better to take H\u00e1l\u00e1hala poison, it is better to wreathe a serpent\nround one's neck, than to repose confidence in females, a calamity\nagainst which neither charms nor talismanic jewels avail. Females,\nbeing, like the winds, very changeful, and enveloped with a thick\ncloud of passion, [214] defile those who are walking in the right\npath, and disgrace them altogether. So wise men, of firm nature,\nshould not cleave to them, but should practise chastity, in order to\nobtain the rank of sages who have subdued their passions.\" Ch\u00e1rumati,\nhaving been thus instructed by the king, renounced the society of\nfemales, and gradually became continent like Buddha.\n\n\"So you see, those that are rich in chastity deliver others; and,\nnow that I have instructed you in the perfection of chastity, listen\nto the perfection of patience.\"\n\n\n\nStory of the patient hermit Subhanaya.\n\nThere lived on the Ked\u00e1ra mountain a great hermit, named Subhanaya,\nwho was for ever bathing in the waters of the Mand\u00e1kin\u00ed, and was\ngentle and emaciated with penance. One night, some robbers came there\nto look for some gold, which they had previously buried there, but\nthey could not find it anywhere. Accordingly, thinking that in that\nuninhabited place it could only have been carried off by the hermit,\nthey entered his cell and said to him: \"Ah! you hypocritical hermit,\ngive up our gold, which you have taken from the earth, for you have\nsucceeded in robbing us, who are robbers by profession.\" When the\nhermit, who had not taken the treasure, was falsely reproached in\nthese words by the robbers, he said, \"I did not take away your gold,\nand I have never seen any gold.\" Then the good hermit was beaten\nwith sticks by those robbers, and yet the truthful man continued to\ntell the same story; and then the robbers cut off, one after another,\nhis hands and his feet, thinking that he was obstinate, and finally\ngouged out his eyes. But when they found that, in spite of all this,\nhe continued to tell the same tale without flinching, they came to\nthe conclusion that some one else had stolen their gold, and they\nreturned by the way that they came.\n\nThe next morning a king, named Sekharajyoti, a pupil of that\nhermit's, who had come to have an interview with him, saw him in\nthat state. Then, being tortured with sorrow for his spiritual guide,\n[215] he questioned him, and found out the state of the case, and had\na search made for those robbers, and had them brought to that very\nspot. And he was about to have them put to death, when the hermit\nsaid to him; \"King, if you put them to death, I will kill myself. If\nthe sword did this work on me, how are they in fault? And if they\nput the sword in motion, anger put them in motion, and their anger\nwas excited by the loss of their gold, and that was due to my sins\nin a previous state of existence, and that was due to my ignorance,\nso my ignorance is the only thing that has injured me. So my ignorance\nshould be slain by me. Moreover, even if these men deserved to be put\nto death for doing me an injury, ought not their lives to be saved\non account of their having done me a benefit? For if they had not\ndone to me what they have done, there would have been no one with\nregard to whom I could have practised patience, of which the fruit\nis emancipation? So they have done me a thorough benefit.\" With many\nspeeches of this kind did the patient hermit instruct the king, and\nso he delivered the robbers from punishment. And on account of the\nexcellence of his asceticism his body immediately became unmutilated\nas before, and that moment he attained emancipation.\n\n\"Thus patient men escape from the world of births. I have now\nexplained to you the perfection of patience; listen to the perfection\nof perseverance.\"\n\n\n\nStory of the persevering young Br\u00e1hman.\n\nOnce on a time there was a young Br\u00e1hman of the name of M\u00e1l\u00e1dhara:\nhe beheld one day a prince of the Siddhas flying through the\nair. Wishing to rival him, he fastened to his sides wings of grass,\nand continually leaping up, he tried to learn the art of flying in\nthe air. And as he continued to make this useless attempt every day,\nhe was at last seen by the prince while he was roaming though the\nair. And the prince thought, \"I ought to take pity on this boy who\nshews spirit in struggling earnestly to attain an impossible object,\nfor it is my business to patronize such.\" Thereupon, being pleased,\nhe took the Br\u00e1hman boy, by his magic power, upon his shoulder,\nand made him one of his followers. \"Thus you see that even gods are\npleased with perseverance; I have now set before you the perfection\nof perseverance; hear the perfection of meditation.\"\n\n\n\nStory of Malayam\u00e1lin.\n\nOf old time there dwelt in the Carnatic a rich merchant, named\nVijayam\u00e1lin, and he had a son named Malayam\u00e1lin. One day Malayam\u00e1lin,\nwhen he was grown up, went with his father to the king's court,\nand there he saw the daughter of the king Indukesarin, Induyasas by\nname. That maiden, like a bewildering creeper of love, [216] entered\nthe heart of the young merchant, as soon as he saw her. Then he\nreturned home, and remained in a state of pallor, sleepless at night,\nand during the day cowering with contracted limbs, having taken upon\nhimself the kumuda-vow. [217] And thinking continually of her, he\nwas averse to food and all other things of the kind, and even when\nquestioned by his relations, he gave no more answer than if he had\nbeen dumb.\n\nThen, one day, the king's painter, whose name was Mantharaka, an\nintimate friend of his, said to him in private, when in this state\nowing to the sorrow of separation: \"Friend, why do you remain leaning\nagainst the wall like a man in a picture? Like a lifeless image, you\nneither eat, nor hear, nor see.\" When his friend the painter asked\nhim this question persistently, the merchant's son at last told him\nhis desire. The painter said to him; \"It is not fitting that you,\na merchant's son, should fall in love with a princess. Let the swan\ndesire the beautiful face of the lotuses of all ordinary lakes, but\nwhat has he to do with the delight of enjoying the lotus of that\nlake, which is the navel of Vishnu?\" Still the painter could not\nprevent him from nursing his passion; so he painted the princess on a\npiece of canvas, and gave her picture to him to solace his longing,\nand to enable him to while away the time. And the young merchant\nspent his time in gazing on, coaxing, and touching, and adorning\nher picture, and he fancied that it was the real princess Induyasas,\nand gradually became absorbed in her, and did all that he did under\nthat belief. [218] And in course of time he was so engrossed by\nthat fancy, that he seemed to see her, though she was only a painted\nfigure, talking to him and kissing him. Then he was happy, because\nhe had obtained in imagination union with his beloved, and he was\ncontented, because the whole world was for him contained in that\npiece of painted canvas.\n\nOne night, when the moon was rising, he took the picture and went\nout of his house with it to a garden, to amuse himself with his\nbeloved. And there he put down the picture at the foot of a tree, and\nwent to a distance, to pick flowers for his darling. At that moment he\nwas seen by a hermit, named Vinayajyoti, who came down from heaven out\nof compassion, to rescue him from his delusion. He by his supernatural\npower painted in one part of the picture a live black cobra, and\nstood near invisible. In the meanwhile Malayam\u00e1lin returned there,\nafter gathering those flowers, and seeing the black serpent on the\ncanvas, he reflected, \"Where does this serpent come from now? Has it\nbeen created by fate to protect this fair one, the treasure-house of\nbeauty.\" Thus reflecting, he adorned with flowers the fair one on the\ncanvas, and fancying that she surrendered herself to him, he embraced\nher, and asked her the above question, and at that very moment the\nhermit threw an illusion over him, which made him see her bitten\nby the black snake and unconscious. Then he forgot that it was only\ncanvas, and exclaiming, alas! alas! he fell distracted on the earth,\nlike a Vidy\u00e1dhara brought down by the canvas acting as a talisman. But\nsoon he recovered consciousness, and rose up weeping and determined\non suicide, and climbed up a lofty tree, and threw himself from its\ntop. But, as he was falling, the great hermit appeared to him, and bore\nhim up in his hands, and consoled him, and said to him, \"Foolish boy,\ndo you not know that the real princess is in her palace, and that this\nprincess on the canvas is a painted figure devoid of life? So who is\nit that you embrace, or who has been bitten by the serpent? Or what\nis this delusion of attributing reality to the creation of your own\ndesire, that has taken possession of your passionate heart? Why do\nyou not investigate the truth with equal intensity of contemplation,\nin order that you may not again become the victim of such sorrows?\"\n\nWhen the hermit had said this to the young merchant, the night of\nhis delusion was dispersed, and he recovered his senses, and, bowing\nbefore the hermit, he said to him; \"Holy one, by your favour I have\nbeen rescued from this calamity; do me the favour of rescuing me also\nfrom this changeful world.\" When Malayam\u00e1lin made this request to the\nhermit, who was a Bodhisattva, he instructed him in his own knowledge\nand disappeared. Then Malayam\u00e1lin went to the forest, and by the power\nof his asceticism he came to know the real truth about that which is\nto be rejected and that which is to be chosen, with the reasons, and\nattained the rank of an Arhat. And the compassionate man returned,\nand by teaching them knowledge, he made king Indukesarin and his\ncitizens obtain salvation.\n\n\"So even untruth, in the ease of those mighty in contemplation,\nbecomes true. I have now explained the perfection of contemplation;\nlisten to the perfection of wisdom.\"\n\n\n\nStory of the robber who won over Yama's secretary.\n\nLong ago there lived in Sinhaladv\u00edpa a robber, of the name of\nSinhavikrama, who since his birth had nourished his body with other\nmen's wealth stolen from every quarter. In time he grew old, and\ndesisting from his occupation, he reflected; \"What resources have I in\nthe other world? Whom shall I betake myself to for protection there? If\nI betake myself to Siva or Vishnu, what value will they attach to me,\nwhen they have gods, hermits, and others to worship them? So I will\nworship Chitragupta [219] who alone records the good and evil deeds\nof men. He may deliver me by his power. For he, being a secretary,\ndoes alone the work of Brahm\u00e1 and Siva: he writes down or erases in a\nmoment the whole world, which is in his hand.\" Having thus reflected,\nhe began to devote himself to Chitragupta; he honoured him specially,\nand in order to please him, kept continually feeding Br\u00e1hmans.\n\nWhile he was carrying on this system of conduct, one day Chitragupta\ncame to the house of that robber, in the form of a guest, to\nexamine into his real feelings. The robber received him courteously,\nentertained him, and gave him a present, and then said to him, \"Say\nthis, 'May Chitragupta be propitious to you'.\" Then Chitragupta,\nwho was disguised as a Br\u00e1hman, said, \"Why do you neglect Siva, and\nVishnu, and the other gods, and devote yourself to Chitragupta?\" When\nthe robber Sinhavikrama heard that, he said to him, \"What business is\nthat of yours. I do not need any other gods but him.\" Then Chitragupta,\nwearing the form of a Br\u00e1hman, went on to say to him, \"Well, if you\nwill give me your wife, I will say it.\" When Sinhavikrama heard that,\nhe was pleased, and said to him: \"I hereby give you my wife, in order\nto please the god whom I have specially chosen for my own.\" When\nChitragupta heard that, he revealed himself to him and said, \"I am\nChitragupta himself, and I am pleased with you, so tell me what I am\nto do for you.\"\n\nThen Sinhavikrama was exceedingly pleased and said to him, \"Holy one,\ntake such order as that I shall not die.\" Then Chitragupta said,\n\"Death is one from whom it is impossible to guard people; but still\nI will devise a plan to save you: listen to it. Ever since Death was\nconsumed by Siva, being angry on account of Sveta, and was created\nagain in this world because he was required, [220] wherever Sveta\nlives, he abstains from injuring other people, as well as Sveta\nhimself, for he is restrained by the command of the god. And at\npresent the hermit Sveta is on the other side of the eastern ocean,\nin a grove of ascetics beyond the river Tarangin\u00ed. That grove cannot\nbe invaded by Death, so I will take you and place you there. But\nyou must not return to this side of the Tarangin\u00ed. However, if you\ndo return out of carelessness, and Death seizes you, I will devise\nsome way of escape for you, when you have come to the other world.\"\n\nWhen Chitragupta had said this, he took the delighted Sinhavikrama,\nand placed him in that grove of asceticism belonging to Sveta, and\nthen disappeared. And after some time Death went to the hither bank\nof the river Tarangin\u00ed, to carry off Sinhavikrama. While there, he\ncreated by his delusive power a heavenly nymph, and sent her to him,\nas he saw no other means of getting hold of him. The fair one went and\napproached Sinhavikrama, and artfully enslaved him, fascinating him\nwith her wealth of beauty. After some days had passed, she entered\nthe Tarangin\u00ed, which was disturbed with waves, giving out that she\nwished to see her relations. And while Sinhavikrama, who had followed\nher, was looking at her from the bank, she slipped in the middle of\nthe river. And there she uttered a piercing cry, as if she was being\ncarried away by the stream, exclaiming, \"My husband, can you see me\ncarried away by the stream without saving me? Are you a jackal in\ncourage, and not a lion as your name denotes?\" When Sinhavikrama\nheard that, he rushed into the river, and the nymph pretended to\nbe swept away by the current, and when he followed her to save her,\nshe soon led him to the other bank. When he reached it, Death threw\nhis noose over his neck, and captured him; for destruction is ever\nimpending over those whose minds are captivated by objects of sense.\n\nThen the careless Sinhavikrama was led off by Death to the hall of\nYama, and there Chitragupta, whose favour he had long ago won, saw him,\nand said to him in private; [221] \"If you are asked here, whether you\nwill stay in hell first or in heaven, ask to be allowed to take your\nperiod in heaven first. And while you live in heaven, acquire merit,\nin order to ensure the permanence of your stay there. And then perform\nsevere asceticism, in order to expiate your sin.\" When Chitragupta\nsaid this to Sinhavikrama, who was standing there abashed, with face\nfixed on the ground, he readily consented to do it.\n\nAnd a moment afterwards Yama said to Chitragupta, \"Has this robber\nany amount of merit to his credit or not?\" Then Chitragupta said,\n\"Indeed he is hospitable, and he bestowed his own wife on a suitor,\nin order to please his favourite deity; so he has to go to heaven for a\nday of the gods.\" When Yama heard this, he said to Sinhavikrama; \"Tell\nme, which will you take first, your happiness or your misery?\" Then\nSinhavikrama entreated that he might have his happiness first. So\nYama ordered his chariot to be brought, and Sinhavikrama mounted it,\nand went off to heaven, remembering the words of Chitragupta.\n\nThere he rigidly observed a vow of bathing in the Ganges of heaven,\nand of muttering prayers, and remained indifferent to the enjoyments\nof the place, and so he obtained the privilege of dwelling there\nfor another year of the gods. Thus in course of time he obtained\na right to perpetual residence in heaven, by virtue of his severe\nasceticism, and by propitiating Siva his sin was burnt up, and he\nobtained knowledge. Then the messengers of hell were not able to look\nhim in the face, and Chitragupta blotted out the record of his sin\non his birch-bark register, and Yama was silent.\n\n\"Thus Sinhavikrama, though a robber, obtained emancipation by virtue\nof true discernment; and now I have explained to you the perfection\nof discernment. And thus, my son, the wise embark on these six\nperfections taught by Buddha, as on a ship, and so cross the ocean\nof temporal existence.\"\n\nWhile Somas\u00fara was being thus instructed in the forest by king\nVin\u00edtamati, who had attained the rank of a Bodhisattva, the sun\nheard these religious lessons, and became subdued, and assuming the\nhue of sunset as the red robe of a Buddhist, entered the cavern of\nthe western mountain. Then king Vin\u00edtamati and Somas\u00fara performed\ntheir evening rites, according to pious usage, and spent the night\nthere. And the next day, Vin\u00edtamati went on to teach Somas\u00fara the law\nof Buddha with all its secrets. [222] Then Somas\u00fara built a hut at the\nfoot of a tree, and remained there in the wood, sitting at the feet\nof that instructor, absorbed in contemplation. And in course of time\nthose two, the teacher and the pupil, attained supernatural powers,\nthe result of abstraction, and gained the highest illumination.\n\nAnd in the meanwhile, Indukalasa came, out of jealousy, and by\nthe might of his sword and horse ejected his brother Kanakakalasa\nfrom the kingdom of Ahichchhatra also, which Vin\u00edtamati gave him,\nwhen he was afflicted at losing his first kingdom. He, having been\ndeposed from his throne, wandered about with two or three of his\nministers, and, as chance would have it, reached the grove, which\nwas the retreat of Vin\u00edtamati. And while he was looking for fruits\nand water, as he suffered from severe hunger and thirst, Indra\nburnt up the wood by his magic power, and made it as it was before,\nwishing to entrap Vin\u00edtamati by making it impossible for him to shew\nsuch hospitality to every wayfarer. [223] And Vin\u00edtamati, beholding\nthe grove, which was his retreat, suddenly turned into a desert,\nroamed about hither and thither for a short time, in a state of\nbewilderment. And then he saw Kanakalasa, who in the course of his\nwanderings had come there with his followers, and was now his guest,\nand he and his train were all on the point of death from hunger. And\nthe hospitable Bodhisattva approached the king, when he was in this\nstate, and asked him his story, and then he exerted his discernment,\nand said to him, \"Though this wood has become a desert, and affords\nno hospitable entertainment, still I can tell you an expedient for\nsaving your lives in your present state of hunger. Only half a kos\nfrom here there is a deer, which has been killed by falling into a\nhole, go and save your lives by eating its flesh.\" His guest, who was\nsuffering from hunger, took his advice, and set out for that place\nwith his followers, but the Bodhisattva Vin\u00edtamati got there before\nhim. He reached that hole, and by his supernatural power assumed the\nform of a deer, and then he threw himself into it, and sacrificed\nhis life for the sake of his petitioner. Then Kanakakalasa and his\nfollowers slowly reached that hole, and found the deer lying dead in\nit. So they pulled it out, and made a fire with grass and thorns,\nand roasted its flesh, and devoured it all. In the meanwhile the\nBodhisattva's two wives, the daughter of the N\u00e1ga and the princess,\nseeing that the wood of their retreat had been destroyed, and not\nseeing their husband, were much distressed, and went and told what\nhad happened, to Somas\u00fara, whom they roused from deep meditation. He\nsoon discerned by contemplation what his spiritual teacher had done,\nand he told the news to his wives, distressing as it was to them. And\nhe quickly went with them to that hole, in which his spiritual guide\nhad sacrificed himself for his guests. There the princess and the\nN\u00e1ga's daughter, seeing that only the bones and horns of the deer,\ninto which their husband had turned himself, remained, mourned for\nhim. And the two ladies, who were devoted to their husband, took his\nhorns and bones, and brought a heap of wood from their hermitage, and\nentered the fire. And then Kanakakalasa and his companions, who were\nthere, being grieved when they heard the story, entered the fire also.\"\n\nWhen all this had taken place, Somas\u00fara, unable to endure the grief,\nwhich he felt for the loss of his spiritual teacher, took to a bed of\ndarbha-grass with the intention of yielding up his breath. And then\nIndra appeared to him in person and said to him, \"Do not do so, for I\ndid all this to try your spiritual teacher. And I have now sprinkled\nwith amrita the ashes and bones, which were all that remained of him,\nand his wives, and his guests, and restored them all to life.\" [224]\nWhen Somas\u00fara heard Indra say this, he worshipped him, and rose up\ndelighted, and went and looked, and lo! his spiritual guide the\nBodhisattva Vin\u00edtamati had risen up again alive, with his wives,\nand Kanakakalasa, and his attendants. Then he honoured with an\ninclination of the head, and worshipped with gifts of flowers and\nrespectful speeches, his spiritual father, who had returned from\nthe other world with his wives, and feasted his eyes upon him. And\nwhile Kanakakalasa and his followers were respectfully testifying\ntheir devotion to him, all the gods came there, headed by Brahm\u00e1 and\nVishnu. And pleased with the goodness of Vin\u00edtamati, they all gave him\nby their divine power boons earned by his disinterestedness, and then\ndisappeared. And Somas\u00fara and the others told their history, and then\nVin\u00edtamati went with them to another and a heavenly wood of ascetics.\n\n\"So you see that in this world even those who are reduced to ashes meet\nagain, much more men who are alive and can go where they will. So,\nmy son, no more of abandoning the body! Go, for you are a brave man,\nand you shall certainly be re-united with Mrig\u00e1nkadatta.\" When I\nhad heard this tale from the old female ascetic, I bowed before her,\nand set out, sword in hand, with renewed hope, and in course of time\nI reached this forest, and was, as fate would have it, captured by\nthese Savaras, who were seeking a victim for Durg\u00e1. And after wounding\nme in fight, they bound me, and brought me as a prisoner to this\nking of the Savaras M\u00e1y\u00e1vatu. Here I have found you, my sovereign,\naccompanied by two or three of your ministers, and by your favour I\nam as happy as if I were in my own house.\n\nWhen Mrig\u00e1nkadatta, who was in the palace of the Savara prince, had\nheard this history of the adventures of his friend Gun\u00e1kara told\nby himself, he was much pleased, and after he had seen the proper\nremedies applied to the body of that minister who had been wounded in\nfight, as the day was advancing, he rose up with his other friends,\nand performed the duties of the day.\n\nAnd he remained there for some days engaged in restoring Gun\u00e1kara to\nhealth, though eager to go to Ujjayin\u00ed, in order to be re-united with\nhis other friends and to obtain Sas\u00e1nkavat\u00ed. [225]\n\n\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER LXXIII.\n\n\nThen Gun\u00e1kara's wounds healed, and he recovered his health, so\nMrig\u00e1nkadatta took leave of his friend the king of the Savaras, and\nset out from his town on a lucky day for Ujjayin\u00ed, to find Sas\u00e1nkavat\u00ed.\n\nBut his friend followed him a long way with his retinue, accompanied\nby his ally Durgapis\u00e1cha king of the M\u00e1tangas, and made a promise to\ncome to his assistance. And as he was going along with his friends\nSrutadhi, and Vimalabuddhi, and Gun\u00e1kara, and Bh\u00edmapar\u00e1krama, and\nsearching for his other friends in that Vindhya forest, it happened\nthat he slept one day on the road with his ministers at the foot of a\ncertain tree. And he suddenly awoke, and got up, and looked about him,\nand beheld there another man asleep. And when he uncovered his face,\nhe recognised him as his own minister Vichitrakatha, who had arrived\nthere. And Vichitrakatha too woke up, and saw his master Mrig\u00e1nkadatta,\nand joyfully embraced his feet. And the prince embraced him, with\neyes wide open with delight at seeing him so unexpectedly, and all\nhis ministers woke up and welcomed him. Then all in turn told him\ntheir adventures, and asked him to tell his, and Vichitrakatha began\nto relate his story as follows:\n\n\n\nStory of Vichitrakatha's adventures after his separation from the\nprince.\n\nAt that time, when you were dispersed in all directions by the curse\nof P\u00e1r\u00e1vat\u00e1ksha, I too in my bewilderment wandered about alone for a\nlong time. And after I had roamed far, still unconscious, I suddenly\nreached in the course of the next day, when I was tired out, a great\nand heavenly town on the outskirts of the forest. There a godlike\nbeing, accompanied by two consorts, beheld me, and had me bathed with\ncool water, and restored my strength. And he made me enter his city,\nand carefully fed me with heavenly food, then he ate himself, and\nthose two wives of his ate after him. And after the meal, [226] being\nrefreshed, I said to him, \"Who are you, sir, and why have you thus\nsaved the life of me who am resolved on death? For I must certainly\nabandon the body, as I have lost my master.\" When I had said this,\nI told him my whole story. Then that noble and kind being said to me,\n\"I am a Yaksha, these are my wives, and you have come here to-day\nas my guest, and you know that it is the duty of householders to\nhonour guests to the utmost of their power. I have accordingly\nwelcomed you. But why do you wish to abandon the body? For this\nseparation of yours is due to the curse of a N\u00e1ga, and will last\nonly a short time. And you will certainly be all re-united, when the\ncurse pronounced on you has spent its force. And reflect, my good man;\nwho is born free from sorrow in this world? Hear what sorrow I have\ngone through, though I am a Yaksha.\"\n\n\n\nStory of Sr\u00eddarsana.\n\nThere is a city named Trigart\u00e1, the garland that adorns the head of\nthis bride the earth, strung with virtues as with flowers. [227] In\nit there lived a young Br\u00e1hman named Pavitradhara, who was himself\npoor in worldly wealth, but rich in relations, high birth, and other\nadvantages. That high-spirited Br\u00e1hman, living in the midst of rich\npeople, reflected,--\"Though I live up to the rules of my caste, I\ndo not cut a good figure in the midst of these rich people, like a\nword without meaning [228] among the words of some splendid poem;\nand being a man of honour, I cannot have recourse to service or\ndonations. So I will go into some out-of-the-way place and get into\nmy power a Yakshin\u00ed, [229] for my spiritual teacher taught me a charm\nfor accomplishing this.\" Having formed this resolution, the Br\u00e1hman\nPavitradhara went to the forest, and according to the prescribed method\nhe won for himself a Yakshin\u00ed, named Saud\u00e1min\u00ed. And when he had won\nher, he lived united with her, like a banyan-tree, that has tided\nthrough a severe winter, united to the glory of spring. One day the\nYakshin\u00ed, seeing her husband Pavitradhara in a state of despondency,\nbecause no son had been born to him, thus addressed him, \"Do not be\ndespondent, my husband, for a son shall be born to us. And now hear\nthis story which I am about to tell you.\"\n\n\n\nStory of Saud\u00e1min\u00ed.\n\nThere is on the confines of the southern region a range of tam\u00e1la\nforests, dark with clouds that obscure the sun, looking like the home\nof the monsoon. In it dwells a famous Yaksha of the name of Prith\u00fadara,\nand I am his only daughter, Saud\u00e1min\u00ed by name. My loving father led\nme from one mighty mountain to another, and I was for ever amusing\nmyself in heavenly gardens.\n\nAnd one day, as I was sporting on mount Kail\u00e1sa with my friend\nKapisabhr\u00fa, I saw a young Yaksha named Attah\u00e1sa. He too, as he\nstood among his companions, beheld me; and immediately our eyes were\nmutually attracted by one another's beauty. When my father saw that,\nand ascertained that the match would be no m\u00e9salliance, he summoned\nAttah\u00e1sa, and arranged our marriage. And after he had fixed an\nauspicious day, he took me home, but Attah\u00e1sa returned to his home\nwith his friends in high spirits. But the next day my friend Kapisabhr\u00fa\ncame to me with a downcast air, and when I questioned her, she was at\nlength induced to say this; \"Friend, I must tell you this bad news,\nthough it is a thing which should not be told. As I was coming to-day,\nI saw your betrothed Attah\u00e1sa in a garden named Chitrasthala, on a\nplateau of the Him\u00e1layas, full of longing for you. And his friends,\nin order to amuse him, made him in sport king of the Yakshas, and\nthey made his brother D\u00edptasikha personate Nadak\u00favara his son, and\nthey themselves became his ministers. While your beloved was being\nsolaced in this way by his friends, Nadak\u00favara, who was roaming at\nwill through the air, saw him. And the son of the king of wealth,\nbeing enraged at what he saw, summoned him, and cursed him in the\nfollowing words; 'Since, though a servant, you desire to pose as a\nlord, become a mortal, you villain! As you wish to mount, fall!' When\nhe laid this curse on Attah\u00e1sa, he answered despondingly, 'Prince,\nI foolishly did this to dispel my longing, not through aspiring to\nany lofty rank, so have mercy upon me.' When Nadak\u00favara heard this\nsorrowful speech of his, he ascertained by meditation that the case was\nso, and said to him by way of fixing an end for the curse, 'You shall\nbecome a man, and beget on that Yakshin\u00ed, with whom you are in love,\nyour younger brother D\u00edptasikha by way of son, [230] and so you shall\nbe delivered from your curse, and obtain your own rank once more,\ntogether with your wife, and this brother of yours shall be born as\nyour son, and after he has reigned on earth, he shall be released\nfrom his curse.' When the son of the god of wealth had said this,\nAttah\u00e1sa disappeared somewhere or other by virtue of the curse. And\nwhen I saw that, my friend, I came here to you grieved.\" When my\nfriend said this to me, I was reduced to a terrible state by grief,\nand after I had bewailed my lot, I went and told it to my parents,\nand I spent that time in hope of a re-union with my beloved.\n\n\"You are Attah\u00e1sa born again as a Br\u00e1hman, and I am that Yakshin\u00ed,\nand we have been thus united here, so we shall soon have a son born\nto us. When the Br\u00e1hman Pavitradhara's wise wife Saud\u00e1min\u00ed said\nthis to him, he conceived the hope that he would have a son, and\nwas much delighted. And in course of time a son was born to him by\nthat Yakshin\u00ed, whose birth cheered up their house and his mind. And\nwhen Pavitradhara saw the face of that son, he immediately assumed\na celestial shape and became again the Yaksha Attah\u00e1sa. And he said\nto that Yakshin\u00ed, \"My dear, our curse is at an end. I have become\nAttah\u00e1sa as before, come let us return to our own place.\"\n\nWhen he said this, his wife said to him, \"Think what is to become\nof the child your brother, who through a curse has been born as\nyour son.\" When Attah\u00e1sa heard that, he saw what was to be done by\nmeans of his powers of contemplation, and said to her; \"My dear,\nthere is in this town a Br\u00e1hman of the name of Devadarsana. He is\npoor in children and in wealth, and, though he keeps up five fires,\nhunger makes two others burn more fiercely, namely, the fire of\ndigestion in his own stomach and in that of his wife. And one day,\nas he was engaged in asceticism to obtain wealth and a son, the\nholy god of fire, whom he was propitiating, said to him in a dream,\n'You have not a son of your own, but you shall have an adopted son,\nand by means of him, Br\u00e1hman, your poverty shall come to an end.' On\naccount of this revelation of the god of fire, the Br\u00e1hman is at the\npresent moment expecting that son, so we must give him this child of\nours, for this is the decree of fate.\" After Attah\u00e1sa had said this\nto his beloved, he placed the child on the top of a pitcher full\nof gold, and fastened round its neck a garland of heavenly jewels,\nand deposited it in the house of that Br\u00e1hman at night when he and\nhis wife were asleep, and then went with his beloved to his own place.\n\nThen the Br\u00e1hman Devadarsana and his wife woke up, and beheld that\nyoung moon of a child glittering with resplendent jewels, and the\nBr\u00e1hman thought in his astonishment, \"What can be the meaning of\nthis?\" but when he saw the pot of gold, he remembered what the god of\nfire had told him in his dream, and rejoiced. And he took that young\nson given him by fate, and that wealth, and in the morning he made a\ngreat feast. And on the eleventh day he gave the child the appropriate\nname of Sr\u00eddarsana. [231] Then the Br\u00e1hman Devadarsana, having become\nvery rich, remained performing his sacrificial and other ceremonies,\nand enjoying the good things of this world at the same time.\n\nThe brave Sr\u00eddarsana grew up in his father's house, and acquired great\nskill in the Vedas and other branches of learning, and in the use\nof weapons. But in course of time, when he had grown up, his father\nDevadarsana, who had gone on a pilgrimage to sacred bathing-places,\ndied at Pray\u00e1ga. His mother, hearing of that, entered the fire, and\nthen Sr\u00eddarsana mourned for them, and performed on their behalf the\nceremonies enjoined in the sacred treatises. But in course of time his\ngrief diminished, and as he was not married, and had no relations, he\nbecame, though well educated, devoted to gambling. And in a short time\nhis wealth was consumed by means of that vice, and he had difficulty\nin obtaining even food.\n\nOne day, after he had remained in the gambling-hall without food for\nthree days, being unable to go out for shame, as he had not got a\ndecent garment to wear, and refusing to eat the food which others\ngave him, a certain gambler, named Mukharaka, who was a friend of\nhis, said to him, \"Why are you so utterly overwhelmed? Do you not\nknow that such is the nature of the sinful vice of gambling? Do you\nnot know that the dice are the sidelong loving looks of the goddess\nof Ill Luck? Has not Providence ordained for you the usual lot of\nthe gambler? His arms are his only clothing, the dust is his bed,\nthe cross-roads are his house, ruin is his wife. [232] So why do you\nrefuse to take food? Why do you neglect your health, though you are\na wise man? For what object of desire is there that a resolute man\ncannot obtain, as long as he continues alive? Hear in illustration\nof this truth the following wonderful story of Bh\u00fanandana.\"\n\n\n\nStory of Bh\u00fanandana.\n\nThere is here a region named Kasm\u00edra, the ornament of the earth, which\nthe Creator made as a second heaven, after creating the first heaven,\nfor men who have done righteous deeds. The difference between the two\nis that in heaven delights can only be seen, in Kasm\u00edra they can be\nactually enjoyed. The two glorious goddesses Sr\u00ed and Sarasvat\u00ed both\nfrequent it, as if they vied with one another, saying--\"I have the\npre\u00ebminence here\"--\"No, it is I.\"--The Him\u00e1laya encircles it with\nits embrace, as if to prevent Kali, the adversary of virtue, from\nentering it. The Vitast\u00e1 adorns it, and repels sin with its waves,\nas if they were hands, and seems to say, \"Depart far from this land\nwhich is full of waters sacred to the gods.\" In it the long lines of\nlofty palaces, whitened with silvery plaster, imitate the cliffs at\nthe foot of the neighbouring Him\u00e1laya. In this land there lived a\nking, named Bh\u00fanandana, who upheld as a spiritual guide the system\nof the castes and the prescribed stages of life, learned in science\nand traditional lore, the moon that delighted his subjects. His\nvalour was displayed in the kingdoms of his foes, on which he left\nthe impress of his nails. He was a politic governor, and his people\nwere ever free from calamity; he was exclusively devoted to Krishna,\nand the minds of his people took no pleasure in vicious deeds. [233]\n\nOnce on a time, on the twelfth day of the month, the king, after\nduly worshipping Vishnu, saw in a dream a Daitya maiden approach\nhim. When he woke up, he could not see her, and in his astonishment\nhe said to himself, \"This is no mere dream; I suspect she is some\ncelestial nymph by whom I have been cajoled.\" Under this impression\nhe remained thinking of her, and so grieved at being deprived of her\nsociety, that gradually he neglected all his duties as a king. Then\nthat king, not seeing any way of recovering her, said to himself;\n\"My brief union with her was due to the favour of Vishnu, so I will go\ninto a solitary place and propitiate Vishnu with a view to recovering\nher, and I will abandon this clog of a kingdom, which without her\nis distasteful.\" After saying this, king Bh\u00fanandana informed his\nsubjects of his resolution, and gave the kingdom to his younger\nbrother named Sunandana.\n\nBut after he had resigned the kingdom, he went to a holy bathing-place\nnamed Kramasaras; which arose from the footfall of Vishnu, for it\nwas made by him long ago in his Dwarf incarnation. It is attended by\nthe three gods Brahm\u00e1, Vishnu, and Siva, who have settled on the top\nof the neighbouring mountains in the form of peaks. And the foot of\nVishnu created here in Kasm\u00edra another Ganges, named Ikshuvat\u00ed, as\nif in emulation of the Vitast\u00e1. There the king remained, performing\nausterities, and pining, without desire for any other enjoyment,\nlike the ch\u00e1taka in the hot season longing for fresh rainwater.\n\nAnd after twelve years had passed over his head, while he remained\nengaged in ascetic practices, a certain ascetic came that way who was\na chief of sages: he had yellow matted hair, wore tattered garments,\nand was surrounded by a band of pupils; and he appeared like Siva\nhimself come down from the top of the hills that overhang that\nholy bathing-place. As soon as he saw the king, he was filled with\nlove for him, and went up to him, and bowing before him, asked him\nhis history, and then reflected for a moment and said; \"King, that\nDaitya maiden that you love lives in P\u00e1t\u00e1la, so be of good cheer,\nI will take you to her. For I am a Br\u00e1hman named Bh\u00farivasu, the son\nof a sacrificing Br\u00e1hman of the Dekkan, named Yajuh, and I am a chief\namong magicians. My father communicated his knowledge to me, and I\nlearnt from a treatise on P\u00e1t\u00e1la the proper charms and ceremonies for\npropitiating H\u00e1takes\u00e1na. [234] And I went to Sr\u00edparvata and performed\na course of asceticism there for propitiating Siva, and Siva, being\npleased with it, appeared to me and said to me,\n\n'Go; after you have married a Daitya maiden and enjoyed pleasures\nin the regions below the earth, you shall return to me; and listen;\nI will tell you an expedient for obtaining those delights. There\nare on this earth many openings leading to the lower regions; but\nthere is one great and famous one in Kasm\u00edra made by Maya, by which\nUsh\u00e1 the daughter of B\u00e1na introduced her lover Aniruddha into the\nsecret pleasure-grounds of the D\u00e1navas, and made him happy there. And\nPradyumna, in order to deliver his son, laid it open, making a door\nin one place with the peak of a mountain, and he placed Durg\u00e1 there,\nunder the name of S\u00e1rik\u00e1, to guard that door, after propitiating her\nwith hundreds of praises. Consequently even now the place is called\nby the two names of Peak of Pradyumna and Hill of S\u00e1rik\u00e1. So go and\nenter P\u00e1t\u00e1la with your followers by that famous opening, and by my\nfavour you shall succeed there.'\n\n\"When the god had said this, he disappeared, and by his favour I\nacquired all knowledge at once, and now I have come to this land of\nKasm\u00edra. So come with us, king, to that seat of S\u00e1rik\u00e1, in order that\nI may conduct you to P\u00e1t\u00e1la, to the maid that you love.\" When the\nascetic had said this to king Bh\u00fanandana, the latter consented and\nwent with him to that seat of S\u00e1rik\u00e1. There he bathed in the Vitast\u00e1,\nand worshipped Ganesa, and honoured the goddess S\u00e1rik\u00e1, and performed\nthe ceremony of averting evil spirits from all quarters by waving\nthe hand round the head, [235] and other ceremonies. And then the\ngreat ascetic, triumphing by the favour of the boon of Siva, revealed\nthe opening by scattering mustard-seeds in the prescribed manner,\nand the king entered with him and his pupils, and marched along the\nroad to P\u00e1t\u00e1la for five days and five nights. [236] And on the sixth\nday they all crossed the Ganges of the lower regions, and they beheld\na heavenly grove on a silver plain. It had splendid coral, camphor,\nsandal, and aloes trees, and was perfumed with the fragrance of large\nfull-blown golden lotuses. And in the middle of it they saw a lofty\ntemple of Siva. It was of vast extent, adorned with stairs of jewels;\nits walls were of gold, it glittered with many pillars of precious\nstone; and the spacious translucent body of the edifice was built of\nblocks of the moon-gem.\n\nThen king Bh\u00fanandana and the pupils of that ascetic, who possessed\nsupernatural insight, were cheered, and he said to them, \"This is the\ndwelling of the god Siva, who inhabits the lower regions in the form of\nH\u00e1takesvara, and whose praises are sung in the three worlds, so worship\nhim.\" Then they all bathed in the Ganges of the lower regions, and\nworshipped Siva with various flowers, the growth of P\u00e1t\u00e1la. And after\nthe brief refreshment of worshipping Siva, they went on and reached a\nsplendid lofty jambu-tree, the fruits of which were ripe and falling\non the ground. And when the ascetic saw it, he said to them; \"You\nmust not eat the fruits of this tree, for, if eaten, they will impede\nthe success of what you have in hand.\" In spite of his prohibition\none of his pupils, impelled by hunger, ate a fruit of the tree, and,\nas soon as he had eaten it, he became rigid and motionless. [237]\n\nThen the other pupils, seeing that, were terrified, and no longer felt\nany desire to eat the fruit; and that ascetic, accompanied by them\nand king Bh\u00fanandana, went on only a cos further, and beheld a lofty\ngolden wall rising before them, with a gate composed of a precious\ngem. On the two sides of the gate they saw two rams with bodies of\niron, ready to strike with their horns, put there to prevent any one\nfrom entering. But the ascetic suddenly struck them a blow on their\nheads with a charmed wand, and drove them off somewhere, as if they\nhad been struck by a thunderbolt. Then he and his pupils and that\nking entered by that gate, and beheld splendid palaces of gold and\ngems. And at the door of every one they beheld warders terrible with\nmany teeth and tusks, [238] with iron maces in their hands. And then\nthey all sat down there under a tree, while the ascetic entered into a\nmystic contemplation to avert evil. And by means of that contemplation\nall those terrible warders were compelled to flee from all the doors,\nand disappeared.\n\nAnd immediately there issued from those doors lovely women with\nheavenly ornaments and dresses, who were the attendants of those\nDaitya maidens. They approached separately all there present, the\nascetic among them, and invited them in the name of their mistresses\ninto their respective palaces. And the ascetic, having now succeeded\nin his enterprise, said to all the others,--\"You must none of you\ndisobey the command of your beloved after entering her palace.\" Then\nhe entered with a few of those attendants a splendid palace, and\nobtained a lovely Daitya maiden and the happiness he desired. And\nthe others singly were introduced into magnificent palaces by other\nof the attendants, and were blessed with the love of Daitya maidens.\n\nAnd the king Bh\u00fanandana was then conducted by one of the attendants,\nwho bowed respectfully to him, to a palace built of gems outside the\nwall. Its walls of precious stone were, so to speak, adorned all round\nwith living pictures, on account of the reflections on them of the\nlovely waiting-women. It was built on a platform of smooth sapphire,\nand so it appeared as if it had ascended to the vault of heaven, in\norder to outdo a sky-going chariot. [239] It seemed like the house\nof the Vrishnis, [240] made rich by means of the power of Vishnu. In\nit sported fair ones wild with intoxication, and it was full of the\ncharming grace of Cupid. Even a flower, that cannot bear the wind and\nthe heat, would in vain attempt to rival the delicacy of the bodies\nof the ladies in that palace. It resounded with heavenly music,\nand when the king entered it, he beheld once more that beautiful\nAsura maiden, whom he had seen in a dream. Her beauty illuminated\nthe lower world which has not the light of the sun or the stars,\nand made the creation of sparkling jewels and other lustrous things,\nan unnecessary proceeding on the part of the Creator. [241]\n\nThe king gazed with tears of joy on that indescribably beautiful\nlady, and, so to speak, washed off from his eyes the pollution,\nwhich they had contracted by looking at others. And that girl, named\nKumudin\u00ed, who was being praised by the songs of female attendants,\n[242] felt indescribable joy when she saw the prince. She rose up,\nand took him by the hand and said to him, \"I have caused you much\nsuffering,\" and then with all politeness she conducted him to a\nseat. And after he had rested a little while, he bathed, and the\nAsura maiden had him adorned with robes and jewels, and led him out\nto the garden to drink. Then she sat down with him on the brink of a\ntank filled with wine, and with the blood and fat of corpses, that\nhung from trees on its banks, and she offered that king a goblet,\nfull of that fat and wine, to drink, but he would not accept the\nloathsome compound. And she kept earnestly saying to the king:\n\"You will not prosper if you reject my beverage.\" But he answered,\n\"I certainly will not drink that undrinkable compound, whatever may\nhappen.\" Then she emptied the goblet on his head and departed; and\nthe king's eyes and mouth were suddenly closed, and her maids took\nhim and flung him into the water of another tank.\n\nAnd the moment he was thrown into the water, he found himself once more\nin the grove of ascetics, near the holy bathing-place of Kramasaras,\nwhere he was before. [243] And when he saw the mountain there, as it\nwere, laughing at him with its snows, [244] the disappointed king,\ndespondent, astonished, and bewildered, reflected as follows: \"What\na difference there is between the garden of the Daitya maiden and\nthis mountain of Kramasaras. Ah! what is this strange event? Is it an\nillusion or a wandering of the mind? But what other explanation can\nthere be than this, that undoubtedly this has befallen me, because,\nthough I heard the warning of the ascetic, I disobeyed the injunction\nof that fair one. And after all the beverage was not loathsome; she\nwas only making trial of me; for the liquor, which fell upon my head,\nhas bestowed on it heavenly fragrance. So it is indubitable that,\nin the case of the unfortunate, even great hardships endured bring\nno reward, for Destiny is opposed to them.\" While king Bh\u00fanandana\nwas engaged in these reflections, bees came and surrounded him on\naccount of the fragrant perfume of his body, that had been sprinkled\nwith the liquor offered by the Asura maiden. When those bees stung\nthe king, he thought to himself, \"Alas! so far from my toils having\nproduced the desired fruit, they have produced disagreeable results,\nas the raising of a Vet\u00e1la does to a man of little courage.\" [245]\nThen he became so distracted that he resolved on suicide.\n\nAnd it happened that, at that very time, there came a young hermit\nthat way, who, finding the king in this state, and being of a merciful\ndisposition, went up to him and quickly drove away the bees, and\nafter asking him his story, said to him--\"King, as long as we retain\nthis body, how can woes come to an end? So the wise should always\npursue without distraction the great object of human existence. And\nuntil you perceive that Vishnu, Siva, and Brahm\u00e1 are really one,\nyou will always find the successes, that are gained by worshipping\nthem separately, short-lived and uncertain. So meditate on Brahm\u00e1,\nVishnu, and Siva, in the light of their unity, and patiently perform\nasceticism here for another twelve years. Then you shall obtain that\nbeloved, and eventually everlasting salvation; and observe, you have\nalready attained a body possessing heavenly fragrance. Now receive\nfrom me this skin of a black antelope, to which a charm is attached,\nand if you wrap yourself up in it, you will not be annoyed here by\nbees.\" When the hermit had said this, he gave him the deer-skin and\nthe charm, and departed; and the king accepted his advice, and taking\nto himself patience, so lived in that place. And after the king had\nlived there twelve years, and propitiated Siva by penance, that Daitya\nmaiden, named Kumudin\u00ed, came to him of her own accord. And the king\nwent with that beloved to P\u00e1t\u00e1la, and after he had lived with her a\nlong time in happiness, he attained salvation.\n\n\"So those fortunate ones, whose characters are free from perturbation,\nand who betake themselves to patient endurance, obtain again their\nown rank, though they may have fallen far from it. [246] And since\nyou, Sr\u00eddarsana, are a man fated to be prosperous, being covered with\nauspicious marks, why do you, out of perturbation, allow yourself to\ngo without food?\" When Sr\u00eddarsana, who was fasting, was thus addressed\nin the gambling-hall by his friend Mukharaka, he said to him, \"What\nyou say, is true, but being a man of good family, I cannot for shame\ngo out into this town, as I am reduced so low by gambling. So if\nyou will permit me, my friend, to go to some other country this very\nnight, I will take food.\" When Mukharaka heard that, he consented, and\nbrought food and gave it to him, and he ate it. And after Sr\u00eddarsana\nhad eaten it, he set out for another country with that friend of his,\nwho followed him out of affection.\n\nAnd as he was going along the road at night, it happened that the\ntwo Yakshas, Attah\u00e1sa and Saud\u00e1min\u00ed, his father and mother, who had\ndeposited him, as soon as he was born, in the house of the Br\u00e1hman,\nsaw him while they were roaming through the air. When they saw him\nin distress, impoverished by the vice of gambling, and on his way\nto a foreign country, affection made them say to him, while still\nremaining invisible, the following words; \"Sr\u00eddarsana, your mother,\nthe wife of Devadarsana, buried in her house some jewels. Take those,\nand do not omit to go with them to M\u00e1lava, for there is a magnificent\nprince there of the name of Sr\u00edsena. And since he was much afflicted\nin his youth by miseries arising from gambling, he has made a large\nand glorious asylum for gamblers. There gamblers live, and are fed\nwith whatever food they desire. So go there, darling, and you shall\nbe prosperous.\"\n\nWhen Sr\u00eddarsana heard this speech from heaven, he went back to his\nhouse with his friend, and found those ornaments in it, in a hole in\nthe ground. Then he set out delighted for M\u00e1lava, with his friend,\nthinking that the gods had shewn him favour. So in that night and\nthe succeeding day he went a long distance, and the next evening he\nreached with his friend a village named Bahusasya. And being weary,\nhe sat down with his friend on the bank of a translucent lake, not\nfar from that village. While he remained for a brief period on the\nbank of that lake, after washing his feet and drinking water, there\ncame there a certain maiden, matchless in beauty, to fetch water. Her\nbody resembled a blue lotus in colour, and she seemed like Rati left\nalone, and blackened by the smoke from the body of the god of Love,\nwhen he had just been consumed by Siva. Sr\u00eddarsana was delighted\nto behold her, and she went up to him, and looked at him with an\neye full of love, and said to him and his friend, \"Worthy sirs,\nwhy have you come hither to your death? Why, through ignorance,\nhave you fallen like moths into burning fire?\" When Mukharaka heard\nthis, he said to the maiden, without the least trepidation, \"Who are\nyou? And what is the meaning of what you say? Tell us.\" Then she said,\n\"Listen both of you! I will tell you the whole story in few words.\n\n\"There is a large and famous royal grant to Br\u00e1hmans, named\nSughosha. In it there dwelt a Br\u00e1hman named Padmagarbha, who possessed\na thorough knowledge of the Vedas. He had a wife of very good family,\nnamed Sasikal\u00e1. And the Br\u00e1hman had two children by that wife, a\nson of the name of Mukharakha, and myself a daughter of the name of\nPadmishth\u00e1. My brother Mukharaka was ruined by the vice of gambling in\nearly youth, and left his home and went off to some other country. My\nmother died of grief on that account, and my father, afflicted with\ntwo sorrows, abandoned the state of a householder. And he roamed about\nfrom place to place, with no other companion than myself, to look for\nthat son, and, as it happened, he reached this village. Now in this\nvillage there lives a great bandit, the chief of a gang of robbers,\ncalled Vasubh\u00fati, a Br\u00e1hman only by name. When my father arrived here,\nthat ruffian, with the help of his servants, killed him, and took away\nthe gold that he had about his person. And he made me a prisoner and\ncarried me off to his house, and he has made arrangements to give me\nin marriage to his son Subh\u00fati. But his son has gone off somewhere\nto plunder a caravan, and, owing to my good fortune, the result of\ngood deeds in a former birth, he has not yet returned; now it remains\nfor Destiny to dispose of me. But, if this bandit were to see you,\nhe would certainly do you some violence: so think of some artifice\nby which you may escape him.\"\n\nWhen the maiden said this, Mukharaka recognized her, and at\nonce clasping her round the neck, said to her, \"Alas, my sister\nPadmishth\u00e1! I am that very brother of yours Mukharaka, the murderer of\nhis relations. Alas! wretched that I am, I am ruined.\" When Padmishth\u00e1\nheard this, and saw her elder brother, pity caused her to be, as it\nwere, suddenly encircled with all sorrows. Then Sr\u00eddarsana comforted\nthe brother and sister, who were lamenting their parents, and addressed\na timely admonition and encouragement to them. He said, \"This is not\nthe time for lamentation, we must now save our lives even at the cost\nof our wealth, and by means of it we must protect ourselves against\nthis bandit.\" When Sr\u00eddarsana said this, they checked their grief\nwith self-control, and all three agreed together what each was to do.\n\nThen Sr\u00eddarsana, being thin by reason of his former fasts, flung\nhimself down on the bank of that tank, and pretended to be ill. And\nMukharaka remained holding his feet and weeping: but Padmishth\u00e1\nimmediately repaired to that bandit chief, and said, \"A traveller\nhas arrived, and is lying ill on the border of the tank, and there is\nanother there who is his servant.\" When the bandit chief heard that,\nhe sent some of his followers there. They went, and seeing the two men\nas had been described, asked Mukharaka why he wept so much for his\ncompanion. When Mukharaka heard this, he said with affected sorrow,\n\"This Br\u00e1hman, who is my elder brother, left his native land to visit\nholy bathing-places, but was attacked by disease, and slowly travelling\nalong he has arrived here, accompanied by me. And the moment he got\nhere, he became incapable of movement, and he said to me, 'Rise up, my\ndear brother, and quickly prepare for me a bed of darbha-grass. And\nfetch me some virtuous Br\u00e1hman from this village. On him I will\nbestow all my wealth, for I cannot live through this night.' When\nhe said this to me in this foreign country after sunset, I felt\nquite puzzled as to what I ought to do, and, being afflicted, I had\nrecourse to weeping. So bring here some Br\u00e1hman while he is alive,\nin order that he may bestow on him with his own hand whatever wealth\nwe possess. For he will certainly not live through the night, and I\nshall not be able to survive the sorrow of his loss, so to-morrow I\nshall enter the fire. So do for us this which we ask, since we have\nmet with you here as compassionate men and friends without any cause.\"\n\nWhen the bandits heard that, pity arose in their minds, and they\nwent and told the story, exactly as they had heard it, to their\nmaster Vasubh\u00fati, and went on to say, \"So come and receive, as a\npious gift, from this Br\u00e1hman, who is eager to bestow it on you,\nthe wealth which ordinarily is to be obtained only by killing its\npossessor.\" When they said this to Vasubh\u00fati, he said, \"What course is\nthis which you suggest? It is highly impolitic for us to take wealth\nwithout killing its possessor, for, if he is deprived of his wealth,\nwithout being killed, he will certainly do us an injury.\" When the\nvillain said this, those servants answered him, \"What is there to\nfear in this? There is some difference between taking wealth by\nforce, and receiving it as a pious gift from a dying man. Besides,\nto-morrow morning we will kill those two Br\u00e1hmans, if they are still\nalive. Otherwise, what is the use of incurring needlessly the guilt\nof killing a Br\u00e1hman?\" When Vasubh\u00fati heard this, he consented,\nand in the night he came to Sr\u00eddarsana to receive his pious gift,\nand Sr\u00eddarsana concealed a part of his mother's ornaments, and gave\nhim the rest, assuming a faltering voice. Then the bandit, having\ngot what he wanted, returned home with his followers.\n\nThen Padmishth\u00e1 came at night to Sr\u00eddarsana and Mukharaka, while\nthe bandits were asleep. Then they quickly deliberated together, and\nset off at once from that place for M\u00e1lava by a path not frequented\nby the robbers. And during that night they went a long distance, and\nreached a wood that seemed to be afraid of the roaring lions, tigers,\nand other wild beasts within it. It seemed by its thorns to be in a\nstate of perpetual horripilation, and by its roaming black antelopes\nto be rolling its eyes. The dry creepers shewed that its body was\ndried up from fear, and the shrill whistling of the loose bark was\nits screams of terror. And while they were journeying through that\nforest, the sun, that had observed their sufferings all day, withdrew\nits light, as if in compassion, and set. Then they sat down weary\nand hungry at the foot of a tree, and in the early part of the night\nthey saw in the distance a light, as of fire. And Sr\u00eddarsana said,\n\"Can there possibly be a village here? I will go and look.\" So he went\nin the direction of the light. And when he reached it, and looked\nat it, lo! it was a great palace built of jewels, and its splendour\nproduced that light as of fire. [247] And he saw inside it a Yakshin\u00ed\nof heavenly beauty, surrounded by many Yakshas, with feet turned the\nwrong way and squinting eyes. And the brave man, seeing that they had\nbrought there all kinds of meat and drink, went up to the Yakshin\u00ed,\nand asked her to give him his share as a guest. And she was pleased\nwith his courage and gave him what he asked for, enough food and\nwater to satisfy himself and his two companions. The refreshment was\nplaced on the back of a Yaksha ordered off by her for that duty, and\nSr\u00eddarsana returned with it to his friend and Padmishth\u00e1. And then he\ndismissed the Yaksha, and partook there with them of all that splendid\nfood of various kinds, and drank pure cold water. Then Mukharaka was\npleased, perceiving that he must be an incarnation of a divinity, as\nhe was so rich in courage and might, and, desiring his own prosperity,\nhe said to him, \"You are some incarnation of a divinity, and this\nsister of mine Padmishth\u00e1 is the greatest beauty in the world, so I\nnow give her to you as a wife meet for you.\" When Sr\u00eddarsana heard\nthat, he was delighted, and said to his friend, \"I accept with joy\nthis offer of yours which I have long desired. But when I reach my\ngoal I will marry her in proper form.\" This he said to those two,\nand then passed the night in a joyful state of mind. And the next\nmorning they all set out from that place, and reached in due course\nthe city of that king Sr\u00edsena, the sovereign of M\u00e1lava. And arriving\ntired, they immediately entered the house of an old Br\u00e1hman woman to\nrest. And in the course of conversation they told her their story and\ntheir names, and then they saw that the old woman was much disturbed,\nand when they questioned her, she said to them:\n\n\"I am the well-born wife of a Br\u00e1hman here, named Satyavrata, who\nwas a servant of the king's, and my name is Yasasvat\u00ed. And after my\nhusband died, the compassionate king gave me the fourth part of his\nsalary to live upon, as I had not a son to support me. But now this\nmoon of kings, though his virtues are great, and though he is generous\nenough to give away the whole world, has been seized by a consumption\n[248] which the physicians cannot cure. And the drugs and charms of\nthose skilled in such things do not prevail against it; but a certain\nenchanter made this promise in his presence, 'If I could only get a\nhero, equal to the task, to help me, I would certainly put an end to\nthis illness by getting a Vet\u00e1la into my power.' Then proclamation\nwas made by beat of drum, but no such hero was found. Then the king\ngave the following order to his ministers; 'You must look out for\nsome daring gambler, who comes to reside in the great and well-known\nasylum, which I built for such. For gamblers are reckless, abandoning\nwife and relations, fearless, sleeping at the foot of trees and in\nother exposed places, like ascetics.' When the king gave this order\nto his ministers, they instructed to this effect the superintendent\nof the asylum, and he is now on the lookout for some brave man who\nmay come there to reside awhile. Now you are gamblers, and if you,\nSr\u00eddarsana, feel able to accomplish the undertaking, I will take\nyou to-day to that asylum. And you will be well treated by the king,\nand you will confer a benefit on me, for grief is killing me.\"\n\nWhen the old lady said this, Sr\u00eddarsana answered her, \"Agreed! I am\nable to accomplish this, so lead me quickly to that asylum.\" When\nshe heard this, she took him, and Padmishth\u00e1, and Mukharaka,\nto that asylum, and there said to the superintendent, \"Here is a\nBr\u00e1hman gambler arrived from a foreign land, a hero who is able to\nassist that enchanter in performing incantations for the good of the\nking.\" When the superintendent heard this, he questioned Sr\u00eddarsana,\nand when he confirmed the words of the old lady, he treated him with\ngreat respect, and led him quickly into the presence of the king.\n\nAnd Sr\u00eddarsana, being introduced by him, beheld the king, who was\nthin and pale as the new moon. And the king Sr\u00edsena observed that\nSr\u00eddarsana, who bowed before him and sat down, was of a taking\nappearance, and pleased with his look, he felt comforted, and said\nto him, \"I know that your exertions will certainly put an end to\nmy disease; my body tells me this, for the mere sight of you has\nquieted its sufferings. So aid the enchanter in this matter.\" When\nthe king said this, Sr\u00eddarsana said to him \"The enterprise is a mere\ntrifle.\" Then the king summoned the enchanter and said to him, \"This\nhero will aid you; do what you said.\" When that enchanter heard that,\nhe said to Sr\u00eddarsana,\n\n\"My good sir, if you are able to assist me in raising a Vet\u00e1la, come\nto me in the cemetery at night-fall this very day, the fourteenth\nof the black fortnight.\" When the ascetic, who practised magic, had\nsaid this, he went away, and Sr\u00eddarsana took leave of the king and\nreturned to that asylum.\n\nThere he took food with Padmishth\u00e1 and Mukharaka, and at night he went\nalone, sword in hand, to the cemetery. It was full of many ghosts,\nempty of men, inauspicious, full of roaring jackals, covered with\nimpenetrable darkness, but shewed in some places a faint gleam where\nthe funeral pyres were. [249] The hero Sr\u00eddarsana wandered about in\nthat place of horrors and saw the enchanter in the middle of it. His\nwhole body was smeared with ashes, he had a Br\u00e1hmanical thread of\nhair, he wore a turban made of the clothes of the dead, and he was\nclad in a black garment. Sr\u00eddarsana approached him, and made himself\nknown to him, and then girding up his loins, he said, \"Tell me,\nwhat shall I do for you?\" The enchanter answered in high spirits,\n\"Half a cos only to the west of this place there is an Asoka tree,\nthe leaves of which are burnt with the hot flame of funeral pyres. At\nthe foot of it there is a corpse, go and bring it here unharmed.\"\n\nThen Sr\u00eddarsana said, \"I will,\" and going quickly to the place he\nsaw some one else taking away the corpse. So he ran and tried to\ndrag it from the shoulder of that person, who would not let it go,\nand said to him,--\"Let go this corpse: where are you taking my friend\nwhom I have to burn?\" Then that second person said to Sr\u00eddarsana,\n\"I will not let the dead man go; I am his friend; what have you to\ndo with him?\" While they were dragging the corpse from one another's\nshoulders, and making these mutual recriminations, the corpse itself,\nwhich was animated by a Vet\u00e1la, uttered a terrible shriek. That\nterrified the second person so that his heart broke, and he fell down\ndead, and then Sr\u00eddarsana went off with that corpse in his arms. Then\nthe second man, though dead, rose up, being possessed by a Vet\u00e1la,\nand tried to stop Sr\u00eddarsana, and said to him, \"Halt! do not go off\nwith my friend on your shoulder.\" Then Sr\u00eddarsana, knowing that his\nrival was possessed by a Vet\u00e1la, said to him, \"What proof is there\nthat you are his friend? He is my friend.\" The rival then said,\n\"The corpse itself shall decide between us.\" Then Sr\u00eddarsana, said,\n\"Well! let him declare who is his friend.\" Then the corpse, that\nwas on his back, being possessed by a Vet\u00e1la, said, \"I am hungry,\nso I decide that whoever gives me food is my friend; let him take me\nwhere he likes.\" When the second corpse, that was also possessed by\na Vet\u00e1la, heard this, he answered,--\"I have no food; if he has any,\nlet him give you some.\" Sr\u00eddarsana, hearing this, said, \"I will give\nhim food,\" and proceeded to strike with his sword at the second corpse,\nin order to procure food for the Vet\u00e1la that was on his shoulder. [250]\nBut that second corpse, which was also possessed by a Vet\u00e1la, the\nmoment he began to strike it, disappeared by its supernatural power.\n\nThen the Vet\u00e1la, that was on Sr\u00eddarsana's shoulder, said to him, \"Now\ngive me the food that you promised me.\" So Sr\u00eddarsana, not being able\nto obtain any other flesh to give him to eat, cut off with his sword\nsome of his own flesh, and gave it to him. This pleased the Vet\u00e1la,\nand he said to him, \"I am satisfied with you, brave man, let your\nbody be restored whole as before. Now take me off; this enterprise of\nyours shall succeed, but that ascetic enchanter shall be destroyed,\nfor he is a great coward.\" When Sr\u00eddarsana was thus addressed by\nthe Vet\u00e1la, he immediately became whole as before, and taking the\ncorpse he handed it to that magician. And he received it joyfully,\nand honoured it with unguents and garlands of blood, and he placed\nthe corpse, possessed by the Vet\u00e1la, on its back in a great circle\nmarked out with powdered human bones, in the corners of which were\nplaced pitchers of blood, and which was lighted up with lamps fed\nby oil from the human body. And he sat on the breast of the corpse,\nand holding in his hand a ladle and spoon of human bone, he began to\nmake an oblation of clarified butter in its mouth. Immediately such a\nflame issued from the mouth of that corpse possessed by the Vet\u00e1la,\nthat the sorcerer rose up in terror and fled. When he thus lost his\npresence of mind, and dropped his spoon and ladle; the Vet\u00e1la pursued\nhim, and opening his mouth swallowed him whole. [251]\n\nWhen Sr\u00eddarsana saw that, he lifted up his sword and attacked\nthe Vet\u00e1la, but the Vet\u00e1la said to him, \"Sr\u00eddarsana, I am pleased\nwith this courage of yours, so take these mustard-seeds produced in\nmy mouth. If you place these on the head and hands of the king, the\nmalady of consumption will immediately leave him, and you in a short\ntime will become the king of the whole earth.\" When Sr\u00eddarsana heard\nthis, he said, \"How can I leave this place without that sorcerer? The\nking is sure to say that I killed him out of a selfish regard to my\nown interests.\" When Sr\u00eddarsana said this to the Vet\u00e1la, he answered,\n\"I will tell you a convincing proof, which will clear you. Cut open\nthe body of this corpse, and shew inside it this sorcerer dead, whom\nI have swallowed.\" When the Vet\u00e1la had said this, he gave him the\nmustard-seeds, and went off somewhere or other, leaving that corpse,\nand the corpse fell on the ground.\n\nThen Sr\u00eddarsana went off, taking with him the mustard-seeds, and\nhe spent that night in the asylum in which his friend was. And the\nnext morning he went to the king, and told him what had happened\nin the night, and took and shewed to the ministers that sorcerer in\nthe stomach of the corpse. Then he placed the mustard-seeds on the\nhead and the hand of the king, and that made the king quite well,\nas all his sickness at once left him. Then the king was pleased, and,\nas he had no son, he adopted as his son Sr\u00eddarsana, who had saved his\nlife. And he immediately anointed that hero crown-prince; for the\nseed of benefits, sown in good soil, produces abundant fruit. Then\nthe fortunate Sr\u00eddarsana married there that Padmishth\u00e1, who seemed\nlike the goddess of Fortune that had come to him in reward for his\nformer courting of her, and the hero remained there in the company\nof her brother Mukharaka, enjoying pleasures and ruling the earth.\n\nOne day a great merchant, named Upendrasakti, found an image of Ganesa,\ncarved out of a jewel, on the border of a tank, and brought it and gave\nit to that prince. The prince, seeing that it was of priceless value,\nout of his fervent piety, set it up in a very splendid manner in a\ntemple. And he appointed a thousand villages there for the permanent\nsupport of the temple, and he ordained in honour of the idol a festive\nprocession, at which all M\u00e1lava assembled. And Ganesa, being pleased\nwith the numerous dances, songs, and instrumental performances in\nhis honour, said to the Ganas at night, \"By my favour this Sr\u00eddarsana\nshall be a universal emperor on the earth. Now there is an island named\nHansadv\u00edpa in the western sea; and in it is a king named Anangodaya,\nand he has a lovely daughter named Anangamanjar\u00ed. And that daughter\nof his, being devoted to me, always offers to me this petition after\nshe has worshipped me, \"Holy one, give me a husband who shall be the\nlord of the whole earth.\" So I will marry her to this Sr\u00eddarsana,\nand thus I shall have bestowed on both the meet reward of their\ndevotion to me. So you must take Sr\u00eddarsana there, and after you have\ncontrived that they should see one another, bring him back quickly;\nand in course of time they shall be united in due form; but it cannot\nbe done immediately, for such is the will of destiny. Moreover I have\ndetermined by these means to recompense Upendrasakti, the merchant,\nwho brought my image to the prince.\"\n\nThe Ganas, having received this order from Ganesa, took Sr\u00eddarsana\nthat very night, while he was asleep, and carried him to Hansadv\u00edpa\nby their supernatural power. And there they introduced him into the\nchamber of Anangamanjar\u00ed, and placed him on the bed on which that\nprincess was lying asleep. Sr\u00eddarsana immediately woke up, and saw\nAnangamanjar\u00ed. She was reclining on a bed covered with a coverlet\nof pure white woven silk, in a splendid chamber in which flashed\njewel-lamps, and which was illuminated by the numerous priceless\ngems of the canopy and other furniture, and the floor of which was\ndark with the r\u00e1j\u00e1varta stone. As she lay there pouring forth rays\nof beauty like the lovely effluence of a stream of nectar, she seemed\nlike the orb of the autumn moon lapped in a fragment of a white cloud,\nin a sky adorned with a host of bright twinkling stars, gladdening\nthe eyes. Immediately he was delighted, astonished, and bewildered,\nand he said to himself, \"I went to sleep at home and I have woke\nup in a very different place. What does all this mean? Who is this\nwoman? Surely it is a dream! Very well, let it be so. But I will\nwake up this lady and find out.\" After these reflections he gently\nnudged Anangamanjar\u00ed on the shoulder with his hand. And the touch\nof his hand made her immediately awake and roll her eyes, as the\nkumudvat\u00ed opens under the rays of the moon, and the bees begin to\ncircle in its cup. When she saw him, she reflected for a moment,\n\"Who can this being of celestial appearance be? Surely he must\nbe some god that has penetrated into this well-guarded room?\" So\nshe rose up, and asked him earnestly and respectfully who he was,\nand how and why he had entered there. Then he told his story, and\nthe fair one, when questioned by him, told him in turn her country,\nname, and descent. Then they both fell in love with one another, and\neach ceased to believe that the other was an object seen in a dream,\nand in order to make certain, they exchanged ornaments.\n\nThen they both became eager for the G\u00e1ndharva form of marriage, but\nthe Ganas stupefied them, and laid them to sleep. And, as soon as\nSr\u00eddarsana fell asleep, they took him and carried him back to his own\npalace, cheated by Destiny of his desire. Then Sr\u00eddarsana woke up in\nhis own palace, and seeing himself decked with the ornaments of a lady,\nhe thought, \"What does this mean? At one moment I am in that heavenly\npalace with the daughter of the king of Hansadv\u00edpa, at another moment\nI am here. It cannot be a dream, for here are these ornaments of hers\non my wrist, so it must be some strange freak of Destiny.\" While he\nwas engaged in these speculations, his wife Padmishth\u00e1 woke up, and\nquestioned him, and the kind woman comforted him, and so he passed\nthe night. And the next morning he told the whole story to Sr\u00edsena,\nbefore whom he appeared wearing the ornaments marked with the name of\nAnangamanjar\u00ed. And the king, wishing to please him, had a proclamation\nmade by beat of drum, to find out where Hansadv\u00edpa was, but could\nnot find out from any one the road to that country. Then Sr\u00eddarsana,\nseparated from Anangamanjar\u00ed, remained overpowered by the fever of\nlove, averse to all enjoyment. He could not like his food while he\ngazed on her ornaments, necklace and all, and he abandoned sleep,\nhaving ceased to behold within reach the lotus of her face. [252]\n\nIn the meanwhile the princess Anangamanjar\u00ed, in Hansadv\u00edpa, was\nawakened in the morning by the sound of music. When she remembered\nwhat had taken place in the night, and saw her body adorned with\nSr\u00eddarsana's ornaments, longing love made her melancholy. And she\nreflected, \"Alas I am brought into a state, in which my life is in\ndanger, by these ornaments, which prove that I cannot have been deluded\nby a dream, and fill me with love for an unattainable object.\" While\nshe was engaged in these reflections, her father Anangodaya suddenly\nentered, and saw her wearing the ornaments of a man. The king,\nwho was very fond of her, when he saw her covering her body with her\nclothes, and downcast with shame, took her on his lap and said to her,\n\"My daughter, what is the meaning of these masculine decorations, and\nwhy this shame? Tell me. Do not shew a want of confidence in me, for\nmy life hangs on you.\" These and other kind speeches of her father's\nallayed her feeling of shame, and she told him at last the whole story.\n\nThen her father, thinking that it was a piece of supernatural\nenchantment, felt great doubt as to what steps he ought to take. So\nhe went and asked an ascetic of the name of Brahmasoma, who possessed\nsuperhuman powers, and observed the rule of the P\u00e1supatas, and who\nwas a great friend of his, for his advice. The ascetic by his powers\nof contemplation penetrated the mystery, and said to the king; \"The\ntruth is that the Ganas brought here prince Sr\u00eddarsana from M\u00e1lava,\nfor Ganesa is favourably disposed both to him and your daughter,\nand by his favour he shall become a universal monarch. So he is a\ncapital match for your daughter.\" When that gifted seer said this,\nthe king bowed and said to him,--\"Holy seer, M\u00e1lava is far away from\nthis great land of Hansadv\u00edpa. The road is a difficult one, and this\nmatter does not admit of delay. So in this matter your ever propitious\nself is my only stay.\"\n\nWhen the ascetic, who was so kind to his admirers, had been thus\nentreated by the king, he said, \"I myself will accomplish this,\"\nand he immediately disappeared. And he reached in a moment the city\nof king Sr\u00edsena in M\u00e1lava. There he entered the very temple built by\nSr\u00eddarsana, and after bowing before Ganesa, he sat down and began\nto praise him, saying \"Hail to thee of auspicious form, whose head\nis crowned with a garland of stars, so that thou art like the peak\nof mount Meru! I adore thy trunk flung up straight in the joy of\nthe dance, so as to sweep the clouds, like a column supporting the\nedifice of the three worlds. Destroyer of obstacles, I worship thy\nsnake-adorned body, swelling out into a broad pitcher-like belly,\nthe treasure-house of all success.\" While the ascetic was engaged\nin offering these praises to Ganesa in the temple, it happened that\nthe son of the merchant-prince Upendrasakti, who brought his image,\nentered the temple as he was roaming about. His name was Mahendrasakti,\nand he had been rendered uncontrollable by long and violent madness,\nso he rushed forward to seize the ascetic. Then the ascetic struck\nhim with his hand. The merchant's son, as soon as he was struck by\nthe charm-bearing hand of that ascetic, was freed from madness and\nrecovered his reason. And, as he was naked, he felt shame, and left\nthe temple immediately, and covering himself with his hand, he made\nfor his home. Immediately his father Upendrasakti, hearing of it from\nthe people, met him full of joy and led him to his house. There he had\nhim bathed, and properly clothed and adorned, and then he went with\nhim to the ascetic Brahmasoma. And he offered him much wealth as the\nrestorer of his son, but the ascetic, as he possessed godlike power,\nwould not receive it.\n\nIn the meanwhile king Sr\u00edsena himself, having heard what had\ntaken place, reverently approached the ascetic, accompanied by\nSr\u00eddarsana. And the king bowed before him, and praised him, and said,\n\"Owing to your coming, this merchant has received a benefit, by having\nhis son restored to health, so do me a benefit also by ensuring\nthe welfare of this son of mine Sr\u00eddarsana.\" When the king craved\nthis boon of the ascetic, he smiled and said, \"King, why should I do\nanything to please this thief, who stole at night the heart and the\nornaments of the princess Anangamanjar\u00ed in Hansadv\u00edpa, and returned\nhere with them? Nevertheless I must obey your orders.\" With these words\nthe ascetic seized Sr\u00eddarsana by the fore-arm, and disappeared with\nhim. He took him to Hansadv\u00edpa, and introduced him into the palace of\nking Anangodaya, with his daughter's ornaments on him. When Sr\u00eddarsana\narrived, the king welcomed him gladly, but first he threw himself\nat the feet of the ascetic and blessed him. And on an auspicious\nday he gave Sr\u00eddarsana his daughter Anangamanjar\u00ed, as if she were\nthe earth garlanded with countless jewels. And then by the power of\nthat ascetic he sent his son-in-law, with his wife, to M\u00e1lava. And\nwhen Sr\u00eddarsana arrived there, the king welcomed him gladly, and he\nlived there in happiness with his two wives.\n\nIn course of time king Sr\u00edsena went to the next world, and that\nhero took his kingdom and conquered the whole earth. And when he\nhad attained universal dominion, he had two sons by his two wives\nPadmishth\u00e1 and Anangamanjar\u00ed. And to one of them the king gave the\nname of Padmasena, and to the other of Anangasena, and he reared them\nup to manhood.\n\nAnd in course of time king Sr\u00eddarsana, as he was sitting inside the\npalace with his two queens, heard a Br\u00e1hman lamenting outside. So he\nhad the Br\u00e1hman brought inside, and asked him why he lamented. Then\nthe Br\u00e1hman shewed great perturbation and said to him; \"The fire\nthat had points of burning flame (D\u00edptasikhu) has been now destroyed\nby a dark cloud of calamity, discharging a loud laugh (Attah\u00e1sa),\ntogether with its line of brightness and line of smoke (Jyotirlekh\u00e1\nand Dh\u00famalekh\u00e1).\" [253] The moment the Br\u00e1hman had said this, he\ndisappeared. And while the king was saying in his astonishment,\n\"What did he say, and where has he gone,\" the two queens, weeping\ncopiously, suddenly fell dead.\n\nWhen the king saw that sudden calamity, terrible as the stroke\nof a thunderbolt, he exclaimed in his grief, \"Alas! Alas! what\nmeans this?\" and fell on the ground wailing. And when he fell,\nhis attendants picked him up, and carried him to another place,\nand Mukharaka took the bodies of the queens, and performed the\nceremony of burning them. At last the king came to his senses, and\nafter mourning long for the queens, he completed out of affection\ntheir funeral ceremonies. And after he had spent a day darkened by a\nstorm of tears, he divided the empire of the earth between his two\nsons. Then, having conceived the design of renouncing the world,\nhe left his city, and turning back his subjects who followed him,\nhe went to the forest to perform austerities.\n\nThere he lived on roots and fruits, and one day, as he was wandering\nabout at will, he came near a banyan-tree. As soon as he came near it,\ntwo women of celestial appearance suddenly issued from it with roots\nand fruits in their hands, and they said to him, \"King, take these\nroots and fruits which we offer.\" When he heard that, he said, \"Tell me\nnow who you are.\" Then those women of heavenly appearance said to him,\n\"Well come into our house and we will tell you the truth.\" When he\nheard that, he consented, and entering with them, he saw inside the\ntree a splendid golden city. There he rested and ate heavenly fruits,\nand then those women said to him, \"Now, king, hear.\"\n\n\"Long ago there dwelt in Pratishth\u00e1na a Br\u00e1hman, of the name of\nKamalagarbha, and he had two wives, the name of the one was Pathy\u00e1,\nand the name of the other Abal\u00e1. Now in course of time all three,\nthe husband and the wives, were worn out with old age, and at last\nthey entered the fire together, being attached to one another. And\nat that time they put up a petition to Siva from the fire, 'May we be\nconnected together as husband and wives in all our future lives!' Then\nKamalagarbha, owing to the power of his severe penances, was born in\nthe Yaksha race as D\u00edptasikha, the son of the Yaksha Prad\u00edpt\u00e1ksha,\nand the younger brother of Attah\u00e1sa. His wives too, Pathy\u00e1 and Abal\u00e1,\nwere born as Yaksha maidens, that is to say, as the two daughters of\nthe king of the Yakshas named Dh\u00famaketu, and the name of the one was\nJyotirlekh\u00e1, and the name of the other Dh\u00famalekh\u00e1.\n\n\"Now in course of time those two sisters grew up, and they went to\nthe forest to perform asceticism, and they propitiated Siva with\nthe view of obtaining husbands. The god was pleased and he appeared\nto them and said to them, 'That man with whom you entered the fire\nin a former birth, and who you asked might be your husband in all\nsubsequent births, was born again as a Yaksha named D\u00edptasikha, the\nbrother of Attah\u00e1sa, but he has become a mortal owing to the curse of\nhis master, and has been born as a man named Sr\u00eddarsana, so you too\nmust go to the world of men and be his wives there, but as soon as\nthe curse terminates, you shall all become Yakshas, husband and wives\ntogether.' When Siva said this, those two Yaksha maidens were born\non the earth as Padmishth\u00e1 and Anangamanjar\u00ed. They became the wives\nof Sr\u00eddarsana, and after they had been his wives for some time, that\nAttah\u00e1sa, as fate would have it, came there in the form of a Br\u00e1hman,\nand by the device of employing an ambiguous speech, he managed to\nutter their names and remind them of their former existence, and this\nmade them abandon that body and become Yakshin\u00eds. \"Know that we are\nthose wives of yours, and you are that D\u00edptasikha.\" When Sr\u00eddarsana\nhad been thus addressed by them, he remembered his former birth, and\nimmediately became the Yaksha D\u00edptasikha, and was again duly united\nto those two wives of his.\n\n\"Know therefore, Vichitrakatha, that I am that Yaksha, and that these\nwives of mine are Jyotirlekh\u00e1 and Dh\u00famalekh\u00e1. So, if creatures of\ngodlike descent, like myself, have to endure such alternations of joy\nand sorrow, much more then must mortals. But do not be despondent,\nmy son, for in a short time you shall be reunited to your master\nMrig\u00e1nkadatta. And I remained here to entertain you, for this is my\nearthly dwelling, so stay here, I will accomplish your desire. Then\nI will go to my own home in Kail\u00e1sa.\" When the Yaksha had in these\nwords told me his story, he entertained me for some time. And the\nkind being, knowing that you had arrived here at night, brought me\nand laid me asleep in the midst of you who were asleep. So I was seen\nby you, and you have been found by me. This, king, is the history of\nmy adventures during my separation from you.\"\n\nWhen prince Mrig\u00e1nkadatta had heard at night this tale from his\nminister Vichitrakatha, who was rightly named, [254] he was much\ndelighted, and so were his other ministers.\n\nSo, after he had spent that night on the turf of the forest, he\nwent on with those companions of his towards Ujjayin\u00ed, having his\nmind fixed on obtaining Sas\u00e1nkavat\u00ed, and he kept searching for those\nother companions of his, who were separated by the curse of the N\u00e1ga,\nand whom he had not yet found.\n\n\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER LXXIV.\n\n\nThen Mrig\u00e1nkadatta, as he gradually travelled along in the Vindhya\nforest, accompanied by those ministers, Srutadhi and the four others,\nreached a wood, which was refreshing with the shade of its goodly\nfruit-laden trees, and in which there was a tank of very pure sweet\ncold water. He bathed in it with his ministers and ate many fruits,\nand lo! he suddenly thought that he heard conversation in a place shut\nin with creepers. So he went and looked into that bower of creepers,\nand he saw inside it a great elephant, which was refreshing a blind\nway-worn man by throwing over him showers of water from his trunk,\nby giving him fruits, and fanning him with his ears. And like a kind\nman, the elephant said to him lovingly, over and over again, with\narticulate voice, \"Do you feel at all better?\" When the prince saw\nthat, he was astonished, and he said to his companions, \"Look! how\ncomes it that a wild elephant conducts itself like a man? So you may\nbe sure that this is some higher being translated into this form for\nsome reason. And this man is very like my friend Prachandasakti. But\nhe is blind. So let us keep a sharp lookout.\" When Mrig\u00e1nkadatta had\nsaid this to his friends, he remained there concealed, and listened\nattentively. In the meanwhile the blind man recovered a little, and the\nelephant said to him, \"Tell me; who are you, and how did you come here,\nbeing blind?\" Then the blind man said to that mighty elephant, \"There\nis in this land a king of the name of Amaradatta, lord of the city\nof Ayodhy\u00e1, he has a son of excellent qualities, named Mrig\u00e1nkadatta,\nof auspicious birth, and I am that prince's servant. For some reason\nor other his father banished him from his native land, with us his\nten companions. We had set out for Ujjayin\u00ed to obtain Sas\u00e1nkavat\u00ed,\nwhen we were separated in the forest by the curse of a N\u00e1ga. And I\nwas blinded by his curse, and wandering about I have arrived here,\nliving on the fruits, and roots, and water I could get on the way. And\nto me death by falling into a chasm, or in some other way, would be\nmost desirable, but alas! Providence has not bestowed it on me, but\nmakes me endure calamity. However I feel convinced that, as my pangs\nof hunger have been to-day assuaged by your favour, so my blindness\nalso will be somewhat alleviated, for you are a divinity.\" When he said\nthis, Mrig\u00e1nkadatta felt certain who he was, and with a mind wavering\nbetween joy and grief he said to those ministers, \"It is our friend\nPrachandasakti that is reduced to this melancholy state, but it will\nnot do for us to be in a hurry to greet him immediately. Perhaps\nthis elephant will cure his blindness. But if he were to see us,\nhe would flee away; so we must stop here and look at him.\" When the\nprince had said this, he remained listening with his followers. Then\nPrachandasakti said to that elephant, \"Now great-souled one, tell\nme your history; who are you? How comes it that, though you are an\nelephant, and are subject to the fury of elephants, you speak in\nthis gentle way?\" When the great elephant heard this, he sighed,\nand said to him, \"Listen! I will tell you my story from the beginning.\"\n\n\n\nStory of Bh\u00edmabhata.\n\nLong ago, in the city of Ekalavy\u00e1, there was a king named Srutadhara,\nand he had two sons by two wives. When the king went to heaven,\nhis younger son, named Satyadhara, expelled the elder son, named\nS\u00edladhara, from the throne. S\u00edladhara was angry on that account, so\nhe went and propitiated Siva, and craved the following boon from the\ngod, who was pleased with his asceticism, \"May I become a Gandharva,\nin order that I may be able to move through the air, and so slay\nwith ease that kinsman of mine, Satyadhara!\" When the holy god Siva\nheard this, he said to him, \"This boon shall be granted to thee, but\nthat enemy of thine has to-day died a natural death. And he shall be\nagain born in the city of R\u00e1dh\u00e1, as Samarabhata, the favourite son\nof king Ugrabhata. But thou shalt be born as Bh\u00edmabhata, his elder\nbrother, by a different mother, and thou shalt kill him and rule the\nkingdom. But because thou didst perform these ascetic penances under\nthe influence of anger, thou shalt be hurled from thy rank by the curse\nof a hermit, and become a wild elephant, that remembers its birth and\npossesses articulate speech, and when thou shalt comfort a guest in\ndistress and tell him thy history, then thou shalt be freed from thy\nelephant-nature and become a Gandharva, and at the same time a great\nbenefit will be conferred upon that guest.\" When Siva had said this,\nhe disappeared, and S\u00edladhara, seeing that his body was emaciated by\nlong penance, flung himself into the Ganges.\n\nAt this point of my tale it happened that, while that king named\nUgrabhata, whom I have before mentioned, was living happily in the city\nof R\u00e1dh\u00e1 with his wife Manoram\u00e1 who was equal to him in birth, there\ncame to his court from a foreign country an actor named L\u00e1saka. And\nhe exhibited before the king that dramatic piece in which Vishnu, in\nthe form of a woman, carries off the amrita from the Daityas. And in\nthat piece the king saw the actor's daughter L\u00e1savat\u00ed dancing in the\ncharacter of Amritik\u00e1. When he saw her beauty, that was like that of\nthe real Amrit\u00e1, with which Vishnu bewildered the D\u00e1navas, he fell\nin love with her. And at the end of the dance he gave her father\nmuch wealth, and immediately introduced her into his harem. And\nthen he married that dancer L\u00e1savat\u00ed, and lived with her, having\nhis eyes riveted upon her face. One day he said to his chaplain named\nYajuhsv\u00e1min, \"I have no son, so perform a sacrifice in order to procure\nme a son.\" The chaplain obeyed, and performed duly, with the help of\nlearned Br\u00e1hmans, a sacrifice for that king's benefit. And, as he had\nbeen previously gained over by Manoram\u00e1, he gave her to eat, as being\nthe eldest queen, the first half of the oblation purified with holy\ntexts. [255] And he gave the rest to the second queen L\u00e1savat\u00ed. Then\nthose two, S\u00edladhara and Satyadhara, whom I have before mentioned, were\nconceived in those two queens. And when the time came, Manoram\u00e1, the\nconsort of that king, brought forth a son with auspicious marks. And\nat that moment a distinct utterance was heard from heaven, \"This child\nwho is born shall be a famous king under the name of Bh\u00edmabhata.\" On\nthe next day L\u00e1savat\u00ed also brought forth a son, and the king his\nfather gave him the name of Samarabhata. And the usual sacraments\nwere performed for them, and the two boys gradually grew up. But\nthe eldest Bh\u00edmabhata surpassed the youngest in all accomplishments,\nand rivalry in these increased the natural ill-feeling between them.\n\nOne day, as they were engaged in wrestling, Samarabhata, being jealous,\nstruck Bh\u00edmabhata with his arm with great force on the neck. Then\nBh\u00edmabhata was enraged, and immediately throwing his arms round\nSamarabhata, he lifted him up and flung him on the ground. The fall\ngave him a severe shock, and his servants took him up and carried\nhim to his mother, discharging blood from all the apertures in his\nbody. When she saw him, and found out what had taken place, she was\nalarmed on account of her love for him, and she placed her face close\nto his and wept bitterly. At that moment the king entered, and when he\nsaw this sight, he was much troubled in mind, and asked L\u00e1savat\u00ed what\nit meant, and she gave the following answer: \"This son of mine has been\nreduced to this state by Bh\u00edmabhata. And he is always ill-treating him,\nbut I have never told you, king; however now, that I have seen this,\nI must say, I cannot [256] understand how your majesty can be safe\nwith such a son as this, but let your majesty decide.\" When king\nUgrabhata was thus appealed to by his favourite wife, he was angry,\nand banished Bh\u00edmabhata from his court. And he took away from him\nhis allowance, and appointed a hundred R\u00e1jp\u00fats with their retainers\nto guard that Samarabhata. And he put his treasury at the disposal\nof the younger son, but he drove the elder son from his presence,\nand took away all that he possessed.\n\nThen his mother Manoram\u00e1 sent for him and said, \"Your father has\nthrown you over, because he is in love with a dancer. So go to\nthe palace of my father in P\u00e1taliputra, and when you arrive there,\nyour grandfather will give you his kingdom, for he has no son. But,\nif you remain here, your enemy, this Samarabhata, will kill you, for\nhe is powerful.\" When Bh\u00edmabhata heard this speech of his mother's,\nhe said, \"I am a Kshatriya, and I will not sneak away from my native\nland, like a coward. Be of good cheer, mother! what wretch is able to\ninjure me?\" When he said this, his mother answered him, \"Then procure a\nnumerous body of companions to guard you, by means of my wealth.\" When\nBh\u00edmabhata heard this proposal, he said, \"Mother, this is not becoming;\nfor if I did this, I should be really opposing my father. You may\nbe quite at your ease, for your blessing alone will procure me good\nfortune.\" When Bh\u00edmabhata had encouraged her with these words, he\nleft her. In the meanwhile all the citizens came to hear of it, and\nthey thought, \"Alas! a great injustice has been done to Bh\u00edmabhata by\nthe king. Surely Samarabhata does not think he is going to rob him of\nthe kingdom. Well it is an opportunity for us to do him a service,\nbefore he comes to the throne.\" Having formed this resolution, the\ncitizens secretly supplied Bh\u00edmabhata with such abundance of wealth,\nthat he lived in great comfort with his servants. But the younger\nbrother was ever on the look out to kill his elder brother, supposing\nthat this was his father's object in furnishing him with a guard.\n\nIn the meanwhile a heroic and wealthy young Br\u00e1hman, of the name\nof Sankhadatta, who was a friend of both brothers, came and said\nto Samarabhata, \"You ought not to carry on hostility with your\nelder brother; it is not right, and you cannot do him an injury;\non the contrary the result of a quarrel would be disgraceful to\nyou.\" When he said this, Samarabhata abused and threatened him; good\nadvice given to a fool does not calm but rather enrages him. Then the\nresolute Sankhadatta went away indignant at this treatment, and made\na strict friendship with Bh\u00edmabhata, in order to have the opportunity\nof conquering Samarabhata.\n\nThen a merchant, of the name of Manidatta, came there from a foreign\ncountry, bringing with him an excellent horse; it was as white as the\nmoon; the sound of its neighing was as musical as that of a clear conch\nor other sweet-sounding instrument; it looked like the waves of the\nsea of milk surging on high; it was marked with curls on the neck;\nand adorned with the crest-jewel, the bracelet, and other signs,\nwhich it seemed as if it had acquired by being born in the race\nof the Gandharvas. When Bh\u00edmabhata heard of that splendid horse,\nwhich was mentioned to him by Sankhadatta, he went and bought it for\na high price from that merchant-prince. At that moment Samarabhata,\nhearing of it, came and tried to buy the horse from the merchant for\ndouble the price. But he refused to give it him, as it had already been\nsold to another; then Samarabhata, out of envy, proceeded to carry it\noff by force. Then there took place a fierce combat between those two\nprinces, as the adherents of both came running up with weapons in their\nhands. Then the mighty arm of Bh\u00edmabhata laid low the attendants of\nSamarabhata, and he himself abandoned the horse, and began to retire\nthrough fear of his brother. But as he was retiring, Sankhadatta,\nfull of overpowering anger, pursued him, and laying hold of his hair\nbehind, was on the point of killing him, when Bh\u00edmabhata rushed up and\nprevented him, saying, \"Let be for the present, it would be a grief to\nmy father.\" Then Sankhadatta let Samarabhata go, and he fled in fear,\ndischarging blood from his wounds, and repaired to his father.\n\nThen the brave Bh\u00edmabhata took possession of the horse, and immediately\na Br\u00e1hman came up to him, and taking him aside, said to him, \"Your\nmother the queen Manoram\u00e1, and the chaplain Yajuhsv\u00e1min, and Sumati,\nthe minister of your father, send you the following advice at this\njuncture. \"You know, [257] dear boy, how the king is always affected\ntowards you, and he is especially angry with you at present, now that\nthis misfortune has happened. So if you feel disposed to save your\nown life, and to preserve glory, and justice inviolate, if you have\nany regard for the future, if you consider us well disposed towards\nyou; leave this place unobserved this very evening, as soon as the\nsun has set, and make for the palace of your maternal grandfather,\nand may good fortune attend you. This is the message they gave me for\nyou, and they sent you this casket full of precious jewels and gold;\nreceive it from my hand.\" When the wise Bh\u00edmabhata heard this message,\nhe accepted it, saying, \"I consent to act thus,\" and he took that\ncasket of gold and valuable jewels. And he gave him an appropriate\nmessage to take back, and then dismissed him, and mounted that\nhorse, sword in hand. And Sankhadatta took some gold and jewels,\nand mounted another horse. And then prince Bh\u00edmabhata set out with\nhim, and after he had gone a long distance, he reached at dead of\nnight a great thicket of reeds that lay in his way. As he and his\ncompanion pursued their course through it without stopping, a couple\nof lions, roused by the noise, which the reeds made when trampled by\nthe horses' hoofs, rushed out roaring, with their cubs, and began to\nrip up the bellies of the horses with their claws. And immediately\nthe hero and his companion cut off the limbs of the lions with their\nswords, and killed them. Then he got down with his friend to look at\nthe state of the two horses, but as their entrails were torn out,\nthey immediately fell down dead. When Bh\u00edmabhata saw that, he felt\ndespondent, and he said to Sankhadatta, \"Friend, by a great effort\nwe have escaped from our hostile relatives. Tell me, where, even by\na hundred efforts, shall we find an escape from Fate, who has now\nsmitten us even here, not allowing us even to retain our horses. The\nvery horse, for which I abandoned my native land, is dead; so how can\nwe travel on foot through this forest at night?\" When he said this,\nhis friend Sankhadatta answered him, \"It is no new thing for hostile\nFate to conquer courage. This is its nature, but it is conquered by\nfirm endurance. What can Fate do against a firm unshaken man, any\nmore than the wind against a mountain? So come, let us mount upon the\nhorse of endurance and so plod on here.\" When Sankhadatta said this,\nBh\u00edmabhata set out with him. Then they slowly crossed that thicket,\nwounding their feet with the canes, and at last the night came\nto an end. And the sun, the lamp of the world, arose, dispelling\nthe darkness of night, and the lotus-flowers in the lotus-clumps,\nby the side of their path, with their expanding cups and the sweet\nmurmur of their bees, seemed to be looking at one another and saying,\n\"It is a happy thing that this Bh\u00edmabhata has crossed this thicket\nfull of lions and other dangerous animals.\" So travelling on, he at\nlast reached with his friend the sandy shore of the Ganges, dotted\nwith the huts of hermits. There he drank its sweet waters, which\nseemed to be impregnated with the nectar of the moon, from dwelling\non the head of Siva, and he bathed in them, and felt refreshed. And he\nate, by way of sustenance, some venison, which they had bought from a\nhunter whom they happened to meet, and which Sankhadatta brought to him\nroasted. And seeing that the Ganges was full and difficult to cross,\nfor with its waves uplifted like hands it seemed again and again to\nwarn him back, he proceeded to roam along the bank of the river. And\nthere he saw a young Br\u00e1hman in the court of an out-of-the-way hut,\nengaged in the study of the Vedas. So he went up to him and said,\n\"Who are you, and what are you doing in this solitary place?\" Then\nthe young Br\u00e1hman answered him:\n\n\"I am N\u00edlakantha, the son of a Br\u00e1hman named Sr\u00edkantha, who lived\nat V\u00e1r\u00e1nas\u00ed, and after all the ceremonies had been performed for me,\nand I had learnt knowledge in the family of my spiritual preceptor,\nI returned home and found all my relations dead. That left me helpless\nand poor, and as I was not in a position to carry on the duties of\na householder, I became despondent, and repaired to this place, and\nhad recourse to severe asceticism. Then the goddess Gang\u00e1 gave me some\nfruits in a dream, and said to me, 'Remain here living on these fruits,\nuntil you obtain your desire.' Then I woke up and went and bathed,\nand when the morning came, I found in the water some fruits, that had\nbeen washed here by the stream of the Ganges. I brought those fruits,\ndelicious as nectar, into my hut, and ate them there, and so I remain\nhere engaged in asceticism, receiving these fruits day by day.\"\n\nWhen he said this, Bh\u00edmabhata said to Sankhadatta, \"I will give\nthis virtuous youth enough wealth to enable him to enter the\nhouseholder-state.\" Sankhadatta approved his speech; whereupon the\nprince gave the Br\u00e1hman the wealth that his mother gave him. For\nwhat is the use of the greatness of great ones, who have abundant\ncourage and wealth, if they do not put a stop to the sufferings of\ntheir neighbour as soon as they hear of them?\n\nAnd after he had made the fortune of the Br\u00e1hman, Bh\u00edmabhata searched\nin every direction for some means of crossing the Ganges, but could\nnot find any. Then he tied his ornaments and sword on his head,\nand plunged in with Sankhadatta to swim across it.\n\nAnd in the middle of the river the current carried his friend to a\ndistance from him, and he himself was swept away by the waves, and\nreached the bank with difficulty. When he reached the other side,\nhe could not see his friend Sankhadatta, and while he was looking\nfor him along the bank, the sun set. Then he began to despair,\nand he exclaimed in bitter grief, \"Alas my friend!\" and it being\nnow the beginning of the night, he prepared to drown himself in\nthe waters of the Ganges. He said, \"Goddess J\u00e1hnav\u00ed, you have taken\nfrom me my life in the form of my friend, so now receive also this\nempty vessel of my body,\" and he was on the point of plunging in,\nwhen Gang\u00e1 appeared to him from the middle of the flood. And pleased\nwith his violent agitation she said to him then and there, \"Do not\nact rashly, my son! your friend is alive, and in a short time you\nshall be reunited with him. Now receive from me this charm called,\n'Forwards and Backwards.' If a man repeats it forwards, he will\nbecome invisible to his neighbour, but if he repeats it backwards,\nhe will assume whatever shape he desires. [258] Such is the force\nof this charm only seven syllables long, and by its help you shall\nbecome a king on this earth.\" When the goddess Gang\u00e1 had said this,\nand given him the charm, she disappeared from his eyes, and he gave\nup the idea of suicide, now that he had got a hope of regaining\nhis friend and of other successes. And being anxious to regain his\nfriend, he passed the night in impatience, like the lotus-flower,\nand the next morning he set out in search of him.\n\nThen, as he was travelling about in search of Sankhadatta, he one\nday reached alone the district of L\u00e1ta, where, though the colours of\nthe castes are not mixed, the people lead a diversified and richly\ncoloured life, which though a seat of fine arts, is not reputed a home\nof crimes. [259] In this city he wandered about, looking at the temples\nand the dwelling-houses, and at last he reached a hall of gamblers. He\nentered it and saw a number of fraudulent dice-players, who though\nthey were clothed in a loin-rag only, shewed by their handsome,\nwell-shaped, stout limbs, which indicated good living and plenty\nof exercise, that they were men of rank though they concealed it,\nand that they had resorted to that occupation for the sake of making\nmoney. They began to talk to him, so he sat down to play with them,\nand they fancied that they would make a fine thing out of him and\nhis ornaments. Then he beat them at the dice-play, and won from the\nrogues all the wealth which they had acquired by cheating others.\n\nThen those gamblers, having lost their wealth, were preparing to go\nhome, when Bh\u00edmabhata set his arms against the door and stopped them,\nand said to them, \"Where are you going? Take back this wealth; I do\nnot want it. I must give it away to my friends, and are not you my\nfriends? Where can I find [260] such dear friends as you?\" When he\nsaid this, and they declined to take the money out of shame, a gambler\nthere, of the name of Akshakshapanaka, said, \"Undoubtedly it is the\ndefinition of gambling that what is won is not returned, but if this\ngentleman becomes our friend, and gives us of his own accord wealth\nwhich he has fairly won, why should we not take it?\" The others,\nwhen they heard this, exclaimed, \"It is fitting, if he makes such\nan eternal friendship with us.\" When they said this, he came to the\nconclusion that they were men of spirit, and he at once consented to\nswear eternal friendship to them, and gave them back their wealth. And\nat their request he went into a garden with them and their families,\nand refreshed himself with food, and wine, and other luxuries,\nsupplied by them. Then, at the request of Akshakshapanaka and the\nothers, he told his name, race, and history, and asked them also for\ntheirs. Then Akshakshapanaka told him the story of his life.\n\n\n\nStory of Akshakshapanaka.\n\nThere lived in Hastin\u00e1pura a Br\u00e1hman named Sivadatta, a very rich man,\nand I am his son, and my real name is Vasudatta. And in my youth I\nlearnt skill in arms as well as in the Vedas. Then my father made me\nmarry a wife from a family equal in rank to my own. But my mother was a\ngreat scold, implacable, and very passionate. And she worried my father\nso intolerably, that as soon as he saw me married, he left his home,\nand went away somewhere where he could not be traced. When I saw that,\nI was afraid, and I earnestly enjoined on my wife to study carefully\nmy mother's disposition, and she, being terrified, did so. But my\nmother was bent on quarrelling, and it was impossible for my wife to\nplease her in any way. The ill-natured woman interpreted her silence as\ncontempt, her plaintive lamentation as hypocrisy, and her attempts at\nexplanation as wrangling. For who can deprive the fire of its tendency\nto burn? Then her disagreeable behaviour in a short time worried my\nwife also so much, that she left the house and fled I know not where.\n\nThen I was so despondent that I made up my mind to abandon family\nlife, but my wretched relations assembled together and forced me to\ntake another wife. That second wife of mine also was so worried by\nmy mother, that she committed suicide by hanging herself. Then I was\nexceedingly vexed, and I determined to go to a foreign country. And\nwhen my relations tried to prevent me, I told them of the wickedness\nof my mother. They assigned another reason for my father's leaving the\ncountry, and would not believe my story; so I adopted the following\nartifice. I had a wooden doll made, and pretended to marry it privately\nas a third wife, and I brought it and placed it in another secluded\nhouse which I locked up. And I made another female puppet to guard her,\ndressed like a servant. And I said to my mother, \"I have put this wife\nof mine in a separate house. So you and I must for the present remain\napart from her in our own house; you must not go there and she must\nnot come here. For she is timid as yet, and does not know how to win\nyour affection.\" To this arrangement my mother gave her consent.\n\nAfter some days had elapsed, my mother, finding that she could not\nmanage anyhow to get at that supposed daughter-in-law of hers,\nwho was in a private house kept always locked, took a stone one\nday and struck herself on the head, and remained in the courtyard\nin front of her own house, streaming with blood, and lamenting with\nloud cries. Then I and all my relations came in, hearing the cries,\nand when we saw her, we said, \"Tell us, what is the matter?\" When\nwe asked her this question, she said spitefully, \"My daughter-in-law\ncame without any reason and reduced me to this state; so now my only\nremedy is death.\" When my relations heard this, they were furious, and\nthey took her and me with them to the house where I kept the wooden\ndoll. They removed the fastening, and opened the door, and went in,\nand lo! they saw nothing there but a wooden doll. Then they laughed\nat my mother, who was covered with shame, having imposed on no one\nbut herself, and they began to repose confidence in what I had said,\nand so they went away again.\n\nAnd I left that country, and travelled about till I came to this\nregion, and here I happened to enter a gambling-hall. And there I\nsaw these five men playing, this man named Chandabhujanga, and that\nP\u00e1supata, and this Smas\u00e1navet\u00e1la, and that K\u00e1lavar\u00e1taka, and this\nS\u00e1riprastara, heroes equal in valour. And I gambled with them on this\nmutual understanding, that whoever was conquered should be the slave\nof the conqueror. Then they became my slaves by being beaten by me\nin gambling, but I have become their slave by being won over by their\ngood qualities. And dwelling with them I have forgotten my woes.\n\nSo know that here I bear the name of Akshakshapana, [261] a name\nsuited to my condition. Here I have lived with these excellent men of\ngood family, who conceal their real position, and now you have joined\nus. So now you are our chief, and it was with this view that we took\nthat money of yours originally, being charmed with your virtues.\n\nWhen Akshakshapana had told his story in these words, all the others in\nsuccession also told their adventures. And prince Bh\u00edmabhata perceived\nthat his friends were heroes, who had disguised their real character\nby taking up gambling practices for the sake of gaining wealth, so he\nhad much more pleasant chat with them, and spent the day in amusement,\nand then seeing that the eastern quarter had adorned its face with the\nrising moon, as with an ornamental patch, he went from that garden\nwith Akshakshapanaka and the other six to their dwelling. And while\nhe was there with them, the rainy season arrived, seeming to announce\nwith the roarings of its joyous clouds his recovery of his friend. And\nthen the impetuous river there, named Vip\u00e1s\u00e1, that flowed into the sea,\nwas filled with an influx of sea-water and began to flow backwards,\nand it deluged that shore with a great inundation, and then owing\nto the cessation of that influx, [262] it seemed to flow on again to\nthe sea. Now at that time the sudden influx of sea-water brought in\na great fish, and on account of its unwieldy size it was stranded\non the bank of the river. And the inhabitants, when they saw the\nfish stranded, ran forward with all kinds of weapons to kill it,\nand ripped open its stomach. And when its stomach was cut open, there\ncame out of it alive a young Br\u00e1hman; and the people, astonished at\nthat strange sight, raised a shout. [263] When Bh\u00edmabhata heard that,\nhe went there with his friends, and saw his friend Sankhadatta, who\nhad just issued from the inside of the fish. So he ran and embraced\nhim, and bedewed him with copious tears, as if he wished to wash off\nthe evil smell he had contracted by living in the gulf of the fish's\nmaw. [264] Sankhadatta, for his part, having escaped that calamity,\nand having found and embraced his friend, went from joy to joy. Then\nbeing questioned out of curiosity by Bh\u00edmabhata, he gave this brief\naccount of his adventures.\n\n\"On that occasion, when I was swept out of your sight by the force\nof the waves of the Ganges, I was suddenly swallowed by a very large\nfish. Then I remained for a long time inside the capacious habitation\nof his stomach, eating in my hunger his flesh, which I cut off with\na knife. To-day Providence somehow or other brought this fish here,\nand threw it up upon the bank, so that it was killed by these men and\nI was taken out of its stomach. I have seen again you and the light\nof the sun, the horizon has been once more illuminated for me. This,\nmy friend, is the story of my adventures, I know no more than this.\"\n\nWhen Sankhadatta said this, Bh\u00edmabhata and all that were present\nexclaimed in astonishment, \"To think that he should have been swallowed\nin the Ganges by a fish, and that that fish should have got into the\nsea, and then that from the sea it should have been brought into the\nVip\u00e1s\u00e1, and that it should have been killed, and then that Sankhadatta\nshould have come out of it alive. Ah! the way of fate is inscrutable,\nand wonderful are its works!\" While uttering such remarks with\nAkshakshapanaka and the others, Bh\u00edmabhata took Sankhadatta to his\nown dwelling. And there in high delight he entertained with a bath,\nclothes, and other needful things, his friend, who had, as it were,\nbeen born a second time with the same body from the belly of a fish.\n\nAnd while Bh\u00edmabhata was living with him in that country, there\ncame on there a festive procession in honour of V\u00e1suki the king of\nthe snakes. In order to see it, the prince went, surrounded with his\nfriends, to the temple of that chief of the snakes, where great crowds\nwere assembling. He worshipped there in the temple, where his idol was,\nwhich was full of long wreaths [265] of flowers in form like serpents,\nand which therefore resembled the abyss of P\u00e1t\u00e1la, and then going\nin a southerly direction, he beheld a great lake sacred to V\u00e1suki,\nstudded with red lotuses, resembling the concentrated gleams of\nthe brilliance of the jewels on snakes' crests; [266] and encircled\nwith blue lotuses, which seemed like clouds of smoke from the fire\nof snake-poison; overhung with trees, that seemed to be worshipping\nwith their flowers blown down by the wind. When he saw it, he said to\nhimself in astonishment, \"Compared with this expanded lake, that sea\nfrom which Vishnu carried off the goddess of Fortune, seems to me to\nbe only worthy of neglect, for its fortune of beauty is not to be taken\nfrom it by anything else.\" [267] In the meanwhile he saw a maiden, who\nhad come there to bathe, by name Hans\u00e1val\u00ed, the beautiful daughter of\nChandr\u00e1ditya, king of L\u00e1ta, by Kuvalayavat\u00ed; her mortal nature, which\nwas concealed by all her other members moulded like those of gods,\nwas revealed by the winking of her rolling eye. She had ten million\nperfections darting forth from her flower-soft body, she was with her\nwaist, that might be spanned with the hand, a very bow of Cupid, and\nthe moment she looked at Bh\u00edmabhata, she pierced him in the heart with\nthe sidelong arrows of her eyes, and bewildered him. [268] He too,\nwho was a thief of the world's beauty, entered by the oblique path\nof her eyes the treasure-chamber of her heart, and robbed her of her\nself-control. Then she sent secretly a trustworthy and discreet maid,\nand enquired from his friends his name and residence. And after she had\nbathed, she was taken back to her palace by her attendants, frequently\nturning round her face to fix her eyes on him. And then Bh\u00edmabhata,\naccompanied by his friends, went to his dwelling, with faltering steps,\nfor he was entangled with the net which his beloved had cast over him.\n\nAnd immediately the princess Hans\u00e1val\u00ed sent that maid to him as an\nambassadress of love, with the message for which he longed. The maid\ncame up to him and said to him in secret, \"Prince, the princess\nHans\u00e1val\u00ed solicits you thus, 'When you see me, who love you,\nbeing carried away by the stream of love, you should rescue me\nquickly, you should not remain indifferent upon the bank [269]'\"\nWhen Bh\u00edmabhata heard from the messenger the nectar of his beloved's\nmessage, he was delighted at having his life saved, and said to her,\n\"I am in the current, I am not upon the bank; does not my beloved\nknow that? But now, that I have obtained some hope to cling to,\n[270] I will gladly do her bidding. I will this night come and wait\nupon her in her private apartments, and no one shall see me, for I\nwill enter concealed by a charm.\" When he said this to the maid,\nshe was pleased, and went and told it to Hans\u00e1val\u00ed, and then she\nremained anxiously expecting an interview with him.\n\nAnd he, in the early part of the night, went adorned with heavenly\nornaments, and making himself invisible by repeating forwards the charm\nbestowed on him by Gang\u00e1, entered her splendid chamber which she had\npreviously cleared of attendants. In that chamber, which suggested\nthoughts of love, which was perfumed with aloes, and adorned with\nnose-gays of flowers of five hues [271] arranged there, and which\ntherefore resembled the garden of the god of love, he beheld that\nlovely one exhaling heavenly fragrance, like a blossom put forth by\nthe creeper of the wonderful charm bestowed by Gang\u00e1. And then the\nhandsome prince recited the charm backwards, and immediately became\nvisible to that princess. When he beheld her timidly trembling with\na joyful agitation that made her hair stand on end, his ornaments\nimmediately tinkled like musical instruments, and he seemed to be\ndancing with joy to their music. And the maiden hid her face with the\nshame of love, and seemed to be asking her heart, that caused all that\ndisplay of emotion, what she was to do now. Then Bh\u00edmabhata said to\nher, \"Fair one, why do you allow your heart to exhibit shame, though\nits feelings have been already revealed? It does not deny the state of\naffairs; besides how is it possible to conceal this trembling of the\nlimbs and this bursting boddice?\" Then Bh\u00edmabhata with such words,\nand other loving persuasions, made the fair one forget her modesty,\nand married her by the G\u00e1ndharva form of marriage. And after he had\nspent that night with her, in sporting like a bee round the lotus\nof her mouth, he at last tore himself away, and saying, \"I will come\nagain at night,\" returned to his house.\n\nAnd when the chamberlains belonging to Hans\u00e1val\u00ed entered her chamber\nthe next morning, they saw that her lover had been with her. The\nends of her curls were disordered, she had marks of moist teeth and\nnails, and she seemed as if the god of Love had appeared in person and\nafflicted her with the wounds of all his arrows. They immediately went\nand reported the matter to the king, and he secretly appointed spies to\nwatch at night. And Bh\u00edmabhata spent the day with his friends in their\nusual employments, and in the beginning of the night again repaired\nto the bower of his beloved. When the spies saw that he had entered\nwithout being seen, by virtue of his charm, and discovered that he\npossessed supernatural powers, they went out, and told the king, and\nhe gave them this order, \"The being, who has entered a well-guarded\nroom without being seen, cannot be a mere man; so bring him here\nthat I may see what this means. And say to him politely from me,\n'Why did you not openly ask me for my daughter? Why did you make\na secret of it? For it is difficult to obtain a bridegroom for my\ndaughter as accomplished as yourself.'\" When the king had sent off\nthe spies with this message, they went as he commanded, and stood at\nthe door and delivered this message to Bh\u00edmabhata. And the resolute\nprince, perceiving that the king had discovered him, answered them\nboldly from inside; \"Tell the king from me, that to-morrow I will\nenter his hall of audience, and tell him the truth, for now it is\nthe dead of night.\" They then went and gave this message to the king\nand he remained silent. And in the morning Bh\u00edmabhata went to rejoin\nhis friends. And putting on a magnificent costume, he went with those\nseven heroes to the hall of king Chandr\u00e1ditya. When the king saw his\nsplendour, his resolute bearing and handsome appearance, he received\nhim kindly, and made him sit on a throne equal to his own, and then\nhis friend, the Br\u00e1hman Sankhadatta, said to the king, \"King, this\nis the son of Ugrabhata the king of R\u00e1dh\u00e1, Bh\u00edmabhata by name; his\nmight is irresistible on account of the wonderful power of the charm\nwhich he possesses. And he has come here to sue for the hand of your\ndaughter.\" When the king heard that, he remembered the occurrence of\nthe night, and seeing that he was a suitable match for his daughter,\nhe exclaimed, \"I am fortunate indeed,\" and accepted the proposal. And\nafter he had made splendid preparations for the marriage, he bestowed\nhis daughter Hans\u00e1val\u00ed on Bh\u00edmabhata with much wealth. Then Bh\u00edmabhata,\nhaving obtained many elephants, horses, and villages, remained there in\ngreat comfort, possessed of Hans\u00e1val\u00ed and the goddess of Fortune. And\nin a few days his father-in-law gave him that kingdom of L\u00e1ta, and,\nbeing childless and old, retired to the forest. Then the successful\nBh\u00edmabhata, having obtained that kingdom, ruled it admirably with\nthe help of those seven heroes, Sankhadatta and the others.\n\nThen, in the course of some days, he heard from his spies, that\nhis father king Ugrabhata had gone to Pray\u00e1ga and died there; and\nthat, when he was intent on death, he had anointed his youngest\nson Samarabhata, the son of the dancing-girl, king of R\u00e1dh\u00e1. Then\nhe mourned for his father, and performed his funeral ceremonies, and\nsent a messenger to that Samarabhata with a letter. And in the letter,\nhe sent the following message to the pretender who was treating him\nunjustly, \"Foolish son of a dancing-girl, what business have you to\nsit on my father's throne, for it belongs to me, though I have this\nkingdom of L\u00e1ta; so you must not ascend it.\" And the messenger went,\nand after announcing himself, delivered the letter to that Samarabhata,\nwhen he was in the hall of assembly. And when Samarabhata read this\nletter of such an import, under his brother's sign manual, he was\nangry, and answered, \"This baseless presumption is becoming in this\nill-conducted man, who was long ago banished by my father from the\ncountry, because he was not fit to remain in it. Even the jackal apes\nthe lion, when he is comfortably ensconced in his native cavern,\nbut when he comes within view of the lion, he is discovered to be\nonly a jackal.\" Such was the answer he roared forth, and he wrote to\nthe same effect in a letter, and sent his return-messenger to carry\nit to Bh\u00edmabhata.\n\nSo the return-messenger went, and gave, when introduced by the warder,\nthat letter to the king of L\u00e1ta. And when Bh\u00edmabhata had read that\nletter, he laughed loudly, and said to the return-messenger of his\nbrother--\"Go, messenger, and tell that dancing-girl's son from me,\n'On that former occasion when you tried to seize the horse, I saved\nyou from Sankhadatta, because you were a child and dear to my father,\nbut I will no longer endure your insolence. I will certainly send\nyou to my father who is so fond of you. Make ready, and know that\nin a few days I shall have arrived.'\" With these words he dismissed\nthe messenger, and then he began his expedition. When that moon of\nkings, glorious in his magnificence, [272] mounted his elephant which\nresembled a hill, the great sea of his army was agitated and surged up\nwith a roar, and the horizon was filled with innumerable feudal chiefs\nand princes arrived for war, [273] and setting out with their forces;\nand the earth, swiftly trampled by the elephants and horses trooping\nalong in great numbers, groaned and trembled under the weight, as if\nafraid of being cleft open. In this fashion Bh\u00edmabhata marched and\ncame near R\u00e1dh\u00e1, eclipsing the light of the sun in the heavens with\nthe clouds of dust raised by his army.\n\nIn the meanwhile king Samarabhata heard of it, and became indignant;\nand armed himself, and went out with his army to meet him in\nbattle. And those two armies met, like the eastern and western seas,\nand a great battle took place between the heroes on both sides,\nawful as the destruction of the world. Then the fire, produced by the\nloud clashing of swords, which seemed as if it had been kindled by\nthe gnashing of the teeth of the angry god of Death, hid the sky;\nand javelins flew with their long points resembling eyelashes,\nand seemed like the glances of the nymphs of heaven, as they gazed\non the warriors. Then the field of battle appeared like a stage;\nits canopy was dust, its music was the shouting of the army, and\nits dancers palpitating trunks. And a furious [274] torrent of blood,\nsweeping along heads, and garlanded with trunks, carried off all living\ncreatures, like the night of destruction at the end of the world.\n\nBut the archer Bh\u00edmabhata soon routed the army of his enemies,\nby means of a combined attack of the mighty warriors Sankhadatta,\nand Akshakshapanaka, and Chandabhujanga and his fellows, skilled\nin wrestling, resembling impetuous elephants. And Samarabhata was\nfurious, when his army was routed, and he dashed forward on his\nchariot, and began to churn the sea of battle, as Mount Mandara\nchurned the ocean. [275] Then Bh\u00edmabhata, who was mounted on an\nelephant, attacked him, and cut his bow in two with his arrows, and\nalso killed all the four horses of his chariot. Then Samarabhata,\nbeing prevented from using his chariot, ran and struck with a javelin\non the forehead the splendid elephant of Bh\u00edmabhata, and the elephant,\nas soon as it was struck, fell dead on the ground. Then both of them,\nbeing deprived of their means of conveyance, had to fight on foot. And\nthe two angry kings, armed with sword and shield, engaged in single\ncombat. But Bh\u00edmabhata, though he might have made himself invisible\nby means of his charm, and so have killed him, out of a regard for\nfairness, would not kill his enemy in that way. But being a skilful\nswordsman, he contended against him in open fight, and cut off with\nhis sword the head of that son of the dancing-girl.\n\nAnd when that Samarabhata was slain with his soldiers, and the\nbands of the Siddhas had applauded from the heavens, and the fight\nhad come to an end, Bh\u00edmabhata with his friends entered the city of\nR\u00e1dh\u00e1, being praised by heralds and minstrels. Then, returning from\na long absence, after slaying his enemy, he delighted his mother,\nwho was eager to behold him, as R\u00e1ma did Kausaly\u00e1. And the citizens\nwelcomed him, and then he adorned the throne of his father, and took\nhis seat on it, honoured by his father's ministers, who loved his\ngood qualities. And then he honoured all his subjects, who made high\nfestival; and on a lucky day he gave to Sankhadatta the kingdom of\nL\u00e1ta. And he sent him to the territory of L\u00e1ta, escorted by a force\ncomposed of natives of that country; and he gave villages and wealth to\nAkshakshapanaka and his fellows, and he remained surrounded by them,\nruling his ancestral realm, with that queen Hans\u00e1val\u00ed, the daughter\nof the king of L\u00e1ta. And, in course of time, he conquered the earth,\nand carried off the daughters of kings, and became exclusively addicted\nto the enjoyment of their society. And he devolved his duties on his\nministers, and amused himself with the women of his harem, and never\nleft its precincts, being engrossed with drinking and other vices.\n\nThen, one day, the hermit Uttanka came of his own accord to visit him,\nas if he were the time of accomplishment of the previous decree of\nSiva. And when the hermit came to the door, the king, being blinded\nwith passion, intoxication, and the pride of sovereignty, would not\nlisten, though the warders announced his arrival. Then the hermit\nwas angry, and denounced this curse on the king, \"O man blinded with\nintoxication, you shall fall from your throne, and become a wild\nelephant.\" When the king heard that, fear dispelled his intoxication,\nand he went out, and prostrating himself at the foot of the hermit,\nbegan to appease him with humble words. Then the anger of the\ngreat sage was calmed, and he said to him, \"King, you must become\nan elephant, that decree cannot be altered; but when you shall have\nrelieved a minister of Mrig\u00e1nkadatta's, named Prachandasakti, afflicted\nwith the curse of a N\u00e1ga and blinded, who shall become your guest,\nand shall tell him your story, you shall be delivered from this curse;\nand you shall return to the state of a Gandharva, as Siva foretold\nto you, and then that guest of yours shall recover the use of his\neyes.\" When the hermit Uttanka had said this, he returned as he came,\nand Bh\u00edmabhata was hurled from his throne, and became an elephant.\n\n\"So know, my friend, that I am that very Bh\u00edmabhata, become an\nelephant, and you are Prachandasakti; I know that my curse is now\nat an end.\" When Bh\u00edmabhata had said this, he abandoned the form of\nan elephant, and at once became a Gandharva of heavenly might. And\nimmediately Prachandasakti recovered, to his intense delight, the use\nof his eyes, and looked upon that Gandharva there. And in the meanwhile\nthe discreet Mrig\u00e1nkadatta, who had heard their conversation from\nthe bower of creepers, with his other ministers, having discovered\nthat it was indeed his friend, rushed quickly and impetuously forth,\nand threw his arms round the neck of his minister Prachandasakti. And\nPrachandasakti looked at him, and feeling as if his body had been\nirrigated with a sudden flood of nectar, immediately embraced the\nfeet of his lord.\n\nThen the Gandharva Bh\u00edmabhata comforted those two, who were weeping,\nboth deeply moved at being reunited after so long a separation. And\nMrig\u00e1nkadatta, bowing, said to that Gandharva, \"That I have recovered\nthis friend of mine, and that he has recovered his eyesight, is\nall due to your wondrous might. Honour to you!\" When the Gandharva\nheard that, he said to that prince, \"You shall soon recover all your\nother ministers, and obtain Sas\u00e1nkavat\u00ed as a wife, and become king\nof the whole earth. So you must not lose heart. Now, auspicious one,\nI depart, but I will appear to you when you think of me.\"\n\nWhen the matchless chief of the Gandharvas had said this to the prince,\nand so testified his friendship for him, as his curse was at an end,\nand he had obtained prosperous felicity, he flew up swiftly into the\nsky, making the whole air resound with the tinkling of his beautiful\nbracelet and necklace.\n\nAnd Mrig\u00e1nkadatta, having recovered Prachandasakti, and so regained\nhis spirits, spent that day in the wood, accompanied by his ministers.\n\n\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER LXXV.\n\n\nVictory to Ganesa, who, when dancing, makes a shower of stars,\nresembling a rain of flowers, fall from the sky, by a blow of his\ntrunk!\n\nThen Mrig\u00e1nkadatta, having passed that night, set out in the morning\nfrom that wood, together with Prachandasakti and his other affectionate\nministers, making for Ujjayin\u00ed in order to gain Sas\u00e1nkavat\u00ed, and\nlooking out for the rest of his ministers.\n\nAnd as he was going along on his way, he saw his minister\nVikramakesarin being carried through the air by a hideously deformed\nman. And while he was eagerly pointing him out to his other ministers,\nthat minister alighted from the air near him. And quickly dismounting\nfrom the shoulder of that man, he came up and embraced the feet\nof Mrig\u00e1nkadatta, with his eyes full of tears. And the delighted\nMrig\u00e1nkadatta embraced him in return, and so did his ministers, one\nafter another, and then Vikramakesarin dismissed that man, saying,\n\"Come to me, when I think of you.\" Then Mrig\u00e1nkadatta out of curiosity\nasked Vikramakesarin for the story of his adventures, and he sat down\nin the forest and related them.\n\n\n\nThe adventures of Vikramakesarin.\n\nWhen I had been separated from you on that occasion by the curse of the\nN\u00e1ga, and had wandered about for many days in search of you, I said to\nmyself, \"I will make for Ujjayin\u00ed, for they will go there quickly,\"\nand having formed this intention, I set out for that city. And in\ncourse of time I reached a village near it, named Brahmasthala, and\nthere I sat down on the bank of a lake at the foot of a tree. There\nan old Br\u00e1hman, afflicted with the bite of a serpent, came up to\nme and said, \"Rise up from this place, my son, lest you incur my\nfate. For there is a great serpent here, and I am so tortured by the\nbite which he has given me, that I am now about to drown myself in\nthis lake.\" When he said this, I dissuaded him, out of compassion,\nfrom committing suicide, and I then and there counteracted the effect\nof the poison by my knowledge of antidotes.\n\nThen the Br\u00e1hman eagerly, but with due politeness, asked me the whole\nstory of my life, and when he knew the facts, said to me kindly, \"You\nhave to-day saved my life, so receive, hero, this charm for mastering\nVet\u00e1las, which I inherited from my father. For it is suitable to you\nwho possess all powers, but what, I pray, could a feeble creature,\nlike me, do with it?\" When I heard that, I answered that noble\nBr\u00e1hman, \"What use can I make of Vet\u00e1las, now that I am separated from\nMrig\u00e1nkadatta?\" When the Br\u00e1hman heard that, he laughed, and went on\nto say to me, \"Do you not know that you can obtain from a Vet\u00e1la all\nthat you desire? Did not king Trivikramasena obtain of old time the\nsovereignty of the Vidy\u00e1dharas by the favour of a Vet\u00e1la? Listen now,\nI will tell you his story in proof of it.\"\n\n\n\nHere begins the 1st of the 25 tales of a Demon. [276]\n(Vet\u00e1la-Panchavinsatik\u00e1.)\n\nOn the banks of the God\u00e1var\u00ed there is a place named Pratishth\u00e1na. In\nit there lived of old time a famous king, named Trivikramasena, the\nson of Vikramasena, equal to Indra in might. Every day, when he was in\nhis hall of audience, a mendicant named Ksh\u00e1ntis\u00edla came to him, to\npay him his respects, and presented him with a fruit. And every day,\nthe king as soon as he received the fruit, gave it into the hand of\nthe superintendent of his treasury who was near him. In this way ten\nyears passed, but one day, when the mendicant had left the hall of\naudience, after giving the fruit to the king, the king gave it to a\nyoung pet monkey, that had escaped from the hands of its keepers, and\nhappened to enter there. While the monkey was eating that fruit, it\nburst open, and there came out of it a splendid priceless jewel. When\nthe king saw that, he took up the jewel, and asked the treasurer the\nfollowing question, \"Where have you put all those fruits which I have\nbeen in the habit of handing over to you, after they were given to\nme by the mendicant?\" When the superintendent of the treasury heard\nthat, he was full of fear, and he said to the king, \"I used to throw\nthem into the treasury from the window without opening the door; if\nyour Majesty orders me, I will open it and look for them.\" When the\ntreasurer said this, the king gave him leave to do so, and he went\naway, and soon returned, and said to the king, \"I see that those\nfruits have all rotted away in the treasury, and I also see that\nthere is a heap of jewels there resplendent with radiant gleams.\"\n\nWhen the king heard it, he was pleased, and gave those jewels\nto the treasurer, and the next day he said to the mendicant, who\ncame as before, \"Mendicant, why do you court me every day with great\nexpenditure of wealth? I will not take your fruit to-day until you tell\nme.\" When the king said this, the mendicant said to him in private,\n\"I have an incantation to perform which requires the aid of a brave\nman, I request, hero, that you will assist me in it.\" When the king\nheard that, he consented and promised him that he would do so. Then the\nmendicant was pleased and he went on to say to that king, \"Then I shall\nbe waiting for you at night-fall in the approaching black fortnight,\nin the great cemetery here, under the shade of a banyan-tree, and\nyou must come to me there. The king said--\"Well! I will do so.\" And\nthe mendicant Ksh\u00e1ntis\u00edla returned delighted to his own dwelling.\n\nThen the heroic monarch, as soon as he had got into the black\nfortnight, remembered the request of the mendicant, which he\nhad promised to accomplish for him, and as soon as night came, he\nenveloped his head in a black cloth, and left the palace unperceived,\nsword in hand, and went fearlessly to the cemetery. It was obscured\nby a dense and terrible pall of darkness, and its aspect was rendered\nawful by the ghastly flames from the burning of the funeral pyres,\nand it produced horror by the bones, skeletons, and skulls of men that\nappeared in it. In it were present formidable Bh\u00fatas and Vet\u00e1las,\njoyfully engaged in their horrible activity, and it was alive with\nthe loud yells of jackals, [277] so that it seemed like a second\nmysterious tremendous form of Bhairava. And after he had searched\nabout in it, he found that mendicant under a banyan-tree, engaged in\nmaking a circle, and he went up to him and said, \"Here I am arrived,\nmendicant; tell me, what can I do for you?\"\n\nWhen the mendicant heard that, and saw the king, he was delighted,\nand said to him--\"King, if I have found favour in your eyes, go\nalone a long way from here towards the south, and you will find an\nsinsap\u00e1-tree. [278] On it there is a dead man hanging up; go and bring\nhim here; assist me in this matter, hero.\" As soon as the brave king,\nwho was faithful to his promise, heard this, he said, \"I will do so,\"\nand went towards the south. And after he had gone some way in that\ndirection, along a path revealed by the light of the flaming pyres,\nhe reached with difficulty in the darkness that asoka-tree; the tree\nwas scorched with the smoke of funeral pyres, and smelt of raw flesh,\nand looked like a Bh\u00fata, and he saw the corpse hanging on its trunk,\nas it were on the shoulder of a demon. So he climbed up, and cutting\nthe string which held it, flung it to the ground. And the moment it\nwas flung down, it cried out, as if in pain. Then the king, supposing\nit was alive, came down and rubbed its body out of compassion;\nthat made the corpse utter a loud demoniac laugh. Then the king\nknew that it was possessed by a Vet\u00e1la, and said without flinching,\n\"Why do you laugh? Come, let us go off.\" And immediately he missed\nfrom the ground the corpse possessed by the Vet\u00e1la, and perceived\nthat it was once more suspended on that very tree. Then he climbed\nup again and brought it down, for the heart of heroes is a gem more\nimpenetrable than adamant. Then king Trivikramasena threw the corpse\npossessed by a Vet\u00e1la over his shoulder, and proceeded to go off with\nit, in silence. And as he was going along, the Vet\u00e1la in the corpse\nthat was on his shoulder said to him, \"King, I will tell you a story\nto beguile the way, listen.\"\n\n\n\nStory of the prince, who was helped to a wife by the son of his\nfather's minister. [279]\n\nThere is a city named V\u00e1r\u00e1nas\u00ed, which is the dwelling-place of\nSiva, inhabited by holy beings, and thus resembles the plateau of\nmount Kail\u00e1sa. The river Ganges, ever full of water, flows near it,\nand appears as if it were the necklace ever resting on its neck;\nin that city there lived of old time a king named Prat\u00e1pamukuta,\nwho consumed the families of his enemies with his valour, as the\nfire consumes the forest. He had a son named Vajramukuta, who dashed\nthe god of love's pride in his beauty, and his enemies' confidence\nin their valour. And that prince had a friend, named Buddhisar\u00edra,\nwhom he valued more than his life, the sagacious son of a minister.\n\nOnce on a time that prince was amusing himself with that friend, and\nhis excessive devotion to the chase made him travel a long distance. As\nhe was cutting off the long-maned [280] heads of lions with his arrows,\nas it were the chowries that represented the glory of their valour,\nhe entered a great forest. It seemed like the chosen home of love,\nwith singing cuckoos for bards, fanned by trees with their clusters of\nblossoms, waving like chowries. In it he and the minister's son saw\na great lake, looking like a second sea, the birthplace of lotuses\n[281] of various colours; and in that pool of gods there was seen\nby him a maiden of heavenly appearance, who had come there with her\nattendants to bathe. She seemed to fill the splendid tank with the\nflood of her beauty, and with her glances to create in it a new forest\nof blue lotuses. With her face, that surpassed the moon in beauty, she\nseemed to put to shame the white lotuses, and she at once captivated\nwith it the heart of that prince. The youth too, in the same way, took\nwith a glance such complete possession of her eyes, that she did not\nregard her own modesty or even her ornaments. And as he was looking\nat her with his attendants, and wondering who she was, she made,\nunder pretence of pastime, a sign to tell him her country and other\nparticulars about her. She took a lotus from her garland of flowers,\nand put it in her ear, and she remained for a long time twisting it\ninto the form of an ornament called dantapatra or tooth-leaf, and then\nshe took another lotus and placed it on her head, and she laid her\nhand significantly upon her heart. The prince did not at that time\nunderstand those signs, but his sagacious friend the minister's son\ndid understand them. The maiden soon departed, being led away from\nthat place by her attendants, and when she had reached her own house,\nshe flung herself down on a sofa, but her heart remained with that\nprince, to justify the sign she had made.\n\nThe prince, for his part, when without her, was like a Vidy\u00e1dhara\nwho has lost his magic knowledge, and, returning to his own city,\nhe fell into a miserable condition. And one day the minister's son\nquestioned him in private, speaking of that beauty as easy to obtain,\nwhereupon he lost his self-command and exclaimed, \"How is she to be\nobtained, when neither her name, nor her village, nor her origin is\nknown? So why do you offer me false comfort?\" When the prince said\nthis to the minister's son, he answered, \"What! did you not see,\nwhat she told you by her signs? By placing the lotus in her ear,\nshe meant to say this, 'I live in the realm of king Karnotpala.' By\nmaking it into the tooth-leaf ornament she meant to say, 'Know that\nI am the daughter of a dentist [282] there.' By lifting up the lotus\nshe let you know her name was Padm\u00e1vat\u00ed; and by placing her hand on\nher heart she told you that it was yours. Now there is a king named\nKarnotpala in the country of Kalinga; he has a favourite courtier,\na great dentist named Sangr\u00e1mavardhana, and he has a daughter named\nPadm\u00e1vat\u00ed, the pearl of the three worlds, whom he values more than\nhis life. All this I knew from the talk of the people, and so I\nunderstood her signs, which were meant to tell her country and the\nother particulars about her. [283]\n\nWhen that prince had been told all this by the minister's son, he was\npleased with that intelligent man, and rejoiced, as he had now got an\nopportunity of attaining his object, and, after he had deliberated\nwith him, he set out with him from his palace on the pretence of\nhunting, but really in search of his beloved, and went again in that\ndirection. And on the way he managed to give his retinue the slip by\nthe speed of his swift horse, and he went to the country of Kalinga\naccompanied by the minister's son only. There they reached the city\nof king Karnotpala, and searched for and found the palace of that\ndentist, and the prince and the minister's son entered the house of\nan old woman, who lived near there, to lodge. The minister's son gave\ntheir horses water and fodder, and placed them there in concealment,\nand then said to that old woman in the presence of the prince,\n\"Do you know, mother, a dentist named Sangr\u00e1mavardhana?\" When the\nold woman heard that, she said to him courteously, \"I know him well;\nI was his nurse, and he has now made me attend upon his daughter as\na duenna; but I never go there at present, as I have been deprived\nof my clothes, for my wicked son, who is a gambler, takes away my\nclothes as soon as he sees them.\" When the minister's son heard this,\nhe was delighted, and he gratified the old woman with the gift of\nhis upper garment and other presents, and went on to say to her,\n\"You are a mother to us, so do what we request you to do in secret;\ngo to that Padm\u00e1vat\u00ed, the daughter of the dentist, and say to her,\n'The prince, whom you saw at the lake, has come here, and out of\nlove he has sent me to tell you.'\" When the old woman heard this,\nshe consented, being won over by the presents, and went to Padm\u00e1vat\u00ed,\nand came back in a moment. And when the prince and the minister's\nson questioned her, she said to them, \"I went and told her secretly\nthat you had come. When she heard that, she scolded me, and struck\nme on both cheeks with her two hands smeared with camphor. So I have\ncome back weeping, distressed at the insult. See here, my children,\nthese marks of her fingers on my face.\"\n\nWhen she said this, the prince was despondent, as he despaired of\nattaining his object, but the sagacious minister's son said to him in\nprivate, \"Do not despond, for by keeping her own counsel and scolding\nthe old woman, and striking her on the face with her ten fingers\nwhite with camphor, she meant to say, 'Wait for these remaining ten\nmoonlight nights of the white fortnight, for they are unfavourable\nto an interview.'\"\n\nAfter the minister's son had comforted the prince with these words,\nhe went and sold secretly in the market some gold, which he had about\nhim, and made that old woman prepare a splendid meal, and then those\ntwo ate it with that old woman. After the minister's son had spent\nten days in this fashion, he again sent the old woman to Padm\u00e1vat\u00ed, to\nsee how matters stood. And she, being fond of delicious food, liquor,\nand other enjoyments of the kind, went again to the dwelling-house\nof Padm\u00e1vat\u00ed, to please her guests, and returned and said to them,\n\"I went there to-day and remained silent, but she of her own accord\ntaunted me with that crime of having brought your message, and again\nstruck me here on the breast with three fingers dipped in red dye, so I\nhave returned here thus marked by her.\" When the minister's son heard\nthis, he said, of his own accord, to the prince, \"Do not entertain\nany despondent notions, for by placing the impression of her three\nfingers marked with red dye on this woman's heart, she meant to say;\n'I cannot receive you for three nights.'\"\n\nWhen the minister's son had said this to the prince, he waited till\nthree days had passed, and again sent the old woman to Padm\u00e1vat\u00ed. She\nwent to her palace, and Padm\u00e1vat\u00ed honoured her and gave her food, and\nlovingly entertained her that day with wine and other enjoyments. And\nin the evening, when the old woman wished to go back to her house,\nthere arose outside a terrible tumult. Then the people were heard\nexclaiming, \"Alas! Alas! a mad elephant has escaped from the post to\nwhich he was tied, and is rushing about, trampling men to death.\" Then\nPadm\u00e1vat\u00ed said to that old woman, \"You must not go by the public road,\nwhich is rendered unsafe by the elephant, so we will put you on a seat,\nwith a rope fastened to it to support it, and let you down by this\nbroad window here into the garden of the house, there you must get up\na tree and cross this wall, and then let yourself down by another tree\nand go to your own house.\" After she had said this, she had the old\nwoman let down from the window by her maid into the garden, by means\nof that seat with a rope fastened to it. She went by the way pointed\nout to her, and related the whole story, exactly as it happened, to\nthe prince and the minister's son. Then the minister's son said to\nthe prince, \"Your desire is accomplished, for she has shewn you by an\nartifice the way you should take; so go there this very day, as soon\nas evening sets in, and by this way enter the palace of your beloved.\"\n\nWhen the minister's son said this, the prince went with him into the\ngarden, by the way over the wall pointed out by the old woman. There\nhe saw that rope hanging down with the seat, and at the top of it\nwere some maids, who seemed to be looking out for his arrival. So\nhe got on to the seat, and the moment those female servants saw him,\nthey pulled him up with the rope, and he entered the presence of his\nbeloved through the window. When he had entered, the minister's son\nreturned to his lodging. And when the prince entered, he beheld that\nPadm\u00e1vat\u00ed with a face like a full moon, shedding forth beauty like\nbeams, like the night of the full moon remaining concealed through fear\nof the black fortnight. As soon as she saw him, she rose up boldly,\nand welcomed him with affectionate embraces and other endearments\nnatural in one who had waited for him so long. Then the prince married\nthat fair one by the G\u00e1ndharva form of marriage, and all his wishes\nbeing now fulfilled, remained with her in concealment.\n\nAnd after he had lived with her some days, he said to her one night,\n\"My friend the minister's son came with me and is staying here, and he\nis now left alone in the house of your duenna; I must go and pay him\na visit, fair one, and then I will return to you.\" When the cunning\nPadm\u00e1vat\u00ed heard that, she said to her lover, \"Come now, my husband,\nI have a question to ask you; did you guess the meaning of those\nsigns which I made, or was it that friend of yours the minister's\nson?\" When she said this, the prince said to her, \"I did not guess\nanything at all, but that friend of mine, the minister's son, who is\ndistinguished for superhuman insight, guessed it all, and told it to\nme.\" When the fair one heard this, she reflected, and said to him,\n\"Then you have acted wrongly in not telling me about him before. Since\nhe is your friend, he is my brother, and I must always honour him\nbefore all others with gifts of betel and other luxuries.\" When she\nhad dismissed him with these words, the prince left the palace at\nnight by the way by which he came, and returned to his friend. And\nin the course of conversation he told him, that he had told his\nbeloved how he guessed the meaning of the signs which she made. But\nthe minister's son did not approve of this proceeding on his part,\nconsidering it imprudent. And so the day dawned on them conversing.\n\nThen, as they were again talking together after the termination of\nthe morning prayer, the confidante of Padm\u00e1vat\u00ed came in with betel and\ncooked food in her hand. She asked after the health of the minister's\nson, and after giving him the dainties, in order by an artifice to\nprevent the prince from eating any of them, she said, in the course of\nconversation, that her mistress was awaiting his arrival to feast and\nspend the day with her, and immediately she departed unobserved. Then\nthe minister's son said to the prince; \"Now observe, prince, I will\nshew you something wonderful.\" Thereupon he gave that cooked food to\na dog to eat, and the dog, as soon as he had eaten it, fell dead upon\nthe spot. When the prince saw that, he said to the minister's son,\n\"What is the meaning of this marvel?\" And he answered him, \"The truth\nis that the lady has found out that I am intelligent, by the fact\nthat I guessed the meaning of her signs, and so she has sent me this\npoisoned food in order to kill me, for she is deeply in love with you,\nand thinks that you, prince, will never be exclusively devoted to her\nwhile I am alive, but being under my influence, will perhaps leave her,\nand go to your own city. So give up the idea of being angry with her,\npersuade the high-spirited woman to leave her relations, and I will\ninvent and tell you an artifice for carrying her off.\"\n\nWhen the minister's son had said this, the prince said to him, \"You\nare rightly named Buddhisar\u00edra as being an incarnation of wisdom;\"\nand at the very moment that he was thus praising him, there was\nsuddenly heard outside a general cry from the sorrowing multitude,\n\"Alas! Alas! the king's infant son is dead.\" The minister's son was\nmuch delighted at hearing this, and he said to the prince, \"Repair now\nto Padm\u00e1vat\u00ed's palace at night, and there make her drink so much, that\nshe shall be senseless and motionless with intoxication, and apparently\ndead. And when she is asleep, make a mark on her hip with a red hot\niron spike, and take away all her ornaments, and return by letting\nyourself down from the window by a rope; and after that I will take\nsteps to make everything turn out prosperously.\" When the minister's\nson had said this, he had a three-pronged spike made, with points like\nthe bristles of a boar, and gave it to the prince. And the prince took\nin his hand that weapon which resembled the crooked hard hearts of his\nbeloved and of his friend, which were firm as black iron; and saying,\n\"I will do as you direct,\" went at night to the palace of Padm\u00e1vat\u00ed\nas before, for princes should never hesitate about following the\nadvice of an excellent minister. There he made his beloved helpless\nwith drink, and marked her on the hip with the spike, and took away\nher ornaments, and then he returned to that friend of his. And he\nshewed him the ornaments, and told him what he had done. Then the\nminister's son considered his design as good as accomplished.\n\nAnd the next morning the minister's son went to the cemetery, and\npromptly disguised himself as an ascetic, and he made the prince assume\nthe guise of a disciple. And he said to him, \"Go and take the pearl\nnecklace which is part of this set of ornaments, and pretend to try\nto sell it in the market, but put a high price on it, that no one may\nbe willing to buy it, and that every one may see it being carried\nabout, and if the police here should arrest you, say intrepidly,\n'My spiritual preceptor gave it me to sell.'\"\n\nWhen the minister's son had sent off the prince on this errand, he\nwent and wandered about in the market-place, publicly showing the\nnecklace. And while he was thus engaged, he was seen and arrested\nby the police, who were on the lookout for thieves, as information\nhad been given about the robbery of the dentist's daughter. And they\nimmediately took him to the chief magistrate of the town; and he,\nseeing that he was dressed as an ascetic, said to him courteously,\n\"Reverend sir, where did you get this necklace of pearls which was\nlost in this city, for the ornaments of the dentist's daughter were\nstolen during the night?\" When the prince, who was disguised as an\nascetic, heard this, he said, \"My spiritual preceptor gave it me;\ncome and question him.\" Then the magistrate of the city came to the\nminister's son, and bowed, and said to him, \"Reverend sir, where\ndid you get this pearl necklace that is in the possession of your\npupil?\" When the cunning fellow heard that, he took him aside and said,\n\"I am an ascetic, in the habit of wandering perpetually backwards and\nforwards in the forests. As chance would have it, I arrived here, and\nas I was in the cemetery at night, I saw a band of witches collected\nfrom different quarters. And one of them brought the prince, with the\nlotus of his heart laid bare, and offered him to Bhairava. And the\nwitch, who possessed great powers of delusion, being drunk, tried to\ntake away my rosary, while I was reciting my prayers, making horrible\ncontortions with her face. And as she carried the attempt too far, I\ngot angry, and heating with a charm the prongs of my trident, I marked\nher on the loins. And then I took this necklace from her neck. And\nnow I must sell this necklace, as it does not suit an ascetic.\"\n\nWhen the magistrate heard this, he went and informed the king. When the\nking heard it, he concluded that that was the pearl necklace which had\nbeen lost, and he sent a trustworthy old woman to see if the dentist's\ndaughter was really marked with a trident on the loins. The old woman\ncame back and said that the mark could be clearly seen. Then the king\nmade up his mind that she was a witch, and had really destroyed his\nchild. So he went in person to that minister's son, who was personating\nan ascetic, and asked him how he ought to punish Padm\u00e1vat\u00ed; and by\nhis advice he ordered her to be banished from the city, though her\nparents lamented over her. And when she was banished, and was left\nin the forest, though naked, she did not abandon the body, supposing\nthat it was all an artifice devised by the minister's son. And in\nthe evening the minister's son and the prince, who had abandoned the\ndress of ascetics, and were mounted on their horses, came upon her\nlamenting. And they consoled her, and mounted her upon a horse, and\ntook her to their own kingdom. There the prince lived happily with\nher. But the dentist, supposing that his daughter had been devoured\nby wild beasts in the forest, died of grief, and his wife followed him.\n\nWhen the Vet\u00e1la had said this, he went on to say to the king, \"Now I\nhave a doubt about this story, resolve it for me; Was the minister's\nson guilty of the death of this married couple, or the prince, or\nPadm\u00e1vat\u00ed? Tell me, for you are the chief of sages. And if, king,\nyou do not tell me the truth, though you know it, this head of yours\nshall certainly split in a hundred pieces.\"\n\nWhen the Vet\u00e1la said this, the king, who discerned the truth, out\nof fear of being cursed, gave him this answer--\"O thou skilled in\nmagic arts, what difficulty is there about it? Why, none of the\nthree was in fault, but the whole of the guilt attaches to king\nKarnotpala.\" The Vet\u00e1la then said, \"Why, what did the king do? Those\nthree were instrumental in the matter. Are the crows in fault when\nthe swans eat the rice?\" Then the king said, \"Indeed no one of\nthe three was in fault, for the minister's son committed no crime,\nas he was forwarding his master's interests, and Padm\u00e1vat\u00ed and the\nprince, being burnt with the fire of the arrows of the god of Love,\nand being therefore undiscerning and ignorant, were not to blame,\nas they were intent on their own object. But the king Karnotpala, as\nbeing untaught in treatises of policy, and not investigating by means\nof spies the true state of affairs even among his own subjects, and not\ncomprehending the tricks of rogues, and inexperienced in interpreting\ngestures and other external indications, is to be considered guilty,\non account of the indiscreet step which he took.\"\n\nWhen the Vet\u00e1la, who was in the corpse, heard this, as the king by\ngiving this correct answer had broken his silence, he immediately\nleft his shoulder, and went somewhere unobserved by the force of his\nmagic power, in order to test his persistence; and the intrepid king\nat once determined to recover him.\n\n\n\nNOTE.\n\nAn account of the various forms of the introduction to the XXV Tales\nof a Demon will be found in Oesterley's German translation of the\nBait\u00e1l Pach\u00eds\u00ed. The Hindi version contains the well-known story of\nTheodosius the younger and his wife Athenais or Eudokia. The Mongolian\nform differs widely from that in our text. Seven brothers, sorcerers,\nlive in India; a mile from them live two Khan's sons; the elder\nof these studies magic under the seven enchanters for seven years,\nbut learns nothing; the younger acquires their art in a moment, and\nboth return to their palace. The younger turns himself into a horse,\nwhich the elder by his order sells to the seven enchanters. These\ntry to kill the horse, but the Khan's son then turns himself into a\nfish, which the enchanters pursue in the form of seven sea-gulls,\nthen into a dove, which they pursue as seven hawks, then he takes\nrefuge with N\u00e1g\u00e1rjuna, becoming the chief bead in his rosary, and\nasks him to put this bead in his mouth and to strew the rest on\nthe ground. The beads then become worms which the sorcerers pick\nup in the form of hens. The Khan's son changes himself into a man,\nand kills the hens with a stick, when lo! seven human corpses are\nseen lying on the ground. As a penance for this crime the Khan's\nson is sent to fetch the Siddhi-k\u00fcr, which he fastens up in a bag,\nand which behaves in much the same way as the Vet\u00e1la does in our text.\n\nIt is remarkable that there are no questions addressed by the\nSiddhi-k\u00fcr to his captor. At the end of every story the Khan's son\nutters an involuntary, often meaningless exclamation, of which the\nSiddhi-k\u00fcr takes advantage. (Oesterley's Bait\u00e1l Pach\u00eds\u00ed, pp. 174\nand 175.)\n\nOesterley refers to an Arabian form of the 1st story in Scott's Tales,\nAnecdotes and Letters, 1800, p. 108. A painter falls in love with the\npicture of a beauty, and finds that the original is in the possession\nof a certain minister. He penetrates in disguise into the minister's\nharem, wounds his beloved in the hand and takes away her veil. He then\ngoes in the disguise of a pilgrim to the king, and says that he has\nseen six witches, and that he has wounded one of them, who left her\nveil behind her. The veil is recognized, the owner produced, convicted\nby her veil, and as a witch flung into a chasm. There the painter\nfinds her, rescues her and carries her off. See also the 1001 Nights,\nBreslau, 1, p. 245 (Oesterley's Bait\u00e1l Pach\u00eds\u00ed, pp. 182 and 183).\n\n\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER LXXVI.\n\n(Vet\u00e1la 2.)\n\n\nThen king Trivikramasena again went to the asoka-tree to fetch the\nVet\u00e1la. And when he arrived there, and looked about in the darkness by\nthe help of the light of the funeral pyres, he saw the corpse lying on\nthe ground groaning. Then the king took the corpse, with the Vet\u00e1la in\nit, on his shoulder, and set out quickly and in silence to carry it to\nthe appointed place. Then the Vet\u00e1la again said to the king from his\nshoulder, \"King, this trouble, into which you have fallen, is great\nand unsuitable to you; so I will tell you a tale to amuse you, listen.\"\n\n\n\nStory of the three young Br\u00e1hmans who restored a dead lady to life.\n\nThere is, on the banks of the river Yamun\u00e1, a district assigned to\nBr\u00e1hmans, named Brahmasthala. In it there lived a Br\u00e1hman, named\nAgnisv\u00e1min, who had completely mastered the Vedas. To him there\nwas born a very beautiful daughter named Mand\u00e1ravat\u00ed. Indeed,\nwhen Providence had created this maiden of novel and priceless\nbeauty, he was disgusted with the nymphs of Heaven, his own previous\nhandiwork. And when she grew up, there came there from K\u00e1nyakubja three\nyoung Br\u00e1hmans, equally matched in all accomplishments. And each one\nof these demanded the maiden from her father for himself, and would\nsooner sacrifice his life than allow her to be given to another. But\nher father would not give her to any one of them, being afraid that,\nif he did so, he would cause the death of the others; so the damsel\nremained unmarried. And those three remained there day and night,\nwith their eyes exclusively fixed on the moon of her countenance, as\nif they had taken upon themselves a vow to imitate the partridge. [284]\n\nThen the maiden Mand\u00e1ravat\u00ed suddenly contracted a burning fever,\nwhich ended in her death. Then the young Br\u00e1hmans, distracted with\ngrief, carried her when dead, after she had been duly adorned, to the\ncemetery, and burnt her. And one of them built a hut there and made\nher ashes his bed, and remained there living on the alms he could get\nby begging. And the second took her bones and went with them to the\nGanges, and the third became an ascetic and went travelling through\nforeign lands.\n\nAs the ascetic was roaming about, he reached a village named\nVajraloka. And there he entered as a guest the house of a certain\nBr\u00e1hman. And the Br\u00e1hman received him courteously. So he sat down\nto eat; and in the meanwhile a child there began to cry. When, in\nspite of all efforts to quiet it, it would not stop, the mistress\nof the house fell into a passion, and taking it up in her arms,\nthrew it into the blazing fire. The moment the child was thrown in,\nas its body was soft, it was reduced to ashes. When the ascetic,\nwho was a guest, saw this, his hair stood on end, and he exclaimed,\n\"Alas! Alas! I have entered the house of a Br\u00e1hman-demon. So I will\nnot eat food here now, for such food would be sin in a visible\nmaterial shape.\" When he said this, the householder said to him,\n\"See the power of raising the dead to life inherent in a charm of\nmine, which is effectual as soon as recited.\" When he had said this,\nhe took the book containing the charm and read it, and threw on to the\nashes some dust, over which the charm had been recited. [285] That\nmade the boy rise up alive, exactly as he was before. Then the mind\nof the Br\u00e1hman ascetic was quieted, and he was able to take his meal\nthere. And the master of the house put the book up on a bracket, and\nafter taking food, went to bed at night, and so did the ascetic. But\nwhen the master of the house was asleep, the ascetic got up timidly,\nand took the book, with the desire of restoring his beloved to life.\n\nAnd he left the house with the book, and travelling day and night\nat last reached the cemetery, where that beloved of his had been\nburnt. And at that moment he saw the second Br\u00e1hman arrive there,\nwho had gone to throw her bones into the river Ganges. And having\nalso found the one who remained in the cemetery sleeping on her ashes,\nhaving built a hut over them, he said to the two, \"Remove this hut, in\norder that by the power of a certain charm I may raise up my beloved\nalive from her ashes.\" Having earnestly solicited them to do this,\nand having overturned that hut, the Br\u00e1hman ascetic opened the book,\nand read the charm. And after thus charming some dust, he threw it\non the ashes, and that made Mand\u00e1ravat\u00ed rise up alive. And as she\nhad entered the fire, she possessed, when resuscitated, a body that\nhad come out of it more splendid than before, as if made of gold. [286]\n\nWhen the three Br\u00e1hmans saw her resuscitated in this form, they\nimmediately became love-sick, and quarrelled with one another,\neach desiring her for himself. And the first said, \"She is my wife,\nfor she was won by the power of my charm.\" And the second said,\n\"She belongs to me, for she was produced by the efficacy of sacred\nbathing-places.\" And the third said, \"She is mine, for I preserved\nher ashes, and resuscitated her by asceticism.\"\n\n\"Now king, give judgment to decide their dispute; whose wife ought\nthe maiden to be? If you know and do not say, your head shall fly\nin pieces.\"\n\nWhen the king heard this from the Vet\u00e1la, he said to him, \"The one\nwho restored her to life by a charm, though he endured hardship, must\nbe considered her father, because he performed that office for her,\nand not her husband; and he who carried her bones to the Ganges is\nconsidered her son; but he, who out of love lay on her ashes, and so\nremained in the cemetery embracing her and practising asceticism,\nhe is to be called her husband, for he acted like one in his deep\naffection.\" [287]\n\nWhen the Vet\u00e1la heard this from king Trivikramasena, who had broken\nsilence by uttering it, he left his shoulder, and went back invisible\nto his own place. But the king, who was bent on forwarding the object\nof the mendicant, made up his mind to fetch him again, for men of\nfirm resolution do not desist from accomplishing a task they have\npromised to perform, even though they lose their lives in the attempt.\n\n\n\nNOTE.\n\nOesterley, in the notes to his German translation of the Bait\u00e1l\nPach\u00eds\u00ed, refers to the Turkish T\u00fat\u00edn\u00e1mah in which the lady dies of\ndespair at the difficulty of the choice, as in the Tamul version. [In\nthe Hindi version she dies of snake-bite.] She is brought back to\nlife by a good beating. The first suitor opens the grave, the second\nadvises the use of the cudgel, the third carries it out.\n\nThis method of restoring people, who die suddenly, to life by a good\nbeating, is found in a Persian story, professing to be derived from\na book \"Post nubila Phoebus,\" in which the physician bears the name\nof Kati, and asserts that he learnt the method from an old Arab. The\nstory is found in Epistol\u00e6 Turcic\u00e6 et Narrationes Persic\u00e6 edit\u00e6 et\nLatine convers\u00e6 a Joh. Ury. Oxonii, 1771, 4o, pp. 26 and 27. This\ncollection, which contains not the least hint of its origin, is\nparticularly interesting as it contains the VIIIth story of the\nSiddhik\u00fcr; \"The Painter and the Wood-carver.\" [See Sagas from the Far\nEast, p. 97.] The Episode of the stealing of the magic book is found,\nquite separated from the context, in many MS. versions of the Gesta\nRomanorum: see Appendix to Oesterley's edition. (Oesterley's Bait\u00e1l\nPach\u00eds\u00ed, pp. 183-185.)\n\n\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER LXXVII.\n\n(Vet\u00e1la 3.)\n\n\nThen the heroic king Trivikramasena again went to the asoka-tree,\nto fetch the Vet\u00e1la. And he found him there in the corpse, and\nagain took him up on his shoulder, and began to return with him in\nsilence. And as he was going along, the Vet\u00e1la, who was on his back,\nsaid to him, \"It is wonderful, king, that you are not cowed with this\ngoing backwards and forwards at night. So I will tell you another\nstory to solace you, listen.\"\n\n\n\nStory of the king, and the two wise birds.\n\nThere is on the earth a famous city named P\u00e1taliputra. In it there\nlived of old time a king named Vikramakesarin, whom Providence made\na storehouse of virtues as well as of jewels. And he possessed a\nparrot of godlike intellect, knowing all the s\u00e1stras, that had\nbeen born in that condition owing to a curse, and its name was\nVidagdhach\u00fad\u00e1mani. And the prince married as a wife, by the advice of\nthe parrot, a princess of equal birth, of the royal family of Magadha,\nnamed Chandraprabh\u00e1. That princess also possessed a similar hen-maina,\nof the name of Somik\u00e1, remarkable for knowledge and discernment. And\nthe two, the parrot and the maina, remained there in the same cage,\nassisting with their discernment their master and mistress.\n\nOne day the parrot became enamoured of the maina, and said to\nher, \"Marry me, fair one, as we sleep, perch, and feed in the same\ncage.\" But the maina answered him, \"I do not desire intimate union with\na male, for all males are wicked and ungrateful.\" The parrot retorted,\n\"It is not true that males are wicked, but females are wicked and\ncruel-hearted.\" And so a dispute arose between them. The two birds then\nmade a bargain that, if the parrot won, he should have the maina for\nwife, and if the maina won, the parrot should be her slave, and they\ncame before the prince to get a true judgment. The prince, who was\nin his father's judgment-hall, heard the point at issue between them,\nand then said to the maina, \"Tell me, how are males ungrateful?\" Then\nthe maina said, \"Listen,\" and in order to establish her contention,\nproceeded to relate this story illustrating the faults of males.\n\n\n\nThe maina's story. [288]\n\nThere is on the earth a famous city, of the name of K\u00e1mandak\u00ed. In\nit there was a rich merchant, of the name of Arthadatta. And he had\na son born to him, of the name of Dhanadatta. When his father died,\nthe young man became dissipated. And rogues got round him, and plunged\nhim in the love of gambling and other vices. In truth the society\nof the wicked is the root of the tree of vice. In a short time his\nwealth was exhausted by dissipation, and being ashamed of his poverty,\nhe left his own country, to wander about in foreign lands.\n\nAnd in the course of his travels, he reached a place named\nChandanapura, and desiring food, he entered the house of a certain\nmerchant. As fate would have it, the merchant, seeing that he was a\nhandsome youth, asked him his descent and other things, and finding\nout that he was of good birth, entertained him, and adopted him as\na prot\u00e9g\u00e9. And he gave him his daughter Ratn\u00e1val\u00ed, with a dower,\nand thenceforth Dhanadatta lived in his father-in-law's house.\n\nAnd in the course of some days, he forgot in his present happiness\nhis former misery, and having acquired wealth, and longing for fresh\ndissipation, he wished to go back to his own land. Then the rascal\nwith difficulty wrung a permission from his unwilling father-in-law,\nwhose daughter was his only child, and taking with him his wife,\ncovered with ornaments, accompanied by an old woman, set out from that\nplace, with a party of three in all. And in course of time he reached\na distant wood, and on the plea that there was danger of robbers,\nhe took those ornaments from his wife and got them into his own\npossession. Alas! Observe that the heart of ungrateful males, addicted\nto the hateful vices of dicing and drabbing, is as hard as a sword.\n\nThen the villain, being determined to kill his wife, though she was\nvirtuous, for the sake of her wealth, threw her and the old woman into\na ravine. And after he had thrown them there, he went away. The old\nwoman was killed, but his wife was caught in a mass of creepers and did\nnot die. And she slowly climbed up out of the chasm, weeping bitterly,\nsupporting herself by clinging to grass and creepers, for the appointed\nend of her life had not yet come. And asking her way, step by step,\nshe arrived, by the road by which she came, at the house of her father,\nwith difficulty, for her limbs were sorely bruised. When she arrived\nthere suddenly, in this state, her mother and father questioned her\neagerly. And the virtuous lady weeping told this tale, \"We were robbed\non the way by bandits, and my husband was dragged away bound; the old\nwoman died, but I survived, though I fell into a ravine. Then I was\ndragged out of the ravine by a certain benevolent traveller, who came\nthat way, and by the favour of destiny I have arrived here.\" When\nthe good Ratn\u00e1val\u00ed said this, her father and mother comforted her,\nand she remained there, thinking only of her husband.\n\nAnd in course of time her husband Dhanadatta, who had gone back to his\nown country, and wasted that wealth in gambling, said to himself, \"I\nwill go and fetch more wealth, begging it from my father-in-law, and I\nwill tell him that I have left his daughter in my house here.\" Thinking\nthus in his heart, he set out for that house of his father-in-law,\nand when he drew near, his wife beheld him from a distance, and she\nran and fell at his feet, though he was a villain. For, though a\nhusband is wicked, a good wife does not alter her feelings towards\nhim. And when he was frightened, she told him all the fictitious\nstory she had previously told her parents about the robbery, her\nfall, and so on. Then he entered fearlessly with her the house of his\nfather-in-law; and his father-in-law and mother-in-law, when they saw\nhim, welcomed him joyfully. And his father-in-law called his friends\ntogether, and made a great feast on the occasion, exclaiming, \"It is\nindeed a happy thing, that my son-in-law has been let go with life\nby the robbers.\" Then Dhanadatta lived happily with that wife of his\nRatn\u00e1val\u00ed, enjoying the wealth of his father-in-law. But, fie! what\nthe cruel man did one night, though it should not be told for shame,\nmust still for the story's sake be related. He killed his wife when\nasleep in his bosom, and took away all her ornaments, and then went\naway unobserved to his own country.\n\n\"So wicked are males!\" When the maina had said this, the king said\nto the parrot--\"Now say your say.\"--Then the parrot said--\"King,\nfemales are of intolerable audacity, immoral and wicked; hear a tale\nin proof of it.\"\n\n\n\nThe parrot's story. [289]\n\nThere is a city of the name of Harshavat\u00ed, and in it there was a\nleading merchant named Dharmadatta, possessed of many crores. And\nthat merchant had a daughter named Vasudatt\u00e1, matchless in beauty,\nwhom he loved more than his life. And she was given to an excellent\nyoung merchant named Samudradatta, equal to her in rank, distinguished\nfor wealth and youth, who was an object that the eyes of lovely women\nloved to feast on, as the partridges on the rays of the moon, and\nwho dwelt in the city of T\u00e1mralipt\u00ed which is inhabited by honourable\nmen. Once on a time, the merchant's daughter, while she was living\nin her father's house, and her husband was in his own country,\nsaw at a distance a certain young and good-looking man. The fickle\nwoman, deluded by M\u00e1ra, [290] invited him by means of a confidante,\nand made him her secret paramour. And from that time forth she spent\nevery night with him, and her affections were fixed upon him only.\n\nBut one day the husband of her youth returned from his own land,\nappearing to her parents like delight in bodily form. And on that day\nof rejoicing she was adorned, but she would have nothing to say to her\nhusband in spite of her mother's injunctions, but when he spoke to her,\nshe pretended to be asleep, as her heart was fixed on another. And then\nher husband, being drowsy with wine, and tired with his journey, was\noverpowered by sleep. In the meanwhile, as all the people of the house,\nhaving eaten and drunk, were fast asleep, a thief made a hole in the\nwall and entered their apartment. At that very moment the merchant's\ndaughter rose up, without seeing the thief, and went out secretly,\nhaving made an assignation with her lover. When the thief saw that,\nhis object being frustrated, he said to himself, \"She has gone out in\nthe dead of night adorned with those very ornaments which I came here\nto steal; so I will watch where she goes.\" When the thief had formed\nthis intention, he went out, and followed that merchant's daughter\nVasudatt\u00e1, keeping an eye on her, but himself unobserved.\n\nBut she, with flowers and other things of the kind in her hands,\nwent out, accompanied by a single confidante, who was in the secret,\nand entered a garden at no great distance outside the city.\n\nAnd in it she saw her lover, who had come there to meet her, hanging\ndead on a tree, with a halter round his neck, for the city-guards\nhad caught him there at night and hanged him, on the supposition\nthat he was a thief. Then she was distracted and beside herself, and\nexclaiming, \"I am ruined,\" she fell on the ground and lamented with\nplaintive cries. Then she took down her dead paramour from the tree,\nand placing him in a sitting position, she adorned him with unguents\nand flowers, and though he was senseless, embraced him, with mind\nblinded by passion and grief. And when in her sorrow she raised up his\nmouth and kissed it, her dead paramour, being animated by a Vet\u00e1la,\nsuddenly bit off her nose. Then she left him in confusion and agony,\nbut still the unfortunate woman came back once more, and looked at\nhim to see if he was still alive. And when she saw that the Vet\u00e1la\nhad left his body, and that he was dead and motionless, she departed\nslowly, weeping with fear and humiliation.\n\nIn the meanwhile the thief, who was hidden there, saw all, and said\nto himself, \"What is this that this wicked woman has done? Alas! the\nmind of females is terrible and black like a dark well, unfathomable,\nexceedingly deep for a fall. [291] So I wonder what she will do\nnow.\" After these reflections, the thief again followed her at a\ndistance, out of curiosity.\n\nShe went on and entered her own chamber, where her husband was asleep,\nand cried out weeping, \"Help! Help! This wicked enemy, calling himself\na husband, has cut off my nose, though I have done nothing wrong.\" Then\nher husband, and her father, and the servants, hearing her repeated\ncries, woke up, and arose in a state of excitement. Then her father,\nseeing that her nose had been recently taken off, was angry, and\nhad her husband bound as having injured his wife. But even while he\nwas being bound, he remained speechless, like a dumb man, and said\nnothing, for all the listeners, his father-in-law and the others,\nhad altogether turned against him. [292]\n\nWhen the thief had seen all this, he slipped away nimbly, and\nthe night, which was spent in tumult, gradually passed away, and\nthen the merchant's son was taken by his father-in-law to the king,\ntogether with his wife who had been deprived of her nose. And the king,\nafter he had been informed by them of the circumstances, ordered the\nexecution of the young merchant, on the ground that he had maimed his\nown wife, rejecting with contempt his version of the story. Then,\nas he was being led to the place of execution, with drums beating,\nthe thief came up to the king's officers and said to them, \"You ought\nnot to put this man to death without cause; I know the circumstances,\ntake me to the king, that I may tell him the whole story.\" When the\nthief said this, they took him to the king, and after he had received\na promise of pardon, he told him the whole history of the night from\nthe beginning. And he said, \"If your Majesty does not believe my\nwords, look at once at the woman's nose, which is in the mouth of\nthat corpse.\" When the king heard that, he sent servants to look,\nand finding that the statement was true, he gave orders that the\nyoung merchant should not suffer capital punishment. But he banished\nhis wicked wife from the country, after cutting off her ears also,\nand punished his father-in-law by confiscating all his wealth, and\nbeing pleased with the thief, he made him chief magistrate of the city.\n\n\"So you see that females are naturally wicked and treacherous.\" When\nthe parrot had told this tale, the curse imposed on him by Indra\nlost its force, and he became once more the Gandharva Chitraratha,\nand assuming a celestial form, he went to heaven. And at the same\nmoment the maina's curse came to an end, and she became the heavenly\nnymph Tilottam\u00e1, and went at once to heaven. And so their dispute\nremained undecided in the judgment-hall.\n\nWhen the Vet\u00e1la had told this tale, he again said to the king, \"So\nlet your Majesty decide, which are the worst, males or females. But\nif you know and do not say, your head shall split in pieces.\"\n\nWhen the king was asked this question by the Vet\u00e1la, that was on\nhis shoulder, he said to him, \"Chief of magicians, women are the\nworst. For it is possible that once in a way a man may be so wicked,\nbut females are, as a rule, always such everywhere.\" When the king\nsaid this, the Vet\u00e1la disappeared, as before, from his shoulder,\nand the king once more resumed the task of fetching him.\n\n\n\nNOTE.\n\nOesterley tells us that in the Vet\u00e1la Cadai the two stories are told\nby two parrots, and the same is the case in the Turkish T\u00fat\u00edn\u00e1mah,\nRosen, 2, p. 92.\n\nThe 1st story is found in the Turkish T\u00fat\u00edn\u00e1mah. The principal\ndifference is that the parents of the extravagant man die after his\nfirst crime; after he has spent his property, he begs in a cemetery,\nand is there recognized by his wife; they live some time together, and\nthen set out to return to his house. On the way they pass the old well,\nand there he murders her. There are some similar points in the 11th\nstory of the Siddhik\u00fcr. [See Sagas from the Far East, pp. 120-125.]\n\nThe second story is found in Babington's Vet\u00e1la Cadai, p. 44. The\nlover receives a mortal wound, being taken for a thief, and in the\nagony of death bites off the nose of the adulteress. She smears\nher husband's betel-knife with the blood, and accuses him of the\nmurder. The city-guards clear the matter up.\n\nThe 2nd story is found in a very different form in the\nSiddhik\u00fcr, No. 10; in J\u00fclg, p. 100. [See Sagas from The Far East,\npp. 115-119.] Here a younger brother is not invited to supper by an\nelder, so he determines to rob him out of revenge. He observes his\nbrother's wife go to a cemetery to see her dead lover, who, when she\ntries to feed him by force, bites off her nose and the tip of her\ntongue. Of course when she accuses her husband, the younger brother\nreveals the secret.\n\nThe story in the Turkish T\u00fat\u00edn\u00e1mah, Rosen, 2, p. 96, Wickerhauser,\np. 212, closely resembles Somadeva's. The lovers are surprised by the\ncity-guards, who crucify the man, and let the woman go. The man in\nthe agony of death bites her nose off, and she accuses her husband\nof the deed; he is then condemned to lose his nose. But a thief,\nwho has crept into the house, and has then followed the adulteress,\nreveals the secret, and the woman is thereupon drowned. The story\nin the Panchatantra, Benfey, II, p. 40, only resembles this in its\nconclusion. [See Johnson's Hitopadesa, p. 85.] It is no doubt a clever\nadaptation of the end of this story. The tale has been traced through\nall its migrations by Benfey, Vol. I, p. 140. (Oesterley's Bait\u00e1l\nPach\u00eds\u00ed, pp. 187-191.)\n\n\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER LXXVIII.\n\n(Vet\u00e1la 4.)\n\n\nThen king Trivikramasena again went at night to that asoka-tree in the\ncemetery: and he fearlessly took that Vet\u00e1la that was in the corpse,\nthough it uttered a horrible laugh, and placed it on his shoulder,\nand set out in silence. And as he was going along, the Vet\u00e1la, that\nwas on his shoulder, said to him again, \"King, why do you take all\nthis trouble for the sake of this wicked mendicant? In truth you show\nno discrimination in taking all this fruitless labour. So hear from\nme this story to amuse you on the way.\"\n\n\n\nStory of V\u00edravara.\n\nThere is a city on the earth rightly named Sobh\u00e1vat\u00ed. In it there lived\na king of great valour, called S\u00fadraka. The fire of that victorious\nking's might was perpetually fanned by the wind of the chowries waved\nby the captured wives of his enemies. I ween that the earth was so\nglorious during the reign of that king, owing to the uninterrupted\npractice of righteousness that prevailed, that she forgot all her\nother sovereigns, even R\u00e1ma.\n\nOnce on a time a Br\u00e1hman, of the name of V\u00edravara, came from\nM\u00e1lava to take service under that king who loved heroes. His wife's\nname was Dharmavat\u00ed, his son was Sattvavara, and his daughter was\nV\u00edravat\u00ed. These three composed his family; and his attendants were\nanother three, at his side a dagger, a sword in one hand, and a\nsplendid shield in the other. Although he had so small a retinue, he\ndemanded from the king five hundred d\u00edn\u00e1rs a day by way of salary. And\nking S\u00fadraka, perceiving that his appearance indicated great courage,\ngave him the salary he desired. But he felt curious to know whether,\nas his retinue was so small, he employed so many gold coins to feed his\nvices, or lavished them on some worthy object. So he had him secretly\ndogged by spies, in order to discover his mode of life. And it turned\nout that every day V\u00edravara had an interview with the king in the\nmorning, and stood at his palace-gate in the middle of the day,\nsword in hand; and then he went home and put into the hand of his\nwife a hundred d\u00edn\u00e1rs of his salary for food, and with a hundred he\nbought clothes, unguents and betel; and after bathing, he set apart\na hundred for the worship of Vishnu and Siva; and he gave two hundred\nby way of charity to poor Br\u00e1hmans. This was the distribution which he\nmade of the five hundred every day. Then he fed the sacrificial fire\nwith clarified butter and performed other ceremonies, and took food,\nand then he again went and kept guard at the gate of the palace alone\nat night, sword in hand. When the king S\u00fadraka heard from his spies,\nthat V\u00edravara always followed this righteous custom, he rejoiced\nin his heart; and he ordered those spies, who had dogged his path,\nto desist; and he considered him worthy of especial honour as a\ndistinguished hero.\n\nThen in course of time, after V\u00edravara had easily tided through the\nhot weather, when the rays of the sun were exceedingly powerful, the\nmonsoon came roaring, bearing a brandished sword of lightning, as if\nout of envy against V\u00edravara, and smiting [293] with rain-drops. And\nthough at that time a terrible bank of clouds poured down rain day\nand night, V\u00edravara remained motionless, as before, at the gate of\nthe palace. And king S\u00fadraka, having beheld him in the day from\nthe top of his palace, again went up to it at night, to find out\nwhether he was there or not; and he cried out from it,--\"Who waits\nthere at the palace-gate?\" When V\u00edravara heard that, he answered,\n\"I am here, your Majesty.\" Then king S\u00fadraka thought to himself,\n\"Ah! V\u00edravara is a man of intrepid courage and devotedly attached\nto me. So I must certainly promote him to an important post.\" After\nthe king had said this to himself, he came down from the roof of his\npalace, and entering his private apartments, went to bed.\n\nAnd the next evening, when a cloud was violently raining with a heavy\ndownfall, and black darkness was spread abroad, obscuring the heaven,\n[294] the king once more ascended the roof of the palace to satisfy\nhis curiosity, and being alone, he cried out in a clear voice,\n\"Who waits there at the palace-gate?\" Again V\u00edravara said, \"I am\nhere.\" And while the king was lost in admiration at seeing his courage,\nhe suddenly heard a woman weeping in the distance, distracted with\ndespair, uttering only the piteous sound of wailing. When the king\nheard that, pity arose in his mind, and he said to himself, \"There\nis no oppressed person in my kingdom, no poor or afflicted person;\nso who is this woman, that is thus weeping alone at night?\" Then he\ngave this order to V\u00edravara, who was alone below, \"Listen, V\u00edravara;\nthere is some woman weeping in the distance; go and find out who she\nis and why she is weeping.\"\n\nWhen V\u00edravara heard that, he said, \"I will do so,\" and set out thence\nwith his dagger in his belt, and his sword in his hand. He looked\nupon the world as a R\u00e1kshasa black with fresh clouds, having the\nlightning flashing from them by way of an eye, raining large drops of\nrain instead of stones. And king S\u00fadraka, seeing him starting alone\non such a night, and being penetrated with pity and curiosity, came\ndown from the top of the palace, and taking his sword, set out close\nbehind him, alone and unobserved. And V\u00edravara went on persistently in\nthe direction of the weeping, and reached a tank outside the city, and\nsaw there that woman in the middle of the water uttering this lament,\n\"Hero! merciful man! Generous man! How can I live without you?\" And\nV\u00edravara, who was followed by the king, said with astonishment,\n\"Who are you, and why do you thus weep?\"--Then she answered him,\n\"Dear V\u00edravara, know that I am this earth, and king S\u00fadraka is now\nmy righteous lord, but on the third day from this his death will take\nplace, and whence shall I obtain such another lord? So I am grieved,\nand bewail both him and myself.\" [295] When V\u00edravara heard this,\nhe said, like one alarmed, \"Is there then, goddess, any expedient\nto prevent the death of this king, who is the protecting amulet of\nthe world?\"\n\nWhen the earth heard this, she answered, \"There is one expedient\nfor averting it, and one which you alone can employ.\" Then V\u00edravara\nsaid,--\"Then, goddess, tell it me at once, in order that I may quickly\nput it in operation: otherwise what is the use of my life?\" When the\nearth heard this, she said,--\"Who is as brave as you, and as devoted\nto his master? So hear this method of bringing about his welfare. If\nyou offer up your child Sattvavara to this glorious goddess Chand\u00ed,\nfamous for her exceeding readiness to manifest herself to her votaries,\nto whom the king has built a temple [296] in the immediate vicinity of\nhis palace, the king will not die, but live another hundred years. And\nif you do it at once, his safety will be ensured, but if not, he will\nassuredly have ceased to live on the third day from this time.\"\n\nWhen the goddess Earth said this to V\u00edravara, he said, \"Goddess, I\nwill go, and do it this very instant.\" Then Earth said, \"May success\nattend you!\" and disappeared; and the king, who was secretly following\nV\u00edravara, heard all this.\n\nThen V\u00edravara went quickly in the darkness to his own house, and king\nS\u00fadraka, out of curiosity, followed him unobserved. There he woke up\nhis wife Dharmavat\u00ed, and told her how the goddess Earth had directed\nhim to offer up his son for the sake of the king. When she heard\nit, she said, \"My lord, we must ensure the prosperity of the king;\nso wake up this young boy of ours and tell it him yourself.\" Then\nV\u00edravara woke up his young son Sattvavara, who was asleep, and told\nhim what had occurred, and said to him, \"So, my son, the king will\nlive if you are offered up to the goddess Chand\u00ed, but if not, he\nwill die on the third day.\" When Sattvavara heard it, though he was\na mere child, he shewed a heroic soul, and justified his name. [297]\nHe said \"I shall have obtained all I desire, if the sacrifice of my\nlife saves that of the king, for so I shall have repaid him for his\nfood which I have eaten. So why should there be any delay? Take me\nand offer me up immediately before the adorable goddess. Let me be\nthe means of bringing about the happiness of my lord.\"\n\nWhen Sattvavara said this, V\u00edravara answered, \"Bravo! you are in truth\nmy own son.\" And the king, who had followed them, and heard all this\nconversation from outside, said to himself, \"Ah! they are all equal\nin courage.\"\n\nThen V\u00edravara took his son Sattvavara on his shoulder, and his wife\nDharmavat\u00ed took their daughter V\u00edravat\u00ed, and they both went that\nvery night to the temple of Chand\u00ed, and king S\u00fadraka followed them\nunobserved. Then Sattvavara was taken down by his father from his\nshoulder, and placed in front of the idol, and the boy, who was full of\ncourage, bowed before the goddess, and said, \"May the sacrifice of my\nhead ensure the life of king S\u00fadraka! May he rule unopposed, goddess,\nfor another hundred years!\" When the boy Sattvavara said this, V\u00edravara\nexclaimed, \"Bravo!\" and drew his sword and cut off his son's head,\nand offered it to the goddess, saying, \"May the sacrifice of my son\nsave the king's life!\"--Immediately a voice was heard from the air,\n\"Bravo! V\u00edravara! What man is as devoted to his sovereign as thou,\nwho, by the sacrifice of thy noble only son, hast bestowed on this\nking S\u00fadraka life and a kingdom?\" Then that young girl V\u00edravat\u00ed,\nthe daughter of V\u00edravara, came up, and embraced the head of her slain\nbrother, and weeping, blinded with excessive grief, she broke her heart\nand so died. And the king saw and heard all this from his concealment.\n\nThen V\u00edravara's wife Dharmavat\u00ed said to him, \"We have ensured the\nprosperity of the king, so now I have something to say to you. Since\nmy daughter, though a child and knowing nothing, has died out of grief\nfor her brother, and I have lost these two children of mine, what is\nthe use of life to me? Since I have been so foolish as not to offer\nmy own head long ago to the goddess for the welfare of the king, give\nme leave to enter the fire with my children's bodies.\" When she urged\nthis request, V\u00edravara said to her, \"Do so, and may prosperity attend\nyou, for what pleasure could you find, noble woman, in continuing\na life, that would for you be full of nothing but grief for your\nchildren. But do not be afflicted, because you did not sacrifice\nyourself. Would not I have sacrificed myself, if the object could\nhave been attained by the sacrifice of any victim but our son? So\nwait until I have made a pyre for you with these pieces of timber,\ncollected to build the fence round the sanctuary of the goddess.\"\n\nWhen V\u00edravara had said this, he made a funeral pyre with the timber,\nand placed on it the bodies of his two children, and lighted it with\nthe flame of a lamp. Then his virtuous wife Dharmavat\u00ed fell at his\nfeet, and, after worshipping the goddess Chand\u00ed, she addressed to\nher this prayer, \"May my present husband be my husband also in a\nfuture birth! And may the sacrifice of my life procure prosperity\nfor the king his master!\" When the virtuous woman had said this,\nshe threw herself fearlessly into the burning pyre, from which the\nflames streamed up like hair.\n\nThen the hero V\u00edravara said to himself, \"I have done what the king's\ninterests required, as the celestial voice testified, and I have\npaid my debt to my master for his food which I have eaten: so, as I\nam now left alone, why should I thus cling to life? It does not look\nwell for a man like me to nurse his own life only, after sacrificing\nall his dear family, which it is his duty to maintain. So why should\nI not gratify Durg\u00e1 by sacrificing myself?\" Having thus reflected,\nhe first approached the goddess with this hymn of praise:\n\n\"Hail to thee, thou slayer of the Asura Mahisha, destroyer of the\nD\u00e1nava Ruru, trident-bearing goddess! Hail to thee, best of mothers,\nthat causest rejoicing among the gods, and upholdest the three\nworlds! Hail thou whose feet are worshipped by the whole earth,\nthe refuge of those that are intent on final beatitude! Hail thou\nthat wearest the rays of the sun, and dispellest the accumulated\ndarkness of calamity! Hail to thee, K\u00e1l\u00ed, skull-bearing goddess,\nwearer of skeletons! Hail, Siv\u00e1! Honour to thee! Be propitious now to\nking S\u00fadraka on account of the sacrifice of my head!\" After V\u00edravara\nhad praised the goddess in these words, he cut off his head with a\nsudden stroke of his sword.\n\nKing S\u00fadraka, who was a witness of all this from his place of\nconcealment, was full of bewilderment, sorrow, and astonishment,\nand said to himself, \"This worthy man and his family have performed\nfor my sake a wonderful and difficult exploit never seen or heard\nof anywhere else. Though the world is wide and various, where could\nthere be found a man so resolute as secretly to sacrifice his life\nfor his master, without proclaiming the fact abroad? And if I do not\nrequite this benefit, what is the use of my sovereignty, and of my\nprotracting my life, which would only be like that of an animal?\"\n\nWhen the heroic king had thus reflected, he drew his sword from the\nsheath, and approaching the goddess, prayed thus to her, \"Be propitious\nto me now, goddess, on account of this sacrifice of my head, and confer\na boon on me, thy constant votary. Let this Br\u00e1hman V\u00edravara, whose\nacts are in accordance with his name, and who sacrificed his life for\nmy sake, be resuscitated with his family!\" After uttering this prayer,\nking S\u00fadraka was preparing to cut off his head with his sword, but\nat that moment a voice was heard from the air, \"Do not act rashly;\nI am pleased with this courage of thine; let the Br\u00e1hman V\u00edravara be\nrestored to life, together with his wife and his children!\"--Having\nuttered so much, the voice ceased, and V\u00edravara rose up alive and\nunwounded, with his son, his daughter, and his wife. When the king,\nwho quickly concealed himself again, saw that marvel, he was never\ntired of looking at them with an eye full of tears of joy.\n\nAnd V\u00edravara quickly awoke as if from sleep, and, beholding his\nchildren and wife alive, and also himself, he was confused in mind. And\nhe asked his wife and children, addressing them severally by name,\n\"How have you returned to life after having been reduced to ashes? I\ntoo cut off my head: what is the meaning of my being now alive? Is\nthis a delusion, or the manifest favour of the goddess?\" When he\nsaid this, his wife and children answered him, \"Our being alive is\ndue to a merciful interposition of the goddess, of which we were not\nconscious.\" Then V\u00edravara came to the conclusion that it was so,\nand after worshipping the goddess, he returned home with his wife\nand children, having accomplished his object.\n\nAnd after he had left his son, wife, and daughter there, he returned\nthat very night to the palace-gate of the king, and stood there as\nbefore. King S\u00fadraka, for his part, who had beheld all unobserved,\nagain went up to the roof of his palace. And he cried out from the\nroof, \"Who is in attendance at the palace-gate?\" Then V\u00edravara said,\n\"I myself am in waiting here, your Majesty. And in accordance with\nyour orders I went in search of that woman, but she disappeared\nsomewhere as soon as seen, like a R\u00e1kshas\u00ed.\" When the king heard\nthe speech of that V\u00edravara, he was very much astonished, as he had\nhimself seen what took place, and he said to himself, \"Indeed people\nof noble spirit are deep and self-contained of soul as the sea, for\nwhen they have performed an unparalleled exploit, they do not utter\nany description of it.\" Thus reflecting, the king silently descended\nfrom the roof of the palace, and entered his private apartments,\nand there spent the rest of the night.\n\nAnd the next morning, V\u00edravara came to present himself at the time\nof audience, and then the delighted king related to the ministers all\nthat V\u00edravara had gone through during the night, so that they were all,\nas it were, thunderstruck with wonder. Then the king gave to V\u00edravara\nand his son the sovereignty over the provinces of L\u00e1ta and Karn\u00e1ta,\nas a token of his regard. Then the two kings, V\u00edravara and S\u00fadraka,\nbeing equal in power, lived happily in the interchange of mutual\ngood offices.\n\nWhen the Vet\u00e1la had told this exceedingly wonderful story, he went\non to say to king Trivikramasena, \"So tell me, king, who was the\nbravest of all these, and if you know and do not tell, the curse,\nwhich I before mentioned, shall descend upon you.\"\n\nWhen the king heard this, he answered the Vet\u00e1la, \"King S\u00fadraka was the\ngreatest hero of them all.\" Then the Vet\u00e1la said, \"Was not V\u00edravara\ngreater, for his equal is not found on this earth? And was not his\nwife braver, who, though a mother, endured to witness with her own eyes\nthe offering up of her son as a victim? And was not his son Sattvavara\nbraver, who, though a mere child, displayed such pre\u00ebminent courage? So\nwhy do you say that king S\u00fadraka was more heroic than these?\"\n\nWhen the Vet\u00e1la said this, the king answered him, \"Do not say\nso! V\u00edravara was a man of high birth, one in whose family it was a\ntradition that life, son, and wife must be sacrificed to protect the\nsovereign. And his wife also was of good birth, chaste, worshipping\nher husband only, and her chief duty was to follow the path traced\nout for her by her husband. And Sattvavara was like them, being their\nson; assuredly, such as are the threads, such is the web produced from\nthem. But S\u00fadraka excelled them all, because he was ready to lay down\nhis life for those servants, by the sacrifice of whose lives kings\nare wont to save their own.\"\n\nWhen the Vet\u00e1la heard that speech from that king, he at once left\nhis shoulder, and returned invisibly to his former place by his\nsupernatural power, but the king resolutely set out on his former\npath in that cemetery at night to bring him back again.\n\n\n\nNOTE.\n\nFor the story of V\u00edravara, see Vol. I, pp. 253 and 519. Oesterley\nrefers us to Benfey's Panchatantra, Vol. I, p. 414, where it is shown\nto be based upon the Asadrisa J\u00e1taka of Buddha. The story is found in\nthe Persian T\u00fat\u00edn\u00e1mah, No 21, (in Iken, p. 89,) in a form resembling\nthat in the Hitopadesa. But there is another form which is No. 2\nin the same work of Kaderi and found in the older T\u00fat\u00edn\u00e1mah, (p. 17\nin Iken,) which seems to be based on the Vet\u00e1la Panchavinsati. This\nis also found in the Turkish T\u00fat\u00edn\u00e1mah. J\u00e1nb\u00e1z saves the life of a\nking by the mere determination to sacrifice himself and his whole\nfamily. (Oesterley's Bait\u00e1l Pach\u00eds\u00ed, pp. 185-187.) Benfey refers us\nto No. 39 in Basile's Pentamerone, [Liebrecht's German translation,\nVol. II, pp. 116-134,] and to No. 6 in Grimm's Kinder-M\u00e4rchen.\n\n\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER LXXIX.\n\n(Vet\u00e1la 5.)\n\n\nThen king Trivikramasena went back again to that asoka-tree, and\nsaw the Vet\u00e1la in the corpse again hanging on it as before, and took\nhim down, and after showing much displeasure with him, set out again\nrapidly towards his goal. And as he was returning along his way, in\nsilence as before, through the great cemetery by night, the Vet\u00e1la\non his shoulder said to him, \"King, you have embarked on a toilsome\nundertaking, and I liked you from the moment I first saw you, so\nlisten, I will tell you a tale to divert your mind.\"\n\n\n\nStory of Somaprabh\u00e1 and her three suitors.\n\nIn Ujjayin\u00ed there lived an excellent Br\u00e1hman, the dear dependent\nand minister of king Punyasena, and his name was Harisv\u00e1min. That\nhouseholder had by his wife, who was his equal in birth, an excellent\nson like himself, Devasv\u00e1min by name. And he also had born to\nhim a daughter, famed for her matchless beauty, rightly named\nSomaprabh\u00e1. [298] When the time came for that girl to be given away\nin marriage, as she was proud of her exceeding beauty, she made her\nmother give the following message to her father and brother, \"I am\nto be given in marriage to a man possessed of heroism, or knowledge,\nor magic power; [299] you must not give me in marriage to any other,\nif you value my life.\"\n\nWhen her father Harisv\u00e1min heard this, he was full of anxiety,\ntrying to find for her a husband coming under one of these three\ncategories. And while so engaged, he was sent as ambassador by king\nPunyasena to negotiate a treaty with a king of the Dekkan, who had come\nto invade him. And when he had accomplished the object, for which he\nwas sent, a noble Br\u00e1hman, who had heard of the great beauty of his\ndaughter, came and asked him for her hand. Harisv\u00e1min said to the\nBr\u00e1hman suitor, \"My daughter will not have any husband who does not\npossess either valour, knowledge, or magic power; so tell me which\nof the three you possess.\" When Harisv\u00e1min said this to the Br\u00e1hman\nsuitor, he answered, \"I possess magic power.\" Thereupon Harisv\u00e1min\nrejoined, \"Then shew me your magic power.\" So that possessor of\nsupernatural power immediately prepared by his skill a chariot that\nwould fly through the air. And in a moment he took Harisv\u00e1min up in\nthat magic chariot, and shewed him heaven and all the worlds. And he\nbrought him back delighted to that very camp of the king of the Dekkan,\nto which he had been sent on business. Then Harisv\u00e1min promised his\ndaughter to that man possessed of magic power, and fixed the marriage\nfor the seventh day from that time.\n\nAnd in the meanwhile another Br\u00e1hman, in Ujjayin\u00ed, came and asked\nHarisv\u00e1min's son Devasv\u00e1min for the hand of his sister. Devasv\u00e1min\nanswered, \"She does not wish to have a husband who is not possessed of\neither knowledge, or magic power, or heroism.\" Thereupon he declared\nhimself to be a hero. And when the hero displayed his skill in the use\nof missiles and hand-to-hand weapons, Devasv\u00e1min promised to give him\nhis sister, who was younger than himself. And by the advice of the\nastrologers he told him, as his father had told the other suitor,\nthat the marriage should take place on that very same seventh day,\nand this decision he came to without the knowledge of his mother.\n\nAt that very same time a third person came to his mother, the wife of\nHarisv\u00e1min, and asked her privately for the hand of her daughter. She\nsaid to him, \"Our daughter requires a husband who possesses either\nknowledge, or heroism, or magic power;\" and he answered, \"Mother,\nI possess knowledge.\" And she, after questioning him about the past\nand the future, promised to give the hand of her daughter to that\npossessor of supernatural knowledge on that same seventh day.\n\nThe next day Harisv\u00e1min returned home, and told his wife and his son\nthe agreement he had made to give away his daughter in marriage;\nand they told him separately the promises that they had made; and\nthat made him feel anxious, as three bridegrooms had been invited.\n\nThen, on the wedding-day, three bridegrooms arrived in Harisv\u00e1min's\nhouse, the man of knowledge, the man of magic power, and the man of\nvalour. And at that moment a strange thing took place: the intended\nbride, the maiden Somaprabh\u00e1, was found to have disappeared in some\ninexplicable manner, and though searched for, was not found. Then\nHarisv\u00e1min said eagerly to the possessor of knowledge; \"Man of\nknowledge, now tell me quickly where my daughter is gone.\" When the\npossessor of knowledge heard that, he said, \"The R\u00e1kshasa Dh\u00famrasikha\nhas carried her off to his own habitation in the Vindhya forest.\" When\nthe man of knowledge said this to Harisv\u00e1min, he was terrified and\nsaid, \"Alas! Alas! How are we to get her back, and how is she to\nbe married?\" When the possessor of magic power heard that, he said,\n\"Be of good cheer! I will take you in a moment to the place where the\npossessor of knowledge says that she is.\" After he had said this,\nhe prepared, as before, a chariot that would fly through the air,\nprovided with all kinds of weapons, and made Harisv\u00e1min, and the\nman of knowledge, and the brave man get into it, and in a moment he\ncarried them to the habitation of the R\u00e1kshasa in the Vindhya forest,\nwhich had been described by the man of knowledge. The R\u00e1kshasa, when\nhe saw what had happened, rushed out in a passion, and then the hero,\nwho was put forward by Harisv\u00e1min, challenged him to fight. Then\na wonderful fight took place between that man and that R\u00e1kshasa,\nwho were contending for a woman with various kinds of weapons, like\nR\u00e1ma and R\u00e1vana. And in a short time the hero cut off the head of\nthat R\u00e1kshasa with a crescent-headed arrow, though he was a doughty\nchampion. When the R\u00e1kshasa was slain, they carried off Somaprabh\u00e1\nwhom they found in his house, and they all returned in the chariot\nof the suitor who possessed magic power.\n\nWhen they had reached Harisv\u00e1min's house, the marriage did not go\nforward, though the auspicious moment had arrived, but a great dispute\narose between the man of knowledge, the man of magic power, and the man\nof valour. The man of knowledge said, \"If I had not known where this\nmaiden was, how would she have been discovered when concealed?--So\nshe ought to be given to me.\" But the man of magic power said,\n\"If I had not made this chariot that can fly through the air, how\ncould you all have gone and returned in a moment like gods? And\nhow could you, without a chariot, have fought with a R\u00e1kshasa,\nwho possessed a chariot? So you ought to give her to me for I have\nsecured by my skill this auspicious moment.\" The brave man said,\n\"If I had not slain the R\u00e1kshasa in fight, who would have brought\nthis maiden back here in spite of all your exertions? So she must be\ngiven to me.\" While they went on wrangling in this style, Harisv\u00e1min\nremained for a moment silent, being perplexed in mind.\n\n\"So tell me, king, to whom she ought to have been given, and\nif you know and do not say, your head shall split asunder.\" When\nTrivikramasena heard this from the Vet\u00e1la, he abandoned his silence,\nand said to him; \"She ought to be given to the brave man; for he won\nher by the might of his arms, at the risk of his life, slaying that\nR\u00e1kshasa in combat. But the man of knowledge and the man of magic power\nwere appointed by the Creator to serve as his instruments; are not\ncalculators and artificers always subordinate assistants to others?\"\n\nWhen the Vet\u00e1la heard this answer of the king's, he left his seat on\nthe top of his shoulder, and went, as before, to his own place; and\nthe king again set out to find him, without being in the slightest\ndegree discomposed.\n\n\n\nNOTE.\n\nThe above story bears a slight resemblance to No. 71 in Grimm's\nKinder- und Hausm\u00e4rchen, Sechse kommen durch die ganze Welt; see\nthe note in the 3rd volume of the third edition, page 120. Cp. also\nthe 74th story in Laura Gonzenbach's Sicilianische M\u00e4rchen, Part II,\npage 96, and the 45th story in the same book, Part I, p. 305, with\nK\u00f6hler's notes. The 9th story in Sagas from the Far East, p. 105, is\nno doubt the Mongolian form of the tale in our text. It bears a very\nstrong resemblance to the 47th tale in the Pentamerone of Basile,\n(see Liebrecht's translation, Vol. II, p. 212,) and to Das weise\nUrtheil in Waldau's B\u00f6hmische M\u00e4rchen. In this tale there are three\nrival brothers; one has a magic mirror, another a magic chariot,\na third three magic apples. The first finds out that the lady is\ndesperately ill, the second takes himself and his rivals to her, the\nthird raises her to life. An old man decides that the third should\nhave her, as his apples were consumed as medicine, while the other two\nhave still their chariot and mirror respectively. Oesterley refers us\nto Benfey's articles in Ausland, 1858, pp. 969, 995, 1017, 1038, 1067,\nin which this story is treated in a masterly and exhaustive manner. He\ncompares a story in the Siddhik\u00fcr, No. 1, p. 55, in J\u00fclg's version,\nwhich seems to be the one above referred to in Sagas from the Far\nEast. The 22nd story in the Persian T\u00fat\u00edn\u00e1mah (Iken, p. 93,) which\nis found with little variation in the Turkish T\u00fat\u00edn\u00e1mah (Rosen, II,\np. 165,) closely resembles the story in our text. The only difference\nis that a magic horse does duty for a magic chariot, and the lady is\ncarried away by fairies. There is a story in the T\u00fat\u00edn\u00e1mah which seems\nto be made up of No. 2, No. 5 and No. 21 in this collection. [No. 22,\nin Somadeva.] It is No. 4 in the Persian T\u00fat\u00edn\u00e1mah, (Iken, p. 37,)\nand is also found in the Turkish version, (Rosen I, p. 151.) The\nlady is the work of four companions. A carpenter hews a figure out\nof wood, a goldsmith adorns it with gems, a tailor clothes it, and\na monk animates it with life. They quarrel about her, and lay the\nmatter before a Dervish. He avows that he is her husband. The head of\nthe police does the same, and the Kazi, to whom it is then referred,\ntakes the same line. At last the matter is referred to a divinity,\nand the lady is again reduced to wood. This form is the exaggeration\nof a story in Ardschi Bordschi translated by Benfey in Ausland, 1858,\np. 845, (cp. G\u00f6ttinger gel. Anz. 1858, p. 1517, Benfey's Panchatantra,\nVol. I, p. 490 and ff.) A shepherd boy hews a female figure out of\nwood, a second paints her, a third improves her [by giving her wit and\nunderstanding, according to Sagas from the Far East,] a fourth gives\nher life. Naran D\u00e1kin\u00ed awards her to the last. (Oesterley's Bait\u00e1l\nPach\u00eds\u00ed, pp. 192-194). The story in Ardschi Bordschi will be found\nin Sagas from the Far East, pp. 298-303. The story which Oesterley\nquotes from the T\u00fat\u00edn\u00e1mah is still found in Bannu, as appears from a\nreview of Mr. Thorburn's book in Melusine (1878), p. 179. The reviewer,\nM. Loys Brueyre, tells us that it is found in the Bohemian tales of\nErben under the title, Wisdom and Fortune.\n\n\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER LXXX.\n\n(Vet\u00e1la 6.)\n\n\nThen king Trivikramasena again went to the asoka-tree, and carried\noff from it that Vet\u00e1la on his shoulder, as before, and began to\nreturn with him swiftly in silence. And on the way the Vet\u00e1la again\nsaid to him, \"King, you are wise and brave, therefore I love you,\nso I will tell you an amusing tale, and mark well my question.\"\n\n\n\nStory of the lady who caused her brother and husband to change heads.\n\nThere was a king famous on the earth by the name of Yasahketu, and\nhis capital was a city of the name of Sobh\u00e1vat\u00ed. And in that city\nthere was a splendid temple of Gaur\u00ed, [300] and to the south of it\nthere was a lake, called Gaur\u00edt\u00edrtha. And every year, during a feast\non the fourteenth day of the white fortnight of the month \u00c1sh\u00e1dha,\nlarge crowds came there to bathe from every part of the world. [301]\n\nAnd once there came there to bathe, on that day, a young washerman\nof the name of Dhavala, from a village called Brahmasthala. He saw\nthere the virgin daughter of a man named Suddhapata, a girl called\nMadanasundar\u00ed, who had come to bathe in the sacred water. [302] His\nheart was captivated by that girl who eclipsed the beauty of the\nmoon, and after he had enquired her name and family, he went home\nlove-smitten. There he remained fasting and restless without her,\nbut when his mother asked him the cause, he told her the truth about\nhis desire. [303] She went and told her husband Vimala, and when he\ncame, and saw his son in that state, he said to him, \"Why are you so\ndespondent, my son, about an object so easily attained? Suddhapata\nwill give you his daughter, if I ask him. For we are equal to him\nin family, wealth, and occupation; I know him and he knows me;\nso this is not a difficult matter for me to arrange.\" With these\nwords Vimala comforted his son, and induced him to take food, and\nother refreshments, and the next day he went with him to the house\nof Suddhapata. And there he asked his daughter in marriage for his\nson Dhavala, and Suddhapata courteously promised to give her. And\nso, after ascertaining the auspicious moment, he gave his daughter\nMadanasundar\u00ed, who was of equal birth with Dhavala, in marriage to\nhim the next day. And after Dhavala had been married, he returned\na happy man to his father's house, together with his wife, who had\nfallen in love with him at first sight.\n\nAnd one day, while he was living there in happiness, his\nfather-in-law's son, the brother of Madanasundar\u00ed, came there. All\nreceived him courteously, [304] and his sister embraced him and\nwelcomed him, and his connections asked him how he was, and at last,\nafter he had rested, he said to them, \"I have been sent here by my\nfather, to invite Madanasundar\u00ed and his son-in-law, since we are\nengaged in a festival in honour of the goddess Durg\u00e1.\" And all his\nconnections and their family approved his speech, and entertained\nhim that day with appropriate meats and drinks.\n\nEarly the next day Dhavala set out for his father-in-law's house,\nwith Madanasundar\u00ed and his brother-in-law. And he reached with his\ntwo companions the city of Sobh\u00e1vat\u00ed, and he saw the great temple\nof Durg\u00e1, when he arrived near it; and then he said to his wife\nand brother-in-law, in a fit of pious devotion, \"Come and let us\nvisit the shrine of this awful goddess.\" When the brother-in-law\nheard this, he said to him, in order to dissuade him, \"How can so\nmany of us approach the goddess empty-handed?\" Then Dhavala said,\n\"Let me go alone, and you can wait outside.\" When he had said this,\nhe went off to pay his respects to the goddess.\n\nWhen he had entered her temple, and had worshipped, and had meditated\nupon that goddess, who with her eighteen mighty arms had smitten\nterrible D\u00e1navas, and who had flung under the lotus of her foot and\ntrampled to pieces the Asura Mahisha, a train of pious reflection\nwas produced in his mind by the impulse of Destiny, and he said to\nhimself, \"People worship this goddess with various sacrifices of\nliving creatures, so why should not I, to obtain salvation, appease\nher with the sacrifice of myself?\" After he had said this to himself,\nhe took from her inner shrine, which was empty of worshippers, a\nsword which had been long ago offered to her by some pilgrims, and,\nafter fastening his own head by his hair to the chain of the bell,\nhe cut it off with the sword, and when cut off, it fell on the ground.\n\nAnd his brother-in-law, after waiting a long time, without his having\nreturned, went into that very temple of the goddess to look for\nhim. But when he saw his sister's husband lying there decapitated,\nhe also was bewildered, and he cut off his head in the same way with\nthat very same sword.\n\nAnd when he too did not return, Madanasundar\u00ed was distracted in mind,\nand then she too entered the temple of the goddess. And when she\nhad gone in, and seen her husband and her brother in such a state,\nshe fell on the ground, exclaiming, \"Alas! what is the meaning of\nthis? I am ruined.\" And soon she rose up, and lamented those two\nthat had been so unexpectedly slain, and said to herself, \"Of what\nuse is this life of mine to me now?\" and being eager to abandon the\nbody, she said to that goddess, \"O thou that art the chief divinity\npresiding over blessedness, chastity, and holy rule, though occupying\nhalf the body of thy husband Siva, [305] thou that art the fitting\nrefuge of all women, that takest away grief, why hast thou robbed\nme at once of my brother and my husband? This is not fitting on thy\npart towards me, for I have ever been a faithful votary of thine. So\nhear one piteous appeal from me who fly to thee for protection. I\nam now about to abandon this body which is afflicted with calamity,\nbut grant that in all my future births, whatever they may be, these\ntwo men may be my husband and brother.\"\n\nIn these words she praised and supplicated the goddess, and bowed\nbefore her again, and then she made a noose of a creeper and fastened\nit to an asoka-tree. And while she was stretching out her neck, and\nputting it into the noose, the following words resounded from the\nexpanse of air: \"Do not act rashly, my daughter! I am pleased with\nthe exceeding courage which thou hast displayed, though a mere girl;\nlet this noose be, but join the heads of thy husband and thy brother\nto their bodies, and by virtue of my favour they shall both rise up\nalive.\" [306]\n\nWhen the girl Madanasundar\u00ed heard this, she let the noose drop,\nand went up to the corpses in great delight, but being confused, and\nnot seeing in her excessive eagerness what she was doing, she stuck,\nas fate would have it, her husband's head on to her brother's trunk,\nand her brother's head on to her husband's trunk, and then they both\nrose up alive, with limbs free from wound, but from their heads having\nbeen exchanged their bodies had become mixed together. [307]\n\nThen they told one another what had befallen them, and were happy,\nand after they had worshipped the goddess Durg\u00e1, the three continued\ntheir journey. But Madanasundar\u00ed, as she was going along, saw that\nshe had changed their heads, and she was bewildered and puzzled as\nto what course to take.\n\n\"So tell me, king, which of the two people, thus mixed together, was\nher husband; and if you know and do not tell, the curse previously\ndenounced shall fall on you!\" When king Trivikramasena heard this\ntale and this question from the Vet\u00e1la, he answered him as follows:\n\"That one of the two, on whom her husband's head was fixed, was her\nhusband, for the head is the chief of the limbs, and personal identity\ndepends upon it.\" When the king had said this, the Vet\u00e1la again left\nhis shoulder unperceived, and the king again set out to fetch him.\n\n\n\nNOTE.\n\nOesterley remarks that the Hindi version of this story has been\ntranslated into French by Garcin de Tassy in the Journal des Savants,\n1836, p. 415, and by Lancereau in the Journal Asiatique, Ser. 4,\nTom. 19, pp. 390-395. In the T\u00fat\u00edn\u00e1mah, (Persian, No. 24, in Iken,\nNo. 102; Turkish, Rosen, II, p. 169) the washerman is replaced by\nan Indian prince, his friend by a priest, and the rest is the same\nas in our text. That Goethe took that part of his Legende, which is\nbased on this tale, from Iken's translation, has been shewn by Benfey\nin Orient und Occident, Vol. I, p. 719. (Oesterley's Bait\u00e1l Pach\u00eds\u00ed,\npp. 195, 196.)\n\n\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER LXXXI.\n\n\nThen king Trivikramasena went back to the asoka-tree, and again found\nthe Vet\u00e1la there, and took him on his shoulder. As he was going along\nwith him, the Vet\u00e1la said to him on the way, \"King, listen to me,\nI will tell you a story to make you forget your fatigue.\"\n\n\n\nStory of the king who married his dependent to the Nereid.\n\nThere is a city on the shore of the eastern sea, named T\u00e1mralipt\u00ed;\nin that city there was a king of the name of Chandasinha; he turned\naway his face from the wives of others, but not from battle-fields;\nhe carried off the fortune of his foes, but not the wealth of his\nneighbours.\n\nOnce on a time a popular R\u00e1jp\u00fat of the Dekkan, named Sattvas\u00edla, came\nto the palace-gate of that king. And he announced himself, and then,\non account of his poverty, he and some other R\u00e1jp\u00fats tore a ragged\ngarment in the presence of that king. Thus he became a dependent,\n[308] and remained there for many years perpetually serving the king,\nbut he never received any reward from him. And he said to himself, \"If\nI have been born in a royal race, why am I so poor? And considering my\npoverty is so great, why did the Creator make my ambition so vast? For\nthough I serve the king so diligently, and my followers are sorely\nafflicted, and I have long been pining with hunger, he has never,\nup to the present time, deigned to notice me.\"\n\nWhile such were the reflections of the dependent, the king one day went\nout to hunt. And he went, surrounded with horses and footmen, to the\nforest of wild beasts, while his dependent ran in front of him bearing\na stick. And after he had hunted for some time, he followed up closely\na boar that had escaped, and soon he reached another distant wood. And\nin that vast jungle, where the path was obscured with leaves and grass,\nthe king lost the boar, and he became exhausted, and was unable to find\nhis way. And the dependent was the only one that kept up with him,\nrunning on foot, regardless of his own life, tortured with hunger\nand thirst, though the king was mounted upon a horse swift as the\nwind. And the king, when he saw that the dependent had followed him,\nin spite of his being in such a condition, said to him in a kind voice,\n\"Do you know the way by which we came?\" When the dependent heard that,\nhe put his hands together in an attitude of supplication, and said,\n\"I do know it, but let my lord rest here for some time. For the sun,\nwhich is the centre-jewel of the girdle of the sky-bride, is now\nburning fiercely with all its rays flickering forth.\" When the king\nheard this, he said to him graciously, \"Then see if you can find water\nanywhere here.\" The dependent said, \"I will,\" and he climbed up a\nhigh tree, and saw a river, and then he came down again, and led the\nking to it. And he took the saddle off his horse, and let him roll,\nand gave him water and mouthfuls of grass, and so refreshed him. And\nwhen the king had bathed, he brought out of a corner of his garment\ndelicious [309] \u00e1malaka fruits, and washed them, and gave them to\nhim. And when the king asked where he got them, he said to him kneeling\nwith the \u00e1malakas in his hand, \"Ten years have now passed since I,\nliving continually on these fruits, have been performing, in order\nto propitiate my sovereign, the vow of a hermit that does not dwell\nin solitude.\" When the king heard that, he answered him, \"It cannot\nbe denied that you are rightly named Sattvas\u00edla.\" And being filled\nwith compassion and shame, he said to himself; \"Fie on kings who do\nnot see who among their servants is comfortable or miserable, and fie\non their courtiers who do not inform them of such matters!\" Such were\nthe king's thoughts, but he was at last induced by the importunity of\nthe dependent to take two \u00e1malakas from him. And after eating them and\ndrinking water, he rested for a while in the company of the dependent,\nhaving satiated his hunger and thirst on fruits and water.\n\nThen his dependent got his horse ready, and he mounted it, and the\ndependent went in front of him to shew him the way, but however\nmuch the king entreated him, he would not get up on the horse behind\nhim, and so the king returned to his own city, meeting his army on\nthe way. There he proclaimed the devotion of the dependent, and he\nloaded him with wealth and territories, and did not consider even\nthen that he had recompensed him as he deserved. Then Sattvas\u00edla\nbecame a prosperous man, and discarding the life of a dependent,\nhe remained henceforth about the person of king Chandasinha.\n\nAnd one day the king sent him to the island of Ceylon, to demand\nfor him the hand of the king's daughter. He had to go there by sea;\nso he worshipped his patron divinity, and went on board a ship with\nthe Br\u00e1hmans, whom the king appointed to accompany him. And when the\nship had gone half-way, there suddenly rose from the sea a banner\nthat excited the wonder of all in the ship. It was so lofty that\nits top touched the clouds, it was made of gold, and emblazoned\nlike a waving flag of various hues. And at that very moment a bank\nof clouds suddenly arose, and began to pour down rain, and a mighty\nwind blew. And the ship was forced on to that flag by the rain and\nthe wind, and thus fastened to it, as elephant-drivers force on an\nelephant and bind him to a post. And then the flag began to sink with\nthe ship in the billowy sea.\n\nAnd then the Br\u00e1hmans in the ship, distracted with fear, called on\ntheir king Chandasinha, crying out for help. And when Sattvas\u00edla heard\ntheir cries, so great was his devotion to his master that he could not\nrestrain himself, but with his sword in his hand, and his upper garment\ngirded round him, the brave fellow daringly plunged into the billows,\nfollowing the flag, in order to counteract the violence of the sea,\nnot suspecting the real cause. And as soon as he had plunged in,\nthat ship was carried to a distance by the wind and waves, and all\nthe people, who were in it, fell into the mouths of the sea-monsters.\n\nAnd when Sattvas\u00edla, who had fallen into the sea, began to look\nabout him, he found that he was in a splendid city, [310] but he\ncould not see the sea anywhere. That city glittered with palaces of\ngold supported on pillars of jewels, and was adorned with gardens in\nwhich were tanks with steps of precious gems, and in it he beheld the\ntemple of Durg\u00e1, lofty as mount Meru, with many walls of costly stone,\nand with a soaring banner studded with jewels. There he prostrated\nhimself before the goddess, and praised her with a hymn, and sat down\nwondering whether it was all the effect of enchantment.\n\nAnd in the meanwhile a heavenly maiden suddenly opened a door,\nand issued from a bright enclosure in front of the temple of the\ngoddess. Her eyes were like blue lotuses, her face full-blown,\nher smile like a flower, her body was soft like the taper fibre of\na water-lily's root, so that she resembled a moving lotus-lake. And\nwaited on by a thousand ladies, she entered the inner shrine of the\ngoddess and the heart of Sattvas\u00edla at the same time. And after she\nhad worshipped, she left the inner shrine of the goddess, but nothing\nwould make her leave the heart of Sattvas\u00edla. And she entered once\nmore into the shining enclosure, and Sattvas\u00edla entered after her.\n\nAnd when he had entered, he beheld another splendid city, which seemed\nlike a garden where all the enjoyments of the world had agreed to\nmeet. In it Sattvas\u00edla saw that maiden sitting on a couch studded\nwith gems, and he went up to her, and sat down by her side. And he\nremained with his eyes fixed on her face, like a man in a painting,\nexpressing his passion by his trembling limbs, the hairs on which\nstood erect. And when she saw that he was enamoured of her, she\nlooked at the faces of her attendants, and then they, understanding\nthe expression of her face, said to him, \"You have arrived here as\na guest, so enjoy the hospitality provided by our mistress, rise up,\nbathe, and then take food.\" When he heard that, he entertained some\nhope, and he rose up, though not without a struggle, and he went to\na tank in the garden which they shewed him. And the moment that he\nplunged into it, he rose up, to his astonishment, in the middle of a\ntank in the garden of king Chandasinha in T\u00e1mralipt\u00ed. [311] And seeing\nhimself suddenly arrived there, he said to himself, \"Alas! what is the\nmeaning of this? Now I am in this garden, and a moment ago I was in\nthat splendid city; I have exchanged in an instant the nectarous vision\nof that fair one for the grievous poison of separation from her. But\nit was not a dream, for I saw it all clearly in a waking state. It\nis clear that I was beguiled like a fool by those maidens of P\u00e1t\u00e1la.\"\n\nThus reflecting, he wandered about in that garden like a madman,\nbeing deprived of that maiden, and wept in the anguish of disappointed\npassion. And the gardeners, when they beheld him in that state, with\nbody covered with the yellow pollen of flowers wafted by the wind,\nas if with the fires of separation, went and told king Chandasinha,\nand he, being bewildered, came himself and saw him; and after calming\nhim, he said to him, \"Tell me, my friend; what is the meaning of all\nthis? You set out for one place and reached another, your arrows have\nnot struck the mark at which they were aimed.\" When Sattvas\u00edla heard\nthat, he told the king all his adventures, and he, when he heard them,\nsaid to himself, \"Strange to say, though this man is a hero, he has,\nhappily for me, [312] been beguiled by love, and I now have it in my\npower to discharge my debt of gratitude to him.\" So the brave king said\nto him, \"Abandon now your needless grief, for I will conduct you by\nthe same course into the presence of that beloved Asura maiden.\" With\nthese words the king comforted him, and refreshed him with a bath\nand other restoratives.\n\nThe next day the king entrusted the kingdom to his ministers,\nand embarking on a ship, set out on the sea with Sattvas\u00edla, who\nshewed him the way. And when they had got to that half-way spot,\nSattvas\u00edla saw the wonderful flagstaff rising out of the sea with\nthe banner on it, as before, and he said to the king, \"Here is that\ngreat flagstaff with such wonderful properties, towering aloft out of\nthe sea: I must plunge in here, and then the king must plunge in also\nand dive down after the flagstaff.\" After Sattvas\u00edla had said this,\nthey got near the flagstaff, and it began to sink. And Sattvas\u00edla\nfirst threw himself in after it, and then the king also dived in\nthe same direction, and soon after they had plunged in, they reached\nthat splendid city. And there the king beheld with astonishment and\nworshipped that goddess P\u00e1rvat\u00ed, and sat down with Sattvas\u00edla.\n\nAnd in the meanwhile there issued from that glittering enclosure a\nmaiden, accompanied by her attendant ladies, looking like the quality\nof brightness in concrete form. Sattvas\u00edla said, \"This is that fair\none,\" and the king, beholding her, considered that his attachment to\nher was amply justified. She, for her part, when she beheld that king\nwith all the auspicious bodily marks, said to herself, \"Who can this\nexceedingly distinguished man be?\" And so she went into the temple of\nDurg\u00e1 to pray, and the king contemptuously went off to the garden,\ntaking Sattvas\u00edla with him. And in a short time the Daitya maiden\ncame out from the inner shrine of the goddess, having finished her\ndevotions, and having prayed that she might obtain a good husband;\nand after she had come out, she said to one of her attendants,\n\"My friend, go and see where that distinguished man is whom I saw;\nand entreat him to do us the favour of coming and accepting our\nhospitality, for he is some great hero deserving special honour.\" When\nthe attendant had received this order, she went and looked for him,\nand bending low, delivered to him in the garden the message of her\nmistress. Then the heroic king answered in a carelessly negligent\ntone, \"This garden is sufficient entertainment for me: what other\nentertainment do I require?\" When that attendant came and reported\nthis answer to the Daitya maiden, she considered that the king was\na man of a noble spirit and deserving of the highest regard.\n\nAnd then the Asura maiden, (being, as it were, drawn towards himself\nwith the cord of his self-command by the king, who shewed a lofty\nindifference for hospitality far above mortal desert,) went in person\nto the garden, thinking that he had been sent her by way of a husband,\nas a fruit of her adoration of Durg\u00e1. And the trees seemed to honour\nher, as she approached, with the songs of various birds, with their\ncreepers bending in the wind like arms, and showers of blossoms. And\nshe approached the king and bowing courteously before him, entreated\nhim to accept of her hospitality. Then the king pointed to Sattvas\u00edla,\nand said to her, \"I came here to worship the image of the goddess of\nwhich this man told me. I have reached her marvellous temple, guided\nto it by the banner, and have seen the goddess, and after that, you;\nwhat other hospitality do I require?\" When the maiden heard that, she\nsaid, \"Then come, out of curiosity, to see my second city, which is\nthe wonder of the three worlds.\" When she said this, the king laughed\nand said, \"Oh! he told me of this also, the place where there is the\ntank to bathe in.\" Then the maiden said, \"King, do not speak thus,\nI am not of a deceitful disposition, and who would think of cheating\none so worthy of respect? I have been made the slave of you both by\nyour surpassing excellence; so you ought not thus to reject my offer.\"\n\nWhen the king heard this, he consented, and taking Sattvas\u00edla with\nhim, he accompanied the maiden to that glittering enclosure. And the\ndoor of it was opened, and she conducted him in, and then he beheld\nthat other splendid city of hers. The trees in it were ever producing\nflowers and fruits, for all seasons were present there at the same\ntime; [313] and the city was all composed of gold and jewels like the\npeak of mount Meru. And the Daitya maiden made the king sit down on\na priceless jewelled throne, and offered him the arghya in due form,\nand said to him, \"I am the daughter of K\u00e1lanemi the high-souled\nking of the Asuras, but my father was sent to heaven by Vishnu, the\ndiscus-armed god. And these two cities, which I inherit from my father,\nare the work of Visvakarman; they furnish all that heart can wish,\nand old age and death never invade them. But now I look upon you as a\nfather, and I, with my cities, am at your disposal.\" When she had in\nthese words placed herself and all that she possessed at the king's\ndisposal, he said to her, \"If this be so, then I give you, excellent\ndaughter, to another, to the hero Sattvas\u00edla, who is my friend and\nrelation.\" When the king, who seemed to be the favour of the goddess\nDurg\u00e1 in bodily form, said this, the maiden, who understood excellence\nwhen she saw it, acquiesced submissively. When Sattvas\u00edla had attained\nthe wish of his heart by marrying that Asura maiden, and had had the\nsovereignty of those cities bestowed on him, the king said to him,\n\"Now I have repaid you for one of those \u00e1malakas which I ate, but\nI am still indebted to you for the second, for which I have never\nrecompensed you.\" When the king had said this to Sattvas\u00edla, who\nbowed before him, he said to that Daitya maiden, \"Now shew me the\nway to my own city.\" Then the Daitya maiden gave him a sword named\n\"Invincible,\" and a fruit to eat, which was a remedy against old age\nand death, and with these he plunged into the tank which she pointed\nout, and the next thing that happened to him was, that he rose up in\nhis own land with all his wishes gratified. And Sattvas\u00edla ruled as\nking over the cities of the Daitya princess.\n\n\"Now tell me: which of those two shewed most courage in plunging into\nthe water?\" When the Vet\u00e1la put this question to the king, the latter,\nfearing to be cursed, thus answered him; \"I consider Sattvas\u00edla the\nbraver man of the two, for he plunged into the sea without knowing\nthe real state of the case, and without any hope, but the king knew\nwhat the circumstances were when he plunged in, and had something to\nlook forward to, and he did not fall in love with the Asura princess,\nbecause he thought no longing would win her.\" When the Vet\u00e1la received\nthis answer from the king, who thereby broke silence, he left his\nshoulder, as before, and fled to his place on the asoka-tree. And\nthe king, as before, followed him quickly to bring him back again;\nfor the wise never flag in an enterprise which they have begun,\nuntil it is finished.\n\n\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER LXXXII.\n\n(Vet\u00e1la 8.)\n\n\nThen king Trivikramasena returned to the asoka-tree, and again caught\nthe Vet\u00e1la, and put him on his shoulder, and set out with him. And as\nhe was going along, the Vet\u00e1la again said to him from his shoulder,\n\"King, in order that you may forget your toil, listen to this question\nof mine.\"\n\n\n\nStory of the three fastidious men.\n\nThere is a great tract of land assigned to Br\u00e1hmans in the country of\nAnga, called Vrikshaghata. In it there lived a rich sacrificing Br\u00e1hman\nnamed Vishnusv\u00e1min. And he had a wife equal to himself in birth. And\nby her he had three sons born to him, who were distinguished for\npreternatural acuteness. In course of time they grew up to be young\nmen. One day, when he had begun a sacrifice, he sent those three\nbrothers to the sea to fetch a turtle. So off they went, and when they\nhad found a turtle, the eldest said to his two brothers,--\"Let one\nof you take the turtle for our father's sacrifice, I cannot take it,\nas it is all slippery with slime.\" When the eldest brother said this,\nthe two younger ones answered him, \"If you hesitate about taking it,\nwhy should not we?\" When the eldest heard that, he said, \"You two must\ntake the turtle; if you do not, you will have obstructed our father's\nsacrifice; and then you and he will certainly sink down to hell.\" When\nhe told the younger brothers this, they laughed, and said to him,\n\"If you see our duty so clearly, why do you not see that your own is\nthe same?\" Then the eldest said, \"What, do you not know how fastidious\nI am? I am very fastidious about eating, and I cannot be expected\nto touch what is repulsive.\" The middle brother, when he heard this\nspeech of his, said to his brother,--\"Then I am a more fastidious\nperson than you, for I am a most fastidious connoisseur of the fair\nsex.\" When the middle one said this, the eldest went on to say,\n\"Then let the younger of you two take the turtle!\" Then the youngest\nbrother frowned, and in his turn said to the two elder, \"You fools, I\nam very fastidious about beds, so I am the most fastidious of the lot.\"\n\nSo the three brothers fell to quarrelling with one another, and being\ncompletely under the dominion of conceit, they left that turtle and\nwent off immediately to the court of the king of that country, whose\nname was Prasenajit, and who lived in a city named Vitankapura, in\norder to have the dispute decided. There they had themselves announced\nby the warder, and went in, and gave the king a circumstantial account\nof their case. The king said, \"Wait here, and I will put you all in\nturn to the proof:\" so they agreed and remained there. And at the\ntime that the king took his meal, he had them conducted to a seat of\nhonour, and given delicious food fit for a king, possessing all the\nsix flavours. And while all were feasting around him, the Br\u00e1hman,\nwho was fastidious about eating, alone of all the company did not\neat, but sat there with his face puckered up with disgust. The king\nhimself asked the Br\u00e1hman why he did not eat his food, though it was\nsweet and fragrant, and he slowly answered him, \"I perceive in this\ncooked rice an evil smell of the reek from corpses, so I cannot bring\nmyself to eat it, however delicious it may be.\" When he said this\nbefore the assembled multitude, they all smelled it by the king's\norders, and said, \"This food is prepared from white rice and is good\nand fragrant.\" But the Br\u00e1hman, who was so fastidious about eating,\nwould not touch it, but stopped his nose. Then the king reflected, and\nproceeded to enquire into the matter, and found out from his officers\n[314], that the food had been made from rice which had been grown in\na field near the burning-gh\u00e1t of a certain village. Then the king\nwas much astonished, and being pleased, he said to him, \"In truth\nyou are very particular as to what you eat; so eat of some other dish.\"\n\nAnd after they had finished their dinner, the king dismissed the\nBr\u00e1hmans to their apartments, and sent for the loveliest lady of\nhis court. And in the evening he sent that fair one, all whose limbs\nwere of faultless beauty, splendidly adorned, to the second Br\u00e1hman,\nwho was so squeamish about the fair sex. And that matchless kindler\nof Cupid's flame, with a face like the full moon of midnight, went,\nescorted by the king's servants, to the chamber of the Br\u00e1hman. But\nwhen she entered, lighting up the chamber with her brightness, that\ngentleman, who was so fastidious about the fair sex, felt quite faint,\nand stopping his nose with his left hand, said to the king's servants,\n\"Take her away; if you do not, I am a dead man, a smell comes from\nher like that of a goat.\" When the king's servants heard this,\nthey took the bewildered fair one to their sovereign, and told him\nwhat had taken place. And the king immediately had the squeamish\ngentleman sent for, and said to him, \"How can this lovely woman,\nwho has perfumed herself with sandal-wood, camphor, black aloes,\nand other splendid scents, so that she diffuses exquisite fragrance\nthrough the whole world, smell like a goat?\" But though the king used\nthis argument with the squeamish gentleman, he stuck to his point;\nand then the king began to have his doubts on the subject, and at last\nby artfully framed questions he elicited from the lady herself, that,\nhaving been separated in her childhood from her mother and nurse,\nshe had been brought up on goat's milk.\n\nThen the king was much astonished, and praised highly the discernment\nof the man who was fastidious about the fair sex, and immediately had\ngiven to the third Br\u00e1hman who was fastidious about beds, in accordance\nwith his taste, a bed composed of seven mattresses placed upon a\nbedstead. White smooth sheets and coverlets were laid upon the bed,\nand the fastidious man slept on it in a splendid room. But, before\nhalf a watch of the night had passed, he rose up from that bed, with\nhis hand pressed to his side, screaming in an agony of pain. And the\nking's officers, who were there, saw a red crooked mark on his side,\nas if a hair had been pressed deep into it. And they went and told\nthe king, and the king said to them, \"Look and see if there is not\nsomething under the mattresses.\" So they went and examined the bottom\nof the mattresses one by one, and they found a hair in the middle of\nthe bedstead underneath them all. And they took it and shewed it to\nthe king, and they also brought the man who was fastidious about beds,\nand when the king saw the state of his body, he was astonished. And\nhe spent the whole night in wondering how a hair could have made so\ndeep an impression on his skin through seven mattresses.\n\nAnd the next morning the king gave three hundred thousand gold pieces\nto those three fastidious men, because they were persons of wonderful\ndiscernment and refinement. And they remained in great comfort in\nthe king's court, forgetting all about the turtle, and little did\nthey reck of the fact that they had incurred sin by obstructing their\nfather's sacrifice.\n\nWhen the Vet\u00e1la, seated on the shoulder of the king, had told him\nthis wonderful tale, he again asked him a question in the following\nwords, \"King, remember the curse I previously denounced, and tell me\nwhich was the most fastidious of these three, who were respectively\nfastidious about eating, the fair sex, and beds?\" When the wise king\nheard this, he gave the Vet\u00e1la the following answer, \"I consider the\nman who was fastidious about beds, in whose case imposition was out of\nthe question, the most fastidious of the three, for the mark produced\nby the hair was seen conspicuously manifest on his body, whereas the\nother two may have previously acquired their information from some\none else.\" When the king said this, the Vet\u00e1la left his shoulder,\nas before, and the king again went in quest of him, as before,\nwithout being at all depressed.\n\n\n\nNOTE.\n\nThe above story resembles No. 2, in the Cento Novelle Antiche, and one\nin the Addition to the Arabian tales published by Mr. Scott. (Dunlop's\nHistory of Fiction, Vol. I, p. 415; Liebrecht's translation, p. 212\nand note 282.) See also Liebrecht, Zur Volkskunde, p. 203. In the\nCento Novelle Antiche a prisoner informs the king of Greece, that a\nhorse has been suckled by a she-ass, that a jewel contains a worm,\nand that the king himself is the son of a baker.\n\nThe incident of the mattress reminds one of the test applied by the\nqueen to her son's wife in \"The Palace that stood on Golden Pillars,\"\n(Thorpe's Yuletide Stories, p. 64). In order to find out whether her\ndaughter-in-law is of high birth, she puts first a bean, then peas,\nunder her pillow. The prince's wife, who is really the daughter of\na peasant, is apprised of the stratagem by her cat, which resembles\nWhittington's. Rohde in his Griechische Novellistik, p. 62, compares\na story told by Aelian about the Sybarite Smindyrides, who slept on a\nbed of rose-leaves and got up in the morning covered with blisters. He\nalso quotes from the Chronicle of Tabari a story of a princess who\nwas made to bleed by a rose-leaf lying in her bed. Oesterley refers\nus to Babington's Vet\u00e1la Cadai, p. 33, and the Chevalier de Mailly's\nversion of the three Princes of Serendip. The three are sitting at\ntable, and eating a leg of lamb, sent with some splendid wine from\nthe table of the Emperor Behram. The eldest maintains that the wine\nwas made of grapes that grew in a cemetery, the second that the lamb\nwas brought up on dog's milk, the third says that the emperor had put\nto death the vazir's son, and the latter was bent on vengeance. All\nthree statements turn out to be well-grounded. There are parallel\nstories in the 1001 Nights (Breslau). In Night 458 it is similarly\nconjectured that the bread was baked by a sick woman, that the kid was\nsuckled by a bitch, and that the Sultan is illegitimate. In Night 459\na gem-cutter guesses that a jewel has an internal flaw, a man skilled\nin the pedigrees of horses divines that a horse is the offspring of a\nfemale buffalo, and a man skilled in human pedigrees that the mother\nof the favourite queen was a rope-dancer. Cp. also the decisions of\nHamlet in Saxo Grammaticus, 1839, p. 138, in Simrock's Quellen des\nShakespeare, 1, 81-85; 5, 170; he lays down that some bread tastes\nof blood, (the corn was grown on a battle-field), that some liquor\ntastes of iron, (the malt was mixed with water taken from a well,\nin which some rusty swords had lain), that some bacon tastes of\ncorpses, (the pig had eaten a corpse), lastly that the king is a\nservant and his wife a serving-maid. Oesterley refers also to the\nbeginning of Donatus' life of Virgil, and to Heraclius Von Otte,\nalso to the parallels quoted above from Liebrecht. The brother,\nwho was so fastidious about beds, may be compared with a princess\nin Andersen's Tale of \"The Princess on a pea,\" Gesammelte M\u00e4rchen,\nPart III, 8, 62, (Leipzig, 1847). This is identical with a tale found\nin Cavallius' Schwedische Volkssagen und M\u00e4rchen, German version,\nVienna, 1848, p. 222, which resembles No. 182 in the older editions\nof Grimm's Kinderm\u00e4rchen. (Andersen's story is clearly the same as\nThorpe's referred to above.) Nearly akin is Diocletian's test in the\nSeven Wise Masters. His masters put an ash-leaf under the bed; and he\nremarks, \"Either the floor has risen, or the roof sunk.\" (Oesterley,\np. 215.) In the version in Simrock's Deutsche Volksb\u00fccher, Vol. XII,\np. 122, it is an ivy-leaf. See also Ellis's Metrical Romances, p. 412.\n\n\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER LXXXIII.\n\n(Vet\u00e1la 9.)\n\n\nSo king Trivikramasena again went to the asoka-tree, and taking the\nVet\u00e1la down from it, placed him on his shoulder, and set out. Then\nthe Vet\u00e1la said to him; \"King, this wandering about in a cemetery at\nnight is inconsistent with your kingly rank. Do you not see that this\nplace of the dead [315] is full of ghosts, and terrible at night,\nand full of darkness as of the smoke of funeral pyres. Alas! what\ntenacity you display in this undertaking you have engaged in, to\nplease that mendicant! So listen to this question from me which will\nrender your journey more agreeable.\"\n\n\n\nStory of Anangarati and her four suitors.\n\nThere is in Avanti a city built by gods at the beginning of the world,\nwhich is limitless as the body of Siva, and renowned for enjoyment\nand prosperity, even as his body is adorned with the snake's hood and\nashes. [316] It was called Padm\u00e1vat\u00ed in the Krita Yuga, Bhogavat\u00ed in\nthe Tret\u00e1 Yuga, Hiranyavat\u00ed in the Dv\u00e1para Yuga, and Ujjayin\u00ed in the\nKali Yuga. And in it there lived an excellent king, named V\u00edradeva,\nand he had a queen named Padmarati. The king went with her to the\nbank of the Mand\u00e1kin\u00ed, and propitiated Siva with austerities, in\norder to obtain a son. And after he had remained a long time engaged\nin austerities, he performed the ceremonies of bathing and praying,\nand then he heard this voice from heaven, uttered by Siva, who was\npleased with him, \"King, there shall be born to thee a brave son to\nbe the head of thy family, and a daughter, who with her matchless\nbeauty shall put to shame the nymphs of heaven.\" When king V\u00edradeva\nhad heard this voice from heaven, he returned to his city with his\nconsort, having gained all he desired.\n\nThere he first had a son born to him named S\u00faradeva, and after a\ntime queen Padmarati gave birth to a daughter. And her father gave\nher the name of Anangarati, on the ground that she was beautiful\nenough to inspire love in the breast of Cupid. And, when she grew up,\nin his desire to procure for her a suitable husband, he had brought\nthe portraits of all the kings of the earth, painted on canvas. And\nas no one of them seemed a match for her, he said to his daughter,\nin his tenderness for her; \"I cannot find a suitable match for you,\nmy daughter, so summon all the kings of the earth, and select your\nown husband.\" When the princess heard that, she said to her father,\n\"My father, I am too modest to select my own husband, but I must\nbe given in marriage to a good-looking young man, who is a perfect\nmaster of one art; I do not want any other better man.\"\n\nWhen the king heard this speech of his daughter Anangarati, he\nproceeded to search for a young man, such as she had described, and\nwhile he was thus engaged, there came to him from the Dekkan four\nmagnificent men, brave and skilful, who had heard from the people\nwhat was going on. Those four suitors for the hand of the princess\nwere received with respect by the king, and one after another they\ntold to him in her presence their respective acquirements.\n\nThe first said; \"I am a S\u00fadra, Panchaphuttika by name; I make every day\nfive splendid pairs of garments: The first of them I give to my god,\nand the second to a Br\u00e1hman, the third I retain for my own wearing,\n[317] the fourth I should give to my wife, if this maid here were to\nbecome my wife, the fifth I sell, and procure myself meat and drink:\nas I possess this art, let Anangarati be given to me.\"\n\nWhen he had said this, the second man said, \"I am a Vaisya, Bh\u00e1sh\u00e1jna\nby name, I know the speech of all beasts and birds; [318] so let the\nprincess be given to me.\"\n\nWhen the second had said this, the third said, \"I am a Kshatriya king,\nby name Khadgadhara, renowned for might of arm: my equal in the art\nof swordsmanship does not exist upon the earth, so bestow this maiden\non me, O king.\"\n\nWhen the third had said this, the fourth said, \"I am a Br\u00e1hman,\nnamed J\u00edvadatta, and I possess the following art; I can restore to\nlife dead creatures, and exhibit them alive; [319] so let this maiden\nobtain for a husband me, who am renowned for daring exploits.\"\n\nWhen they had thus spoken, the king V\u00edradeva, with his daughter\nby his side, seeing that they were like gods in shape and dress,\nremained lost in doubt.\n\nWhen the Vet\u00e1la had told this story, he said to king Trivikramasena,\nmenacing him with the before-mentioned curse, \"So tell me, king,\nto which of these four ought the maiden Anangarati to be given?\"\n\nWhen the king heard this, he gave the Vet\u00e1la the following answer;\n\"You are thus repeatedly making me break silence simply in order to\nwaste time; otherwise, master of magic, how could you possibly ask\nsuch an absurd question? How can a woman of Kshatriya caste be given\nto a S\u00fadra weaver? Moreover, how can a Kshatriya woman be given to a\nVaisya? And as to the power of understanding the language of beasts\nand birds, which he possesses, what is the practical use of it? And\nas for the third, the Br\u00e1hman, who fancies himself such a hero, of\nwhat worth is he, as he is a sorcerer, and degraded by abandoning the\nduties of his caste? Accordingly the maiden should be given to the\nfourth suitor, the Kshatriya Khadgadhara, who is of the same caste\nand distinguished for his skill and valour.\"\n\nWhen the Vet\u00e1la heard this, he left the king's shoulder, as before,\nand quickly returned by the power of his magic to his own place,\nand the king again pursued him, as before, to recover him, for\ndespondency never penetrates into a hero's heart, that is cased in\narmour of fortitude.\n\n\n\nNOTE.\n\nThis story is found on page 498 and ff of Vol. I. It bears a close\nresemblance to Tale 5, and many of the parallels there quoted are\napplicable to it. In the 47th tale of the Pentamerone of Basile,\nthe sons boast of their accomplishments in a very similar manner.\n\n\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER LXXXIV.\n\n(Vet\u00e1la 10.)\n\n\nThen Trivikramasena went and took the Vet\u00e1la from the asoka-tree, and\nput him on his shoulder once more, and set out; and as he was going\nalong, the Vet\u00e1la said from the top of his shoulder, \"You are weary,\nking, so listen to this tale that is capable of dispelling weariness.\"\n\n\n\nStory of Madanasen\u00e1 and her rash promise.\n\nThere was an excellent king of the name of V\u00edrab\u00e1hu, who imposed\nhis orders on the heads of all kings: he had a splendid city named\nAnangapura, and in it there lived a rich merchant, named Arthadatta;\nthat merchant prince had for elder child a son named Dhanadatta,\nand his younger child was a pearl of maidens, named Madanasen\u00e1.\n\nOne day, as she was playing with her companions in her own garden,\na young merchant, named Dharmadatta, a friend of her brother's,\nsaw her. When he saw that maiden, who with the full streams of her\nbeauty, her breasts like pitchers half-revealed, and three wrinkles\nlike waves, resembled a lake for the elephant of youth to plunge in\nin sport, he was at once robbed of his senses by the arrows of love,\nthat fell upon him in showers. He thought to himself, \"Alas, this\nmaiden, illuminated with this excessive beauty, has been framed by\nM\u00e1ra, as a keen arrow to cleave asunder my heart.\" While, engaged in\nsuch reflections, he watched her long, the day passed away for him,\nas if he were a chakrav\u00e1ka. Then Madanasen\u00e1 entered her house, and\ngrief at no longer beholding her entered the breast of Dharmadatta. And\nthe sun sank red into the western main, as if inflamed with the fire\nof grief at seeing her no more. And the moon, that was surpassed by\nthe lotus of her countenance, knowing that that fair-faced one had\ngone in for the night, slowly mounted upward.\n\nIn the meanwhile Dharmadatta went home, and thinking upon that\nfair one, he remained tossing to and fro on his bed, smitten by\nthe rays of the moon. And though his friends and relations eagerly\nquestioned him, he gave them no answer, being bewildered by the demon\nof love. And in the course of the night he at length fell asleep,\nthough with difficulty, and still he seemed to behold and court that\nloved one in a dream; to such lengths did his longing carry him. And\nin the morning he woke up, and went and saw her once more in that very\ngarden, alone and in privacy, waiting for her attendant. So he went\nup to her, longing to embrace her, and falling at her feet, he tried\nto coax her with words tender from affection. But she said to him with\ngreat earnestness, \"I am a maiden, betrothed to another, I cannot now\nbe yours, for my father has bestowed me on the merchant Samudradatta,\nand I am to be married in a few days. So depart quietly, let not any\none see you; it might cause mischief.\" But Dharmadatta said to her,\n\"Happen what may, I cannot live without you.\" When the merchant's\ndaughter heard this, she was afraid that he would use force to her,\nso she said to him, \"Let my marriage first be celebrated here, let\nmy father reap the long-desired fruit of bestowing a daughter in\nmarriage; then I will certainly visit you, for your love has gained\nmy heart.\" When he heard this, he said, \"I love not a woman that has\nbeen embraced by another man; does the bee delight in a lotus on which\nanother bee has settled?\" When he said this to her, she replied,\n\"Then I will visit you as soon as I am married, and afterwards I\nwill go to my husband.\" But though she made this promise, he would\nnot let her go without further assurance, so the merchant's daughter\nconfirmed the truth of her promise with an oath. Then he let her go,\nand she entered her house in low spirits.\n\nAnd when the lucky day had arrived, and the auspicious ceremony of\nmarriage had taken place, she went to her husband's house and spent\nthat day in merriment, and then retired with him. But she repelled her\nhusband's caresses with indifference, and when he began to coax her,\nshe burst into tears. He thought to himself, \"Of a truth she cares\nnot for me,\" and said to her, \"Fair one, if you do not love me, I do\nnot want you; go to your darling, whoever he may be.\" When she heard\nthis, she said slowly, with downcast face, \"I love you more than my\nlife, but hear what I have to say. Rise up cheerfully, and promise\nme immunity from punishment; take an oath to that effect, my husband,\nin order that I may tell you.\"\n\nWhen she said this, her husband reluctantly consented, and then she\nwent on to say with shame, despondency, and fear; \"A young man of\nthe name of Dharmadatta, a friend of my brother's, saw me once alone\nin our garden, and smitten with love he detained me; and when he was\npreparing to use force, I being anxious to secure for my father the\nmerit of giving a daughter in marriage, and to avoid all scandal, made\nthis agreement with him; 'When I am married, I will pay you a visit,\nbefore I go to my husband;' so I must now keep my word, permit me,\nmy husband; I will pay him a visit first, and then return to you,\nfor I cannot transgress the law of truth which I have observed from my\nchildhood.\" When Samudradatta had been thus suddenly smitten by this\nspeech of hers, as by a down-lighting thunderbolt, being bound by the\nnecessity of keeping his word, he reflected for a moment as follows;\n\"Alas! she is in love with another man, she must certainly go; why\nshould I make her break her word? Let her depart! Why should I be so\neager to have her for a wife?\" After he had gone through this train\nof thought, he gave her leave to go where she would; and she rose up,\nand left her husband's house.\n\nIn the meanwhile the cold-rayed moon ascended the great eastern\nmountain, as it were the roof of a palace, and the nymph of the\neastern quarter smiled, touched by his finger. Then, though the\ndarkness was still embracing his beloved herbs in the mountain caves\nand the bees were settling on another cluster of kumudas, a certain\nthief saw Madanasen\u00e1, as she was going along alone at night, and\nrushing upon her, seized her by the hem of her garment. He said to\nher, \"Who are you, and where are you going?\" When he said this, she,\nbeing afraid, said, \"What does that matter to you? Let me go; I have\nbusiness here.\" Then the thief said, \"How can I, who am a thief,\nlet you go?\" Hearing that, she replied, \"Take my ornaments.\" The\nthief answered her, \"What do I care for those gems, fair one? I will\nnot surrender you, the ornament of the world, with your face like the\nmoonstone, your hair black like jet, your waist like a diamond, [320]\nyour limbs like gold, fascinating beholders with your ruby-coloured\nfeet.\"\n\nWhen the thief said this, the helpless merchant's daughter told him\nher story, and entreated him as follows, \"Excuse me for a moment,\nthat I may keep my word, and as soon as I have done that, I will\nquickly return to you, if you remain here. Believe me, my good man,\nI will never break this true promise of mine.\" When the thief heard\nthat, he let her go, believing that she was a woman who would keep\nher word, and he remained in that very spot, waiting for her return.\n\nShe, for her part, went to that merchant Dharmadatta. And when he\nsaw that she had come to that wood, he asked her how it happened, and\nthen, though he had longed for her, he said to her, after reflecting\na moment, \"I am delighted at your faithfulness to your promise;\nwhat have I to do with you, the wife of another? So go back, as you\ncame, before any one sees you.\" When he thus let her go, she said,\n\"So be it,\" and leaving that place, she went to the thief, who was\nwaiting for her in the road. He said to her, \"Tell me what befell\nyou when you arrived at the trysting-place.\" So she told him how\nthe merchant let her go. Then the thief said, \"Since this is so,\nthen I also will let you go, being pleased with your truthfulness:\nreturn home with your ornaments!\"\n\nSo he too let her go, and went with her to guard her, and she returned\nto the house of her husband, delighted at having preserved her\nhonour. There the chaste woman entered secretly, and went delighted\nto her husband; and he, when he saw her, questioned her; so she told\nhim the whole story. And Samudratta, perceiving that his good wife\nhad kept her word without losing her honour, assumed a bright and\ncheerful expression, and welcomed her as a pure-minded woman, who had\nnot disgraced her family, and lived happily with her ever afterwards.\n\nWhen the Vet\u00e1la had told this story in the cemetery to king\nTrivikramasena, he went on to say to him; \"So tell me, king, which\nwas the really generous man of those three, the two merchants and\nthe thief? And if you know and do not tell, your head shall split\ninto a hundred pieces.\"\n\nWhen the Vet\u00e1la said this, the king broke silence, and said to him,\n\"Of those three the thief was the only really generous man, and not\neither of the two merchants. For of course her husband let her go,\nthough she was so lovely and he had married her; how could a gentleman\ndesire to keep a wife that was attached to another? And the other\nresigned her because his passion was dulled by time, and he was\nafraid that her husband, knowing the facts, would tell the king the\nnext day. But the thief, a reckless evildoer, working in the dark,\nwas really generous, to let go a lovely woman, ornaments and all.\"\n\nWhen the Vet\u00e1la heard that, he left the shoulder of the king, and\nreturned to his own place, as before, and the king, with his great\nperseverance no whit dashed, again set out, as before, to bring him.\n\n\n\nNOTE.\n\nThis story is the same as the 19th of Campbell's West Highland Tales,\nThe Inheritance, Vol. II, pp. 16-18. Dr. K\u00f6hler, (Orient und Occident,\nVol. II, p. 317), compares the Story in the 1,001 Nights of Sultan\nAkschid and his three sons. He tells us that it is also found in the\nTurkish Tales, called The Forty Vaz\u00edrs, in the Turkish T\u00fat\u00edn\u00e1mah, and\nin Johann Andre\u00e6's Chymische Hochzeit Christiani Rosencreutz. The form\nof it best known to the general reader is probably the 5th story in\nthe Xth day of Boccacio's Decameron. The tale is no doubt originally\nBuddhistic, and the king's cynical remarks a later addition. Dunlop\nconsiders that Boccacio's story gave rise to Chaucer's Frankeleyne's\nTale, the 12th Canto of the Orlando Inamorato, and Beaumont and\nFletcher's Triumph of Honour.\n\n\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER LXXXV.\n\n(Vet\u00e1la 11.)\n\n\nThen king Trivikramasena again went and took that Vet\u00e1la from the\nasoka-tree and put him on his shoulder, and set out with him; and as\nhe was going along, the Vet\u00e1la on his shoulder said to him; \"Listen,\nking; I will tell you an interesting story.\"\n\n\n\nStory of king Dharmadhvaja and his three very sensitive wives.\n\nThere lived of old in Ujjayin\u00ed a king of the name of Dharmadhvaja, he\nhad three wives, who were all daughters of kings, and whom he held very\ndear. The first of them was called Indulekh\u00e1, the second T\u00e1r\u00e1val\u00ed, and\nthe third Mrig\u00e1nkavat\u00ed; and they were all possessed of extraordinary\npersonal charms. And the successful king, who had conquered all his\nenemies, lived happily, amusing himself with all those three queens.\n\nOnce on a time, when the festival of the spring-season had arrived, he\nwent with all those three wives to the garden to amuse himself. There\nhe beheld the creepers weighed down with flowers, looking like\nCupid's bows, with rows of bees for strings, strung for him by the\nSpring. And the king, who resembled the mighty Indra, hearing the\nnotes which the cuckoos uttered on the sprays of the garden-trees,\nlike the edict of Love, the god of enjoyment, betook himself with his\nwives to wine, which is the very life of that intoxication, by which\nCupid lives. And he joyed in drinking the liquor first tasted by them,\nperfumed with their sighs, red as their bimba lips.\n\nThen, as Indulekh\u00e1 was playfully pulling the hair of the king,\na blue lotus leaped from her ear, and fell on her lap. Immediately\na wound was produced on the front of her thigh by the blow, and the\ndelicate princess exclaimed \"Oh! Oh!\" and fainted. When the king and\nthe attendants saw that, they were distracted with grief, but they\ngradually brought her round with cold water and fanning. Then the\nking took her to the palace, and had a bandage applied to the wound,\nand treated her with preparations made by the physicians.\n\nAnd at night, seeing that she was going on well, the king retired\nwith the second, T\u00e1r\u00e1val\u00ed, to an apartment on the roof of the palace\nexposed to the rays of the moon. There the rays of the moon, entering\nthrough the lattice, fell on the body of the queen, who was sleeping\nby the king's side, where it was exposed by her garment blowing\naside. Immediately she woke up, exclaiming, \"Alas! I am burnt,\" and\nrose up from the bed rubbing her limbs. The king woke up in a state\nof alarm, crying out, \"What is the meaning of this?\" Then he got\nup and saw that blisters had been produced on the queen's body. And\nthe queen T\u00e1r\u00e1val\u00ed said to him when he questioned her, \"The moon's\nrays falling on my exposed body have done this to me.\" When she said\nthis and burst into tears, the king, being distressed, summoned her\nattendants, who ran there in trepidation and alarm. And he had made\nfor her a bed of lotus-leaves, sprinkled with water, and sandal-wood\nlotion applied to her body.\n\nIn the meanwhile his third wife Mrig\u00e1nkavat\u00ed heard of it, and left\nher palace to come to him. And when she had got into the open air,\nshe heard distinctly, as the night was still, the sound of a pestle\npounding rice in a distant house. The moment the gazelle-eyed one\nheard it, she said, \"Alas I am killed,\" and she sat down on the path,\nshaking her hands in an agony of pain. Then the girl turned back, and\nwas conducted by her attendants to her own chamber, where she fell on\nthe bed, and groaned. And when her weeping attendants examined her,\nthey saw that her hands were covered with bruises, and looked like\nlotuses upon which black bees had settled. So they went and told the\nking. The king Dharmadhvaja arrived in a state of consternation,\nand asked his beloved what it all meant. Then the tortured queen\nshowed him her hands, and said to him, \"As soon as I heard the sound\nof the pestle, these became covered with bruises.\" Then the king,\nfilled with surprise and despondency, had sandal-wood unguent and\nother remedies applied to her hands, in order to allay the pain.\n\nHe reflected, \"One of my queens has been wounded by the fall of a\nlotus, the second has had her body burned even by the rays of the\nmoon, and alas! the third has got such terrible bruises produced on\nher hands by the mere sound of a pestle. By a dispensation of fate\nthe excessive delicacy, which is the distinguishing excellence of\nmy queens, has now become in them all, at one and the same time,\na defect.\" Engaged in such reflections the king wandered round the\nwomen's apartments, and the night of three watches passed for him as\ntediously as if it had consisted of a hundred watches. But the next\nmorning, the physician and surgeons took measures, which caused him\nsoon to be comforted by the recovery of his wives.\n\nWhen the Vet\u00e1la had told this very wonderful story, he put this\nquestion to king Trivikramasena from his seat on his shoulder: \"Tell\nme, king, which was the most delicate of those queens; and the curse\nI before mentioned will take effect, if you know and do not say.\"\n\nWhen the king heard that, he answered, \"The most delicate of all was\nthe lady upon whose hand bruises were produced by merely hearing the\nsound of the pestle, without touching it. But the other two were no\nmatch for her, because the wound of the one and the blisters of the\nother were produced by contact with the lotus and the rays of the\nmoon respectively.\"\n\nWhen the king had said this, the Vet\u00e1la again left his shoulder,\nand returned to his own place, and the persevering king again set\nout to fetch him.\n\n\n\nNOTE.\n\nRohde in his Griechische Novellistik, p. 62, compares with this a story\ntold by Tim\u00e6us of a Sybarite, who saw a husbandman hoeing a field, and\ncontracted a rupture from it. Another Sybarite, to whom he told his\npiteous tale, got ear-ache from hearing it. Oesterley in his German\ntranslation of the Bait\u00e1l Pach\u00eds\u00ed, p. 199, refers us to Lancereau,\nNo. 5, pp. 396-399, and Babington's Vet\u00e1la Cadai, No. 11, p. 58. He\npoints out that Grimm, in his Kinderm\u00e4rchen, 3, p. 238, quotes a\nsimilar incident from the travels of the three sons of Giaffar. Out\nof four princesses, one faints because a rose-twig is thrown into\nher face among some roses, a second shuts her eyes in order not to\nsee the statue of a man, a third says \"Go away, the hairs in your\nfur-cloak run into me,\" and the fourth covers her face, fearing that\nsome of the fish in a tank may belong to the male sex. He also quotes\na striking parallel from the \u00c9lite des contes du Sieur d'Ouville. Four\nladies dispute as to which of them is the most delicate. One has been\nlame for three months owing to a rose-leaf having fallen on her foot,\nanother has had three ribs broken by a sheet in her bed having been\ncrumpled, a third has held her head on one side for six weeks owing\nto one half of her head having three or four more hairs on it than\nthe other, a fourth has broken a blood-vessel by a slight movement,\nand the rupture cannot be healed without breaking the whole limb.\n\n\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER LXXXVI.\n\n(Vet\u00e1la 12)\n\n\nThen king Trivikramasena again went to the asoka-tree, and recovered\nthe Vet\u00e1la, and placed him on his shoulder, and set out with him again\nsilently, as before. Then the Vet\u00e1la again said to him from his seat\non his shoulder; \"King, I love you much because you are so indomitable,\nso listen, I will tell you this delightful story to amuse you.\"\n\n\n\nStory of king Yasahketu, his Vidy\u00e1dhar\u00ed wife, and his faithful\nminister.\n\nIn the land of Anga there was a young king named Yasahketu, like a\nsecond and unburnt god of love come to earth to conceal his body. [321]\nHe conquered by his great valour all his enemies; and as Indra has\nVrihaspati for a minister, he had D\u00edrghadarsin. Now, in course of\ntime, this king, infatuated with his youth and beauty, entrusted to\nthat minister his realm, from which all enemies had been eradicated,\nand became devoted to pleasure only. He remained continually in the\nharem instead of the judgment-hall; he listened to delightful songs\nin the womens' apartments, instead of hearkening to the voice of\nhis well-wishers; in his thoughtlessness, he was devoted to latticed\nwindows and not to the affairs of his kingdom, though the latter also\nwere full of holes.\n\nBut the great minister D\u00edrghadarsin continued unweariedly upholding\nthe burden of his kingdom's cares, day and night. And a general\nrumour spread to the following effect, \"D\u00edrghadarsin has plunged in\ndissipation the sovereign, who is satisfied with the mere name of king,\nand so he manages now to enjoy himself all his master's power.\" Then\nthe minister D\u00edrghadarsin said of himself to his wife Medh\u00e1vat\u00ed,\n\"My dear, as the king is addicted to pleasure, and I do his work,\na calumny has been circulated among the people against me, to the\neffect that I have devoured the realm. And a general rumour, though\nfalse, injures even great men in this world; was not R\u00e1ma compelled\nby a slanderous report to abandon his wife S\u00edt\u00e1? So what course must I\nadopt in this emergency?\" When the minister said this, his firm-souled\nwife Medh\u00e1vat\u00ed, [322] who was rightly named, said to him; \"Take leave\nof the king on the pretext of a pilgrimage to holy bathing-places;\nit is expedient, great-minded Sir, that you should go to a foreign\nland for a certain time. So you will be seen to be free from ambition,\nand the calumny against you will die out; and while you are absent,\nthe king will bear the burden of the kingdom himself, and then this\nvicious tendency of his will gradually diminish, and when you return,\nyou will be able to discharge your office of minister without blame.\"\n\nWhen D\u00edrghadarsin's wife said this to him, he said, \"I will do so,\" and\nhe went and said to the king Yasahketu in the course of conversation,\n\"Give me leave to depart, king, I am going on a pilgrimage for some\ndays, for my heart is set on that religious duty.\" When the king heard\nthat, he said, \"Do not do so! Cannot you, without going on pilgrimages,\nperform in your house noble religious duties, such as charity and so\non, which will procure you heaven?\" When the minister heard this, he\nsaid, \"King, that purity which comes of wealth is sought by charity\nand so on, but holy bathing-places have an everlasting purity. And a\nwise man must visit them, while he is young; for otherwise how can he\nbe sure of reaching them, as this body cannot be relied on?\" While\nhe was saying this, and the king was still trying to dissuade him,\na warder entered, and said to the king, \"King, the sun is plunging\ninto the middle of the lake of heaven, so rise up, this is the hour\nappointed for you to bathe in, and it is rapidly passing away.\" When\nthe king heard this, he immediately rose up to bathe, and the minister,\nwhose heart was set on pilgrimage, bowed before him, and went home\nto his own house.\n\nThere he left his wife, whom he forbade to follow him, and managed\ncunningly to set out in secret, without even his servants suspecting\nhis departure. And alone he wandered from country to country with\nresolute perseverance, and visited holy bathing-places, and at last\nhe reached the land of Paundra. In a certain city in that country\nnot far from the sea, he entered a temple of Siva, and sat down\nin a courtyard attached to it. There a merchant, named Nidhidatta,\nwho had come to worship the god, saw him exhausted with the heat of\nthe sun's rays, dusty with his long journey. The merchant, being a\nhospitable man, seeing that the traveller, who was in such a state,\nwore a Br\u00e1hmanical thread, and had auspicious marks, concluded that he\nwas a distinguished Br\u00e1hman, and took him home to his own house. There\nhe honoured him with a bath, food, and other refreshments in the most\nluxurious style, and when his fatigue was removed, he said to him,\n\"Who are you, whence do you come, and where are you going?\" And\nthe Br\u00e1hman gave him this reserved answer; \"I am a Br\u00e1hman of\nthe name of D\u00edrghadarsin; I have come here on pilgrimage from the\nland of Anga.\" Then the merchant prince Nidhidatta said to him,\n\"I am about to go on a trading expedition to the Island of Gold;\nso you must live in my house, until I return; and then you will have\nrecovered from the fatigue which you have incurred by roaming to holy\nplaces, and you can go home.\" When D\u00edrghadarsin heard that, he said,\n\"Why should I remain here? I will go with you, great merchant, if\nyou like.\" The good man said, \"So be it,\" and then the minister,\nwho had long discarded the use of beds, spent that night in his house.\n\nThe next day he went with that merchant to the sea, and embarked on\na ship laden with his merchandise. He travelled along in that ship,\nand beheld the awful and wonderful ocean, and in course of time reached\nthe Isle of Gold. What had a man holding the office of prime minister\nto do with sea-voyages? But what will not men of honour do to prevent\ntheir fame from being sullied? So he remained some time in that island\nwith that merchant Nidhidatta, who was engaged in buying and selling.\n\nAnd as he was returning with him on the ship, he suddenly saw a\nwave rise up, and then a wishing-tree arise out of the sea; it was\nadorned with boughs glittering with gold, which were embellished with\nsprays of coral, and bore lovely fruits and flowers of jewels. And\nhe beheld on its trunk a maiden, alluring on account of her wonderful\nbeauty, reclining on a gem-bestudded couch. He reflected for a moment,\n\"Dear me! What can this be?\" And thereupon the maiden, who had a lyre\nin her hand, began to sing this song, \"Whatever seed of works any\nman has sown in a former life, of that he, without doubt, eats the\nfruit; for even fate cannot alter what has been done in a previous\nstate of existence.\" When the heavenly maiden had sung this song,\nshe immediately plunged into that sea, with the wishing-tree, and\nthe couch on which she was reclining. Then D\u00edrghadarsin reflected,\n\"I have to-day seen a wonderful sight; one would never have expected\nto find in the sea a tree, with a heavenly maiden singing on it,\nappearing and disappearing as soon as beheld. Or rather, this admirable\ntreasure-house of the sea is ever the same; did not Lakshm\u00ed, and\nthe moon, and the P\u00e1rij\u00e1ta tree, and other precious things come out\nof it?\" But the steersman and the rest of the crew, perceiving that\nD\u00edrghadarsin was astonished and puzzled, said to him, \"This lovely\nwoman always appears here in the same way, and sinks down again at\nonce; but this sight is new to you.\"\n\nThis is what they said to the minister, but he still continued in\na state of wonder, and so he reached in course of time on the ship,\nwith that Nidhidatta, the coast for which they were making. There the\nmerchant disembarked his wares, gladdening the hearts of his servants,\nand the minister went in high spirits with him to his house, which was\nfull of mirth at his arrival. And after he had remained there a short\ntime, he said to Nidhidatta, \"Merchant prince, I have long reposed\ncomfortably in your house, now I wish to return to my own land; I wish\nyou all happiness.\" With these words he took leave of the merchant\nprince, who was sorely unwilling to let him go, and with his virtue\nfor his only companion he set out thence, and having in course of time\naccomplished the long journey, he reached his own native land of Anga.\n\nThere the spies, who had been placed by king Yasahketu to watch for his\nreturn, saw him coming, before he entered the city, and informed the\nking; and then the king, who had been much afflicted by his absence,\nwent out from the city to meet him; and came up to him and welcomed him\nwith an embrace. Then the king conducted into the palace his minister,\nwho was emaciated and begrimed with his long journey, and said to him,\n\"Why did you leave me, bringing your mind to this cruel heartless\nstep, and your body into this squalid state from its being deprived of\nunguents? [323] But who knows the way of the mighty god Fate, in that\nyou suddenly fixed your mind on pilgrimage to holy waters and other\nsacred places? So tell me, what lands have you wandered through,\nand what novel sights have you seen?\" Then D\u00edrghadarsin described\nhis journey to the Island of Gold, in all its stages, and so was\nled to tell the king of that maiden, the jewel of the three worlds,\nwhom he had seen rise out of the sea, and sit on the wishing-tree\nsinging. All this he narrated exactly as it took place.\n\nThe moment the king heard all this, he fell so deeply in love with her,\nthat he considered his kingdom and life valueless without her. And\ntaking his minister aside, he said to him, \"I must certainly see that\nmaiden, otherwise I cannot live. I will go by the way which you have\ndescribed, after worshipping Fate. And you must not dissuade, and\nyou must by no means follow me, for I will travel alone incognito,\nand in the meanwhile you must take care of my kingdom. Do not disobey\nmy order, otherwise my death will lie at your door.\" Thus spake the\nking, and refused to hear his minister's answer, and then dismissed\nhim to his own house to see his relations, who had long been wishing\nfor his return. There, in the midst of great rejoicing D\u00edrghadarsin\nremained despondent; how can good ministers be happy, when their\nlord's vices are incurable?\n\nAnd the next night the king Yasahketu set out, disguised as an ascetic,\nhaving entrusted his kingdom to the care of that minister. And on the\nway, as he was going along, he saw a hermit, named Kusan\u00e1bha, and\nhe bowed before him. The hermit said to the king who was disguised\nas an ascetic, \"Go on your way boldly; by going to sea in a ship\nwith the merchant Lakshm\u00eddatta you shall obtain that maiden whom you\ndesire.\" This speech delighted the king exceedingly, and bowing again\nbefore the hermit, he continued his journey; and after crossing many\ncountries, rivers, and mountains, he reached the sea, which seemed to\nbe full of eagerness to entertain him. Its eddies looked like eyes\nexpanded to gaze at him, eyes of which waves were the curved brows,\nand which were white with shrill-sounding conchs for pupils. On the\nshore he met the merchant Lakshm\u00eddatta spoken of by the hermit, who\nwas on the point of setting out for the Isle of Gold. The merchant\nprostrated himself before him, when he saw the signs of his royal\nbirth, such as the discus-marked foot-print and so on; and the king\nembarked on the ship with him, and set out with him on the sea. And\nwhen the ship had reached the middle of the ocean, that maiden arose\nfrom the water, seated on the trunk of the wishing-tree, and while\nthe king was gazing at her, as a partridge at the moonlight, she\nsang a song which the accompaniment of her lyre made more charming;\n\"Whatever seed of works any man has sown in a former life, of that he,\nwithout doubt, eats the fruit, for even Fate cannot alter what has\nbeen done in a previous state of existence. So a man is helplessly\nborne along to experience precisely that lot which Fate has appointed\nfor him, in that place and in that manner which Fate has decreed;\nof this there can be no doubt.\" When the king heard her singing this\nsong, and thus setting forth the thing that must be, he was smitten\nwith the arrow of love, and remained for some time motionless,\ngazing at her. Then he began, with bowed head, to praise the sea\nin the following words, \"Hail, to thee, store-house of jewels, of\nunfathomable heart, since by concealing this lovely nymph thou hast\ncheated Vishnu out of Lakshm\u00ed. So I throw myself on thy protection,\nthou who canst not be sounded even by gods, the refuge of mountains\n[324] that retain their wings; grant me to obtain my desire.\" While he\nwas uttering this, the maiden disappeared in the sea, with the tree,\nand when the king saw that, he flung himself into the sea after her,\nas if to cool the flames of love's fire.\n\nWhen the merchant Lakshm\u00eddatta saw that unexpected sight, the good\nman thought the king had perished, and was so afflicted that he\nwas on the point of committing suicide, but he was consoled by the\nfollowing utterance, that came from the heavens, \"Do not act rashly;\nhe is not in danger, though he has plunged into the sea; this king,\nYasahketu by name, has come, disguised as an ascetic, to obtain this\nvery maiden, for she was his wife in a former state of existence, and\nas soon as he has won her, he shall return to his realm of Anga.\" Then\nthe merchant continued his intended voyage, to accomplish his purposes.\n\nBut when king Yasahketu plunged into the sea, he suddenly beheld\nto his astonishment a splendid city. It gleamed with palaces that\nhad bright pillars of precious stone, walls flashing with gold, and\nlatticed windows of pearl. It was adorned with gardens in which were\ntanks with flights of steps composed of slabs of every kind of gem,\nand wishing-trees that granted every desire. He entered house after\nhouse in that city, which, though opulent, was uninhabited, but he\ncould not find his beloved anywhere. Then, as he was looking about,\nhe beheld a lofty jewelled palace, and going up to it he opened the\ndoor and went in. And when he had entered it, he beheld a solitary\nhuman form stretched out upon a gem-bestudded couch, with its whole\nlength covered with a shawl. Wondering whether it could be that\nvery lady, he uncovered its face with eager expectation, and saw his\nlady-love. Her beautiful moon-like countenance smiled, when the black\nrobe fell from it like darkness; and she seemed like a night, illumined\nwith moonlight, gone to visit P\u00e1t\u00e1la in the day. At sight of her the\nking was in a state of ecstasy, like that which a man, travelling\nthrough a desert in the season of heat, experiences on beholding a\nriver. She, for her part, opened her eyes, and when she saw that hero\nof auspicious form and bodily marks thus suddenly arrived, sprang\nfrom her couch in a state of excitement. She welcomed him, and with\ndowncast countenance, seemed to honour him by flinging on his feet the\nfull-blown lotuses of her wide-expanded eyes; and then she slowly said\nto him, \"Who are you, and why have you come to this inaccessible lower\nregion? And why, though your body is marked with the signs of royalty,\nhave you undertaken the vow of an ascetic? Condescend to tell me this,\ndistinguished Sir, if I have found favour in your sight.\" When the king\nhad heard this speech of hers, he gave her this answer; \"Fair one,\nI am the king of Anga, by name Yasahketu, and I heard from a friend\non whom I can rely, that you were to be seen here every day in the\nsea. So I assumed this disguise, and abandoned my kingdom for your\nsake, and I have come here and followed you down through the sea. So\ntell me who you are.\" When he said this, she answered him with mixed\nfeelings of shame, affection, and joy; \"There is a fortunate king\nof the Vidy\u00e1dharas named Mrig\u00e1nkasena; know that I am his daughter,\nMrig\u00e1nkavat\u00ed by name. That father of mine, for some reason unknown\nto me, has left me alone in this city of his, and has gone somewhere\nor other with his subjects. So I, feeling melancholy in my solitary\nabode, rise up out of the sea on a moveable [325] wishing-tree, and\nsing of the decrees of Fate.\" When she had said this, the brave king,\nremembering the speech of the hermit, courted her so assiduously with\nspeeches tender with love, that she was overpowered with affection,\nand promised to become his wife at once, but insisted on the following\ncondition; \"My husband, for four days in every month, the fourteenth\nand eighth of the white and black fortnights, I am not my own mistress;\n[326] and whithersoever I may go on those days, you must not question\nme on the subject nor forbid me, for there is a reason for it.\" [327]\nWhen the heavenly maiden had stated in these words the only condition\non which she would consent to marry the king, he agreed to it, and\nmarried her by the G\u00e1ndharva form of marriage.\n\nAnd one day, while the king was living happily with Mrig\u00e1nkavat\u00ed, she\nsaid to him, \"You must stop here, while I go somewhere for a certain\nbusiness, for to-day is the fourteenth day of the black fortnight\nof which I spoke to you. And while you are waiting here, my husband,\nyou must not enter this crystal pavilion, lest you should fall into a\nlake there and go to the world of men.\" When she had said this, she\ntook leave of him, and went out of that city, and the king took his\nsword and followed her secretly, determined to penetrate the mystery.\n\nThen the king saw a terrible R\u00e1kshasa approaching, looking like Hades\nembodied in a human shape, with his cavernous mouth, black as night,\nopened wide. That R\u00e1kshasa uttered an appalling roar, and swooping\ndown on Mrig\u00e1nkavat\u00ed, put her in his mouth and swallowed her. When\nthe mighty king saw that, he was at once, so to speak, on fire with\nexcessive anger, and rushing forward with his great sword, black as\na snake that has cast its slough, [328] drawn from the sheath, he cut\noff with it the head of the charging R\u00e1kshasa, the lips of which were\nfirmly pressed together. Then the burning fire of the king's anger\nwas quenched by the stream of blood that poured forth from the trunk\nof the R\u00e1kshasa, but not the fire of his grief at the loss of his\nbeloved. Then the king was blinded with the darkness of bewilderment,\nand at a loss what to do, when suddenly Mrig\u00e1nkavat\u00ed cleft asunder\nthe body of that R\u00e1kshasa, which was dark as a cloud, and emerged\nalive and uninjured, illuminating all the horizon like a spotless\nmoon. When the king saw his beloved thus delivered from danger, he\nrushed eagerly forward and embraced her, exclaiming, \"Come! Come!\" And\nhe said to her, \"My beloved, what does all this mean? Is it a dream\nor a delusion?\" When the king asked the Vidy\u00e1dhar\u00ed this question,\nshe remembered the truth, and said: \"Listen, my husband! This is no\ndelusion, nor is it a dream; but such was the curse imposed upon me\nby my father, a king of the Vidy\u00e1dharas. For my father, who formerly\nlived in this city, though he had many sons, was so fond of me, that\nhe would never take food when I was not present. But I, being devoted\nto the worship of Siva, used always to come to this uninhabited place\non the fourteenth and eighth days of the two fortnights.\n\n\"And one fourteenth day I came here and worshipped Gaur\u00ed for a long\ntime; and, as fate would have it, so ardent was my devotion that the\nday came to an end before my worship was finished. That day my father\nate nothing and drank nothing, though he was hungry and thirsty, as\nhe waited for me, but he was very angry with me. And when I returned\nin the evening with downcast countenance, conscious of my fault, his\nlove for me was so completely overpowered by the force of Destiny,\nthat he cursed me in the following words; 'As owing to your arrogance\nI was devoured to-day by hunger, so on the eighth and fourteenth\ndays of the two fortnights of every month, and on those days only,\na R\u00e1kshasa named Krit\u00e1ntasantr\u00e1sa shall swallow you, when you go to\nthat place outside the city to worship Siva; and on every occasion\nyou shall make your way through his heart and come out alive. But\nyou shall not remember the curse, nor the pain of being swallowed;\nand you shall remain alone here.' [329] When my father had uttered\nthis curse, I managed gradually to propitiate him, and after thinking\na little he appointed this termination to my curse; 'When a king named\nYasahketu, lord of the land of Anga, shall become your husband, and\nshall see you swallowed by the R\u00e1kshasa, and shall slay him, then you\nshall issue from his heart, and shall be delivered from your curse,\nand you shall call to mind your curse and the other circumstances,\nand all your supernatural sciences.'\n\n\"When he had appointed this end of my curse, he left me alone here,\nand went with his retinue to the mountain of Nishada in the world of\nmen. And I remained here, thus engaged, bewildered by the curse. But\nthat curse has now come to an end, and I remember all. So I will\nimmediately go to my father on the Nishada mountain; the law, that\ngoverns us celestial beings, is, that when our curse is at an end we\nreturn to our own place. You are perfectly free to remain here or go to\nyour kingdom, as you like.\" When she had said this, the king was sorry,\nand he made this request to her; \"Fair one, do me the favour not to go\nfor seven days. Let us in the meanwhile cheat the pain of parting by\namusing ourselves here in the garden. After that you shall go to your\nfather's abode, and I will return to mine.\" When he made this proposal,\nthe fair one agreed to it. Then the king diverted himself with her for\nsix days in the gardens, and in tanks, the lotus-eyes of which were\nfull of tears, and that seemed to toss aloft their waves like hands,\nand in the cries of their swans and cranes to utter this plaintive\nappeal, \"Do not leave us!\" And on the seventh day he artfully decoyed\nhis darling to that pavilion, where was the tank that served as a\nmagic gate [330] conducting to the world of men; and throwing his arms\nround her neck, he plunged into that tank, and rose up with her from a\ntank in the garden of his own city. When the gardeners saw that he had\narrived with his beloved, they were delighted, and they went and told\nhis minister D\u00edrghadarsin. And the minister came and fell at his feet,\nand seeing that he had brought with him the lady of his aspirations,\nhe and the citizens escorted him into the palace. And he thought to\nhimself, \"Dear me! I wonder how the king has managed to obtain this\ncelestial nymph, of whom I caught a transient glimpse in the ocean,\nas one sees in the heaven a lightning-flash. But the fact is, whatever\nlot is written for a man by the Disposer in the inscription on his\nforehead, infallibly befalls him, however improbable.\"\n\nSuch were the reflections of the prime minister; while the rest\nof his subjects were full of joy at the return of the king,\nand of astonishment at his having won the celestial nymph. But\nMrig\u00e1nkavat\u00ed, seeing that the king had returned to his own kingdom,\nlonged, as the seven days were completed, to return to the home of\nthe Vidy\u00e1dharas. But the science of flying up into the air did not\nappear to her, though she called it to mind. Then she felt as one\nrobbed of a treasure, and was in the deepest despondency. And the\nking said to her, \"Why do you suddenly appear despondent, tell me,\nmy darling?\" Then the Vidy\u00e1dhar\u00ed answered him, \"Because I remained so\nlong, after I had been released from my curse, out of love for you,\nmy science has abandoned me, and I have lost the power of returning\nto my heavenly home.\" When king Yasahketu heard this, he said, \"Ha! I\nhave now won this Vidy\u00e1dhar\u00ed,\" and so his rejoicing was complete.\n\nWhen the minister D\u00edrghadarsin saw this, he went home, and at night,\nwhen he was in bed, he suddenly died of a broken heart. And Yasahketu,\nafter he had mourned for him, remained long bearing the burden of\nempire himself, with Mrig\u00e1nkavat\u00ed for his consort.\n\nWhen the Vet\u00e1la, seated on the shoulder of king Trivikramasena, had\ntold him this story on the way, he went on to say to him, \"So tell\nme, king; why did the heart of that great minister suddenly break,\nwhen his master had thus succeeded so completely? Did his heart break\nthrough grief at not having won the nymph himself? Or was it because\nhe longed for the sovereign power, and thus was disappointed at the\nking's return? And if you know this, king, and do not tell me on the\nspot, your merit will at once disappear, and your head will fly in\npieces.\" When king Trivikramasena heard that, he said to the Vet\u00e1la;\n\"Neither of these two feelings actuated that excellent and virtuous\nminister. But he said to himself; 'This king neglected his kingdom\nout of devotion to mere human females, much more will he do so now,\nthat he is attached to a heavenly nymph. So, though I have gone through\nmuch suffering, the disease has been aggravated by it, instead of being\ncured, as I had hoped.' It was under the influence of such reflections\nthat the minister's heart broke.\" When the king had said this, that\njuggling Vet\u00e1la returned to his own place, and the resolute king ran\nswiftly after him, to bring him back again by force.\n\n\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER LXXXVII.\n\n(Vet\u00e1la 13.)\n\n\nThen the king went back to the asoka-tree, [331] and taking the\nVet\u00e1la from it, placed him on his shoulder, and brought him along,\nand as he was going along with him, the Vet\u00e1la again said to the king,\n\"Listen, king, I will tell you a short story.\"\n\n\n\nThe story of Harisv\u00e1min, who first lost his wife, and then his life.\n\nThere is a city of the name of V\u00e1r\u00e1nas\u00ed, the abode of Siva. In it there\nlived a Br\u00e1hman, named Devasv\u00e1min, honoured by the king. And that\nrich Br\u00e1hman had a son named Harisv\u00e1min; and he had an exceedingly\nlovely wife, named L\u00e1vanyavat\u00ed. I think the Disposer must have made\nher after he had acquired skill by making Tilottam\u00e1 and the other\nnymphs of heaven, for she was of priceless beauty and loveliness.\n\nNow, one night Harisv\u00e1min fell asleep, as he was reposing with her\nin a palace cool with the rays of the moon. At that very moment a\nVidy\u00e1dhara prince, by name Madanavega, roaming about at will, came\nthat way through the air. He saw that L\u00e1vanyavat\u00ed sleeping by the side\nof her husband, and her robe, that had slipped aside, revealed her\nexquisitely moulded limbs. His heart was captivated by her beauty;\nand blinded by love, he immediately swooped down, and taking her up\nin his arms asleep, flew off with her through the air.\n\nImmediately her husband, the young man Harisv\u00e1min, woke up, and not\nseeing his beloved, he rose up in a state of distraction. He said\nto himself, \"What can this mean? Where has she gone? I wonder if\nshe is angry with me. Or has she hidden herself to find out my real\nfeelings, and is making fun of me?\" Distracted by many surmises of\nthis kind, he wandered hither and thither that night, looking for\nher on the roof, and in the turrets of the palace. He even searched\nin the palace-garden, and when he could not find her anywhere, being\nscorched with the fire of grief, he sobbed and lamented, \"Alas! my\nbeloved with face like the moon's orb, fair as the moonlight; did\nthis night grudge your existence, hating your charms that rival\nhers [332]? That very moon, that, vanquished by your beauty, seemed\nto be in fear, and comforted me with its rays cool as sandalwood,\nnow that I am bereaved of you, seems to have seen its opportunity,\nand smites me with them, as if with burning coals, or arrows dipped\nin poison.\" While Harisv\u00e1min was uttering these laments, the night\nat last slowly passed away, not so his grief at his bereavement.\n\nThe next morning the sun dispelled with his rays the deep darkness\nthat covered the world, but could not dispel the dense darkness\nof despondency that had settled on him. The sound of his bitter\nlamentations, that seemed to have been reinforced by wailing power\nbestowed on him by the chakrav\u00e1kas, whose period of separation was\nat an end with the night, was magnified a hundredfold. The young\nBr\u00e1hman, though his relations tried to comfort him, could not recover\nhis self-command, now that he was bereaved of his beloved, but was\nall inflamed with the fire of separation. And he went from place\nto place, exclaiming with tears, \"Here she stood, here she bathed,\nhere she adorned herself, and here she amused herself.\"\n\nBut his friends and relations said to him, \"She is not dead, so why\ndo you kill yourself? If you remain alive, you will certainly recover\nher somewhere or other. So adopt a resolute tone, and go in search\nof your beloved; there is nothing in this world that a resolute man,\nwho exerts himself, cannot obtain.\" When Harisv\u00e1min had been exhorted\nin these terms by his friends and relations, he managed at last,\nafter some days, to recover his spirits by the aid of hope. And he\nsaid to himself, \"I will give away all that I have to the Br\u00e1hmans,\nand visit all the holy waters, and wash away all my sins. For if\nI wipe out my sin, I may perhaps, in the course of my wanderings,\nfind that beloved of mine.\" After going through these reflections\nsuitable to the occasion, he got up and bathed, and performed all his\ncustomary avocations, and the next day he bestowed on the Br\u00e1hmans\nat a solemn sacrifice various meats and drinks, and gave away to them\nall his wealth without stint.\n\nThen he left his country, with his Br\u00e1hman birth as his only fortune,\nand proceeded to go round to all the holy bathing-places in order to\nrecover his beloved. And as he was roaming about, there came upon him\nthe terrible lion of the hot season, with the blazing sun for mouth,\nand with a mane composed of his fiery rays. And the winds blew with\nexcessive heat, as if warmed by the breath of sighs furnaced forth\nby travellers grieved at being separated from their wives. And the\ntanks, with their supply of water diminished by the heat, and their\ndrying white mud, appeared to be shewing their broken hearts. And\nthe trees by the roadside seemed to lament [333] on account of the\ndeparture of the glory of spring, making their wailing heard in the\nshrill moaning of their bark, [334] with leaves, as it were lips,\nparched with heat. At that season Harisv\u00e1min, wearied out with the\nheat of the sun, with bereavement, hunger and thirst, and continual\ntravelling, disfigured, [335] emaciated and dirty, and pining for\nfood, reached in the course of his wanderings, a certain village,\nand found in it the house of a Br\u00e1hman called Padman\u00e1bha, who was\nengaged in a sacrifice. And seeing that many Br\u00e1hmans were eating\nin his house, he stood leaning against the door-post, silent and\nmotionless. And the good wife of that Br\u00e1hman named Padman\u00e1bha, seeing\nhim in this position, felt pity for him, and reflected; \"Alas! mighty\nis hunger! Whom will it not bring down? For here stands a man at the\ndoor, who appears to be a householder, desiring food, with downcast\ncountenance; evidently come from a long journey, and with all his\nsenses impaired by hunger. So is not he a man to whom food ought to\nbe given?\" Having gone through these reflections, the kind woman took\nup in her hands a vessel full of rice boiled in milk, with ghee and\nsugar, and brought it, and courteously presented it to him, and said;\n\"Go and eat this somewhere on the bank of the lake, for this place\nis unfit to eat in, as it is filled with feasting Br\u00e1hmans.\"\n\nHe said, \"I will do so,\" and took the vessel of rice, and placed it\nat no great distance under a banyan-tree on the edge of the lake;\nand he washed his hands and feet in the lake, and rinsed his mouth,\nand then came back in high spirits to eat the rice. But while he was\nthus engaged, a kite, holding a black cobra with its beak and claws,\ncame from some place or other, and sat on that tree. And it so happened\nthat poisonous saliva issued from the mouth of that dead snake, which\nthe bird had captured and was carrying along. The saliva fell into\nthe dish of rice which was placed underneath the tree, and Harisv\u00e1min,\nwithout observing it, came and ate up that rice. [336] As soon as in\nhis hunger he had devoured all that food, he began to suffer terrible\nagonies produced by the poison. He exclaimed, \"When fate has turned\nagainst a man, everything in this world turns also; accordingly this\nrice dressed with milk, ghee and sugar, has become poison to me.\"\n\nThus speaking, Harisv\u00e1min, tortured with the poison, tottered to\nthe house of that Br\u00e1hman, who was engaged in the sacrifice, and\nsaid to his wife; \"The rice, which you gave me, has poisoned me;\nso fetch me quickly a charmer who can counteract the operation of\npoison; otherwise you will be guilty of the death of a Br\u00e1hman.\" When\nHarisv\u00e1min had said this to the good woman, who was beside herself\nto think what it could all mean, his eyes closed, and he died.\n\nAccordingly the Br\u00e1hman, who was engaged in a sacrifice, drove out\nof his house his wife, though she was innocent and hospitable, being\nenraged with her for the supposed murder of her guest. The good woman,\nfor her part, having incurred groundless blame from her charitable\ndeed, and so become branded with infamy, went to a holy bathing-place\nto perform penance.\n\nThen there was a discussion before the superintendent of religion,\nas to which of the four parties, the kite, the snake, and the couple\nwho gave the rice, were guilty of the murder of a Br\u00e1hman, but the\nquestion was not decided. [337]\n\n\"Now you, king Trivikramasena, must tell me, which was guilty of\nthe murder of a Br\u00e1hman; and if you do not, you will incur the\nbefore-mentioned curse.\"\n\nWhen the king heard this from the Vet\u00e1la, he was forced by the curse\nto break silence, and he said, \"No one of them could be guilty of\nthe crime; certainly not the serpent, for how could he be guilty\nof anything, when he was the helpless prey of his enemy, who was\ndevouring him? To come to the kite; what offence did he commit in\nbringing his natural food which he had happened to find, and eating\nit, when he was hungry? And how could either of the couple, that\ngave the food, be in fault, since they were both people exclusively\ndevoted to righteousness, not likely to commit a crime? Therefore\nI think the guilt of slaying a Br\u00e1hman would attach to any person,\nwho should be so foolish as, for want of sufficient reflection,\nto attribute it to either of them.\"\n\nWhen the king had said this, the Vet\u00e1la again left his shoulder,\nand went to his own place, and the resolute king again followed him.\n\n\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER LXXXVIII.\n\n(Vet\u00e1la 14.)\n\n\nThen king Trivikramasena went to the asoka-tree, and again got hold of\nthe Vet\u00e1la, and took him on his shoulder; and when the king had set\nout, the Vet\u00e1la again said to him, \"King, you are tired; so listen,\nI will tell you an interesting tale.\n\n\n\nStory of the Merchant's daughter who fell in love with a thief.\n\nThere is a city of the name of Ayodhy\u00e1, which was the capital of\nVishnu, when he was incarnate as R\u00e1ma, the destroyer of the R\u00e1kshasa\nrace. In it there lived a mighty king, of the name of V\u00edraketu,\nwho defended this earth, as a rampart defends a city. During the\nreign of that king there lived in that city a great merchant, named\nRatnadatta, who was the head of the mercantile community. And there\nwas born to him, by his wife Nandayant\u00ed, a daughter named Ratnavat\u00ed,\nwho was obtained by propitiating the deities. And that intelligent\ngirl grew up in her father's house, and as her body grew, her innate\nqualities of beauty, gracefulness, and modesty developed also. And\nwhen she attained womanhood, not only great merchants, but even kings\nasked her in marriage from her father. But she disliked the male sex so\nmuch that she did not desire even Indra for a husband, and would not\neven hear of marriage, being determined to die, sooner than consent\nto it. That made her father secretly sorrow much, on account of his\naffection for her, and the report of her conduct spread all over the\ncity of Ayodhy\u00e1.\n\nAt that time all the citizens were continually being plundered by\nthieves, so they assembled together, and made this complaint to king\nV\u00edraketu; \"Your Majesty, we are continually being robbed by thieves\nevery night, and we cannot detect them, so let your Highness take the\nnecessary steps.\" When the king had received this petition from the\ncitizens, he stationed watchmen in plain clothes all round the city,\nin order to try and discover the thieves.\n\nBut they could not find them out, and the city went on being robbed;\nso one night the king himself went out to watch; and as he was roaming\nabout armed, he saw in a certain part of the town a single individual\ngoing along the rampart. He shewed great dexterity in his movements,\nas he made his footfall perfectly noiseless, and he often looked\nbehind him with eyes anxiously rolling. The king said to himself,\n\"Without doubt this is the thief, who sallies out by himself and\nplunders my city;\" so he went up to him. Then the thief, seeing the\nking, said to him, \"Who are you,\" and the king answered him, \"I am a\nthief.\" Then the thief said, \"Bravo! you are my friend, as you belong\nto the same profession as myself; so come to my house, I will entertain\nyou.\" When the king heard that, he consented, and went with him to\nhis dwelling, which was in an underground cavern in a forest. It was\nluxuriously and magnificently furnished, illuminated by blazing lamps,\nand looked like a second P\u00e1t\u00e1la, not governed by king Bali.\n\nWhen the king had entered, and had taken a seat, the robber went\ninto the inner rooms of his cave-dwelling. At that moment a female\nslave came and said to the king, \"Great Sir, how came you to enter\nthis mouth of death? This man is a notable thief; no doubt, when he\ncomes out from those rooms, he will do you some injury: I assure you,\nhe is treacherous; so leave this place at once.\" When the king heard\nthis, he left the place at once, and went to his own palace and got\nready his forces that very night.\n\nAnd when his army was ready for battle, he came and blockaded the\nentrance of that robber's cave with his troops, who sounded all their\nmartial instruments. [338] Then the brave robber, as his hold was\nblockaded, knew that his secret had been discovered, and he rushed\nout to fight, determined to die. And when he came out, he displayed\nsuperhuman prowess in battle; alone, armed with sword and shield, he\ncut off the trunks of elephants, he slashed off the legs of horses,\nand lopped off the heads of soldiers. When he had made this havoc among\nthe soldiers, the king himself attacked him. And the king, who was\na skilful swordsman, by a dexterous trick of fence forced his sword\nfrom his hand, and then the dagger which he drew; and as he was now\ndisarmed, the king threw away his own weapon, and grappling with him,\nflung him on the earth, and captured him alive. And he brought him\nback as a prisoner to his own capital, with all his wealth. And he\ngave orders that he should be put to death by impalement next morning.\n\nNow, when that robber was being conducted with beat of drum to the\nplace of execution, that merchant's daughter Ratnavat\u00ed saw him from her\npalace. Though he was wounded, and his body was begrimed with dust, she\nwas distracted with love as soon as she saw him, so she went and said\nto her father Ratnadatta, \"I select as my husband this man here, who is\nbeing led off to execution, so ransom him from the king, my father; if\nyou will not, I shall follow him to the other world.\" When her father\nheard this he said, \"My daughter, what is this that you say? Before\nyou would not accept suitors endowed with all virtues, equal to the\ngod of love. How comes it that you are now in love with an infamous\nbrigand chief?\" Though her father used this argument, and others of\nthe same kind with her, she remained fixed in her determination. Then\nthe merchant went quickly to the king, and offered him all his wealth,\nif he would grant the robber his life. But the king would not make\nover to him, even for hundreds of crores of gold pieces, that thief\nwho had robbed on such a gigantic scale, and whom he had captured at\nthe risk of his own life. Then the father returned disappointed, and\nhis daughter made up her mind to follow the thief to the other world,\nthough her relations tried to dissuade her; so she bathed, and got\ninto a palanquin, and went to the spot where his execution was taking\nplace, followed by her father and mother and the people, all weeping.\n\nIn the meanwhile the robber had been impaled by the executioners, and\nas his life was ebbing away on the stake, he saw her coming there with\nher kinsfolk. And when he heard the whole story from the people, he\nwept for a moment, and then he laughed a little, and then died on the\nstake. Then the merchant's virtuous daughter had the thief's body taken\ndown from the stake, and she ascended the funeral pyre with it. [339]\n\nAnd at that very moment the holy Siva, who was invisibly present\nin the cemetery, spake from the air, \"Faithful wife, I am pleased\nwith thy devotedness to thy self-chosen husband, so crave a boon of\nme.\" When she heard that, she worshipped and prayed the god of gods\nto grant her the following boon, \"Lord, may my father, who has now\nno sons, have a hundred, for otherwise, as he has no children but me,\nhe would abandon his life.\" [340] When the good woman had said this,\nthe god once more spake to her, saving, \"Let thy father have a hundred\nsons! choose another boon; for such a steadfastly good woman, as thou\nart, deserves something more than this.\"\n\nWhen she heard this, she said, \"If the Lord is pleased with me, then\nlet this husband of mine rise up alive, and be henceforth a well\nconducted man!\" Thereupon Siva, invisible in the air, uttered these\nwords, \"Be it so; let thy husband rise up alive, and lead henceforth\na life of virtue, and let king V\u00edraketu be pleased with him!\" And\nimmediately the robber rose up alive with unwounded limbs.\n\nThen the merchant Ratnadatta was delighted, and astonished at the same\ntime; and with his daughter Ratnavat\u00ed and the bandit his son-in-law,\nand his delighted relations, he entered his own palace, and as he had\nobtained from the god the promise of sons, he held a feast suitable\nto his own joy on the occasion. And when king V\u00edraketu heard what had\ntaken place, he was pleased, and he immediately summoned that heroic\nthief, and made him commander of his army. And thereupon the heroic\nthief gave up his dishonest life, and married the merchant's daughter,\nand led a respectable life, honoured by the king.\n\nWhen the Vet\u00e1la, seated on the shoulder of king Trivikramasena,\nhad told him this tale, he asked him the following question,\nmenacing him with the before-mentioned curse; \"Tell me, king, why\nthat thief, when impaled, first wept and then laughed, when he saw\nthe merchant's daughter come with her father.\" Then the king said;\n\"He wept for sorrow that he had not been able to repay the merchant for\nhis gratuitous kindness to him; and he laughed out of astonishment,\nas he said to himself, 'What! has this maiden, after rejecting kings\nwho asked for her hand, fallen in love with me? In truth a woman's\nheart is an intricate labyrinth.'\" When the king had said this, the\nmighty Vet\u00e1la, by means of the magic power which he possessed, again\nleft the king's shoulder and returned to his station on the tree,\nand the king once more went to fetch him.\n\n\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER LXXXIX.\n\n(Vet\u00e1la 15.)\n\n\nThen king Trivikramasena again went back to the asoka-tree and took\nthe Vet\u00e1la from it, and set out with him once more; and as the king\nwas going along, the Vet\u00e1la, perched on his shoulder, said to him;\n\"Listen, king, I will tell you another story.\"\n\n\n\nStory of the magic globule.\n\nThere was in the kingdom of Nep\u00e1la a city named Sivapura, and in it\nthere lived of old time a king rightly named Yasahketu. He devolved\nupon his minister, named Prajn\u00e1s\u00e1gara, the burden of his kingdom,\nand enjoyed himself in the society of his queen Chandraprabh\u00e1. And in\ncourse of time that king had born to him, by that queen, a daughter\nnamed Sasiprabh\u00e1, bright as the moon, the eye of the world.\n\nNow in course of time she grew up to womanhood, and one day, in the\nmonth of spring, she went to a garden, with her attendants, to witness\na festive procession. And in a certain part of that garden a Br\u00e1hman,\nof the name of Manahsv\u00e1min, the son of a rich man, who had come to\nsee the procession, beheld her engaged in gathering flowers, raising\nher lithe arm, and displaying her graceful shape; and she looked\ncharming when the grasp of her thumb and forefinger on the stalks of\nthe flowers relaxed. When the young man Manahsv\u00e1min saw her, she at\nonce robbed him of his heart, and he was bewildered by love and no\nlonger master of his feelings. [341] He said to himself, \"Can this\nbe Rati come in person to gather the flowers accumulated by spring,\nin order to make arrows for the god of love? Or is it the presiding\ngoddess of the wood, come to worship the spring?\" While he was making\nthese surmises, the princess caught sight of him. And as soon as\nshe saw him, looking like a second god of love created with a body,\nshe forgot her flowers, and her limbs, and her own personal identity.\n\nWhile those two were thus overpowered by the passion of mutual love at\nfirst sight, a loud shout of alarm was raised, and they both looked\nwith uplifted heads to see what it could mean. Then there came that\nway an elephant, rushing along with its elephant-hook hanging down,\nthat driven furious by perceiving the smell of another elephant,\n[342] had broken its fastenings, and rushed out in a state of frenzy,\nbreaking down the trees in its path, and had thrown its driver. The\nprincess's attendants dispersed in terror, but Manahsv\u00e1min eagerly\nrushed forward, and took her up alone in his arms, and while she\nclung timidly to him, bewildered with fear, love, and shame, carried\nher to a distance, out of reach of the elephant. Then her attendants\ncame up and praised that noble Br\u00e1hman, and conducted her back to her\npalace. But as she went, she frequently turned round to look at her\ndeliverer. There she remained, thinking regretfully of that man who had\nsaved her life, consumed day and night by the smouldering fire of love.\n\nAnd Manahsv\u00e1min then left that garden, and seeing that the princess\nhad entered her private apartments, he said to himself, in regretful\nlonging, \"I cannot remain without her, nay I cannot live without her:\nso my only resource in this difficulty is the cunning M\u00faladeva, who\nis a master of magic arts.\" Having thus reflected, he managed to get\nthrough that day, and the next morning he went to visit that master of\nmagic, M\u00faladeva. And he saw that master, who was ever in the company\nof his friend Sasin, full of many marvellous magic ways, like the sky\ncome down to earth in human shape. [343] And he humbly saluted him,\nand told him his desire; then the master laughed, and promised to\naccomplish it for him. Then that matchless deceiver M\u00faladeva placed a\nmagic globule [344] in his mouth, and transformed himself into an aged\nBr\u00e1hman; and he gave the Br\u00e1hman Manahsv\u00e1min a second globule to put\nin his mouth, and so made him assume the appearance of a beautiful\nmaiden. And that prince of villains took him in this disguise to\nthe judgment-hall of the king, the father of his lady-love, and said\nto him,\"O king, I have only one son, and I asked for a maiden to be\ngiven him to wife, and brought her from a long distance; but now he\nhas gone somewhere or other, and I am going to look for him; so keep\nthis maiden safe for me until I bring back my son, for you keep safe\nunder your protection the whole world.\" [345] When king Yasahketu\nheard this petition, he granted it, fearing a curse if he did not,\nand summoned his daughter Sasiprabh\u00e1, and said to her; \"Daughter,\nkeep this maiden in your palace, and let her sleep and take her meals\nwith you.\" The princess agreed, and took Manahsv\u00e1min transformed\ninto a maiden to her own private apartments; and then M\u00faladeva,\nwho had assumed the form of a Br\u00e1hman, went where he pleased, and\nManahsv\u00e1min remained in the form of a maiden with his beloved. [346]\n\nAnd in a few days the princess became quite fond of and intimate\nwith her new attendant; so, one night when she was pining at being\nseparated from the object of her affections, and tossing on her couch,\nManahsv\u00e1min, who was on a bed near her, concealed under a female shape,\nsaid secretly to her, \"My dear Sa[s']iprabh\u00e1, why are you pale of hue,\nand why do you grow thinner every day, and sorrow as one separated\nfrom the side of her beloved? Tell me, for why should you distrust\nloving modest attendants? From this time forth I will take no food\nuntil you tell me.\"\n\nWhen the princess heard this, she sighed, and slowly told the following\ntale; \"Why should I distrust you of all people? Listen, friend, I\nwill tell you the cause. Once on a time I went to a spring garden to\nsee a procession, and there I beheld a handsome young Br\u00e1hman, who\nseemed like the month of spring, having the loveliness of the moon\nfree from dew, kindling love at sight, adorning the grove with play\nof light. And while my eager eyes, drinking in the nectarous rays of\nthe moon of his countenance, began to emulate the partridge, there\ncame there a mighty elephant broken loose from its bonds, roaring\nand distilling its ichor like rain, looking like a black rain-cloud\nappearing out of season. My attendants dispersed terrified at that\nelephant, but when I was bewildered with fear, that young Br\u00e1hman\ncaught me up in his arms and carried me to a distance. Then contact\nwith his body made me feel as if I were anointed with sandal-wood\nointment, and bedewed with ambrosia, and I was in a state which I\ncannot describe. And in a moment my attendants re-assembled, and I was\nbrought back reluctant to this my palace, and seemed to myself to have\nbeen cast down to earth from heaven. From that time forth I have often\ninterviews in reveries with my beloved, that rescued me from death,\nand even when awake I seem to see him at my side. And when asleep I\nsee him in dreams, coaxing me and dispelling my reserve with kisses\nand caresses. But, ill-fated wretch that I am, I cannot obtain him,\nfor I am baffled by ignorance of his name and other particulars about\nhim. So I am consumed, as you see, by the fire of separation from\nthe lord of my life.\"\n\nWhen Manahsv\u00e1min's ears had been filled with the nectar of this\nspeech of the princess's, that Br\u00e1hman, who was present there in\nfemale form, rejoiced, and considered that his object was attained,\nand that the time had come for revealing himself, so he took out\nthe globule from his mouth, and displayed himself in his true form,\nand said; \"Rolling-eyed one, I am that very Br\u00e1hman, whom you bought\nwith a look in the garden, and made your slave in the truest sense of\nthe word. And from the immediate interruption of our acquaintance I\nderived that sorrow, of which the final result was my taking, as you\nsee, the form of a maiden. Therefore, fair one, grant that the sorrow\nof separation, which both of us have endured, may not have been borne\nin vain, for Cupid cannot endure beyond this point.\" When the princess\nsuddenly beheld her beloved in front of her, and heard him utter these\nwords, she was at once filled with love, astonishment, and shame. So\nthey eagerly went through the G\u00e1ndharva ceremony of marriage. Then\nManahsv\u00e1min lived happily in the palace, under two shapes; keeping\nthe globule in his mouth during the day and so wearing a female shape,\nbut at night taking it out, and assuming the form of a man.\n\nNow, as days went on, the brother-in-law of king Yasahketu, named\nMrig\u00e1nkadatta, gave his own daughter, named Mrig\u00e1nkavat\u00ed, in marriage\nto a young Br\u00e1hman, the son of the minister Prajn\u00e1s\u00e1gara: and with\nher he bestowed much wealth. And the princess Sasiprabh\u00e1 was invited,\non the occasion of her cousin's marriage, to her uncle's house,\nand went there accompanied by her ladies-in-waiting. And among them\nwent the young Br\u00e1hman, Manahsv\u00e1min, wearing the attractive form of\na young maiden of exquisite beauty.\n\nThen that minister's son beheld him disguised in female form, and\nwas deeply pierced with the shafts of the archer Love. And when he\nwent to his house, accompanied by his bride, it seemed to him to be\nempty; for he was robbed of his heart by that seeming maiden. Then\nhe continued to think of nothing but the beauty of that supposed\nmaiden's face, and bitten by the great snake of fierce passion, he\nsuddenly became distracted. The people, who were there, ceased from\ntheir rejoicing, and in their bewilderment asked what it meant, and\nhis father Prajn\u00e1s\u00e1gara, hearing of it, came to him in haste. And\nwhen his father tried to comfort him, he woke up from his stupor\nand uttered what was in his mind, babbling deliriously. And that\nfather of his was very much troubled, as he thought that the matter\nwas one altogether beyond his power. Then the king heard of it,\nand came there in person. And he at once saw that the minister's son\nhad been in a moment reduced by strong passion to the seventh [347]\nstage of love-sickness; so he said to his ministers; \"How can I give\nhim a maiden whom a Br\u00e1hman left in my care? And yet, if he does not\nobtain her, he will without doubt reach the last stage. If he dies,\nhis father, who is my minister, will perish; and if he perishes,\nmy kingdom is ruined, so tell me what I am to do in this matter.\"\n\nWhen the king said this, all those ministers said, \"They say that\nthe special virtue of a king is the protection of the virtue of his\nsubjects. Now the root of this protection is counsel, and counsel\nresides in counsellors. If the counsellor perishes, protection\nperishes in its root, and virtue is certain to be impaired. [348]\nMoreover guilt would be incurred by causing the death of this Br\u00e1hman\nminister and his son, so you must avoid doing that, otherwise there\nis a great chance of your infringing the law of virtue. Accordingly\nyou must certainly give to the minister's son the maiden committed to\nyour care by the first Br\u00e1hman, and if he returns after the lapse of\nsome time, and is angry, steps can then be taken to put matters right.\"\n\nWhen the ministers said this to the king, he agreed to give that man,\nwho was palming himself off as a maiden, to the minister's son. And\nafter fixing an auspicious moment, he brought Manahsv\u00e1min, in female\nform, from the palace of the princess; and he said to the king; \"If,\nking, you are determined to give me, whom another committed to your\ncare, to a person other than him for whom I was intended, I must,\nI suppose, acquiesce; you are a king, and justice and injustice\nare matters familiar to you. But I consent to the marriage on this\ncondition only, that I am not to be considered as a wife until my\nhusband has spent six months in visiting holy bathing-places, and\nreturns home; if this condition is not agreed to, know that I will\nbite my own tongue in two, and so commit suicide.\"\n\nWhen the young man, disguised in female form, had prescribed this\ncondition, the king informed the minister's son of it, and he was\nconsoled, and accepted the terms; and he quickly went through the\nceremony of marriage, and placed in one house Mrig\u00e1nkavat\u00ed his\nfirst wife, and his second supposed wife, carefully guarded, and,\nlike a fool, went on a pilgrimage to holy bathing-places, to please\nthe object of his affections.\n\nAnd Manahsv\u00e1min, in female form, dwelt in the same house with\nMrig\u00e1nkavat\u00ed, as the partner of her bed and board. And one night, while\nhe was living there in this way, Mrig\u00e1nkavat\u00ed said to him secretly\nin the bed-chamber, while their attendants were sleeping outside,\n\"My friend, I cannot sleep, tell me some tale.\" When the young man,\ndisguised in female form, heard this, he told her the story, how in\nold time a royal sage, named Ida, of the race of the sun, assumed,\nin consequence of the curse of Gaur\u00ed, a female form that fascinated\nthe whole world, and how he and Budha fell in love with one another\nat first sight, meeting one another in a shrubbery in the grounds of\na temple, and were there united, and how Pur\u00faravas was the fruit of\nthat union. When the artful creature had told this story, he went on\nto say, \"So by the fiat of a deity or by charms and drugs, a man may\nsometimes become a woman, and vice vers\u00e2, and in this way even great\nones do sometimes unite impelled by love.\"\n\nWhen the tender fair one, who regretted her husband, who had left her\nas soon as the marriage had taken place, heard this, she said to her\nsupposed rival, in whom she had come to confide by living with her,\n\"This story makes my body tremble and my heart, as it were, sink;\nso tell me friend, what is the meaning of this.\" When the Br\u00e1hman,\ndisguised in female form, heard this, he went on to say, \"My friend,\nthese are violent symptoms of love; I have felt them myself, I will\nnot conceal it from you.\" When she said this, Mrig\u00e1nkavat\u00ed went on\nslowly to say, \"Friend, I love you as my life, so why should I not\nsay what I think it is time to reveal? Could any one by any artifice\nbe introduced into this palace?\" When the pupil of that master-rogue\nheard this, he took her meaning and said to her, \"If this is the state\nof affairs, then I have something to tell you. I have a boon from\nVishnu, by which I can at pleasure become a man during the night, so I\nwill now become one for your sake.\" So he took the globule out of his\nmouth, and displayed himself to her as a handsome man in the prime of\nyouth. And so the Br\u00e1hman lived with the wife of the minister's son,\nbecoming a woman in the day, and resuming his male form at night. But\nhearing in a few days that the son of the minister was on the point\nof returning, he took the precaution of eloping with her from that\nhouse during the night.\n\nAt this point in the story, it happened that his teacher, M\u00faladeva,\nheard all the circumstances; so he again assumed the form of an old\nBr\u00e1hman, and accompanied by his friend Sasin, who had assumed the form\nof a young Br\u00e1hman, he went and respectfully said to king Yasahketu,\n\"I have brought back my son; so give me my daughter-in-law.\" Then\nthe king, who was afraid of being cursed, deliberated and said to\nhim; \"Br\u00e1hman, I do not know where your daughter-in-law has gone,\nso forgive me; as I am in fault, I will give you my own daughter\nfor your son.\" When the king had said this to that prince of rogues,\ndisguised in the form of an old Br\u00e1hman, who asserted his false claim\nwith the sternness of assumed anger, he gave his daughter with all\ndue ceremonies to his friend Sasin, who pretended to be the supposed\nBr\u00e1hman's son. Then M\u00faladeva took the bride and bridegroom, who had\nbeen thus united, off to his own home, without showing any desire\nfor the king's wealth.\n\nAnd there Manahsv\u00e1min met them, and a fierce dispute took place between\nhim and Sasin in the presence of that M\u00faladeva. Manahsv\u00e1min said,\n\"This Sasiprabh\u00e1 should be given to me, for long ago, when she was\na maiden, I married her by the favour of the master.\" Sasin said,\n\"You fool, what have you to do with her? she is my wife, for her\nfather bestowed her on me in the presence of the fire.\" So they\nwent on wrangling about the princess, whom they had got hold of by\nmeans of magic, and their dispute was never decided. So tell me,\nking, to which of the two does that wife belong? Resolve my doubt;\nthe conditions of non-compliance are those which I mentioned before.\"\n\nWhen king Trivikramasena was thus addressed by the Vet\u00e1la on his\nshoulder, he gave him this answer: \"I consider that the princess is the\nlawful wife of Sasin, since she was openly given to him by her father\nin the lawful way. But Manahsv\u00e1min married her in an underhand way,\nlike a thief, by the G\u00e1ndharva rite; and a thief has no lawful title\nto the possessions of another.\"\n\nWhen the Vet\u00e1la heard this answer of the king's, he quickly left\nhis shoulder, and went back to his own place, and the king hurried\nafter him.\n\n\n\nNOTE.\n\nOesterley tells us that in the Turkish T\u00fat\u00edn\u00e1mah (Rosen, II, p. 178,)\na sorceress takes the place of M\u00faladeva. She gives the young man a\nsmall seal in place of the pill or globule. He is then married to a\nson of the king's. Then the young man escapes with the princess, who in\nthe day keeps the seal in her mouth and so appears as a man; then the\nsorceress goes in the form of a Br\u00e1hman to the king, who has to give\nher 10,000 gold pieces as he cannot give back her daughter. The story\nis No. 23 in the Persian T\u00fat\u00edn\u00e1mah, Iken, p. 97. Oesterley refers also\nto the story in the 7th Chapter of the Kath\u00e1 Sarit S\u00e1gara; (Oesterley's\nBait\u00e1l Pach\u00eds\u00ed, pages 203-205). The tale in one way resembles the Greek\nfable of C\u00e6neus, and also that of Tiresias. The story of Iphis and\nIanthe is perhaps still more apposite. According to Sir Thomas Brown,\n(Vulgar Errors, Book III, ch. 17) hares are supposed by some to be both\nmale and female. He mentions Tiresias and Empedocles as instances of\n\"transexion.\" Benfey gives a number of stories of this kind in the\n1st Volume of his Panchatantra, pp. 41-52. He traces them all back\nto a tendency of the Indo-Germanic race to look upon their deities\nas belonging to both sexes at once.\n\n\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XC.\n\n(Vet\u00e1la 16.)\n\n\nThen king Trivikramasena went back to the asoka-tree, and again took\nthe Vet\u00e1la from it, and set out with him on his shoulder; and as\nhe was returning from the tree, the Vet\u00e1la once more said to him,\n\"Listen, king, I will tell you a noble story.\"\n\n\n\nStory of J\u00edm\u00fatav\u00e1hana. [349]\n\nThere is in this earth a great mountain named Himavat, where all\njewels are found, which is the origin of both Gaur\u00ed and Gang\u00e1, the\ntwo goddesses dear to Siva. Even heroes cannot reach its top; [350]\nit towers proudly above all other mountains; and as such its praises\nare sung in strains of sooth in the three worlds. On the ridge of\nthat Himavat there is that city rightly named the Golden City, which\ngleams like a mass of the sun's rays deposited by him on earth.\n\nOf old there lived in that splendid city a fortunate lord of the\nVidy\u00e1dharas, named J\u00edm\u00fataketu, who dwelt there like Indra on Meru. In\nhis palace-garden there was a wishing-tree, which was an heirloom\nin his family, which was well known as the Granter of Desires, and\nnot named so without reason. The king supplicated that divine tree,\nand obtained by its favour a son, who remembered his former birth,\nand was the incarnation of a portion of a Bodhisattva. He was a hero\nin munificence, of great courage, compassionate to all creatures,\nattentive to the instructions of his spiritual adviser, and his name\nwas J\u00edm\u00fatav\u00e1hana. And when he grew up to manhood, his father, the\nking, made him crown-prince, being impelled thereto by his excellent\nqualities, and the advice of the ministers.\n\nAnd when J\u00edm\u00fatav\u00e1hana was made crown-prince, the ministers of his\nfather, desiring his welfare, came to him and said, \"Prince, you must\ncontinually worship this wishing-tree invincible by all creatures,\n[351] which grants all our desires. For, as long as we have this,\nnot even Indra could injure us, much less any other enemy.\" When\nJ\u00edm\u00fatav\u00e1hana heard this, he inly reflected, \"Alas! our predecessors,\nthough they possessed such a divine tree, never obtained from it\nany fruit worthy of it; some of them asked it for wealth and did\nnothing more; so the mean creatures made themselves and this noble\ntree contemptible. Well, I will make it inserve a design which I have\nin my mind.\"\n\nAfter the noble prince had formed this resolution, he went to his\nfather, and gained his goodwill by paying him all kinds of attentions,\nand said to him in private, as he was sitting at ease; \"Father, you\nknow that in this sea of mundane existence, all that we behold is\nunsubstantial, fleeting as the twinkling of the wave. Especially are\nthe twilight, the dawn, and Fortune shortlived, disappearing as soon\nas revealed; where and when have they been seen to abide? Charity to\none's neighbour is the only thing that is permanent in this cycle of\nchange; it produces holiness and fame that bear witness for hundreds\nof yugas. So with what object, father, do we keep for ourselves such\nan unfailing wishing-tree, as all these phenomenal conditions are but\nmomentary? Where, I ask, are those our predecessors who kept it so\nstrenuously, exclaiming, 'It is mine, it is mine?' Where is it now\nto them? For which of them does it exist, and which of them exists\nfor it? So, if you permit, father, I will employ this wishing-tree,\nthat grants all desires, for attaining the matchless fruit of charity\nto one's neighbour.\"\n\nHis father gave him leave, saying, \"So be it!\" And J\u00edm\u00fatav\u00e1hana went\nand said to the wishing-tree, \"O god, thou didst fulfil all the\ncherished wishes of our predecessors, so fulfil this one solitary\nwish of mine! Enable me to behold this whole earth free from poverty;\ndepart, and good luck attend thee; thou art bestowed by me on the\nworld that desires wealth.\" When J\u00edm\u00fatav\u00e1hana had said this with joined\nhands, a voice came forth from the tree, \"Since thou hast relinquished\nme, I depart.\" And in a moment the wishing-tree flew up to heaven,\nand rained wealth on the earth so plenteously, that there was not\none poor man left on it. Then the glory of that J\u00edm\u00fatav\u00e1hana spread\nthrough the three worlds, on account of that ardent compassion of\nhis for all creatures.\n\nThat made all his relations impatient with envy; and thinking that\nhe and his father would be easy to conquer, as they were deprived\nof the calamity-averting tree which they had bestowed on the world,\nthey put their heads together and formed a design, and then girded\non their harness for war, to deprive J\u00edm\u00fatav\u00e1hana and his father\nof their realm. When J\u00edm\u00fatav\u00e1hana saw that, he said to his father,\n\"Father, what other has might, when thou hast taken up arms? But what\ngenerous man desires to possess a realm, if he must do so by slaying\nhis relations for the sake of this wicked perishable body? So of\nwhat use is sovereignty to us? We will depart to some other place,\nand practise virtue that brings happiness in both worlds. Let these\nmiserable relations that covet our kingdom, joy their fill!\" When\nJ\u00edm\u00fatav\u00e1hana said this, his father J\u00edm\u00fataketu answered him, \"My son,\nI desire a realm for your sake only; if you, being penetrated with\ncompassion, give it up, of what value is it to me, who am old?\" When\nJ\u00edm\u00fatav\u00e1hana's father agreed to his proposal, he went with him and\nhis mother to the Malaya mountain, abandoning his kingdom. There he\nmade him a retreat in the valley of a brook, the stream of which\nwas hidden by sandal-wood trees, and spent his time in waiting on\nhis parents. And there he made a friend of the name of Mitr\u00e1vasu,\nthe son of Visv\u00e1vasu a king of the Siddhas, who dwelt on that mountain.\n\nNow, one day, as J\u00edm\u00fatav\u00e1hana was roaming about, he went into a temple\nof the goddess Gaur\u00ed, that was situated in a garden, in order to\nworship in the presence of the image. And there he saw a beautiful\nmaiden accompanied by her attendants, playing on the lyre, intent\non pleasing the daughter of the mountain. [352] And the deer were\nlistening to the sweet sound of the lyre in the musical performance,\nstanding motionless, as if abashed at beholding the beauty of her\neyes. [353] She had a black pupil in her white eye, and it seemed\nas if it strove to penetrate to the root of her ear. [354] She was\nthin and elegant in her waist, which appeared as if the Creator had\ncompressed it in his grasp, when making her, and deeply impressed\non it the marks of his fingers in the form of wrinkles. The moment\nJ\u00edm\u00fatav\u00e1hana saw that beauty, it seemed as if she entered by his eyes,\nand stole away his heart. And when the maiden saw him, adorning the\ngarden, producing longing and disturbance of soul, looking as if\nhe were the god of spring retired to the forest through disgust at\nthe burning up of the body of the god of Love, she was overpowered\nwith affection, and so bewildered, that her lyre, as if it had been\na friend, became distracted and mute.\n\nThen J\u00edm\u00fatav\u00e1hana said to an attendant of hers, \"What is your friend's\nauspicious name, and what family does she adorn?\" When the attendant\nheard that, she said, \"She is the sister of Mitr\u00e1vasu, and the daughter\nof Visv\u00e1vasu the king of the Siddhas, and her name is Malayavat\u00ed.\" When\nshe had said this to J\u00edm\u00fatav\u00e1hana, the discreet woman asked the\nson of the hermit, who had come with him, his name and descent, and\nthen she made this brief remark to Malayavat\u00ed, smiling as she spoke,\n\"My friend, why do you not welcome this prince of the Vidy\u00e1dharas\nwho has come here? For he is a guest worthy of being honoured by the\nwhole world.\" When she said this, that daughter of the king of the\nSiddhas was silent, and her face was cast down through shame. Then\nher attendant said to J\u00edm\u00fatav\u00e1hana, \"The princess is bashful, permit\nme to shew you the proper courtesy in her place.\" So she alone gave\nhim a garland with the arghya. J\u00edm\u00fatav\u00e1hana, as soon as the garland\nwas given to him, being full of love, took it, and threw it round the\nneck of Malayavat\u00ed. And she, looking at him with loving sidelong looks,\nplaced, as it were, a garland of blue lotuses on him.\n\nThus they went through a sort of silent ceremony of mutual election,\nand then a maid came and said to that Siddha maiden, \"Princess, your\nmother desires your presence, come at once.\" When the princess heard\nthat, she withdrew regretfully and reluctantly from the face of her\nbeloved her gaze, that seemed to be fastened to it with the arrows of\nlove, and managed not without a struggle to return to her house. And\nJ\u00edm\u00fatav\u00e1hana, with his mind fixed on her, returned to his hermitage.\n\nAnd when Malayavat\u00ed had seen her mother, she went at once and flung\nherself down on her bed, sick of separation from her beloved. Then her\neyes were clouded, as it were by the smoke of the fire of love that\nburnt in her bosom, she shed floods of tears, and her body was tortured\nwith heat; and though her attendants anointed her with sandal-wood\nunguent, and fanned her with the leaves of lotuses, she could not\nobtain any relief on the bed, in the lap of her attendant, or on the\nground. Then the day retired somewhere with the glowing evening, and\nthe moon ascending kissed the laughing forehead of the east, and though\nurged on by love she was too bashful to send a female messenger to her\nchosen one, or to adopt any of the measures that lovers usually take,\nbut she seemed loth to live. And she was contracted in her heart,\nand she passed that night, which the moon made disagreeable to her,\nlike a lotus which closes at night, and bewilderment hung round her,\nlike a cloud of bees.\n\nAnd in the meanwhile J\u00edm\u00fatav\u00e1hana, who was tortured at parting with\nher, though lying on his bed, spent the night as one who had fallen\ninto the hand of Cupid; though his glow of love was of recent birth,\na pallid hue began to shew itself in him; and though shame made him\ndumb, he uttered the pain which love produced.\n\nNext morning he returned with excessive longing to that temple of\nGaur\u00ed, where he had seen the daughter of the king of the Siddhas. And\nwhile, distracted with the fire of passion, he was being consoled by\nthe hermit's son, who had followed him there, Malayavat\u00ed also came\nthere; for, as she could not bear separation, she had secretly gone\nout alone into a solitary place to abandon the body. And the girl,\nnot seeing her lover, who was separated from her by a tree, thus\nprayed, with eyes full of tears, to the goddess Gaur\u00ed, \"Goddess,\nthough my devotion to thee has not made J\u00edm\u00fatav\u00e1hana my husband in\nthis life, let him be so in my next life!\" As soon as she had said\nthis, she made a noose with her upper garment, and fastened it to the\nbranch of the asoka-tree in front of the temple of Gaur\u00ed. And she said\n\"Prince J\u00edm\u00fatav\u00e1hana, lord renowned over the whole world, how is it,\nthat, though thou art compassionate, thou hast not delivered me?\" When\nshe had said this, she was proceeding to fasten the noose round her\nthroat, but at that very moment a voice spoken by the goddess came\nfrom the air, \"Daughter, do not act recklessly, for the Vidy\u00e1dhara\nprince J\u00edm\u00fatav\u00e1hana, the future emperor, shall be thy husband.\"\n\nWhen the goddess said this, J\u00edm\u00fatav\u00e1hana also heard it, and seeing\nhis beloved, he went up to her, and his friend accompanied him. And\nhis friend, the hermit's son, said to the young lady, \"See, here is\nthat very bridegroom whom the goddess has in reality bestowed upon\nyou.\" And J\u00edm\u00fatav\u00e1hana, uttering many tender loving speeches, removed\nwith his own hand the noose from her neck. Then they seemed to have\nexperienced, as it were, a sudden shower of nectar, and Malayavat\u00ed\nremained with bashful eye, drawing lines upon the ground. And at that\nmoment, one of her companions, who was looking for her, suddenly came\nup to her, and said in joyful accents, \"Friend, you are lucky, and\nyou are blessed with good fortune in that you have obtained the very\nthing which you desired. For, this very day, prince Mitr\u00e1vasu said to\nthe great king, your father, in my hearing, 'Father, that Vidy\u00e1dhara\nprince J\u00edm\u00fatav\u00e1hana, the object of the world's reverence, the bestower\nof the wishing-tree, who has come here, should be complimented by us,\nas he is our guest; and we cannot find any other match as good as\nhim; so let us pay him a compliment by bestowing on him this pearl of\nmaidens Malayavat\u00ed.' The king approved, saying 'So be it', and your\nbrother Mitr\u00e1vasu has now gone to the hermitage of the illustrious\nprince on this very errand. And I know that your marriage will take\nplace at once, so come back to your palace, and let this illustrious\nprince also return to his dwelling.\" When the princess's companion\nsaid this to her, she departed slowly from that place, rejoicing and\nregretful, frequently turning her head.\n\nAnd J\u00edm\u00fatav\u00e1hana also returned quickly to his hermitage, and heard\nfrom Mitr\u00e1vasu, who came there, his commission, which fulfilled\nall his wishes, and welcomed it with joy. And as he remembered his\nformer births, he gave him an account of one in which Mitr\u00e1vasu was\nhis friend, and Mitr\u00e1vasu's sister his wife. [355] Then Mitr\u00e1vasu\nwas pleased, and informed the parents of J\u00edm\u00fatav\u00e1hana, who were also\ndelighted, and returned, to the joy of his own parents, having executed\nhis mission successfully. And that very day he took J\u00edm\u00fatav\u00e1hana to\nhis own house, and he made preparations for the marriage festival\nwith a magnificence worthy of his magic power, and on that very\nsame auspicious day he celebrated the marriage of his sister to that\nVidy\u00e1dhara prince; and then J\u00edm\u00fatav\u00e1hana, having obtained the desire of\nhis heart, lived with his newly married wife Malayavat\u00ed. And once on a\ntime, as he was roaming about out of curiosity with Mitr\u00e1vasu on that\nMalaya mountain, he reached a wood on the shore of the sea. There\nhe saw a great many heaps of bones, and he said to Mitr\u00e1vasu,\n\"What creatures are these whose bones are piled up here?\" Then his\nbrother-in-law Mitr\u00e1vasu said to that compassionate man, \"Listen, I\nwill tell you the story of this in a few words. Long, long ago, Kadr\u00fa\nthe mother of the snakes conquered Vinat\u00e1, the mother of Garuda, in a\ntreacherous wager, and made her a slave. Through enmity caused thereby,\nthe mighty Garuda, [356] though he had delivered his mother, began\nto eat the snakes the sons of Kadr\u00fa. He was thenceforth continually\nin the habit of entering P\u00e1t\u00e1la, and some he smote, some he trampled,\nand some died of fright.\n\n\"When V\u00e1suki, the king of the snakes, saw that, he feared that\nhis race would be annihilated at one fell swoop, so he supplicated\nGaruda, and made a compact with him, saying, 'King of birds, I will\nsend you one snake every day to this shore of the southern sea for\nyour meal. But you must by no means enter P\u00e1t\u00e1la, for what advantage\nwill you gain by destroying the snakes at one blow?' When the king\nof the snakes said this, the mighty Garuda saw that the proposal was\nto his advantage, and agreed to it. And from that time forth, the\nking of birds eats every day, on the shore of the sea, a snake sent\nby V\u00e1suki. So these are heaps of bones of snakes devoured by Garuda,\nthat have gradually accumulated in course of time, and come to look\nlike the peak of a mountain.\"\n\nWhen J\u00edm\u00fatav\u00e1hana, that treasure-house of courage and compassion,\nhad heard, inly grieving, this story from the mouth of Mitr\u00e1vasu,\nhe thus answered him, \"One cannot help grieving for king V\u00e1suki, who,\nlike a coward, offers up every day his subjects to their enemy with his\nown hand. As he has a thousand faces and a thousand mouths, why could\nhe not say with one mouth to Garuda, 'Eat me first?' And how could he\nbe so cowardly as to ask Garuda to destroy his race, and so heartless\nas to be able to listen continually unmoved to the lamentation of the\nN\u00e1ga women? [357] And to think that Garuda, though the son of Kasyapa\nand a hero, and though sanctified by being the bearer of Krishna,\nshould do such an evil deed! Alas the depths of delusion!\" When the\nnoble-hearted one had said this, he formed this wish in his heart,\n\"May I obtain the one essential object in this world by the sacrifice\nof the unsubstantial body! May I be so fortunate as to save the life\nof one friendless terrified N\u00e1ga by offering myself to Garuda!\"\n\nWhile J\u00edm\u00fatav\u00e1hana was going through these reflections, a doorkeeper\ncame from Mitr\u00e1vasu's father to summon them, and J\u00edm\u00fatav\u00e1hana sent\nMitr\u00e1vasu home, saying to him, \"Go you on first, I will follow.\" And\nafter he had gone, the compassionate man roamed about alone, intent on\neffecting the object he had in view, and he heard afar off a piteous\nsound of weeping. And he went on, and saw near a lofty rocky slab\na young man of handsome appearance plunged in grief: an officer of\nsome monarch seemed to have just brought him and left him there,\nand the young man was trying to induce by loving persuasions [358]\nan old woman, who was weeping there, to return.\n\nAnd while J\u00edm\u00fatav\u00e1hana was listening there in secret, melted with pity,\neager to know who he could be, the old woman, overwhelmed with the\nweight of her grief, began to look again and again at the young man,\nand to lament his hard lot in the following words, \"Alas Sankhach\u00fada,\nyou that were obtained by me by means of a hundred pangs! Alas,\nvirtuous one! Alas! son, the only scion of our family, where shall I\nbehold you again? Darling, when this moon of your face is withdrawn,\nyour father will fall into the darkness of grief, and how will he\nlive to old age? How will your body, that would suffer even from the\ntouch of the sun's rays, be able to endure the agony of being devoured\nby Garuda? How comes it that Providence and the king of the snakes\nwere able to find out you, the only son of ill-starred me, though\nthe world of the snakes is wide?\" When she thus lamented, the young\nman her son said to her, \"I am afflicted enough, as it is, mother;\nwhy do you afflict me more? Return home; this is my last reverence to\nyou, for I know it will soon be time for Garuda to arrive here.\" When\nthe old woman heard that, she cast her sorrowful eyes all round the\nhorizon, and cried aloud, \"I am undone; who will deliver my son?\"\n\nIn the meanwhile J\u00edm\u00fatav\u00e1hana, that portion of a Bodhisattva, having\nheard and seen that, said to himself, being profoundly touched with\npity, \"I see, this is an unhappy snake, of the name of Sankhach\u00fada,\nwho has now been sent by king V\u00e1suki, to serve as food for Garuda. And\nthis is his aged mother, whose only son he is, and who has followed\nhim here out of love, and is lamenting piteously from grief. So,\nif I cannot save this wretched N\u00e1ga by offering up this exceedingly\nperishable body, alas! my birth will have been void of fruit.\"\n\nWhen J\u00edm\u00fatav\u00e1hana had gone through these reflections, he went joyfully\nup to the old woman, and said to her, \"Mother, I will deliver your\nson.\" When the old woman heard that, she was alarmed and terrified,\nthinking that Garuda had come, and she cried out, \"Eat me, Garuda,\neat me!\" Then Sankhach\u00fada said, \"Mother, do not be afraid, this is not\nGaruda. There is a great difference between this being who cheers one\nlike the moon, and the terrible Garuda.\" When Sankhach\u00fada said this,\nJ\u00edm\u00fatav\u00e1hana said, \"Mother, I am a Vidy\u00e1dhara, come to deliver your\nson; for I will give my body, disguised in clothes, to the hungry\nGaruda; and do you return home, taking your son with you.\"\n\nWhen the old woman heard that, she said, \"By no means, for you are my\nson in a still higher sense, because you have shewn such compassion\nfor us at such a time.\" When J\u00edm\u00fatav\u00e1hana heard that, he replied,\n\"You two ought not to disappoint my wish in this matter.\" And when\nhe persistently urged this, Sankhach\u00fada said to him; \"Of a truth,\nnoble-hearted man, you have displayed your compassionate nature,\nbut I cannot consent to save my body at the cost of yours; for who\nought to save a common stone by the sacrifice of a gem? The world is\nfull of people like myself, who feel pity only for themselves, but\npeople like you, who are inclined to feel pity for the whole world,\nare few in number; besides, excellent man, I shall never find it in\nmy heart to defile the pure race of Sankhap\u00e1la, as a spot defiles\nthe disk of the moon.\"\n\nWhen Sankhach\u00fada had in these words attempted to dissuade him,\nhe said to his mother, \"Mother, go back, and leave this terrible\nwilderness. Do you not see here this rock of execution, smeared with\nthe clotted gore of snakes, awful as the luxurious couch of Death! But\nI will go to the shore of the sea, and worship the lord Gokarna,\nand quickly return, before Garuda comes here.\" When Sankhach\u00fada had\nsaid this, he took a respectful leave of his sadly-wailing mother,\nand went to pay his devotions to Gokarna.\n\nAnd J\u00edm\u00fatav\u00e1hana made up his mind that, if Garuda arrived in the\nmeantime, he would certainly be able to carry out his proposed\nself-sacrifice for the sake of another. And while he was thus\nreflecting, he saw the trees swaying with the wind of the wings of the\napproaching king of birds, and seeming, as it were, to utter a cry of\ndissuasion. So he came to the conclusion that the moment of Garuda's\narrival was at hand, and determined to offer up his life for another,\nhe ascended the rock of sacrifice. And the sea, churned by the wind,\nseemed with the eyes of its bright-flashing jewels to be gazing in\nastonishment at his extraordinary courage. Then Garuda came along,\nobscuring the heaven, and swooping down, struck the great-hearted\nhero with his beak, and carried him off from that slab of rock. And he\nquickly went off with him to a peak of the Malaya mountain, to eat him\nthere; and J\u00edm\u00fatav\u00e1hana's crest-jewel was torn from his head, and drops\nof blood fell from him, as he was carried through the air. And while\nGaruda was eating that moon of the Vidy\u00e1dhara race, he said to himself;\n\"May my body thus be offered in every birth for the benefit of others,\nand let me not enjoy heaven or liberation, if they are dissociated\nfrom the opportunity of benefiting my neighbour.\" And while he was\nsaying this to himself, a rain of flowers fell from heaven.\n\nIn the meanwhile his crest-jewel, dripping with his blood, had fallen\nin front of his wife Malayavat\u00ed. When she saw it, she recognized it\nwith much trepidation as her husband's crest-jewel, and as she was\nin the presence of her father-in-law and mother-in-law, she shewed\nit them with tears. And they, when they saw their son's crest-jewel,\nwere at once beside themselves to think what it could mean. Then king\nJ\u00edm\u00fataketu and queen Kanakavat\u00ed found out by their supernatural powers\nof meditation the real state of the case, and proceeded to go quickly\nwith their daughter-in-law to the place where Garuda and J\u00edm\u00fatav\u00e1hana\nwere. In the meanwhile Sankhach\u00fada returned from worshipping Gokarna,\nand saw, to his dismay, that that stone of sacrifice was wet with\nblood. Then the worthy fellow exclaimed with tears, \"Alas! I am undone,\nguilty creature that I am! Undoubtedly that great-hearted one, in the\nfulness of his compassion, has given himself to Garuda in my stead. So\nI will find out to what place the enemy has carried him off in this\nmoment. If I find him alive, I shall escape sinking in the mire of\ndishonour.\" While he said this, he went following up the track of the\ndrops of blood, that he saw lying close to one another on the ground.\n\nIn the meanwhile Garuda, who was engaged in devouring J\u00edm\u00fatav\u00e1hana, saw\nthat he was pleased; so he immediately stopped, and said to himself;\n\"Strange! This must be some matchless hero; for the great-hearted\none rejoices even while I am devouring him, but does not lose his\nlife. And on so much of his body as is not lacerated, he has all\nthe hairs erect, as it were a coat of mail; and his look is lovingly\nfixed on me, as if I were his benefactor. So he cannot be a snake;\nhe must be some saint; I will cease from devouring him, and question\nhim.\" While Garuda was thus musing, J\u00edm\u00fatav\u00e1hana said to him; \"King\nof birds, why do you desist? There is flesh and blood in my body, and\nyou are not satisfied as yet, so go on eating it.\" When the king of\nbirds heard this, he asked him with much astonishment, \"Great-souled\none, you are not a snake, so tell me who you are.\" But J\u00edm\u00fatav\u00e1hana\nanswered Garuda, \"In truth I am a N\u00e1ga; what is the meaning of this\nquestion of yours? Do your kind, for who, that is not foolish, would\nact [359] contrary to the purpose he had undertaken?\"\n\nWhile he was giving this answer to Garuda, Sankhach\u00fada came near, and\ncalled out to Garuda from a distance, \"Do not do a rash and criminal\ndeed, son of Vinat\u00e1. What delusion is this that possesses you? He is\nnot a snake; lo! I am the snake designed for you.\" When Sankhach\u00fada\nhad said this, he came up quickly, and standing between those two, and\nseeing Garuda bewildered, he went on to say; \"Why are you perplexed; do\nyou not see that I have hoods and two tongues; and do you not observe\nthe charming appearance of this Vidy\u00e1dhara?\" While Sankhach\u00fada was\nsaying this, the wife and parents of J\u00edm\u00fatav\u00e1hana came there with\nspeed. And his parents, seeing him mangled, immediately cried out,\n\"Alas, son! Alas, J\u00edm\u00fatav\u00e1hana! Alas, compassionate one who have given\nyour life for others! How could you, son of Vinat\u00e1, do this thoughtless\ndeed?\" When Garuda heard this, he was grieved, and he said, \"What! Have\nI in my delusion eaten an incarnation of a Bodhisattva? This is that\nvery J\u00edm\u00fatav\u00e1hana, who sacrifices his life for others, the renown of\nwhose glory pervades all these three worlds? So, now that he is dead,\nthe time has arrived for my wicked self to enter the fire. Does the\nfruit of the poison-tree of unrighteousness ever ripen sweet?\" While\nGaruda was distracted with these reflections, J\u00edm\u00fatav\u00e1hana, having\nbeheld his family, fell down in the agony of his wounds, and died.\n\nThen his parents, tortured with sorrow, lamented, and Sankhach\u00fada\nagain and again blamed his own negligence. But J\u00edm\u00fatav\u00e1hana's wife,\nMalayavat\u00ed, looked towards the heaven, and in accents choked with\ntears thus reproached the goddess Ambik\u00e1, who before was pleased\nwith her, and granted her a boon, \"At that time, O goddess Gaur\u00ed,\nthou didst promise me that I should have for husband one destined to\nbe paramount sovereign over all the kings of the Vidy\u00e1dharas, so how\ncomes it that thou hast now falsified thy promise to me?\" When she\nsaid this, Gaur\u00ed became visible, and saying \"Daughter, my speech was\nnot false,\" she quickly sprinkled J\u00edm\u00fatav\u00e1hana with nectar from her\npitcher. [360] That made the successful hero J\u00edm\u00fatav\u00e1hana at once\nrise up more splendid than before, with all his limbs free from wounds.\n\nHe rose up, and prostrated himself before the goddess, and then all\nprostrated themselves, and the goddess said to him, \"My son, I am\npleased with this sacrifice of thy body, so I now anoint thee with this\nhand of mine emperor over the Vidy\u00e1dharas, and thou shalt hold the\noffice for a kalpa.\" With these words Gaur\u00ed sprinkled J\u00edm\u00fatav\u00e1hana\nwith water from her pitcher, and after she had been worshipped,\ndisappeared. And thereupon a heavenly rain of flowers fell on that\nspot, and the drums of the gods sounded joyously in the sky.\n\nThen Garuda, bending low, said to J\u00edm\u00fatav\u00e1hana, \"Emperor, I am pleased\nwith thee, as thou art an unparalleled hero, since thou, of soul\nmatchlessly generous, hast done this wonderful deed, that excites the\nastonishment of the three worlds, and is inscribed on the walls of\nthe egg of Brahm\u00e1. So give me an order, and receive from me whatever\nboon thou dost desire.\" When Garuda said this, the great-hearted hero\nsaid to him, \"Thou must repent, and never again devour the snakes;\nand let these snakes, whom thou didst devour before, whose bones only\nremain, return to life.\" Thereupon Garuda said, \"So be it; from this\nday forth I will never eat the snakes again; heaven forefend! As for\nthose that I ate on former occasions, let them return to life.\"\n\nThen all the snakes, that he had eaten before, whose bones alone\nremained, rose up unwounded, restored to life by the nectar of his\nboon. Then the gods, the snakes, and the hermit bands assembled there\nfull of joy, and so the Malaya mountain earned the title of the three\nworlds. And then all the kings of the Vidy\u00e1dharas heard by the favour\nof Gaur\u00ed the strange story of J\u00edm\u00fatav\u00e1hana; and they immediately came\nand bowed at his feet, and after he had dismissed Garuda, they took him\nto the Him\u00e1layas, accompanied by his rejoicing relations and friends,\na noble emperor whose great inauguration ceremony had been performed\nby Gaur\u00ed with her own hands. There J\u00edm\u00fatav\u00e1hana, in the society of his\nmother and father, and of Mitr\u00e1vasu and Malayavat\u00ed, and of Sankhach\u00fada,\nwho had gone to his own house, and returned again, long enjoyed the\ndignity of emperor of the Vidy\u00e1dharas, rich in jewels, which had been\ngained by his marvellous and extraordinarily heroic action.\n\nHaving told this very noble and interesting tale, the Vet\u00e1la proceeded\nto put another question to king Trivikramasena, \"So tell me, which of\nthose two was superior in fortitude, Sankhach\u00fada or J\u00edm\u00fatav\u00e1hana? And\nthe conditions are those which I mentioned before.\" When king\nTrivikramasena heard this question of the Vet\u00e1la's, he broke his\nsilence, through fear of a curse, and said with calm composure, \"This\nbehaviour was nowise astonishing in J\u00edm\u00fatav\u00e1hana, as he had acquired\nthis virtue in many births; but Sankhach\u00fada really deserves praise,\nfor that, after he had escaped death, he ran after his enemy Garuda,\nwho had found another self-offered victim [361] and had gone a long\ndistance with him, and importunately offered him his body.\"\n\nWhen that excellent Vet\u00e1la had heard this speech of that king's,\nhe left his shoulder and again went to his own place, and the king\nagain pursued him as before.\n\n\n\nNOTE.\n\nOesterley remarks that the substance of this story is told, in the\neleventh chapter of the Vikra macharitam, of king Vikram\u00e1ditya. A\nR\u00e1kshasa carried off so many persons from the city of Pala that\nthe inhabitants agreed to give him one human being every day. The\nking takes the place of one of these victims, and the R\u00e1kshasa is\nso much affected by it, that he promises not to demand any more\nvictims. A similar contest in generosity is found in the 2nd Tale\nof the Siddhi-k\u00fcr, J\u00fclg, p. 60, but the end of the story is quite\ndifferent. (Oesterley's Bait\u00e1l Pach\u00eds\u00ed, pp. 205-207.) The story in\nthe Siddhi-k\u00fcr is probably the 5th Tale in Sagas from the Far East;\n\"How the Serpent-gods were propitiated.\"\n\n\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XCI.\n\n(Vet\u00e1la 17.)\n\n\nThen the brave king Trivikramasena went back once more to the\nasoka-tree, and taking the Vet\u00e1la from it, carried him off on his\nshoulder. And when he had set out, the Vet\u00e1la said to him from his\nperch on his shoulder, \"Listen, king; to cheer your toil, I will tell\nyou the following tale.\"\n\n\n\nStory of Unm\u00e1din\u00ed. [362]\n\nThere was a city of the name [363] of Kanakapura situated on the bank\nof the Ganges, in which the bounds of virtue were never transgressed,\nand which was inaccessible to the demon Kali. In it there was a king\nrightly named Yasodhana, who, like a rocky coast, protected the earth\nagainst the sea of calamity. When Destiny framed him, she seemed to\nblend together the moon and the sun, for, though he delighted the\nworld, the heat of his valour was scorching, and the circle of his\nterritory never waned. This king was unskilled [364] in slandering\nhis neighbour, but skilled in the meaning of the S\u00e1stras, he shewed\npoverty in crime, not in treasure and military force. His subjects\nsang of him as one afraid only of sin, covetous only of glory, averse\nto the wives of others, all compact of valour, generosity, and love.\n\nIn that capital of that sovereign there was a great merchant, and he\nhad an unmarried daughter, named Unm\u00e1din\u00ed. Whoever there beheld her,\nwas at once driven mad by the wealth of her beauty, which was enough to\nbewilder even the god of love himself. And when she attained womanhood,\nher politic father, the merchant, went to king Yasodhana, and said to\nhim, \"King, I have a daughter to give in marriage, who is the pearl of\nthe three worlds; I dare not give her away to any one else, without\ninforming your Majesty. For to your Majesty belong all the jewels of\nthe whole earth, so do me the favour of accepting or rejecting her.\"\n\nWhen the king heard this report from the merchant, he sent off, with\ndue politeness, his own Br\u00e1hmans, to see whether she had auspicious\nmarks or not. The Br\u00e1hmans went and saw that matchless beauty of the\nthree worlds, and were at once troubled and amazed, but when they had\nrecovered their self-control, they reflected; \"If the king gets hold\nof this maiden the kingdom is ruined, for his mind will be thrown\noff its balance by her, and he will not regard his kingdom, so we\nmust not tell the king that she possesses auspicious marks.\" When\nthey had deliberated to this effect, [365] they went to the king,\nand said falsely to him, \"She has inauspicious marks.\" Accordingly\nthe king declined to take that merchant's daughter as his wife.\n\nThen, by the king's orders, the merchant, the father of the maiden\nUnm\u00e1din\u00ed, gave her in marriage to the commander of the king's forces,\nnamed Baladhara. And she lived happily with her husband in his house,\nbut she thought that she had been dishonoured by the king's abandoning\nher on account of her supposed inauspicious marks.\n\nAnd as time went on, the lion of spring came to that place, slaying the\nelephant of winter, that, with flowering jasmine-creepers for tusks,\nhad ravaged the thick-clustering lotuses. And it sported in the wood,\nwith luxuriant clusters of flowers for mane, and with mango-buds for\nclaws. At that season king Yasodhana, mounted on an elephant, went\nout to see the high festival of spring in that city of his. And then\na warning drum was beaten, to give notice to all matrons to retire, as\nit was apprehended that the sight of his beauty might prove their ruin.\n\nWhen Unm\u00e1din\u00ed heard that drum, she shewed herself to the king on\nthe roof of her palace, to revenge the insult he had offered her by\nrefusing her. And when the king saw her, looking like a flame shooting\nup from the fire of love, when fanned by spring and the winds from the\nMalaya mountain, he was sorely troubled. And gazing on her beauty,\nthat pierced deep into his heart, like a victorious dart of Cupid,\nhe immediately swooned. His servants managed to bring him round, and\nwhen he had entered his palace, he found out from them, by questioning\nthem, that this was the very beauty who had been formerly offered to\nhim, and whom he had rejected. Then the king banished from his realm\nthose who reported that she had inauspicious marks, and thought on her\nwith longing, night after night, saying to himself, \"Ah! how dull of\nsoul and shameless is the moon, that he continues to rise, while her\nspotless face is there, a feast to the eyes of the world!\" Thinking\nthus in his heart, the king, being slowly wasted by the smouldering\nfires of love, pined away day by day. But through shame he concealed\nthe cause of his grief, and with difficulty was he induced to tell\nit to his confidential servants, who were led by external signs to\nquestion him. Then they said; \"Why fret yourself? Why do you not\ntake her to yourself, as she is at your command?\" But the righteous\nsovereign would not consent to follow their advice.\n\nThen Baladhara, the commander-in-chief, heard the tidings, and\nbeing truly devoted to him, he came and flung himself at the feet\nof his sovereign, and made the following petition to him, \"King,\nyou should look upon this female slave as your slave-girl, not as\nthe wife of another; and I bestow her freely upon you, so deign to\naccept my wife. Or I will abandon her in the temple here, then, king,\nthere will be no sin in your taking her to yourself, as there might\nbe, if she were a matron.\" When the commander-in-chief persistently\nentreated the king to this effect, the king answered him with inward\nwrath, \"How could I, being a king, do such an unrighteous deed? If I\ndesert the path of right, who will remain loyal to his duty? And how\ncan you, though devoted to me, urge me to commit a crime, which will\nbring momentary pleasure, [366] but cause great misery in the next\nworld? And if you desert your lawful wife, I shall not allow your\ncrime to go unpunished, for who in my position could tolerate such an\noutrage on morality? So death is for me the best course.\" With these\nwords the king vetoed the proposal of the commander-in-chief, for men\nof noble character lose their lives sooner than abandon the path of\nvirtue. And in the same way the resolute-minded monarch rejected the\npetition of his citizens, and of the country-people, who assembled,\nand entreated him to the same effect.\n\nAccordingly, the king's body was gradually consumed by the fire of\nthe grievous fever of love, and only his name and fame remained. [367]\nBut the commander-in-chief could not bear the thought that the king's\ndeath had been brought about in this way, so he entered the fire;\nfor the actions of devoted followers are inexplicable. [368]\n\nWhen the Vet\u00e1la, sitting on the shoulder of king Trivikramasena, had\ntold this wonderful tale, he again said to him, \"So tell me, king,\nwhich of these two was superior in loyalty, the general or the king;\nand remember, the previous condition still holds.\" When the Vet\u00e1la\nsaid this, the king broke silence, and answered him, \"Of these two the\nking was superior in loyalty.\" When the Vet\u00e1la heard this, he said\nto him reproachfully, \"Tell me, king, how can you make out that the\ngeneral was not his superior? For, though he knew the charm of his\nwife's society by long familiarity, he offered such a fascinating\nwoman to the king out of love for him; and when the king was dead,\nhe burnt himself; but the king refused the offer of his wife without\nknowing anything about her.\"\n\nWhen the Vet\u00e1la said this to the king, the latter laughed, and said,\n\"Admitting the truth of this, what is there astonishing in the fact,\nthat the commander-in-chief, a man of good family, acted thus for\nhis master's sake, out of regard for him? For servants are bound to\npreserve their masters even by the sacrifice of their lives. But\nkings are inflated with arrogance, uncontrollable as elephants,\nand when bent on enjoyment, they snap asunder the chain of the moral\nlaw. For their minds are overweening, and all discernment is washed\nout of them, when the waters of inauguration are poured over them,\nand is, as it were, swept away by the flood. And the breeze of the\nwaving chowries fans away the atoms of the sense of scripture taught\nthem by old men, as it fans away flies and mosquitoes. And the royal\numbrella keeps off from them the rays of truth, as well as the rays\nof the sun; and their eyes, smitten by the gale of prosperity, do not\nsee the right path. And so even kings, that have conquered the world,\nlike Nahusha and others, have had their minds bewildered by M\u00e1ra, and\nhave been brought into calamity. But this king, though his umbrella\nwas paramount in the earth, was not fascinated by Unm\u00e1din\u00ed, fickle\nas the goddess of Fortune; indeed, sooner than set his foot on the\nwrong path, he renounced life altogether; therefore him I consider\nthe more self-controlled of the two.\"\n\nWhen the Vet\u00e1la heard this speech of the king's, he again rapidly\nquitted his shoulder by the might of his delusive power, and returned\nto his own place; and the king followed him swiftly, as before,\nto recover him: for how can great men leave off in the middle of an\nenterprise, which they have begun, even though it be very difficult?\n\n\n\nNOTE.\n\nOesterley states that this tale is No. 26, in the Persian T\u00fat\u00edn\u00e1mah,\nin Iken, p. 109. The deliberations about carrying off the wife of\nthe commander-in-chief are, in this form of the story, carried on\nin the presence of the counsellors only; and the king is the only\none that dies. From the Persian T\u00fat\u00edn\u00e1mah the story has passed in\na very similar form into the Turkish T\u00fat\u00edn\u00e1mah. Compare Malesp\u00edn\u00ed,\n1, No. 102, (Oesterley's Bait\u00e1l Pach\u00eds\u00ed, pp. 207, 208.) The story,\nas told by Sivad\u00e1sa, will be found in Bezzenberger's Beitr\u00e4ge zur\nKunde der Indo-germanischen Sprachen, Vol. IV, p. 360. Dr. Zachari\u00e6,\nthe author of the paper, gives a reference to the Rajatarangin\u00ed, IV,\n17-37, which Professor B\u00fchler pointed out to him. He tells us that\nthe story is the 14th in Jambhaladatta's recension. The story is\nalso found in the parables of Buddhaghosha; in a form based upon the\nUmmadant\u00edj\u00e1taka. Dr. Zachari\u00e6 gives the Pali text of this J\u00e1taka in\nan Appendix, and the corresponding Sanskrit version of the tale from\nthe J\u00e1takam\u00e1l\u00e1 of Aryas\u00fara. He also refers his readers to Upham's\nMah\u00e1vanso, pp. 212-213; Beal, Texts from the Buddhist canon, commonly\nknown as Dhammapada, Section XXIII, Advantageous Service; Bigandet, The\nlife or legend of Gaudama, the Buddha of the Burmese, pp. 220-221; and\nMary Summer, Histoire du Bouddha S\u00e1kya-Mouni, (Paris, 1874,) p. 145.\n\nIn the Pali version the Br\u00e1hmans are so bewildered at the sight of\nthe girl that they cannot eat, but put their rice on their heads\n&c. instead of putting it in their mouths; so she has them driven\nout by her servants. Out of revenge they tell the king that she\nis a k\u00e1lakanni, which according to Childers means \"a hag.\" In the\nJ\u00e1takam\u00e1l\u00e1 they are too much bewildered to stand, much less to eat;\nbut the report which they make is much the same as in our text,\nand made from the same motives.\n\n\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XCII.\n\n(Vet\u00e1la 18.)\n\n\nThen in that cemetery, full of the flames of funeral pyres, as of\ndemons, flesh-devouring, with lolling tongues of fire, the undaunted\nking Trivikramasena went back that same night to the asoka-tree.\n\nAnd there he unexpectedly saw many corpses of similar appearance\nhanging upon the tree, and they all seemed to be possessed by\nVet\u00e1las. The king said to himself, \"Ah! what is the meaning of this? Is\nthis deluding Vet\u00e1la doing this now in order to waste my time? For\nI do not know which of these many corpses here I ought to take. If\nthis night shall pass away without my accomplishing my object, I will\nenter the fire, I will not put up with disgrace.\" But the Vet\u00e1la\ndiscovered the king's intention, and pleased with his courage, he\nwithdrew that delusion. Then the king beheld only one Vet\u00e1la on the\ntree in the corpse of a man, and he took it down, and put it on his\nshoulder, and once more started off with it. And as he trudged along,\nthe Vet\u00e1la again said to him, \"King, your fortitude is wonderful:\nso listen to this my tale.\"\n\n\n\nStory of the Br\u00e1hman's son who failed to acquire the magic power.\n\nThere is a city called Ujjayin\u00ed, inferior only to Bhogavat\u00ed and\nAmar\u00e1vat\u00ed, which Siva, who was won by the toilsome asceticism of Gaur\u00ed,\nbeing in love with the matchless pre-eminence of its excellence,\nhimself selected as his habitation. It is full of various enjoyments,\nto be attained only by distinguished well-doing; in that city stiffness\nand hardness is seen only in the bosoms of the ladies, curvature only\nin their eye-brows, [369] and fickleness only in their rolling eyes;\ndarkness only in the nights; crookedness only in the ambiguous phrases\nof poets; madness only in elephants; and coldness only in pearls,\nsandal-wood juice, and the moon.\n\nIn that city there was a learned Br\u00e1hman, named Devasv\u00e1min, who\nhad offered many sacrifices, and possessed great wealth, and who\nwas highly honoured by the king, whose name was Chandraprabha. In\ntime there was born to that Br\u00e1hman a son, named Chandrasv\u00e1min,\nand he, though he had studied the sciences, was, when he grew up,\nexclusively devoted to the vice of gambling. [370] Now once on a time\nthat Br\u00e1hman's son, Chandrasv\u00e1min, entered a great gambling-hall to\ngamble. Calamities seemed to be continually watching that hall with\ntumbling dice for rolling eyes, like the black antelope in colour,\nand saying to themselves, \"Whom shall we seize on here?\" And the\nhall, full of the noise of the altercations of gamblers, seemed to\nutter this cry, \"Who is there whose wealth I could not take away? I\ncould impoverish even Kuvera the lord of Alak\u00e1.\" Then he entered the\nhall, and playing dice with gamblers, he lost his clothes and all,\nand then he lost borrowed money in addition. And when he was called\nupon to pay that impossible sum, he could not do it, so the keeper\nof the gambling-hall seized him and beat him with sticks. [371]\nAnd that Br\u00e1hman's son, when beaten with sticks all over his body,\nmade himself motionless as a stone, and to all appearance dead,\nand remained in that state.\n\nWhen he had remained there in that condition for two or three days,\nthe proprietor of the gambling establishment got angry, and said, in\nthe gambling-hall, to the gamblers, who frequented it; \"This fellow has\nbegun to try on the petrifaction dodge, so take the spiritless wretch\nand throw him into some blind well; but I will give you the money.\"\n\nWhen the proprietor said this to the gamblers, they took up\nChandrasv\u00e1min, and carried him to a distant wood to look for a\nwell. There an old gambler said to the others, \"This fellow is all\nbut dead; so what is the good of throwing him into a well now? So let\nus leave him here, and say that we left him in a well.\" All approved\nhis speech, and agreed to do as he recommended.\n\nThen the gamblers left Chandrasv\u00e1min there and went their ways, and he\nrose up and entered an empty temple of Siva that stood near. There\nhe recovered his strength a little, and reflected in his grief,\n\"Alas! being over-confiding, I have been robbed by these gamblers\nby downright cheating, so, where can I go in this condition, naked,\ncudgelled, and begrimed with dust? What would my father, my relations,\nor my friends say of me, if they saw me? So I will remain here for\nthe present, and at night I will go out, and see how I can make\nshift to get food, to satisfy my hunger.\" While he was going through\nthese reflections in hunger and nakedness, the sun abated his heat,\nand abandoned his garment the sky, and went to the mountain of setting.\n\nThereupon there came there a P\u00e1supata ascetic with his body\nsmeared with ashes, with matted hair and a trident, looking like\na second Siva. When he saw Chandrasv\u00e1min, he said to him, \"Who are\nyou?\" Thereupon Chandrasv\u00e1min told him his story, and bowed before\nhim, and the hermit when he heard it, said to him; \"You have arrived\nat my hermitage, as an unexpected guest, exhausted with hunger; so\nrise up, bathe, and take a portion of the food I have obtained by\nbegging.\" When the hermit said this to Chandrasv\u00e1min, he answered,\n\"Reverend sir, I am a Br\u00e1hman; how can I eat a part of your alms?\"\n\nWhen the hospitable hermit who possessed magic powers, heard that,\nhe entered his hut, and called to mind the science which produces\nwhatever one desires, and the science appeared to him when he called\nit to mind, and said, \"What shall I do for you?\" And he gave it this\norder; \"Provide entertainment for this guest.\" The science answered\n\"I will;\" and then Chandrasv\u00e1min beheld a golden city rise up,\nwith a garden attached to it, and full of female attendants. And\nthose females came out of that city, and approached the astonished\nChandrasv\u00e1min, and said to him; \"Rise up, good sir; come, eat, and\nforget your fatigue.\" Then they took him inside, and made him bathe,\nand anointed him; and they put splendid garments on him, and took\nhim to another magnificent dwelling; and there the young man beheld a\nyoung woman who seemed their chief, who was beautiful in all her limbs,\nand appeared to have been made by the Creator out of curiosity to see\nwhat he could do. She rose up, eager to welcome him, and made him sit\nbeside her on her throne, and he partook with her of heavenly food,\nand ate with much delight betel-nut, flavoured with five fruits.\n\nAnd next morning he woke up, and saw only that temple of Siva there,\nand neither that city, nor that heavenly lady nor her attendants. Then\nthe hermit came out of the hut smiling, and asked him how he had\nenjoyed himself in the night, and the discreet Chandrasv\u00e1min, in\nhis despondency, said to the hermit, \"By your favour, reverend sir,\nI spent the night happily enough; but now, without that heavenly lady,\nmy life will depart.\" When the hermit heard that, being kind-hearted,\nhe laughed and said to him, \"Remain here, you shall have exactly\nthe same experiences this night also.\" When the hermit said this,\nChandrasv\u00e1min consented to stay, and by the favour of the hermit,\nhe was provided by the same means with the same enjoyments every night.\n\nAnd at last he understood that this was all produced by magic science,\nso, one day, impelled by destiny, he coaxed that mighty hermit and\nsaid to him, \"If, reverend sir, you really take pity on me, who have\nfled to you for protection, bestow on me that science, whose power is\nso great.\" When he urged this request persistently, the hermit said\nto him, \"You cannot attain this science; for it is attained under the\nwater, and while the aspirant is muttering spells under the water, the\nscience creates delusions to bewilder him, so that he does not attain\nsuccess. For there he sees himself born again, and a boy, and then a\nyouth, and then a young man, and married, and then he supposes that he\nhas a son. And he is falsely deluded, supposing that one person is his\nfriend and another his enemy, and he does not remember this birth,\nnor that he is engaged in a magic rite for acquiring science. But\nwhoever, when he seems to have reached twenty-four years, is recalled\nto consciousness by the science of his instructor, and being firm of\nsoul, remembers his real life, and knows that all he supposes himself\nto experience is the effect of illusion, and though he is under the\ninfluence of it, enters the fire, attains the science, and rising from\nthe water, sees the real truth. But if the science is not attained\nby the pupil on whom it is bestowed, it is lost to the teacher also,\non account of its having been communicated to an unfit person. You\ncan attain all the results you desire by my possession of the science;\nwhy do you shew this persistence? Take care that my power is not lost,\nand that so your enjoyment is not lost also.\"\n\nThough the hermit said this, Chandrasv\u00e1min persisted in saying to him,\n\"I shall be able to do all that is required [372]; do not be anxious\nabout that.\" Then the hermit consented to give him the science. What\nwill not good men do for the sake of those that implore their aid? Then\nthe P\u00e1supata ascetic went to the bank of the river, and said to him,\n\"My son, when, in repeating this charm, you behold that illusion,\nI will recall you to consciousness by my magic power, and you must\nenter the fire which you will see in your illusion. For I shall\nremain here all the time on the bank of the river to help you. When\nthat prince of ascetics had said this, being himself pure, he duly\ncommunicated that charm to Chandrasv\u00e1min, who was purified and had\nrinsed his mouth with water. Then Chandrasv\u00e1min bowed low before his\nteacher, and plunged boldly into the river, while he remained on the\nbank. And while he was repeating over that charm in the water, he was\nat once bewildered by its deluding power, and cheated into forgetting\nthe whole of that birth. And he imagined himself to be born in his\nown person in another town, as the son of a certain Br\u00e1hman, and he\nslowly grew up. And in his fancy he was invested with the Br\u00e1hmanical\nthread, and studied the prescribed sciences, and married a wife, and\nwas absorbed in the joys and sorrows of married life, and in course of\ntime had a son born to him, and he remained in that town engaged in\nvarious pursuits, enslaved by love for his son, devoted to his wife,\nwith his parents and relations.\n\nWhile he was thus living through in his fancy a life other than his\nreal one, the hermit his teacher employed the charm, whose office it\nwas to rouse him at the proper season. He was suddenly awakened from\nhis reverie by the employment of that charm, and recollected himself\nand that hermit, and became aware that all that he was apparently going\nthrough was magic illusion, and he became eager to enter the fire,\nin order to gain the fruit, which was to be attained by the charm;\nbut he was surrounded by his elders, friends, superiors and relations,\nwho all tried to prevent him. Still, though they used all kinds of\narguments to dissuade him, being desirous of heavenly enjoyment,\nhe went with his relations to the bank of the river, on which a pyre\nwas prepared. There he saw his aged parents and his wife ready to die\nwith grief, and his young children crying; and in his bewilderment\nhe said to himself; \"Alas! my relations will all die, if I enter the\nfire, and I do not know if that promise of my teacher's is true or\nnot. So shall I enter the fire? Or shall I not enter it? After all,\nhow can that promise of my teacher's be false, as it is so precisely\nin accordance with all that has taken place? So, I will gladly enter\nthe fire.\" When the Br\u00e1hman Chandrasv\u00e1min had gone through these\nreflections, he entered the fire.\n\nAnd to his astonishment the fire felt as cool to him as snow. Then\nhe rose up from the water of the river, the delusion having come to\nan end, and went to the bank. There he saw his teacher on the bank,\nand he prostrated himself at his feet, and when his teacher questioned\nhim, he told him all his experiences, ending with the cool feel of\nthe fire. Then his teacher said to him, \"My son, I am afraid you have\nmade some mistake in this incantation, otherwise how can the fire\nhave become cool to you? This phenomenon in the process of acquiring\nthis science is unprecedented.\" When Chandrasv\u00e1min heard this remark\nof his teacher's, he answered, \"Reverend sir, I am sure that I made\nno mistake.\"\n\nThen the teacher, in order to know for certain, called to mind that\nscience, and it did not present itself to him or his pupil. So,\nas both of them had lost the science, they left that place despondent.\n\n\"When the Vet\u00e1la had told this story, he once more put a question to\nking Trivikramasena, after mentioning the same condition as before;\n\"King, resolve this doubt of mine; tell me, why was the science lost to\nboth of them, though the incantation was performed in the prescribed\nway?\" When the brave king heard this speech of the Vet\u00e1la's, he gave\nhim this answer; \"I know, lord of magic, you are bent on wasting my\ntime here, still I will answer. A man cannot obtain success even by\nperforming correctly a difficult ceremony, unless his mind is firm, and\nabides in spotless courage, unhesitating and pure from wavering. But\nin that business the mind of that spiritless young Br\u00e1hman wavered,\neven when roused by his teacher, [373] so his charm did not attain\nsuccess, and his teacher lost his mastery over the charm, because he\nhad bestowed it on an undeserving aspirant.\"\n\nWhen the king had said this, the mighty Vet\u00e1la again left his shoulder\nand went back invisible to his own place, and the king went back to\nfetch him as before.\n\n\n\nNOTE.\n\nThe above story closely resembles one quoted from the Turkish Tales\nin the 94th number of the Spectator.\n\nA sultan of Egypt was directed by a great doctor in the law, who had\nthe gift of working miracles, to place himself in a huge tub of water,\nwhich he accordingly did; and as he stood by the tub amidst a circle of\nhis great men, the holy man bid him plunge his head into the water and\ndraw it up again. The king accordingly thrust his head into the water,\nand at the same time found himself at the foot of a mountain on the\nsea-shore. The king immediately began to rage against his doctor for\nthis piece of treachery and witchcraft; but at length, knowing it was\nin vain to be angry, he set himself to think on proper methods for\ngetting a livelihood in this strange country. Accordingly he applied\nhimself to some people, whom he saw at work in a neighbouring wood:\nthese people conducted him to a town that stood at a little distance\nfrom the wood, where after some adventures, he married a woman of\ngreat beauty and fortune. He lived with this woman so long that he had\nby her seven sons and seven daughters. He was afterwards reduced to\ngreat want, and forced to think of plying in the streets as a porter\nfor his livelihood. One day, as he was walking alone by the seaside,\nbeing seized with many melancholy reflections upon his former and\nhis present state of life, which had raised a fit of devotion in him,\nhe threw off his clothes in the desire to wash himself, according to\nthe custom of the Muhammadans, before he said his prayers.\n\nAfter his first plunge into the sea, he no sooner raised his head\nabove the water, than he found himself standing by the side of the\ntub, with the great men of his court about him, and the holy man at\nhis side. He immediately upbraided his teacher for having sent him\non such a course of adventures, and betrayed him into so long a state\nof misery and servitude; but was wonderfully surprised when he heard\nthat the state he talked of was only a dream and a delusion; that he\nhad not stirred from the place where he then stood; and that he had\nonly dipped his head into the water, and taken it out again. Oesterley\ncompares the story of Devadatta in the 26th Taranga of this work.\n\n\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XCIII.\n\n(Vet\u00e1la 19.)\n\n\nThen king Trivikramasena again went and took the Vet\u00e1la from the\nasoka-tree, and putting him on his shoulder, set out with him; and\nas he was returning from the tree, the Vet\u00e1la once more said to him,\n\"Listen, king, I will tell you a delightful tale.\"\n\n\n\nStory of the Thief's Son.\n\nThere is a city named Vakrolaka, equal to the city of the gods; in it\nthere dwelt a king named S\u00faryaprabha, equal to Indra. He, like Vishnu,\nrescued this earth, and bore it long time on his arm, gladdening\nall men by his frame ever ready to bear their burdens. [374] In the\nrealm of that king tears were produced only by contact with smoke,\nthere was no talk of death except in the case of the living death\nof starved lovers, and the only fines were the fine gold sticks in\nthe hands of his warders. He was rich in all manner of wealth, and he\nhad only one source of grief, namely, that, though he had many wives,\nno son was born to him.\n\nNow, at this point of the story, there was a merchant, of the name\nof Dhanap\u00e1la, in the great city of T\u00e1mralipt\u00ed, the wealthiest of the\nwealthy. And he had born to him one daughter only, and her name was\nDhanavat\u00ed, who was shewn by her beauty to be a Vidy\u00e1dhar\u00ed fallen by\na curse. When she grew up to womanhood, the merchant died; and his\nrelations seized his property, as the king did not interfere to protect\nit. Then the wife of that merchant, who was named Hiranyavat\u00ed, took\nher own jewels and ornaments, which she had carefully concealed, and\nleft her house secretly at the beginning of night, with her daughter\nDhanavat\u00ed, and fled, to escape from her husband's relations. And with\ndifficulty did she get outside the town, leaning upon the hand of her\ndaughter, for without her was the darkness of night, and within her\nthe darkness of grief. And as she went along in the thick darkness\noutside the town, it chanced, so fate would have it, that she ran\nher shoulder against a thief impaled on a stake, whom she did not\nsee. He was still alive, and his pain being aggravated by the blow\nhe received from her shoulder, he said, \"Alas! who has rubbed salt\ninto my wounds?\" The merchant's wife then and there said to him,\n\"Who are you?\" He answered her, \"I am a detected thief impaled here,\n[375] and though I am impaled, my breath has not yet left my body,\nwicked man that I am. So tell me, lady, who you are and whither you\nare going in this manner.\" When the merchant's wife heard this, she\ntold him her story; and at that moment the eastern quarter adorned\nher face with the outshining moon, as with a beauty-patch.\n\nThen, all the horizon being lighted up, the thief saw the merchant's\ndaughter, the maiden Dhanavat\u00ed, and said to her mother, \"Listen to\none request of mine; I will give you a thousand pieces of gold; come,\ngive me this maiden daughter of yours to wife.\" She laughed, and said,\n\"What do you want with her?\" Then the thief replied, \"I am now as\ngood as dead, and I have no son; and you know, a sonless man does\nnot inherit the worlds of bliss. But, if you agree to my proposal,\nwhatever son she may give birth to by my appointment, whoever may be\nhis father, will be the issue raised up to me. This is the reason why\nI ask for her, but do you accomplish that desire of mine.\" When the\nmerchant's widow heard this, she consented to it out of avarice. And\nshe brought water from somewhere or other, and poured it on the hand of\nthat thief, and said, \"I give you this my maiden daughter in marriage.\"\n\nHe then gave to her daughter the command aforesaid, and then said to\nthe merchant's widow, \"Go and dig at the foot of this banyan-tree,\nand take the gold you find there; and when I am dead, have my body\nburnt with the usual ceremonies, and throw my bones into some sacred\nwater, and go with your daughter to the city of Vakrolaka. There\nthe people are made happy by good government under king S\u00faryaprabha,\nand you will be able to live as you like, free from anxiety, as you\nwill not be persecuted.\" When the thief had said this, being thirsty,\nhe drank some water which she brought; and his life came to an end,\nspent with the torture of impalement.\n\nThen the merchant's widow went and took the gold from the foot of\nthe banyan-tree, and went secretly with her daughter to the house\nof a friend of her husband's; and while she was there, she managed\nto get that thief's body duly burnt, and had his bones thrown into\na sacred water, and all the other rites performed. And the next day\nshe took that concealed wealth, and went off with her daughter, and\ntravelling along reached in course of time that city Vakrolaka. There\nshe bought a house from a great merchant named Vasudatta, and lived\nin it with her daughter Dhanavat\u00ed.\n\nNow at that time there lived in that city a teacher of the name of\nVishnusv\u00e1min. And he had a pupil, a very handsome Br\u00e1hman of the name\nof Manahsv\u00e1min. And he, though he was of high birth and well-educated,\nwas so enslaved by the passions of youth that he fell in love with\na het\u00e6ra of the name of Hans\u00e1val\u00ed. But she demanded a fee of five\nhundred gold d\u00edn\u00e1rs, and he did not possess this sum, so he was in\na state of perpetual despondency.\n\nAnd one day that merchant's daughter Dhanavat\u00ed saw him from the top\nof her palace, such as I have described, with attenuated but handsome\nframe. Her heart was captivated by his beauty; so she called to mind\nthe injunction of that thief her husband, and artfully said to her\nmother, who was near her; \"Mother, behold the beauty and youth of\nthis young Br\u00e1hman, how charming they are, raining nectar into the\neyes of the whole world.\" When that merchant's widow heard this,\nshe saw that her daughter was in love with the young Br\u00e1hman, and she\nthought thus in her mind; \"My daughter is bound by the orders of her\nhusband to choose some man, in order to raise up issue to her husband,\nso why should she not invite this one?\" When she had gone through\nthese reflections, she entrusted her wish to a confidential maid,\nand sent her to bring the Br\u00e1hman for her daughter.\n\nThe maid went and took that Br\u00e1hman aside, and communicated her\nmistress's wish to him, and that young and dissolute Br\u00e1hman said to\nher; \"If they will give me five hundred gold d\u00edn\u00e1rs for Hans\u00e1val\u00ed,\nI will go there for one night.\" When he said this to the maid, she\nwent and communicated it to the merchant's widow, and she sent the\nmoney to him by her hand. When Manahsv\u00e1min had received the money, he\nwent with the maid to the private apartments of the widow's daughter,\nDhanavat\u00ed, who had been made over to him. Then he saw that expectant\nfair one, the ornament of the earth, as the partridge beholds the\nmoonlight, and rejoiced; and after passing the night there, he went\naway secretly next morning.\n\nAnd Dhanavat\u00ed, the merchant's daughter, became pregnant by him,\nand in due time she brought forth a son, whose auspicious marks\nforeshadowed his lofty destiny. She and her mother were much pleased\nat the birth of a son; and then Siva manifested himself to them in\na dream by night, and said to them; \"Take this boy, as he lies in\nhis cradle, and leave him, with a thousand gold pieces, early in the\nmorning, at the door of king S\u00faryaprabha. In this way all will turn\nout well.\" The merchant's widow and the merchant's daughter, having\nreceived this command from Siva, woke up, and told one another their\ndream. And relying upon the god, they took the boy and the gold,\nand laid them together at the gate of king S\u00faryaprabha's palace. [376]\n\nIn the meanwhile Siva thus commanded in a dream king S\u00faryaprabha,\nwho was tormented with anxiety to obtain a son; \"Rise up, king,\nsomebody has placed at the gate of your palace a handsome child and\nsome gold, take him as he lies in his cradle.\" When Siva had said\nthis to the king, he woke up in the morning, and at that moment the\nwarders came in and told him the same, and so he went out himself,\nand seeing at the gate of the palace that boy with a heap of gold, and\nobserving that he was of auspicious appearance, having his hands and\nfeet marked with the line, the umbrella, the banner and other marks,\nhe said, \"Siva has given me a suitable child,\" and he himself took\nhim up in his arms, and went into the palace with him. And he made a\nfeast, and gave away an incalculable amount of wealth, so that only\nthe word \"poor\" was without its proper wealth of signification. And\nking S\u00faryaprabha spent twelve days in music, and dancing, and other\namusements, and then he gave that son the name of Chandraprabha.\n\nAnd gradually prince Chandraprabha increased in stature as well as in\nexcellent character, delighting his dependants by both. And in course\nof time he grew up, and became capable of bearing the weight of the\nearth, winning over the subjects by his courage, his generosity, his\nlearning, and other accomplishments. And his father, king S\u00faryaprabha,\nseeing that he possessed these qualities, appointed him his successor\nin the kingdom, and being an old man, and having accomplished all\nhis ends in life, he went to V\u00e1r\u00e1nas\u00ed. And while that son of his,\ndistinguished for policy, was ruling the earth, he abandoned his body\nat V\u00e1r\u00e1nas\u00ed, in the performance of severe asceticism.\n\nAnd that pious king Chandraprabha, hearing of the death of his father,\nlamented for him, and performed the usual ceremonies, and then said\nto his ministers, \"How can I ever pay my debt to my father? However I\nwill make one recompense to him with my own hand. I will take his bones\nand duly fling them into the Ganges, and I will go to Gay\u00e1, and offer\nan obsequial cake to all the ancestors, and I will diligently perform\na pilgrimage to all sacred waters, as far as the eastern sea.\" When\nthe king said this, his ministers said to him, \"Your majesty, kings\nought never to do these things, for sovereignty has many weak points,\nand cannot subsist a moment without being upheld. So you must pay this\ndebt to your father by the instrumentality of another. What visiting\nof holy waters, other than the doing of your duty, is incumbent\nupon you? Kings, who are ever carefully guarded, have nothing to\ndo with pilgrimage, which is exposed to many dangers.\" When king\nChandraprabha heard this speech of his ministers', he answered them,\n\"Away with doubts and hesitations! I must certainly go for my father's\nsake; and I must visit the sacred waters, while I am young and strong\nenough. Who knows what will take place hereafter, for the body perishes\nin a moment? And you must guard my kingdom until my return.\" When the\nministers heard this resolve of the king's, they remained silent. So\nthe king got ready all the requisites for the journey. Then, on\nan auspicious day, the king bathed, made offerings to the fire,\ngave complimentary presents to Br\u00e1hmans, and ascended a chariot to\nwhich the horses were yoked, subdued in spirit and wearing the dress\nof an ascetic, [377] and started on his pilgrimage. With difficulty\ndid he induce the feudal chiefs, the R\u00e1jp\u00fats, the citizens, and the\ncountry people, who followed him as far as the frontier, to return,\nmuch against their will; and so, throwing the burden of his realm\nupon his ministers, king Chandraprabha set out in the company of his\nprivate chaplain, attended by Br\u00e1hmans in chariots. He was diverted\nby beholding various garbs, and hearing various languages, and by the\nother distractions of travel, and so seeing on his way all kinds of\ncountries, in course of time he reached the Ganges. And he gazed upon\nthat river, which seemed with the ridges of its waves to be making a\nladder for mortals to ascend into heaven by; and which might be said\nto imitate Ambik\u00e1, since it sprang from the mountain Himavat, and\nplayfully pulled in its course the hair of Siva, and was worshipped\nby the divine Rishis and the Ganas. So he descended from his chariot,\nand bathed in that river, and threw into it in accordance with pious\ncustom the bones of king S\u00faryaprabha.\n\nAnd after he had given gifts and performed the sr\u00e1ddha, he ascended\nthe chariot, and set out, and in course of time reached Pray\u00e1ga [378]\ncelebrated by rishis, where the meeting streams of the Ganges and\nYamun\u00e1 gleam for the welfare of men, like the line of flame and the\nline of smoke of the sacrificial butter blending together. There king\nChandraprabha fasted, and performed with various pious actions, such\nas bathing, distribution of wealth, and so on, the solemn ceremony\nof the sr\u00e1ddha, and then he went on to V\u00e1r\u00e1nas\u00ed, which seemed by the\nsilken banners of its temples, tossed up and down by gusts of wind,\nto cry out from afar, \"Come and attain salvation.\"\n\nIn that city he fasted for three days, and then worshipped Siva\nwith various meat-offerings, as became his own rank, and then set\nout for Gay\u00e1. As he travelled through the woods, the trees, which\nwere bent down by the weight of their fruit, and in which the birds\nwere sweetly singing, seemed at every step to be bowing before him\nand praising him at the same time; and the winds, throwing about the\nwoodland flowers, seemed to honour him with posies. And so he crossed\nthe forest districts and reached the sacred hill of Gay\u00e1. [379]\nAnd there he duly performed a sr\u00e1ddha, in which he bestowed many\ngifts on Br\u00e1hmans, and then he entered the Holy Wood. And while he\nwas offering the sacrificial cake to his father in the well of Gay\u00e1,\nthere rose out of it three human hands to take the cake. When the\nking saw this, he was bewildered, and said to his own Br\u00e1hmans; \"What\ndoes this mean? Into which hand am I to put the cake?\" They said to\nhim, \"King, this hand in which an iron spike is seen, is certainly\nthe hand of a thief; and this second hand, which holds a colander,\n[380] is the hand of a Br\u00e1hman; and this third hand, which has the\nring and the auspicious marks, is the hand of a king. So we do not\nknow into which hand the sacrificial cake is to be put, or what all\nthis means.\" When the Br\u00e1hmans said this to the king, he was unable\nto arrive at any certain decision.\n\nWhen the Vet\u00e1la, on the shoulder of the king, had told this wonderful\ntale, he said to king Trivikramasena, \"Now into whose hand should the\ncake have been put? Let your Highness tell me that; and remember the\nprevious condition is still binding on you.\"\n\nWhen king Trivikramasena, who was well versed in law, heard this from\nthe Vet\u00e1la, he broke silence, and answered him; \"The sacrificial\ncake should have been placed in the hand of the thief, for king\nChandraprabha was his son, raised up to him by his appointment, and\nhe was not the son of either of the other two. For though the Br\u00e1hman\nbegot him, he cannot be considered his father, as he sold himself for\nmoney for that one night. However he might have been considered the son\nof king S\u00faryaprabha, because he had the sacraments performed for him,\nand brought him up, if the king had not received his wealth for the\npurpose. For the gold, which was placed at the head of the child in\nthe cradle, was the price paid to king S\u00faryaprabha for bringing him\nup, and other services. Accordingly king Chandraprabha was the son,\nbegotten by another man, of that thief, who received his mother with\nthe pouring of water over the hands, who gave the order for his being\nbegotten, and to whom all that wealth belonged; and he ought to have\nplaced the sacrificial cake in the thief's hand; this is my opinion.\"\n\nWhen the king said this, the Vet\u00e1la left his shoulder, and went to\nhis own place, and king Trivikramasena again went after him to bring\nhim back.\n\n\n\nNOTE.\n\nIt appears from the analysis which Oesterley gives of the Sanskrit\noriginal by Sivad\u00e1sa, that the Hindi version resembles more nearly\nthe version in the text. In the Sanskrit original there is no touching\nof the thief; Dhanavat\u00ed of her own accord enters into a conversation\nwith him. The advice to expose the child at the king's door is given\nby the grandmother, after hearing the daughter's dream. The king does\nnot fetch the boy himself, but has him brought.\n\n\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XCIV.\n\n(Vet\u00e1la 20.)\n\n\nThen king Trivikramasena went and took down that Vet\u00e1la from the\nasoka-tree, and putting him on his shoulder, started off with him\nagain. And when he had set out in silence, the Vet\u00e1la spake to him\nfrom his shoulder; \"King, what is the meaning of this persistency\nof yours? Go, enjoy the good of the night; it is not fitting that\nyou should carry me to that wicked mendicant. However, if you are\nobstinately bent on it, so be it; but listen to this one story.\"\n\n\n\nStory of the Br\u00e1hman boy, who offered himself up to save the life of\nthe king.\n\nThere is a city called Chitrak\u00fata, [381] rightly so named, where\nthe established divisions of the castes never step across the strict\nline of demarcation. In it there lived a king, named Chandr\u00e1valoka,\nthe crest-jewel of kings, who rained showers of nectar into the eyes\nof those devoted to him. Wise men praised him as the binding-post\nof the elephant of valour, the fountain-head of generosity, and the\npleasure-pavilion of beauty. There was one supreme sorrow in the heart\nof that young prince, that, though he enjoyed all kinds of prosperity,\nhe could not obtain a suitable wife.\n\nNow, one day, the king, accompanied by mounted attendants, went out to\na great forest to hunt, in order to dispel that sorrow. There he cleft\nwith continual shafts the herds of wild swine, as the sun, shining in\nthe dun sky, [382] disperses the darkness with his rays. Surpassing\nArjuna in strength, he made the lions, impetuous in fight, and\nterrible with their yellow manes, repose upon beds of arrows. Like\nIndra in might, he stripped of their wings [383] the mountain-like\nSarabhas, and laid them low with the blows of his darts hard as\nthe thunder-bolt. In the ardour of the chase he felt a longing to\npenetrate into the centre of the wood alone, so he urged on his horse\nwith a smart blow of his heel. The horse, being exceedingly excited\nby that blow of his heel, and by a stroke of the whip, cared neither\nfor rough nor smooth, but darting on with a speed exceeding that of\nthe wind, in a moment traversed ten yojanas, and carried the king,\nthe functions of whose senses were quite paralysed, to another forest.\n\nThere the horse stopped, and the king, having lost his bearings,\nroamed about wearied, until he saw near him a broad lake, which\nseemed to make signs to him to approach with its lotuses, that,\nbent down towards him and then raised again by the wind, seemed like\nbeckoning hands. [384] So he went up to it, and relieved his horse\nby taking off its saddle and letting it roll, and bathed and watered\nit, and then tied it up in the shade of a tree, and gave it a heap\nof grass. Then he bathed himself, and drank water, and so dispelled\nhis fatigue, and then he let his eye wander hither and thither in\nthe delightful environs of the lake. And in one part he saw, at the\nfoot of an asoka-tree, a wonderfully beautiful hermit's daughter,\naccompanied by her friend. She wore garlands of flowers, and a dress\nof bark, which became her well. And she looked exceedingly charming\non account of the elegant way in which her hair was plaited together\nafter the hermit fashion. And the king, who had now fallen within the\nrange of the arrows of love, said to himself; \"Who can this be? Can\nit be S\u00e1vitr\u00ed come to bathe in the lake? Or can it be Gaur\u00ed, who\nhas slipped away from the arms of Siva, and again betaken herself to\nasceticism? Or can it be the beauty of the moon that has taken upon\nherself a vow, as the moon has set, now that it is day? So I had\nbetter approach her quietly and find out.\" Having thus reflected,\nthe king approached that maiden.\n\nBut when she saw him coming, her eyes were bewildered by his beauty,\nand her hand relaxed its grasp on the garland of flowers, which she\nhad before begun to weave, and she said to herself; \"Who is this\nthat has found his way into such a wood as this? Is he a Siddha or a\nVidy\u00e1dhara? In truth his beauty might satisfy the eyes of the whole\nworld.\" When these thoughts had passed through her mind, she rose up,\nand modestly looking askance at him she proceeded to go away, though\nher legs seemed to want all power of movement.\n\nThen the polite and dexterous monarch approached her and said,\n\"Fair one, I do not ask you to welcome and entertain a person seen\nfor the first time, who has come from a distance, and desires no\nfruit other than that of beholding you; but how is your running away\nfrom him to be reconciled with the obligations of hermit life?\" When\nthe king said this, the lady's attendant, who was equally dexterous,\nsat down there, and entertained the king.\n\nThen the eager king said to her with an affectionate manner, \"Worthy\nlady, what auspicious family is adorned by this friend of yours? What\nare the ear-nectar-distilling syllables of her name? And why does\nshe torture in this wilderness, with the discipline appropriate to\nascetics, her body, which is soft as a flower?\" When her friend heard\nthis speech of the king's, she answered; \"This is the maiden daughter\nof the great hermit Kanva, born to him by Menak\u00e1; she has been brought\nup in the hermitage, and her name is Ind\u00edvaraprabh\u00e1. She has come here\nto bathe in this lake by permission of her father, and her father's\nhermitage is at no great distance from this place.\"\n\nWhen she said this to the king, he was delighted, and he mounted\nhis horse, and set out for the hermitage of the hermit Kanva,\nwith the intention of asking him for that daughter of his. He left\nhis horse outside the hermitage, and then he entered with modest\nhumility its enclosure, which was full of hermits with matted hair,\nand coats of bark, thus resembling in appearance its trees. And in\nthe middle of it he saw the hermit Kanva surrounded with hermits,\ndelighting the eye with his brightness, like the moon surrounded\nwith planets. So he went up to him, and worshipped him, embracing his\nfeet. The wise hermit entertained him and dispelled his fatigue, and\nthen lost no time in saying to him; \"My son Chandr\u00e1valoka, listen to\nthe good advice which I am about to give you. You know how all living\ncreatures in the world fear death: so why do you slay without cause\nthese poor deer? The Disposer appointed the weapon of the warrior for\nthe protection of the terrified. So rule your subjects righteously,\nroot up your enemies, and secure fleeting fortune and her gifts by\nthe warlike training of horse, and elephant, and so on. Enjoy the\ndelights of rule, give gifts, diffuse your fame throughout the world,\nbut abandon the vice of hunting, the cruel sport of death. What is\nthe profit of that mischievous hunting, in which slayer, victim,\nand horse [385] are all equally beside themselves? Have you have not\nheard what happened to P\u00e1ndu?\"\n\nThe intelligent king, Chandr\u00e1valoka, heard and accepted cheerfully\nthis advice of the hermit Kanva, and then answered him, \"Reverend\nSir, I have been instructed by you; you have done me a great favour;\nI renounce hunting, let living creatures be henceforth free from\nalarm.\" When the hermit heard that, he said, \"I am pleased with you\nfor thus granting security to living creatures; so choose whatever\nboon you desire.\" When the hermit said this, the king, who knew\nhis time, said to him, \"If you are satisfied with me, then give\nme your daughter Ind\u00edvaraprabh\u00e1.\" When the king made this request,\nthe hermit bestowed on him his daughter, who had just returned from\nbathing, born from an Apsaras, a wife meet for him. Then the wives of\nthe hermits adorned her, and the marriage was solemnized, and king\nChandr\u00e1valoka mounted his horse and set out thence quickly, taking\nwith him his wife, whom the ascetics followed as far as the limits\nof the hermitage with gushing tears. And as he went along, the sun,\nseeing that the action of that day had been prolonged, [386] sat down,\nas if wearied, on the peak of the mountain of setting. And in course\nof time appeared the gazelle-eyed nymph of night, overflowing with\nlove, veiling her shape in a violet robe of darkness.\n\nJust at that moment the king found on the road an asvattha-tree,\non the bank of a lake, the water of which was as transparent as a\ngood man's heart. And seeing that that spot was overshadowed with\ndense boughs and leaves, and was shady and grassy, he made up his\nmind that he would pass the night there. Then he dismounted from his\nhorse, and gave it grass and water, and rested on the sandy bank\nof the lake, and drank water, and cooled himself in the breeze;\nand then he lay down with that hermit's daughter, under that tree,\non a bed of flowers. And at that time the moon arose, and removing\nthe mantle of darkness, seized and kissed the glowing face of the\nEast. And all the quarters of the heaven were free from darkness,\nand gleamed, embraced and illuminated by the rays of the moon,\nso that there was no room for pride. [387] And so the beams of the\nmoon entered the interstices in the bower of creepers, and lit up\nthe space round the foot of the tree like jewel-lamps.\n\nAnd the next morning the king left his bed, and after the morning\nprayer, he made ready to set out with his wife to rejoin his army. And\nthen the moon, that had in the night robbed the cheeks of the lotuses\nof their beauty, lost its brightness, and slunk, as if in fear, to the\nhollows of the western mountain; for the sun, fiery-red with anger,\nas if desirous to slay it, lifted his curved sword in his outstretched\nfingers. [388] At that moment there suddenly came there a Br\u00e1hman\ndemon, black as soot, with hair yellow as the lightning, looking\nlike a thunder-cloud. He had made himself a wreath of entrails; he\nwore a sacrificial cord of hair; he was gnawing the flesh of a man's\nhead, and drinking blood out of a skull. The monster, terrible with\nprojecting tusks, uttered a horrible loud laugh, and vomiting fire with\nrage, menaced the king in the following words, \"Villain! know that\nI am a Br\u00e1hman demon, Jv\u00e1l\u00e1mukha by name, and this asvattha-tree my\ndwelling is not trespassed upon even by gods, but thou hast presumed\nto occupy and enjoy it with thy wife. So receive from me, returned\nfrom my nightly wanderings, the fruit of thy presumption. I, even I,\nO wicked one, will tear out and devour the heart of thee, whose mind\nlove has overpowered, aye, and I will drink thy blood.\"\n\nWhen the king heard this dreadful threat, and saw that his wife was\nterrified, knowing that the monster was invulnerable, he humbly said to\nhim in his terror, \"Pardon the sin which I have ignorantly committed\nagainst you, for I am a guest come to this your hermitage, imploring\nyour protection. And I will give you what you desire, by bringing a\nhuman victim, whose flesh will glut your appetite; so be appeased,\nand dismiss your anger.\" When the Br\u00e1hman demon heard this speech of\nthe king's, he was pacified, and said to himself, \"So be it! That will\ndo.\" Then he said to the king, \"I will overlook the insult you have\noffered me on the following conditions. You must find a Br\u00e1hman boy,\nwho, though seven years old and intelligent, is of so noble a character\nthat he is ready to offer himself for your sake. And his mother and\nfather must place him on the earth, and hold him firmly by the hands\nand feet, while he is being sacrificed. And when you have found such\na human victim, you must yourself slay him with a sword-stroke, and\nso offer him up to me on the seventh day from this. If you comply\nwith these conditions, well and good; but, if not, king, I will in\na moment destroy you and all your court.\" When the king heard this,\nin his terror he agreed at once to the conditions proposed, and the\nBr\u00e1hman demon immediately disappeared.\n\nThen king Chandr\u00e1valoka mounted his horse, and set out with\nInd\u00edvaraprabh\u00e1 in quest of his army, in a state of the utmost\ndespondency. He said to himself, \"Alas! I, bewildered by hunting and\nlove, have suddenly incurred destruction like P\u00e1ndu; [389] fool that\nI am! For whence can I obtain for this R\u00e1kshasa a victim, such as he\nhas described? So I will go in the meantime to my own town, and see\nwhat will happen.\" While thus reflecting, he met his own army, that\nhad come in search of him, and with that and his wife he entered his\ncity of Chitrak\u00fata. Then the whole kingdom rejoiced, when they saw\nthat he had obtained a suitable wife, but the king passed the rest\nof the day in suppressed sorrow.\n\nThe next day he communicated to his ministers in secret all that\nhad taken place, and a discreet minister among them said to him,\n\"Do not be downcast, king, for I will search for and bring you such\na victim, for the earth contains many marvels.\"\n\nWhen the minister had consoled the king in these words, he had made\nwith the utmost rapidity a golden image of a seven-years-old child,\nand he adorned its ears with jewels, and placed it on a chariot,\nand had it carried about in the towns, villages, and stations of\nherdsmen. And while that image of a child was being carried about,\nthe minister had the following proclamation continually made in\nfront of it, with beat of drum; \"If a Br\u00e1hman boy of seven years old\nwill willingly offer himself to a Br\u00e1hman demon for the good of the\ncommunity, and if his mother and father will permit the brave boy to\noffer himself, and will hold his hands and feet while he is being\nslain, the king will give to that boy, who is so eager to benefit\nhis parents as to comply with these conditions, this image of gold\nand gems, together with a hundred villages.\"\n\nNow it happened that a certain seven-years-old Br\u00e1hman boy, living\non a royal grant to Br\u00e1hmans, who was of great courage and admirable\ncharacter, heard this proclamation. Even in his childhood this boy\nhad always taken pleasure in benefiting his fellow-men, as he had\npractised that virtue in a former life; in fact he seemed like the\nripe result of the merits of the king's subjects incarnate in bodily\nform. So he came and said to the men who were making this proclamation,\n\"I will offer myself up for your good; but first, I will go and inform\nmy parents; then I will return to you.\" When he said this to them,\nthey were delighted, and they let him go. So he went home, and folding\nhis hands in an attitude of supplication, he said to his parents;\n\"I wish to offer for the good of the community this perishable body\nof mine; so permit me to do so, and put an end to your poverty. For\nif I do so, the king will give me this image of myself, made of gold\nand gems, together with a hundred villages, and on receiving them,\nI will make them over to you. In this way I shall pay my debt to you,\nand at the same time benefit my fellow-men; and your poverty will be\nat an end, and you will have many sons to replace me.\"\n\nAs soon as he had said this, his parents answered him; \"What is\nthis that you say, son? Are you distracted with wind? Or are you\nplanet-struck? Unless you are one of these, how could you talk in this\nwild way? Who would cause his son's death for the sake of wealth? What\nchild would sacrifice its body?\" When the boy heard this speech of his\nparents, he rejoined; \"I do not speak from a disordered intellect;\nhear my speech, which is full of sense. This body, which is full\nof indescribable impurities, which is loathsome by its very birth,\nand the abode of pain, will soon perish [390] anyhow. So wise men say\nthat the only solid and permanent thing in a fleeting universe is that\nmerit which is acquired by means of this very frail and perishable\nbody. [391] And what greater merit can there be than the benefiting\nof all creatures? So, if I do not show devotion to my parents, what\nfruit shall I reap from my body?\" By this speech and others of the\nsame kind the resolute boy induced his weeping parents to consent to\nhis wish. And he went to the king's servants, and obtained from them\nthat golden image, together with a grant of a hundred villages, and\ngave them to his parents. Then he made the king's servants precede\nhim, and went quickly, accompanied by his parents, to the king in\nChitrak\u00fata. Then king Chandr\u00e1valoka, beholding arrived the boy,\nwhose courage [392] was so perfect, and who thus resembled a bright\nprotecting talisman, was exceedingly delighted. So he had him adorned\nwith garlands, and anointed with unguents, and putting him on the\nback of an elephant, he took him with his parents to the abode of\nthe Br\u00e1hman demon.\n\nThen the chaplain drew a circle near the asvattha-tree, and performed\nthe requisite rites, and made an oblation to the fire. And then\nthe Br\u00e1hman demon Jv\u00e1l\u00e1mukha appeared, uttering a loud laugh, and\nreciting the Vedas. His appearance was very terrible; he was drunk\nwith a full draught of blood, yawning, and panting frequently; his\neyes blazed, and he darkened the whole horizon with the shadow of\nhis body. Then king Chandr\u00e1valoka, beholding him, bent before him,\nand said; \"Adorable one, I have brought you this human sacrifice,\nand it is now the seventh day, gentle Sir, since I promised it you;\nso be propitious, receive this sacrifice, as is due.\" When the king\nmade this request, the Br\u00e1hman demon looked at the Br\u00e1hman boy,\nlicking the corners of his mouth with his tongue. [393]\n\nAt that moment the noble boy, in his joy, said to himself, \"Let not\nthe merit, which I acquire by this sacrifice of my body, gain for\nme heaven, or even a salvation which involves no benefits to others,\nbut may I be privileged to offer up my body for the benefit of others\nin birth after birth!\" While he was forming this aspiration, the\nheaven was suddenly filled with the chariots of the heavenly host,\nwho rained flowers.\n\nThen the boy was placed in front of the Br\u00e1hman demon, and his mother\ntook hold of his hands and his father of his feet. Then the king\ndrew his sword, and prepared to slay him; but at that moment the\nchild laughed so loudly, that all there, the Br\u00e1hman demon included,\nabandoned the occupation in which they were engaged, and in their\nastonishment put their palms together, and bowing, looked at his face.\n\nWhen the Vet\u00e1la had told this entertaining and romantic tale, he once\nmore put a question to king Trivikramasena; \"So tell me, king, what\nwas the reason that the boy laughed in such an awful moment as that\nof his own death? I feel great curiosity to know it, so, if you know,\nand do not tell me, your head shall split into a hundred pieces.\"\n\nWhen the king heard this from the Vet\u00e1la, he answered him, \"Hear\nwhat was the meaning of that child's laugh. It is well known that\na weak creature, when danger comes upon it, calls upon its father\nor mother to save its life. And if its father and mother be gone,\nit invokes the protection of the king who is appointed to succour the\nafflicted, and if it cannot obtain the aid of the king, it calls upon\nthe deity under whose special protection it is. Now, in the case of\nthat child, all those were present, and all behaved in exactly the\nopposite manner to what might have been expected of them. The child's\nparents held its hands and feet out of greed of gain, and the king\nwas eager to slay it, to save his own life, and the Br\u00e1hman demon,\nits protecting deity, was ready to devour it. The child said to itself;\n'To think that these should be thus deluded, being led so much astray\nfor the sake of the body, which is perishable, loathsome within, and\nfull of pain and disease. Why should they have such a strange longing\nfor the continuance of the body, in a world in which Brahm\u00e1, Indra,\nVishnu, Siva, and the other gods must certainly perish.' Accordingly\nthe Br\u00e1hman boy laughed out of joy and wonder, joy at feeling that he\nhad accomplished his object, and wonder at beholding the marvellous\nstrangeness of their delusion.\"\n\nWhen the king had said this, he ceased, and the Vet\u00e1la immediately left\nhis shoulder, and went back to his own place, disappearing by his magic\npower. But the king, without hesitating for a moment, rapidly pursued\nhim; the hearts of great men, as of great seas, are firm and unshaken.\n\n\n\nNOTE.\n\nOesterley (p. 210) tells us that a boy is in the same way sold to\na king as a victim in the 32nd tale of the Turkish collection of\ntales, called \"The Forty Viziers.\" When the king is about to rip\nup the child's body, the child laughs for the same reason as in our\ntext. The cause of the sacrifice is however different. The king is\nto be healed by placing his feet in the body of a boy.\n\nThe promise of a golden image to any one who is willing to\nsacrifice his life is also found in the Bengali edition of the\nSinh\u00e1sana-dv\u00e1trinsati. A rich man makes a golden image, with an\ninscription on it to the effect that whoever is willing to sacrifice\nhis life shall have it. Vikram\u00e1ditya goes to the place disguised, and\ncuts off his head, but the goddess heals him, (Benfey's Panchatantra,\nVol. I, p. 109.)\n\n\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XCV.\n\n(Vet\u00e1la 21.)\n\n\nThen king Trivikramasena again went and took the Vet\u00e1la from the\nasoka-tree, and carried him along on his shoulder. And as he was going\nalong, the Vet\u00e1la again said to the king, \"Listen, king, I will tell\nyou a story of violent attachment.\"\n\n\n\nStory of Anangamanjar\u00ed, her husband Manivarman, and the Br\u00e1hman\nKamal\u00e1kara.\n\nThere is a city called Vis\u00e1l\u00e1, which is like a second city of Indra,\nmade by the Creator on earth, for the sake of virtuous people who\nhave fallen from heaven. In it there lived a fortunate king, named\nPadman\u00e1bha, who was a source of joy to good men, and excelled king\nBali. In the reign of that king there lived in that city a great\nmerchant, named Arthadatta, who surpassed in opulence the god of\nwealth. And to him there was born a daughter named Anangamanjar\u00ed,\nwho was exhibited on earth by the Creator as a likeness of a heavenly\nnymph. And that merchant gave her to the son of a distinguished\nmerchant, dwelling in T\u00e1mralipt\u00ed, and named Manivarman. But as he\nwas very fond of his daughter Anangamanjar\u00ed, because she was his only\nchild, he would not let her leave his house, but kept her there with\nher husband. But Anangamanjar\u00ed's husband Manivarman was as distasteful\nto her, as a biting bitter medicine to a sick man. But that lovely\none was dearer than life to her husband, as wealth hardly won and\nlong hoarded is to a miser.\n\nNow once on a time that Manivarman, longing to see his parents, went\nto his home in T\u00e1mralipt\u00ed to visit them. After some days had passed,\nthe hot season descended upon the land, impeding the journey of men\nabsent from home with the sharp shafts of the sun's rays. The winds\nblew laden with the fragrance of the jasmine and trumpet-flower, and\nseemed like the hot [394] sighs of the cardinal points on account of\nthe departure of spring. Lines of dust raised by the wind flew up to\nheaven, like messengers sent by the heated earth to hasten the approach\nof the clouds. The days passed slowly, like travellers exhausted by\nthe severe heat, and longing for the shade of the trees. The nights,\npale-gleaming with moonbeams, became exceedingly [395] reduced owing\nto the loss of the spring with all its happy meetings.\n\nOne day in that season, that merchant's daughter Anangamanjar\u00ed was\nsitting with her intimate friend in a lofty window of her house, white\nwith sandal-wood ointment, and elegantly dressed in a thin garment\nof silk. While there, she saw a young Br\u00e1hman, named Kamal\u00e1kara, the\nson of the king's chaplain, passing by, and he looked like the god of\nLove, risen from his ashes, going to find Rati. And when Kamal\u00e1kara\nsaw that lovely one overhead, like the orb of the moon, [396] he was\nfull of joy, and became like a cluster of kumuda-flowers. The sight\nof those two young persons became to one another, by the mighty\ncommand of Cupid, a priceless [397] fascination of the mind. And\nthe two were overcome by passion, which rooted up their modesty and\ncarried away by a storm of love-frenzy, which flung their minds to\na distance. And Kamal\u00e1kara's companion, as soon as he saw that his\nfriend was love-smitten, dragged him off, though with difficulty,\nto his own house.\n\nAs for Anangamanjar\u00ed, she enquired what his name was, and having no\nwill of her own, slowly entered the house with that confidante of\nhers. There she was grievously afflicted with the fever of love,\nand thinking on her beloved, she rolled on the bed, and neither\nsaw nor heard anything. After two or three days had passed, being\nashamed and afraid, unable to bear the misery of separation, thin\nand pale, and despairing of union with her beloved, which seemed a\nthing impossible, she determined on suicide. So, one night, when her\nattendants were asleep, she went out, drawn as it were, by the moon,\nwhich sent its rays through the window, like fingers, and made for a\ntank at the foot of a tree in her own garden. There she approached\nan image of the goddess Chand\u00ed, her family deity, that had been\nset up with much magnificence by her father, and she bowed before\nthe goddess, and praised her, and said, \"Though I have not obtained\nKamal\u00e1kara for a husband in this life, let him be my husband in a\nfuture birth!\" When the impassioned woman had uttered these words\nin front of the goddess, she made a noose with her upper garment,\nand fastened it to an asoka-tree.\n\nIn the meanwhile it happened that her confidante, who was sleeping\nin the same room, woke up, and not seeing her there, went to the\ngarden to look for her. And seeing her there engaged in fastening a\nnoose round her neck, she cried out, \"Stop! stop!\" and running up,\nshe cut that noose which she had made. Anangamanjar\u00ed, when she saw\nthat her confidante had come and cut the noose, fell on the ground in\na state of great affliction. Her confidante comforted her, and asked\nher the cause of her grief, and she at once told her, and went on to\nsay to her, \"So you see, friend M\u00e1latik\u00e1, as I am under the authority\nof my parents and so on, and have little chance of being united to\nmy beloved, death is my highest happiness.\" While Anangamanjar\u00ed was\nsaying these words, she was exceedingly tortured with the fire of\nLove's arrows, and being overpowered with despair, she fainted away.\n\nHer friend M\u00e1latik\u00e1 exclaimed, \"Alas! the command of Cupid is hard\nto resist, since it has reduced to this state this friend of mine,\nwho was always laughing at other misguided women, who shewed a want\nof self-restraint. [398]\" Lamenting in these words, she slowly brought\nAnangamanjar\u00ed round with cold water, fanning, and so on, and in order\nto allay her heat, she made her a bed of lotus-leaves, and placed on\nher heart a necklace cool as snow. Then Anangamanjar\u00ed, with her eyes\ngushing with tears, said to her friend, \"Friend, the necklace and the\nother applications do not allay my internal heat. But do you by your\ncleverness accomplish something which will really allay it. Unite\nme to my beloved, if you wish to preserve my life.\" When she said\nthis, M\u00e1latik\u00e1 lovingly answered her, \"My friend, the night is now\nalmost at an end, but to-morrow I will make an arrangement with your\nbeloved, and bring him to this very place. So in the meanwhile control\nyourself, and enter your house.\" When she said this, Anangamanjar\u00ed\nwas pleased, and drawing the necklace from her neck, she gave it\nto her as a present. And she said to her, \"Now go to your house,\nand early to-morrow go thence to the house of my beloved, and may\nyou prosper!\" Having dismissed her confidante in these words, she\nentered her own apartments.\n\nAnd early next morning, her friend M\u00e1latik\u00e1 went, without being seen by\nany one, to the house of Kamal\u00e1kara; and searching about in the garden,\nshe saw him at the foot of a tree. He was rolling about, burning with\nthe fire of love, on a bed composed of lotus-leaves moistened with\nsandal-wood juice, and a confidential friend of his was trying to give\nhim relief by fanning him with a plantain-leaf. She said to herself,\n\"Is it possible that he has been reduced to this stage of love's\nmalady by separation from her?\" So she remained there in concealment,\nto find out the truth about it.\n\nIn the meanwhile that friend of Kamal\u00e1kara's said to him, \"Cast\nyour eye, my friend, for a moment round this delightful garden, and\ncheer up your heart. Do not give way to despondency.\" When the young\nBr\u00e1hman heard this, he answered his friend, \"My friend, my heart has\nbeen taken from me by Anangamanjar\u00ed the merchant's daughter, and my\nbreast left empty; so how can I cheer up my heart. Moreover Love,\nfinding me robbed of my heart, has made me a quiver for his arrows;\nso enable me to get hold of that girl, who stole it.\"\n\nWhen the young Br\u00e1hman said that, M\u00e1latik\u00e1's doubts were removed,\nand she was delighted, and showed herself, and went up to him, and\nsaid, \"Happy man, Anangamanjar\u00ed has sent me to you, and I hereby\ngive you her message, the meaning of which is clear, 'What sort of\nconduct is this for a virtuous man, to enter a fair one's bosom by\nforce, and after stealing away her heart, to go off without showing\nhimself.' It is strange too, that though you have stolen the lady's\nheart, she now wishes to surrender to you herself and her life. For\nday and night she furnaces forth from her hot sighs, which appear\nlike smoke rising from the fire of love in her burning heart. And her\ntear-drops, black with collyrium, fall frequently, looking like bees\nattracted by the fragrance of her lotus-like face. So if you like,\nI will say what will be for the good of both of you.\"\n\nWhen M\u00e1latik\u00e1 said this, Kamal\u00e1kara answered her, \"My good lady, this\nspeech of yours, though it comforts me by shewing that my beloved\nloves me, terrifies me, as it tells that the fair one is in a state\nof unhappiness. So you are our only refuge in this matter; do as you\nthink best.\" When Kamal\u00e1kara said this, M\u00e1latik\u00e1 answered, \"I will\nto-night bring Anangamanjar\u00ed secretly into the garden belonging to\nher house, and you must take care to be outside. Then I will manage\nby some device of mine to let you in, and so you will be able to\nsee one another in accordance with your wishes.\" When M\u00e1latik\u00e1 had\nby these words delighted the young Br\u00e1hman, she went away, having\naccomplished her object, and delighted Anangamanjar\u00ed also.\n\nThen the sun, in love with the twilight, departed somewhere or other,\ntogether with the day, and the heaven adorned itself, placing the\nmoon on its western quarter, like a patch on the forehead. And the\npure white kumuda-cluster laughed joyously with the cheerful faces of\nits opened flowers, as if to say, \"Fortune has left the lotus-cluster\nand come to me.\" Thereupon the lover Kamal\u00e1kara also adorned himself,\nand full of impatience, slowly approached the outside of the door that\nled into the garden of Anangamanjar\u00ed's house. Then M\u00e1latik\u00e1 managed\nto bring into that garden Anangamanjar\u00ed, who had with difficulty got\nthrough the day. And she made her sit in the middle of it, in a bower\nof mango-trees, and went out, and brought in Kamal\u00e1kara also. And when\nhe entered, he beheld Anangamanjar\u00ed in the midst of dense-foliaged\ntrees, as gladly as the traveller beholds the shade.\n\nWhile he was advancing towards her, she saw him, and as the violence\nof her passion robbed her of shame, she eagerly ran forward, and threw\nher arms round his neck. She faltered out, \"Where are you going? I\nhave caught you,\" and immediately her breath was stopped by the\nweight of excessive joy, and she died. And she fell on the ground,\nlike a creeper broken by the wind. Alas! strange is the course of\nlove, that is terrible in its consequences. When Kamal\u00e1kara beheld\nthat misfortune, which was terrible as a thunder-stroke, he said,\n\"Alas! what is this?\" and fell senseless on the ground. In a moment\nhe recovered consciousness; and then he took his beloved up in his\narms, and embraced and kissed her, and lamented much. And then he was\nso violently oppressed by excessive weight of sorrow, that his heart\nburst asunder at once, with a crack. And when M\u00e1latik\u00e1 was lamenting\nover their corpses, the night, seeing that both these lovers had\nmet their end, came to an end, as if out of grief. And the next day,\nthe relations of both, hearing from the gardeners what had happened,\ncame there distracted with shame, wonder, grief, and bewilderment. And\nthey remained for a long time doubtful what to do, with faces downcast\nfrom distress; bad women are a grievous affliction, and a source of\ncalamity to their family.\n\nAt this moment Manivarman, the husband of Anangamanjar\u00ed, came, full\nof longing to see her, from his father's house in T\u00e1mralipt\u00ed. When\nhe reached his father-in-law's house, and heard what had taken\nplace, he came running to that garden, with his eyes blinded with\ntears. There, beholding his wife lying dead by the side of another\nman, the passionate man at once yielded up his breath, that was heated\nwith the fire of grief. Then the people there began to cry out, and\nto make an uproar, and all the citizens heard what had taken place,\nand came there in a state of astonishment.\n\nThen the goddess Chand\u00ed, who was close at hand, having been called\ndown into that garden long ago by the father of Anangamanjar\u00ed, was\nthus supplicated by her Ganas; \"Goddess, this merchant Arthadatta,\nwho has established an image of thee in his garden, has always been\ndevoted to thee, so have mercy upon him in this his affliction.\" When\nthe beloved of Siva, the refuge of the distressed, heard this prayer\nof her Ganas, she gave command that the three should return to life,\nfree from passion. So they all, by her favour, immediately arose, as if\nawaking from sleep, free from the passion of love. Then all the people\nwere full of joy, beholding that marvel; and Kamal\u00e1kara went home,\nwith his face downcast from shame; and Arthadatta, having recovered his\ndaughter [399] Anangamanjar\u00ed, who looked thoroughly ashamed of herself,\ntogether with her husband, returned to his house in high spirits.\n\nWhen the Vet\u00e1la had told this story that night on the way, he again put\na question to king Trivikramasena. He said, \"King, tell me, which of\nthose three, who were blinded by passion, was the most infatuated? And\nremember, the curse before-mentioned will take effect, if you know\nand do not say.\" When the king heard this question of the Vet\u00e1la's, he\nanswered him, \"It seems to me that Manivarman was the most infatuated\nwith passion of the three. For one can understand those two dying,\nas they were desperately in love with one another, and their amorous\ncondition had been fully developed by lapse of time. But Manivarman\nwas terribly infatuated, for when he saw his wife dead of love for\nanother man, and the occasion called for indignation, he was so far\nfrom being angry that, in his great love, he died of grief.\" When the\nking had said this, the mighty Vet\u00e1la again left his shoulder, and\ndeparted to his own place, and the king again went in pursuit of him.\n\n\n\nNOTE.\n\nOesterley, page 217, gives a story which resembles this in its\nconclusion. A king finds a girl being carried off by robbers. He\ndelivers her and places her in a temple, promising to bring her\nfood. But on his way he meets a kuttin\u00ed, who conducts him to another\ngirl, with whom he falls desperately in love, and so forgets the girl\nhe rescued. She is found by a merchant. He takes her to his house and\nsets food before her. He then kills a rat, and boasts of his valour;\n(see page 16 of this volume.) This conduct, contrasted with that\nof the king, makes the girl die of disgust. The merchant kills\nhimself. The king, not finding the first girl where he left her,\ncommits suicide. The kuttin\u00ed considers that she has caused the death\nof three persons, and kills herself in a fit of remorse. The Vet\u00e1la\nasks, \"Which of these four deaths was the most extraordinary?\" The\nking answers, \"That of the kuttin\u00ed, for the others died of excess\nof passion.\"\n\n\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XCVI.\n\n(Vet\u00e1la 22.)\n\n\nThen king Trivikramasena again fetched the Vet\u00e1la from the top of the\nasoka-tree, and put him on his shoulder, and as he was going along,\nthe Vet\u00e1la said to him on the way, \"King, you are good and brave,\nso hear this matchless tale.\"\n\n\n\nStory of the four Br\u00e1hman brothers who resuscitated the tiger.\n\nThere lived once on the earth a king, named Dharan\u00edvar\u00e1ha, who was\nlord of the town of P\u00e1taliputra. [400] In his realm, which abounded\nin Br\u00e1hmans, there was a royal grant to Br\u00e1hmans named Brahmasthala;\nand on it there lived a Br\u00e1hman of the name of Vishnusv\u00e1min. He had a\nwife that was as well-suited to him as the oblation to the fire. And\nin course of time he had four sons by her. And when they had learnt\nthe Vedas, and passed their childhood, Vishnusv\u00e1min went to heaven,\nand his wife followed him.\n\nThen all his sons there, being in a miserable state, as they had no\nprotectors, and having had all their property taken from them by their\nrelations, deliberated together, and said, \"We have no means of support\nhere, so why should we not go hence to the house of our maternal\ngrandfather in the village named Yajnasthala?\" Having determined on\nthis, they set out, living on alms, and after many days they reached\nthe house of their maternal grandfather. Their grandfather was dead,\nbut their mother's brothers gave them shelter and food, and they lived\nin their house, engaged in reading the Vedas. But after a time, as\nthey were paupers, their uncles came to despise them, and neglected\nto supply them with food, clothes, and other necessaries.\n\nThen their hearts were wounded by the manifest contempt shewn for\nthem by their relations, and they brooded over it in secret, and then\nthe eldest brother said to the rest; \"Well! brothers, what are we\nto do? Destiny performs every thing, no man can do anything in this\nworld at any place or time. For to-day, as I was wandering about in\na state of distraction, I reached a cemetery; and in it I saw a man\nlying dead upon the ground, with all his limbs relaxed. And when I saw\nhim, I envied his state, and I said to myself; 'Fortunate is this man,\nwho is thus at rest, having got rid of his burden of grief.' Such was\nthe reflection that then occurred to me; so I determined to die: and\nI tried to hang myself by means of a rope fastened to the branch of a\ntree. I became unconscious, but my breath did not leave my body; and\nwhile I was in this state, the rope broke, and I fell to the earth. And\nas soon as I recovered consciousness, I saw that some compassionate\nman was fanning me with his garment. He said to me, 'Friend, say,\nwhy do you allow yourself to be thus afflicted, though you are\nwise? For joy springs from good deeds, and pain from evil deeds,\nthese are their only sources. If your agitation is due to pain, then\nperform good deeds; how can you be so foolish as to desire to incur\nthe pains of hell by suicide?' With these words that man consoled\nme, and then departed somewhere or other, but I have come here,\nhaving abandoned my design of committing suicide. So, you see that,\nif Destiny is adverse, it is not even possible to die. Now I intend\nto go to some holy water, and there consume my body with austerities,\nin order that I may never again endure the misery of poverty.\"\n\nWhen the eldest brother said this, his younger brothers said to him,\n\"Sir, why are you, though wise, afflicted with pain merely because\nyou are poor? Do you not know that riches pass away like an autumn\ncloud. Who can ever count on retaining Fortune or a fickle woman,\nthough he carry them off and guard them carefully, for both\nare insincere in their affection and secretly hostile to their\npossessor? So a wise man must acquire by vigorous exertion some eminent\naccomplishment, which will enable him frequently to bind [401] and lead\nhome by force riches which are like bounding deer.\" When the eldest\nbrother was addressed in this language by his brothers, he at once\nrecovered his self-control, and said, \"What accomplishment of this kind\nshould we acquire?\" Then they all considered and said to one another,\n\"We will search through the earth and acquire some magic power.\" So\nhaving adopted this resolution, and fixed upon a trysting-place at\nwhich to meet, the four separated, going east, west, north and south.\n\nAnd in course of time they met again at the appointed spot, and asked\none another what each had learned. Then one of them said, \"I have\nlearned this magic secret; if I find a bit of a bone of any animal,\nI can immediately produce on it the flesh of that animal.\" When the\nsecond heard this speech of his brother's, he said, \"When the flesh of\nany animal has been superinduced upon a piece of bone, I know how to\nproduce the skin and hair appropriate to that animal.\" Then the third\nsaid, \"And when the hair and flesh and skin have been produced, I am\nable to create the limbs of the animal to which the bone belonged.\" And\nthe fourth said, \"When the animal has its limbs properly developed,\nI know how to endow it with life.\"\n\nWhen they had said this to one another, the four brothers went\ninto the forest to find a piece of bone, on which to display their\nskill. There it happened that they found a piece of a lion's bone,\nand they took it up without knowing to what animal it belonged. Then\nthe first covered it with the appropriate flesh, and the second in\nthe same way produced on it all the requisite skin and hair, and the\nthird completed the animal by giving it all its appropriate limbs,\nand it became a lion, and then the fourth endowed it with life. Then\nit rose up a very terrible lion, furnished with a dense shaggy mane,\nhaving a mouth formidable with teeth, [402] and with hooked claws\nat the end of its paws. And charging the four authors of its being,\nit slew them on the spot, and then retired glutted to the forest. So\nthose Br\u00e1hmans perished by making the fatal mistake of creating a lion:\nfor who can give joy to his own soul by raising up a noisome beast?\n\nSo, if Fate be not propitious, an accomplishment, though painfully\nacquired, not only does not bring prosperity, but actually brings\ndestruction. For the tree of valour only bears fruit, as a general\nrule, when the root, being uninjured, [403] is watered with the water\nof wisdom, and when it is surrounded with the trench of policy.\n\nWhen the Vet\u00e1la, sitting on the shoulder of the king, had told this\ntale on the way, that night, to king Trivikramasena, he went on to\nsay to him, \"King, which of these four was guilty in respect of\nthe production of the lion, that slew them all? Tell me quickly,\nand remember that the old condition is still binding on you.\" When\nthe king heard the Vet\u00e1la say this, he said to himself, \"This demon\nwishes me to break silence, and so to escape from me. Never mind,\nI will go and fetch him again.\" Having formed this resolution in his\nheart, he answered that Vet\u00e1la, \"That one among them, who gave life\nto the lion, is the guilty one. For they produced the flesh, the skin,\nthe hair, and the limbs, by magic power, without knowing what kind of\nanimal they were making: and therefore no guilt attaches to them on\naccount of their ignorance. But the man, who, when he saw that the\nanimal had a lion's shape, gave life to it, in order to display his\nskill, was guilty of the death of those Br\u00e1hmans.\"\n\nWhen the mighty Vet\u00e1la heard this speech of the king's, he again\nleft his shoulder by magic power and went back to his own place,\nand the king again went in pursuit of him.\n\n\n\n\n\nNOTE.\n\nThe story, as given in the Panchatantra (Benfey, Vol. II, p. 332), is\nsomewhat different. Here we have four brothers of whom three possess\nall knowledge, but one only possesses common sense. The first brother\njoins together the bones of the lion, the second covers them with\nskin, flesh, and blood, the third is about to give the animal life,\nwhen the brother, who possesses common sense, says \"If you raise him\nto life, he will kill us all.\" Finding that the third brother will not\ndesist from his intention, he climbs up a tree and so saves his life,\nwhile his three brothers are torn to pieces.\n\nIn the Bahar-Danush (Scott) Vol. II, p. 290, the bones of a cow are\njoined together by being sprinkled with water. See Benfey, Vol. I,\np. 489. (Oesterley's Bait\u00e1l Pach\u00eds\u00ed, pp. 211-212.)\n\n\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XCVII.\n\n(Vet\u00e1la 23.)\n\n\nThen the noble king Trivikramasena went back, and again took down\nthat Vet\u00e1la from the asoka-tree, and though the Vet\u00e1la transformed\nhimself in all possible ways, he put him on his shoulder and started\noff with him in silence, and then the Vet\u00e1la said to him, \"King,\nthough the business in which you are engaged is not becoming to you,\nyou exhibit in it undaunted perseverance; so listen, I will tell you\na tale to dispel your fatigue.\"\n\n\n\nStory of the Hermit who first wept and then danced.\n\nThere is in the land of Kalinga a city named Sobh\u00e1vat\u00ed, like the\ncity of Indra in heaven, the abode of those that act aright. It was\nruled by a king named Pradyumna, whose sway was mighty, and who,\nlike the god Pradyumna, was celebrated for his exceeding power and\nvalour. The only detraction heard in his realm was that of the string\nfrom the bow, the only pressure that of the fingers on the cymbal,\nvice was only known in the name of the age, [404] and keenness only\nin the pursuit of knowledge.\n\nIn a certain part of that town there was a grant named Yajnasthala,\ngiven by that king, on which many Br\u00e1hmans were settled. There lived\non it a very wealthy Br\u00e1hman who had mastered the Vedas, whose name\nwas Yajnasoma. He maintained a sacrificial fire, and honoured guests,\nand the gods. After his youth was past, there was born to him by his\nwife, who was in every way a suitable match for him, an only son,\nthe child of a hundred wishes. And that promising boy grew up in his\nfather's house, and the Br\u00e1hmans duly named him Devasoma. And when he\nhad attained the age of sixteen years, that boy, who captivated all\nby his knowledge, modesty, and other good qualities, suddenly died of\na fever. Then Yajnasoma, together with his wife, remained lovingly\nembracing that dead boy, and lamenting over him, and refused for a\nlong time to let him be taken away to be burnt.\n\nThen the old men assembled and reproved that Br\u00e1hman in the following\nwords, \"Br\u00e1hman, are you not aware, though you know what is near and\nfar, that the condition of this Fata Morgana of a world is frail\nas a bubble on water? Look at those kings who filled the earth\nwith their armies, and enjoyed themselves in this world, deeming\nthemselves immortal, lying on jewelled couches on the delightful\nsummits of palaces, that resounded with the warbling of music, having\ntheir bodies anointed with sandal-wood ointment and other fragrant\nunguents, and begirt with beautiful women. Even these no one could\nsave from being consumed by flesh-devouring flames, lying alone on\nthe funeral pyre in the cemetery whither the dead are followed by\nweeping friends, and when their extremities had been shrivelled,\nfrom being at last devoured by the jackals: much less can any others\nescape this fate. So tell us, wise man, what mean you by embracing\nthat corpse?\" Many other speeches of this kind did they address to him.\n\nAt last with difficulty his relations got him to stop clinging to his\ndead son, and then, after the body had been laid out, they put it on\na bier, and with loud lamentations carried it to the burning-place,\naccompanied by many people who shed tears on account of the calamity.\n\nNow at that time there was dwelling in that cemetery an old P\u00e1supata\nascetic possessing supernatural power, who lived in a hut. His name was\nV\u00e1masiva. His body was emaciated with age and excessive asceticism,\nand bound round with veins, as if for fear that it would break. He\nwas covered all over with hair white with ashes, his matted locks were\nyellow as lightning, and he looked like a second Siva. When that hermit\nheard in the distance the lamentation of those people outside his hut,\nhe said to the pupil that lived with him, \"Rise up! go and find out\nthe meaning of this confused noise outside in the cemetery, such as I\nnever heard before, and come back quickly, and tell me.\" Now this pupil\nwas one who had taken a vow of living on the products of begging; he\nwas a fool, and a rogue, and an egoist, puffed up with contemplation,\nmagical powers, and other things of the kind, and at this time he was\nannoyed because his teacher had rebuked him. So, when his teacher gave\nhim this order, he answered him, \"I will not go; go yourself, for my\ntime for begging is fast slipping away.\" When the teacher heard that,\nhe said, \"Out on you, fool, devoted to your belly! Only half one watch\nof the day has passed: how can it be your time for begging now?\" When\nthe wicked pupil heard that, he was angry, and said to his teacher;\n\"Out on you, you decrepit old creature! I am no longer your pupil,\nand you are no longer my teacher. I will go elsewhere, carry this\nvessel yourself.\" When he had said this, he put down in front of him\nhis stick and water-vessel, and got up and went away.\n\nThen the hermit left his hut, laughing as he went, and came to the\nplace where the young Br\u00e1hman had been brought to be burned. And when\nthe hermit saw him, with the people lamenting for the flower of his\nyouth, being afflicted with old age, and possessed of magical powers,\nhe determined to enter his body. So he quickly went aside, and first\nwept aloud, and immediately afterwards he danced with appropriate\ngesticulations. [405] Then the ascetic, longing to be young again,\nabandoned his own body, and at once entered by magic power that young\nBr\u00e1hman's body. And immediately the young Br\u00e1hman on the pyre, which\nwas ready prepared, returned to life, and rose up with a yawn. When\nhis relations and all the people saw that, they raised a loud shout of\n\"Hurrah! he is alive! he is alive!\"\n\nThen that ascetic, who was a mighty sorcerer, and had thus entered the\nyoung Br\u00e1hman's body, not intending to abandon his vow, told them all\nthe following falsehood; \"Just now, when I went to the other world,\nSiva himself restored my life to me, telling me that I must take upon\nme the vow of a P\u00e1supata ascetic. And I must this moment go into\na solitary place and support this vow, otherwise I cannot live, so\ndepart you, and I also will depart.\" Saying this to all those present,\nthe resolute votary, bewildered with mixed feelings of joy and grief,\ndismissed them to their own homes. And he himself went, and threw\nthat former body of his into a ravine; and so that great magician,\nwho had taken the vow, having become young, went away to another place.\n\nWhen the Vet\u00e1la had told this story that night on the way, he again\nsaid to king Trivikramasena, \"Tell me, king, why did that mighty\nmagician, when entering another body, first weep, and then dance? I\nhave a great desire to know this.\"\n\nWhen that king, who was a chief of sages, heard this question of\nthe Vet\u00e1la's, fearing the curse, he broke silence, and gave him this\nanswer, \"Hear what the feelings of that ascetic were. He was grieved\nbecause he thought that he was just going to abandon that body, which\nhad grown up with him through many years, by living in which he had\nacquired magic power, and which his parents had fondled, when he\nwas a child, so he wept violently; for affection for one's body is\na deeply rooted feeling. But he danced for joy, because he thought\nthat he was about to enter a new body, and that by means of that he\nwould acquire greater magic power; for to whom is not youth pleasing.\"\n\nWhen the Vet\u00e1la, who was inside that corpse, heard this speech of\nthe king's, he left his shoulder and went back to that asoka-tree;\nbut that exceedingly undaunted monarch again ran after him, to recover\nhim; for the resolution of determined men surpasses in firmness the\nmighty mountains, and remains unshaken even at the end of a kalpa.\n\n\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XCVIII.\n\n(Vet\u00e1la 24.)\n\n\nThen the brave king Trivikramasena, disregarding the awful night,\nwhich in that terrible cemetery assumed the appearance of a R\u00e1kshas\u00ed,\nbeing black with darkness, and having the flames of the funeral pyres\nfor fiery eyes, again went to the asoka-tree, and took from it the\nVet\u00e1la, and put him on his shoulder.\n\nAnd while he was going along with him, as before, the Vet\u00e1la again\nsaid to that king, \"O king, I am tired out with going backwards and\nforwards, though you are not: so I will put to you one difficult\nquestion, and mind you listen to me.\"\n\n\n\nStory of the father that married the daughter and the son that married\nthe mother.\n\nThere was in the Dekkan a king of a small province, who was named\nDharma; he was the chief of virtuous men, but he had many relations\nwho aspired to supplant him. He had a wife named Chandravat\u00ed, who\ncame from the land of M\u00e1lava; she was of high lineage, and the most\nvirtuous of women. And that king had born to him by that wife one\ndaughter, who was not without cause named L\u00e1vanyavat\u00ed. [406]\n\nAnd when that daughter had attained a marriageable age, king Dharma\nwas ejected from his throne by his relations, who banded together and\ndivided his realm. Then he fled from his kingdom at night with his\nwife and that daughter, taking with him a large number of valuable\njewels, and he deliberately set out for M\u00e1lava the dwelling-place of\nhis father-in-law. And in the course of that same night he reached the\nVindhya forest with his wife and daughter. And when he entered it, the\nnight, that had escorted him thus far, took leave of him with drops\nof dew by way of tears. And the sun ascended the eastern mountain,\nstretching forth its first rays, like a warning hand, to dissuade him\nfrom entering that brigand-haunted wood. Then he travelled on through\nit with his wife and daughter, having his feet wounded with sharp\npoints of kusa-grass, and he reached a village of the Bhillas. It\nwas full of men that robbed their neighbours of life and property,\nand shunned by the virtuous, like the strong city of Death.\n\nThen beholding the king from a distance with his dress and ornaments,\nmany Savaras, armed with various weapons, ran to plunder him. When king\nDharma saw that, he said to his daughter and wife, \"The barbarians will\nseize on you first, so enter the wood in this direction.\" When the king\nsaid this to them, queen Chandravat\u00ed and her daughter L\u00e1vanyavat\u00ed,\nin their terror, plunged into the middle of the wood. And the brave\nking, armed with sword and shield, killed many of the Savaras, who came\ntowards him, raining arrows. Then the chief summoned the whole village,\nand falling on the king, who stood there alone, they slashed his shield\nto pieces and killed him; and then the host of bandits departed with\nhis ornaments. And queen Chandravat\u00ed, concealed in a thicket of the\nwood, saw from a distance her husband slain: so in her bewilderment\nshe fled with her daughter, and they entered another dense forest a\nlong distance off. There they found that the shadows of the trees,\nafflicted by the heat of midday, had laid themselves at their cool\nroots, imitating travellers. So, tired and sad, the queen sat down\nweeping with her daughter, in a spot on the bank of a lotus-lake,\nunder the shade of an asoka-tree.\n\nIn the meanwhile a chief, who lived near, came to that forest on\nhorseback, with his son, to hunt. He was named Chandasinha, and\nwhen he saw their footsteps imprinted in the dust, he said to his\nson Sinhapar\u00e1krama, \"We will follow up these lovely and auspicious\ntracks, and if we find the ladies to whom they belong, you shall\nchoose whichever you please of them.\" When Chandasinha said this, his\nson Sinhapar\u00e1krama said to him, \"I should like to have for a wife the\none that has these small feet, for I know that she will be young and\nsuited to me. But this one with large feet, being older than the other,\nwill just suit you. When Chandasinha heard this speech of his son's,\nhe said to him, \"What is this that you say? Your mother has only\nrecently gone to heaven, and now that I have lost so good a wife,\nhow can I desire another?\" When Chandasinha's son heard that, he\nsaid to him, \"Father, do not say so, for the home of a householder\nis empty without a wife. Moreover, have you not heard the stanza\ncomposed by M\u00faladeva? 'Who, that is not a fool, enters that house in\nwhich there is no shapely love eagerly awaiting his return, which,\nthough called a house, is really a prison without chains.' So, father,\nmy death will lie at your door, if you do not take as your wife that\ncompanion of the lady whom I have chosen.\"\n\nWhen Chandasinha heard this speech of his son's, he approved it,\nand went on slowly with him, tracking up their footsteps. And he\nreached that spot near the lake, and saw that dark queen Chandravat\u00ed,\nadorned with many strings of pearls, sitting in the shade of a\ntree. She looked like the midnight sky in the middle of the day,\nand her daughter L\u00e1vanyavat\u00ed, like the pure white moonlight, seemed\nto illumine her. And he and his son eagerly approached her, and she,\nwhen she saw him, rose up terrified, thinking that he was a bandit.\n\nBut the queen's daughter said to her, \"Mother, do not be afraid,\nthese are not bandits, these two gentle-looking well-dressed\npersons are certainly some nobles come here to hunt.\" However the\nqueen still continued to hesitate; and then Chandasinha got down\nfrom his horse and said to the two ladies, \"Do not be alarmed; we\nhave come here to see you out of love; so take confidence [407] and\ntell us fearlessly who you are, since you seem like Rati and Pr\u00edti\nfled to this wood in sorrow at Cupid's having been consumed by the\nflames of Siva's fiery eye. And how did you two come to enter this\nunpeopled wood? For these forms of yours are fitted to dwell in a\ngem-adorned palace. And our minds are tortured to think how your feet,\nthat deserve to be supported by the lap of beautiful women, can have\ntraversed this ground full of thorns. And, strange to say, the dust\nraised by the wind, falling on your faces, makes our faces lose their\nbrightness from despondency. [408] And the furious heat of the beams\nof the fierce-rayed sun, as it plays on your flower-soft bodies,\nburns us. So tell us your story; for our hearts are afflicted; we\ncannot bear to see you thus abiding in a forest full of wild beasts.\"\n\nWhen Chandasinha said this, the queen sighed, and full of shame and\ngrief, slowly told him her story. Then Chandasinha, seeing that she had\nno protector, comforted her and her daughter, and coaxed them with kind\nwords into becoming members of his family. And he and his son put the\nqueen and her daughter on their horses, and conducted them to their\nrich palace in Vittapapur\u00ed. And the queen, being helpless, submitted\nto his will, as if she had been born again in a second life. What\nis an unprotected woman, fallen into calamity in a foreign land,\nto do? Then Sinhapar\u00e1krama, the son of Chandasinha, made Chandravat\u00ed\nhis wife, on account of the smallness of her feet. And Chandasinha\nmade her daughter, the princess L\u00e1vanyavat\u00ed, his wife, on account of\nthe largeness of her feet. For they made this agreement originally,\nwhen they saw the two tracks of the small footsteps and the large\nfootsteps: and who ever swerves from his plighted word?\n\nSo, from the mistake about the feet, the daughter became the wife of\nthe father, and the mother the wife of the son, and so the daughter\nbecame the mother-in-law of her own mother, and the mother became\nthe daughter-in-law of her own daughter. And in course of time,\nboth of them had by those husbands sons and daughters, and they\nalso had sons and daughters in due course of time. So Chandasinha\nand Sinhapar\u00e1krama lived in their city, having obtained as wives\nL\u00e1vanyavat\u00ed and Chandravat\u00ed.\n\nWhen the Vet\u00e1la had told this story on the way at night, he again put\na question to king Trivikramasena; \"Now, king, about the children who\nwere in course of time born to the mother and daughter by the son\nand the father in those two lines--what relationship did they bear\nto one another? Tell me if you know. And the curse before threatened\nwill descend on you, if you know and do not tell.\"\n\nWhen the king heard this question of the Vet\u00e1la's, he turned the\nmatter over and over again in his mind, but he could not find out, so\nhe went on his way in silence. Then the Vet\u00e1la in the dead man's body,\nperched on the top of his shoulder, laughed to himself, and reflected;\n\"Ha! Ha! The king does not know how to answer this puzzling question,\nso he is glad, and silently goes on his way with very nimble feet. Now\nI cannot manage to deceive this treasure-house of valour any further;\n[409] and this is not enough to make that mendicant stop playing tricks\nwith me. So I will now deceive that villain, and by an artifice bestow\nthe success, which he has earned, upon this king, whom a glorious\nfuture awaits.\"\n\nWhen the Vet\u00e1la had gone through these reflections, he said to the\nking, \"King, though you have been worried with so many journeys to and\nfro in this cemetery terrible with black night, you seem quite happy,\nand you do not shew the least irresolution. I am pleased with this\nwonderful courage that you shew. [410] So now carry off this body,\nfor I am going out of it; and listen to this advice which I give you\nfor your welfare, and act on it. That wicked mendicant, for whom you\nhave fetched this human corpse, will immediately summon me into it,\nand honour me. And wishing to offer you up as a victim, the rascal\nwill say to you, 'King, prostrate yourself on the ground in such a way\nthat eight limbs will touch it.' Then, great king, you must say to that\nascetic, [411] 'Shew me first how to do it, and then I will do exactly\nas you do.' Then he will fling himself on the ground, and shew you\nhow to perform the prostration, and that moment you must cut off his\nhead with the sword. Then you will obtain that prize which he desires,\nthe sovereignty of the Vidy\u00e1dharas; enjoy this earth by sacrificing\nhim! But otherwise that mendicant will offer you up as a victim; it\nwas to prevent this that I threw obstacles in your way for such a long\ntime here. So depart; may you prosper!\" When the Vet\u00e1la had said this,\nhe went out of that human corpse, that was on the king's shoulder.\n\nThen the king was led by the speech of the Vet\u00e1la, who was pleased\nwith him, to look upon the ascetic Ksh\u00e1ntis\u00edla as his enemy, but he\nwent to him in high spirits, where he sat under that banyan-tree,\nand took with him that human corpse.\n\n\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XCIX.\n\n(Vet\u00e1la 25.)\n\n\nThen king Trivikramasena came up to that mendicant Ksh\u00e1ntis\u00edla,\ncarrying that corpse on his shoulder. And he saw that ascetic, alone at\nthe foot of a tree, in the cemetery that was terrible with a night of\nthe black fortnight, eagerly awaiting his arrival. He was in a circle\nmade with the yellow powder of bones, the ground within which was\nsmeared with blood, and which had pitchers full of blood placed in the\ndirection of the cardinal points. [412] It was richly illuminated with\ncandles of human fat, [413] and near it was a fire fed with oblations,\nit was full of all the necessary preparations for a sacrifice, and\nin it the ascetic was engaged in worshipping his favourite deity.\n\nSo the king came up to him, and the mendicant, seeing that he had\nbrought the corpse, rose up delighted, and said, praising him; \"Great\nking, you have conferred on me a favour difficult to accomplish. To\nthink that one like you should undertake this enterprise in such a\nplace and at such a time! Indeed they say with truth that you are\nthe best of all noble kings, being a man of unbending courage, [414]\nsince you forward the interests of another with such utter disregard\nof self. And wise men say that the greatness of great ones consists\nin this very thing, that they swerve not from what they have engaged\nto do, even though their lives are in danger.\"\n\nWith these words the mendicant, thinking he had gained his end, took\nthe corpse down from the shoulder of that king. And he bathed it, and\nanointed it, and threw a garland round it, and placed it within that\ncircle. And he smeared his limbs with ashes, and put on a sacrificial\nthread of hair, and clothed himself in the garments of the dead,\nand thus equipped he continued for a time in meditation. Then the\nmendicant summoned that mighty Vet\u00e1la by the power of spells, and made\nhim enter the corpse; and proceeded to worship him. He offered to him\nan argha of white human teeth in a skull by way of an argha-vessel;\nand he presented to him flowers and fragrant unguents; and he gratified\nhim with the savoury reek of human eyes, [415] and made an offering\nto him of human flesh. And when he had finished his worship, he said\nto the king, who was at his side, \"King, fall on the ground, and do\nobeisance with all your eight limbs to this high sovereign of spells\nwho has appeared here, in order that this bestower of boons may grant\nyou the accomplishment of your heart's desire.\"\n\nWhen the king heard that, he called to mind the words of the Vet\u00e1la,\nand said to the mendicant, \"I do not know how to do it, reverend sir;\ndo you shew me first, and then I will do exactly as you.\" Then the\nmendicant threw himself on the ground, to shew the king what he was to\ndo, and then the king cut off his head with a stroke of his sword. And\nhe tore and dragged [416] the lotus of his heart out of his inside,\nand offered his heart and head as two lotuses to that Vet\u00e1la.\n\nThen the delighted hosts of goblins uttered shouts of applause on every\nside, and the Vet\u00e1la said to the king from inside the corpse, \"King,\nthe sovereignty of the Vidy\u00e1dharas, which this mendicant was aiming at,\nshall fall to your lot after you have finished the enjoyment of your\nearthly sway. Since I have given you much annoyance, choose whatever\nboon you desire.\" When the Vet\u00e1la said this, the king said to him,\n\"Since you are pleased with me, every boon that I could desire is\nobtained; nevertheless, as your words cannot be uttered in vain, I\ncrave this boon of you:--may these first twenty-four questions and\nanswers, charming with their various tales, and this conclusion,\nthe twenty-fifth of the series, be all famous and honoured on the\nearth!\" When the king made this request to the Vet\u00e1la, the latter\nreplied, \"So be it! and now listen, king; I am going to mention a\npeculiar excellence which it shall possess. This string of tales,\nconsisting of the twenty-four first, and this final concluding tale,\nshall become, under the title of the Twenty-five Tales of a Vampire,\nfamous and honoured on the earth, as conducing to prosperity! Whosoever\nshall read respectfully even a sloka of it, or whosoever shall hear it\nread, even they two shall immediately be freed from their curse. And\nYakshas, and Vet\u00e1las, and Kushm\u00e1ndas, and witches, and R\u00e1kshasas, and\nother creatures of the kind shall have no power where this shall be\nrecited.\" When the Vet\u00e1la had said this, he left that human corpse, and\nwent by his supernatural deluding power to the habitation he desired.\n\nThen Siva, being pleased, appeared, accompanied by all the gods, to\nthat king, visibly manifest, and said to him, as he bowed before him;\n\"Bravo! my son, for that thou hast to-day slain this hypocritical\nascetic, who was so ardently in love with the imperial sovereignty\nover the Vidy\u00e1dharas! I originally created thee out of a portion of\nmyself, as Vikram\u00e1ditya, in order that thou mightest destroy the\nAsuras, that had become incarnate in the form of Mlechchhas. And\nnow thou hast again been created by me as a heroic king of the name\nof Trivikramasena, in order that thou mightest overcome an audacious\nevildoer. So thou shalt bring under thy sway the earth with the islands\nand the realms below, and shalt soon become supreme ruler over the\nVidy\u00e1dharas. And after thou hast long enjoyed heavenly pleasures,\nthou shalt become melancholy, and shalt of thy own will abandon them,\nand shalt at last without fail be united with me. Now receive from me\nthis sword named Invincible, by means of which thou shalt duly obtain\nall this.\" When the god Siva had said this to the king, he gave him\nthat splendid sword, and disappeared after he had been worshipped\nby him with devout speeches and flowers. Then king Trivikramasena,\nseeing that the whole business was finished, and as the night had come\nto an end, entered his own city Pratishth\u00e1na. There he was honoured\nby his rejoicing subjects, who in course of time came to hear of\nhis exploits during the night, and he spent the whole of that day\nin bathing, giving gifts, in worshipping Siva, in dancing, singing,\nmusic, and other enjoyments of the kind. And in a few days that king,\nby the power of the sword of Siva, came to enjoy the earth, that\nwas cleared of all enemies, together with the islands and the lower\nregions; and then by the appointment of Siva he obtained the high\nimperial sovereignty over the Vidy\u00e1dharas, and after enjoying it long,\nat last became united with the blessed one, so attaining all his ends.\n\n\n(Here ends the Vet\u00e1lapanchavinsati.)\n\nWhen [417] that minister Vikramakesarin, meeting in the way the\nsuccessful [418] prince Mrig\u00e1nkadatta, after he had been long separated\nfrom him by a curse, had told him all this, he went on to say to him,\n\"So, prince, after that old Br\u00e1hman had told me in that village this\nstory, called the Twenty-five Tales of a Vampire, he went on to say\nto me, 'Well, my son, did not that heroic king Trivikramasena obtain\nfrom the favour of a Vet\u00e1la the thing that he desired? So do you also\nreceive from me this spell, and laying aside your state of despondency,\nwin over a chief among the Vet\u00e1las, in order that you may obtain\nreunion with prince Mrig\u00e1nkadatta. For nothing is unattainable by\nthose who possess endurance; who, my son, will not fail, if he allows\nhis endurance to break down? So do what I recommend you to do out of\naffection; for you kindly delivered me from the pain of the bite of\na poisonous serpent.' When the Br\u00e1hman said this, I received from\nhim the spell with the practice to be employed with it, and then,\nking, I took leave of him, and went to Ujjayin\u00ed. There I got hold\nof a corpse in the cemetery at night, and I washed it, and performed\nall the other necessary processes with regard to it, and I summoned a\nVet\u00e1la into it by means of that spell, and duly worshipped him. And to\nsatisfy his hunger, I gave him human flesh to eat; and being greedy\nfor the flesh of men, he ate that up quickly, and then said to me;\n'I am not satisfied with this; give me some more.' And as he would\nnot wait any time, I cut off my own flesh, [419] and gave it to him to\nplease him: and that made that prince of magicians exceedingly pleased\nwith me. Then he said to me, 'My friend, I am much pleased now with\nthis intrepid valour of thine, so become whole in thy limbs as thou\nwast before, and crave from me whatever boon thou desirest.' When the\nVet\u00e1la said this to me, I answered him then and there: 'Convey me, god,\nto that place where my master Mrig\u00e1nkadatta is; there is no other boon\nwhich I desire more than this.' Then the mighty Vet\u00e1la said to me;\n'Then quickly get up on my shoulder, that I may carry thee rapidly\nto that master of thine.' When the Vet\u00e1la said this, I consented,\nand eagerly climbed up on his shoulder, and then the Vet\u00e1la, that was\ninside that human corpse, rapidly set out through the air, carrying\nme with him. And he has brought me here to-day, king, and when that\nmighty Vet\u00e1la saw you on the way, he brought me down from the air,\nand thus I have been made to reach the sole of your foot. And I have\nto-day been reunited with my master, and the Vet\u00e1la has departed,\nhaving accomplished what was required of him. This, O bestower of\nhonour, [420] is my great adventure, since I was separated from you\nby the curse of the N\u00e1ga.\"\n\nWhen Mrig\u00e1nkadatta, as he was going to Ujjayin\u00ed to win his beloved,\nhad heard, on the way, from his minister Vikramakesarin, this account\nof his adventures since he had been separated from him, that prince\nrejoiced, as he had in course of time found some of his ministers,\nwho were separated from him by the curse of P\u00e1r\u00e1vat\u00e1ksha, and as he\naugured therefrom success in all that he had in hand.\n\n\n\nNOTE.\n\nProperly speaking, there are 24 instead of 25 stories in this version\nof the Vet\u00e1la Panchavinsati. The same appears to be the case with the\nredaction ascribed to Sivad\u00e1sa, according to Oesterley, and with the\nTamul version. The 24th tale in Oesterley's translation is simply a\nrepetition of the 22nd.\n\n\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER C.\n\n\nHonour to the vanquisher of obstacles, [421] round whose knees,\nwhen he is dancing at night, there winds a garland of stars, which\nappears as if it had fallen from the globes on his forehead!\n\nThen, the story being ended, the delighted Mrig\u00e1nkadatta rose up from\nthe middle of the path, and set out again for Ujjayin\u00ed for which he had\nlong ago started in order to find Sas\u00e1nkavat\u00ed, with a party of eight,\nincluding himself, having recovered Vikramakesarin, accompanied by\nGun\u00e1kara, and Vimalabuddhi, and Vichitrakatha, and Bh\u00edmapar\u00e1krama,\nand Prachandasakti, and the Br\u00e1hman Srutadhi, and he kept looking\nout for those of his companions separated from him by the curse of\nthe N\u00e1ga, whom he had not yet recovered.\n\nAnd in course of time, he reached a treeless desert, all the water in\nwhich had been dried up by the heat, and which was full of sand heated\nby the fierce blaze of the sun. And as the prince was traversing it,\nhe said to his ministers, \"Observe how long, terrible, and difficult to\ncross is this great desert; for it has in it no refuge, it is pathless\nand abandoned by men; and the blaze of its fire of grief seems to\nascend in these sandy mirages; its rough and dishevelled locks are\nrepresented by the dry rustling blades of grass; and its thorns make\nit appear to have its hair standing on end through fear of the lions,\ntigers, and other noisome beasts; and it laments in the cries of its\ndeer exhausted by the heat and longing for water. So we must cross\nthis terrible desert as quickly as we can.\"\n\nWhen Mrig\u00e1nkadatta had said this, he quickly crossed that desert\nwith his ministers, who were afflicted with hunger and thirst. And\nhe beheld in front of him a great lake filled with pellucid and\ncold water, looking like streams that had flowed down from the moon\nafter it had been melted with the heat of the sun. It was so broad\nthat it filled the whole horizon, and it looked like a jewel-mirror\nmade by the Fortune of the three worlds, in order to behold in it\nthe reflection of herself. That lake resembled the Mah\u00e1bh\u00e1rata, for\nin it the Dh\u00e1rtar\u00e1shtras [422] were making a disturbance, and many\nArjuna trees were reflected; [423] and it was refreshing and sweet\nto the taste; it was like the churned sea of doom, for its precious\nfluid was drunk by the blue-necked jays that assembled near it, [424]\nand Vishnu might have resorted to it to find the goddess of Beauty:\n[425] it resembled an earthly P\u00e1t\u00e1la, for its profound cool depths\nwere never reached by the rays of the sun, and it was an unfailing\nreceptacle of lotuses. [426]\n\nAnd on the western shore of that lake the prince and his ministers saw\na great and wonderful tree. Its numerous far-reaching boughs, agitated\nby the wind, appeared like arms, and the cloud-stream that clung to its\nhead was like the Ganges, so that it resembled Siva dancing. With its\nlofty top, that pierced the sky, it seemed to be standing erect out\nof curiosity to see the beauty of the garden Nandana. It was adorned\nwith fruit of heavenly flavour, that clung to its branches, and so\nit looked like the wishing-tree of heaven, with goblets of nectar\nsuspended on it by the gods. It waved its shoots like finger-tips,\nand seemed with the voices of its birds to say again and again,\n\"Let no one question me in any way!\"\n\nWhile prince Mrig\u00e1nkadatta was looking at that tree, his ministers,\nworn out with hunger and thirst, ran towards it, and the moment they\nsaw those fruits on it, they climbed up to eat them, and immediately\nthey lost their human form, and were all six suddenly turned into\nfruits. Then Mrig\u00e1nkadatta was bewildered at not seeing those friends\nof his, and he called on every one of them there by name. But when they\ngave no answer, and could not be seen anywhere, the prince exclaimed\nin a voice agonized with despair, \"Alas! I am undone!\" and fell on\nthe ground in a swoon. And the Br\u00e1hman Srutadhi, who had not climbed\nup the tree, was the only one left at his side.\n\nSo the Br\u00e1hman Srutadhi at once said to him by way of consolation,\n\"Why, my sovereign, do you lose your firmness, and despair, though\nyou have learned wisdom? For it is the man, who is not distracted in\ncalamity, that obtains prosperity. Did you not find those ministers,\nafter they had been separated from you by the curse of the N\u00e1ga? In\nlike manner shall you again recover them, and get back the others also,\nand moreover you shall soon be united with Sas\u00e1nkavat\u00ed.\" When Srutadhi\nsaid this to the prince, he answered him; \"How can this be? The truth\nis that all this train of events was arranged for our ruin by the\nDisposer. If it was not so arranged, how came the Vet\u00e1la to appear\nin the night, and Bh\u00edmapar\u00e1krama to do as he did, and how came it to\npass that I heard about Sas\u00e1nkavat\u00ed through the conversation that took\nplace between them, and that I set out from Ayodhy\u00e1 to fetch her? How\ncame it to pass also that we were all separated from one another\nin the Vindhya forest by the curse of the N\u00e1ga, and that some of us\nwere in course of time reunited, and that this second separation has\nnow taken place and with it the ruin of all my plans? It all tallies\ntogether, my friend. The fact is they have been devoured in that tree\nby a demon, and without them what is Sas\u00e1nkavat\u00ed to me, or what is\nmy life worth to me? So away with delusions?\" When Mrig\u00e1nkadatta had\nsaid this, he rose up to throw himself into the lake out of sorrow,\nalthough Srutadhi tried to prevent him.\n\nAt that moment a bodiless voice came from the air, \"My son, do not\nact rashly, for all will end well for thee. The god Ganesa himself\ndwells in this tree, and he has been to-day insulted by thy ministers\nunwittingly. For they, king, being pinched with hunger, climbed up\ninto the tree in which he dwells, to pick its fruits, in a state of\nimpurity, having neither rinsed their mouths nor washed their hands\nand feet; so the moment that they touched the fruits, they became\nfruits themselves. For Ganesa inflicted on them this curse, 'Let them\nbecome that on which their minds are fixed?' Moreover, thy four other\nministers, who, the moment they arrived here, climbed up the tree in\nthe same way, were turned into fruits by the god. Therefore do thou\npropitiate this Ganesa with ascetic practices, and by his favour thou\nshalt attain all thy objects.\"\n\nWhen Mrig\u00e1nkadatta had been thus addressed by the voice from the\nair, that seemed to rain nectar into his ears, hope again sprang\nup in his bosom, and he gave up all idea of suicide. So he bathed\nin the lake, and worshipped Ganesa, who dwelt in that tree, without\ntaking food, and joining his palms in an attitude of supplication,\npraised him in the following words; \"Hail thou elephant-faced lord,\nwho art, as it were, worshipped by the earth, that with its plains,\nrocks, and woods, bows under the crushing weight of thy tumultuous\ndance! Hail thou that hast the twin lotuses of thy feet worshipped\nby the three worlds, with the gods, Asuras, and men, that dwell in\nthem; thou, whose body is in shape like a pitcher for the abundant\nstoring of various splendid successes! Hail, thou, the flame of\nwhose might blazes forth like twelve fierce suns rising at once;\nthou that wast a premature day of doom to the race of the Daityas,\nwhom Siva, Vishnu, and Indra found hard to conquer! Hail, thou that\nwardest off calamity from thy votaries! Hail, thou that diffusest a\nblaze of flame with thy hand, while it glitters with thy mighty axe,\nthat seems anxious to illuminate thee in sport! I fly for refuge to\nthee, O Ganesa, that wast worshipped even by Gaur\u00ed, in order that her\nhusband might successfully accomplish his undertaking in the conquest\nof Tripura; honour to thee!\" When Mrig\u00e1nkadatta had in these words\npraised Ganesa, he spent that night fasting, on a bed of kusa-grass\nunder that tree. In the same way that prince spent eleven nights,\nbeing engaged in propitiating Ganesa, the king of impediments; and\nSrutadhi remained in attendance on him.\n\nAnd on the night of the twelfth day Ganesa said to him in a dream,\n\"My son, I am pleased with thee; thy ministers shall be released\nfrom their curse, and thou shalt recover them; and with them thou\nshalt go and win Sas\u00e1nkavat\u00ed in due course; and thou shalt return\nto thy own city, and rule the whole earth.\" After Mrig\u00e1nkadatta had\nbeen thus informed in a dream by the god Ganesa, he woke up, when\nthe night came to an end, and told Srutadhi the vision that he had\nseen. Srutadhi congratulated him on it; and then, in the morning,\nthe prince bathed and worshipped Ganesa, and proceeded to walk round\nthe tree in which the god dwelt, with his right hand towards it,\n[427] and while he was thus engaged, all his ten ministers came down\nfrom the tree, having been released from the form of fruits, and fell\nat his feet. Besides the six who were mentioned before, there were\nVy\u00e1ghrasena and Sth\u00falab\u00e1hu, and Meghabala, and the fourth Dridhamushti.\n\nThen the prince, having recovered all those ministers at the same\ninstant, with eye, with gestures, [428] and with voice agitated by the\nworkings of joy, looked at his ministers, one by one, again and again,\nexceedingly lovingly, and embraced them, and then spoke to them;\nhaving successfully attained his object. And they, beholding with\ntears in their eyes their master, who, after the asceticism which he\nhad gone through, was slender as a new moon, and having been told the\ntrue explanation of the whole by Srutadhi, felicitated themselves on\nhaving truly a protecting lord.\n\nThen Mrig\u00e1nkadatta, having attained good hope of accomplishing his\nenterprise, joyfully broke his fast with those ministers, who had\nperformed all necessary ablutions in the tank.\n\n\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER CI.\n\n\nThen Mrig\u00e1nkadatta, refreshed by breaking his fast, sat down\nwith those ministers of his on the bank of that lake. Then he\ncourteously asked those four ministers, whom he had recovered\nthat day, for an account of their adventures during the time that\nhe was separated from them. Thereupon that one of them, who was\ncalled Vy\u00e1ghrasena, said to him, \"Listen, prince, I now proceed to\nrelate our adventures. When I was carried to a distance from you by\nthe curse of the N\u00e1ga P\u00e1r\u00e1vat\u00e1ksha, I lost my senses, and in that\nstate I wandered through the forest by night. At last I recovered\nconsciousness, but the darkness, which enveloped me, prevented me\nfrom seeing where the cardinal points lay, and what path I ought to\ntake. At last the night, that grief made long, [429] came to an end;\nand in course of time the sun arose, that mighty god, and revealed\nall the quarters of the heaven. Then I said to myself 'Alas! Where\ncan that master of mine be gone? And how will he manage to exist\nhere alone separated from us? And how am I to recover him? Where\nshall I look for him? What course shall I adopt? I had better go to\nUjjayin\u00ed; for I may perhaps find him there; for he must go there,\nto find Sas\u00e1nkavat\u00ed.' With such hopes I set out slowly for Ujjayin\u00ed,\nthreading that difficult forest that resembled calamity, scorched by\nthe rays of the sun, that resembled showers of fiery powder.\n\n\"And at last, somehow or other, I reached a lake, with full-blown\nlotuses for expanded eyes, that seemed to hold converse with me\nby means of the sweet cries of its swans and other water-birds;\nit stretched forth its ripples like hands; its surface was calm and\nbroad; [430] the very sight of it took away all grief; and so in all\npoints it resembled a good man. I bathed in it, and ate lotus-fibres,\nand drank water; and while I was lingering on its bank, I saw these\nthree arrive there, Dridhamushti, and Sth\u00falab\u00e1hu, and Meghabala. And\nwhen we met, we asked one another for tidings of you. And as none of\nus knew anything about you, and we suspected the worst, we made up our\nminds to abandon the body, being unable to endure separation from you.\n\n\"And at that moment a hermit-boy came to bathe in that lake; his name\nwas Mah\u00e1tapas, and he was the son of D\u00edrghatapas. He had matted hair,\nhe diffused a brightness of his own, and he seemed like the god of\nFire, blazing with mighty flame, having become incarnate in the body\nof a Br\u00e1hman, in order to consume once more the Kh\u00e1ndava forest; [431]\nhe was clothed in the skin of a black antelope, he had an ascetic's\nwater-vessel in his left hand, and on his right wrist he bore a rosary\nof Aksha-seeds by way of a bracelet; the perfumed earth that he used\nin bathing was stuck on the horns of the deer that came with him, and\nhe was accompanied by some other hermit-boys like himself. The moment\nhe saw us about to throw ourselves into the lake, he came towards us;\nfor the good are easily melted with compassion, and shew causeless\nfriendship to all. And he said to us, 'You ought not to commit a crime\ncharacteristic of cowards, for poltroons, with their minds blinded with\ngrief, fall into the gulfs of calamity, but resolute men, having eyes\nenlightened by discernment, behold the right path, and do not fall\ninto the pit, but assuredly attain their goal. And you, being men of\nauspicious appearance, will no doubt attain prosperity; so tell me,\nwhat is your grief? For it grieves my heart to see you thus.'\n\n\"When the hermit-boy had said this, I at once told him the whole of\nour adventure from the beginning; then that boy, who could read the\nfuture, [432] and his companions, exhorted us with various speeches,\nand diverted our minds from suicide. Then the hermit-boy, after he\nhad bathed, took us to his father's hermitage, which was at no great\ndistance, to entertain us.\n\n\"There that hermit's son bestowed on us the arghya, and made us sit\ndown in a place, in which even the trees seemed to have entered on a\ncourse of penance, for they stood aloft on platforms of earth, and\nlifted on high their branches like arms, and drank in the rays of\nthe sun. And then he went and asked all the trees in the hermitage,\none after another, for alms. And in a moment his alms-vessel was\nfilled with fruits, that of themselves dropped from the trees; and\nhe came back with it to us. And he gave us those fruits of heavenly\nflavour, and when we had eaten them, we became, as it were, satisfied\nwith nectar.\n\n\"And when the day came to an end, and the sun descended into the sea,\nand the sky was filled with stars, as if with spray flung up by his\nfall, and the moon, having put on a white bark-robe of moonlight, had\ngone to the ascetic grove on the top of the eastern mountain, [433] as\nif desiring to withdraw from the world on account of the fall of the\nsun, we went to see the hermits, who had finished all their duties,\nand were sitting together in a certain part of the hermitage. We\nbowed before them, and sat down, and those great sages welcomed us,\nand with kindly words at once asked us whence we came. Then that\nhermit-boy told them our history until the time of our entering the\nhermitage. Then a wise hermit there, of the name of Kanva, said to us,\n'Come, why have you allowed yourselves to become so dispirited, being,\nas you are, men of valour? For it is the part of a brave man to display\nunbroken firmness in calamity, and freedom from arrogance in success,\nand never to abandon fortitude. And great men attain the title of great\nby struggling through great difficulties by the aid of resolution,\nand accomplishing great things. In illustration of this, listen to\nthis story of Sundarasena, and hear how he endured hardship for the\nsake of Mand\u00e1ravat\u00ed?' When the hermit Kanva had said this, he began, in\nthe hearing of us and of all the hermits, to tell the following tale.\"\n\n\n\nStory of Sundarasena and Mand\u00e1ravat\u00ed.\n\nThere is a country named Nishada, that adorns the face of the northern\nquarter; in it there was of old a city of the name of Alak\u00e1. In this\ncity the people were always happy in abundance of all things, [434]\nand the only things that never enjoyed repose were the jewel-lamps. In\nit there lived a king of the name of Mah\u00e1sena, and not without reason\nwas he so named, for his enemies were all consumed by the wonderful\nand terrible fire of his valour, which resembled that of the god of\nwar. That king had a prime minister named Gunap\u00e1lita, who was like\na second Sesha, for he was a mine of valour, and could bear up, like\nthat serpent, the weight of the earth. The king, having destroyed his\nenemies, laid upon him the weight of his kingdom and devoted himself to\npleasure; and then he had a son born to him by his queen Sasiprabh\u00e1,\nnamed Sundarasena. Even when he was a child, he was no child in good\nqualities, and the goddesses of valour and beauty chose him for their\nself-elected husband.\n\nThat prince had five heroic ministers, equal in age and\naccomplishments, who had grown up with him from their childhood,\nChandaprabha, and Bh\u00edmabhuja, and Vy\u00e1ghrapar\u00e1krama, and the heroic\nVikramasakti, and the fifth was Dridhabuddhi. And they were all\nmen of great courage, endowed with strength and wisdom, well-born,\nand devoted to their master, and they even understood the cries\nof birds. [435] And the prince lived with them in his father's\nhouse without a suitable wife, being unmarried, though he was\ngrown up. And that heroic Sundarasena and his ministers reflected,\n\"Courage invincible in assault, and wealth won by his own arm, and a\nwife equal to him in beauty become a hero on this earth. Otherwise,\nwhat is the use of this beauty?\"\n\nAnd one day the prince went out of the town to hunt, accompanied by\nhis soldiers, and by those five companions, and as he was going out, a\ncertain famous female mendicant named K\u00e1ty\u00e1yan\u00ed, bold from the maturity\nof her age, who had just returned from a distant foreign country,\nsaw him, and said to herself, when she beheld his superhuman beauty,\n\"Is this the Moon without Rohin\u00ed or the god of Love without Rati?\" But\nwhen she asked his attendants, and found out that it was the prince,\nshe was astonished, and praised the marvellousness of the creation of\nthe Disposer. [436] Then she cried out to the prince from a distance\nwith a shrill and far reaching voice, \"Be victorious, O prince,\" and\nso saying she bowed before him. But at that moment the mind of the\nprince was wholly occupied by a conversation which he had begun with\nhis ministers, and he went on without hearing the female ascetic. But\nshe was angry, and called out to him in such a loud voice that he\ncould not help hearing her, \"Ho! prince! why do you not listen to\nthe blessing of such a one as I am? What king or prince is there\non the earth that does not honour me? [437] But if your youth and\nother advantages render you so proud now, it is certain that, if you\nobtain for a wife that ornament of the world, the maiden Mand\u00e1ravat\u00ed,\nthe daughter of the king of Hansadv\u00edpa, you will be too much puffed\nup with arrogance to listen to the speech of Siva, [438] the great\nIndra, and other gods, much less to the words of wretched men.\"\n\nWhen the ascetic had said this, Sundarasena, being full of curiosity,\ncalled her to him, and bent before her and propitiated her. And being\nanxious to question her, he sent her under the care of his servants\nto rest in the house of his minister Vikramasakti. Then the prince\nwent off, and after he had enjoyed the sport of hunting, he returned\nto his palace, and said his daily prayers, and took his food, and\nthen he sent for the ascetic, and put the following question to her,\n\"Reverend mother, who is this maiden named Mand\u00e1ravat\u00ed, that you\nspoke of to-day? Tell me, for I feel great curiosity about her.\"\n\nWhen the ascetic heard this, she said to him, \"Listen, I will tell you\nthe whole story. I am in the habit of wandering about the whole of this\nearth and the islands, for the sake of visiting sacred bathing-places\nand other holy spots. And in the course of my travels I happened\nto visit Hansadv\u00edpa. There I saw the daughter of king Mand\u00e1radeva,\na suitable match for the sons of gods, not to be beheld by those\nwho have done evil works; she bears the name of Mand\u00e1ravat\u00ed, and\nhas a form as charming as the presiding goddess of the garden of the\ngods; the sight of her kindles love, and she seems like another moon\nall composed of nectar, created by the Disposer. There is no other\nbeauty on the earth equal to hers; [439] only you, prince, I think,\nemulate her wealth of loveliness. As for those who have not seen her,\ntheir eyes are useless, and they have been born in vain.\"\n\nWhen the prince heard this from the mouth of the female ascetic, he\nsaid, \"Mother, how are we to get a sight of her beauty, which is so\nsurpassing?\" When the female ascetic heard this speech of his, she\nsaid, \"I took such interest in her on that occasion that I painted\na picture of her on canvas; and I have it with me in a bag; if you\nfeel any curiosity about it, look at it.\" When she had said this,\nshe took the picture of the lady out of the bag, and shewed it to\nthe gratified prince. And Sundarasena, when he beheld that maiden,\nwho, though she was present there only in a picture, seemed to be of\nromantic beauty, and like a flowing forth of joy, immediately felt\nhis limbs covered all over with hairs erect from horripilation, as if\nhe had been pierced with the dense arrows of the god of the flowery\nbow. [440] He remained motionless, hearing nothing, speaking nothing,\nseeing nothing; and with his whole heart fixed on her, was for a long\ntime as if painted in a picture.\n\nWhen the prince's ministers saw that, they said to that female ascetic,\n\"Reverend mother, paint prince Sundarasena on this piece of canvas,\nand let us have a specimen of your skill in catching likenesses.\" The\nmoment she heard that, she painted the prince on canvas. And when they\nsaw that it was a striking likeness, all, who were present there, said,\n\"The reverend lady's likenesses exactly resemble the originals, for\nwhen one looks at this picture, one thinks that one sees the prince\nhimself; so the beauty of the princess Mand\u00e1ravat\u00ed is sure to be such\nas it is represented in the picture.\"\n\nWhen the ministers had said this, prince Sundarasena took the two\npictures, and being pleased, honoured that female ascetic. And he\ndismissed with appropriate honours that dweller in a lonely spot. And\nhe entered the inner part of the palace, carrying with him the picture\nof his beloved. He flung himself on a bed and said to himself \"Can\nthis be my charmer's face, or a moon that has purged away the spot\nthat defiles its beauty?\" [441] In this way he remained examining\nMand\u00e1ravat\u00ed, limb by limb, though he had only her painted form before\nhim: and in this state he continued every day, abstaining from meat and\ndrink; and so in the course of a few days he was completely exhausted\nby the pain of love's fever.\n\nWhen his parents, Sasiprabh\u00e1 and Mah\u00e1sena, found that out, they\ncame of their own accord and asked his friends the cause of his\nindisposition. And his companions told them the whole story, as it had\nhappened, how the daughter of the king of Hansadv\u00edpa had come to be the\ncause of his complaint. Then Mah\u00e1sena said to Sundarasena, \"My son, why\ndo you so improperly conceal this attachment of yours? For Mand\u00e1ravat\u00ed\nis a pearl of maidens, and she will be a good match for you. Besides,\nher father Mand\u00e1radeva is a great friend of mine. So why do you torment\nyourself about a matter of this kind, which is quite becoming, and\ncan be easily arranged by an ambassador?\" When king Mah\u00e1sena had said\nthis, he deliberated, and sent off an ambassador named Surathadeva\nto Hansadv\u00edpa, to ask for the daughter of king Mand\u00e1radeva. And he\nput into his hand the portrait of Sundarasena, executed on canvas by\nthat female ascetic, which shewed how wonderfully handsome he was.\n\nThe ambassador travelled quickly, and reached the city of king\nMahendr\u00e1ditya on the shore of the sea, named Sas\u00e1nkapura. There\nhe embarked on a ship, and after some days he reached the palace\nof king Mand\u00e1radeva in Hansadv\u00edpa. He was announced by the wardens\nand entered the palace, and saw that king, and after he had in due\nform delivered to him the present, he said to him, \"Great monarch,\nking Mah\u00e1sena sends you this message, 'Give your daughter to my son\nSundarasena; for a female ascetic, of the name of K\u00e1ty\u00e1yan\u00ed, made a\nportrait of her, and brought it here, and shewed it to my son, as the\npicture of a pearl of maidens. And as Sundarasena's beauty so nearly\nresembled hers, I felt a desire to have his form painted on canvas\nalso, and herewith I send the picture. Look at it. Moreover, my son,\nwho is of such astonishing beauty, does not wish to be married,\nunless he can find a wife that resembles him, and nobody but your\ndaughter is a match for him in appearance.' This is the message the\nking entrusted to me, when he put this portrait into my hand; look\nat it, king, let the spring-flower creeper be united to the spring.\"\n\nWhen the king heard this speech of the ambassador's, he was delighted,\nand he sent for his daughter Mand\u00e1ravat\u00ed and the queen her mother. And\nin their company he opened and looked at that portrait, and immediately\nhe ceased to cherish the proud thought, that there was no fitting match\nfor his daughter on the earth. And he said, \"My daughter's beauty will\nnot have been created in vain, if she is united to this prince. She\ndoes not look her best without him, nor is he complete without her;\nwhat is the lotus-bed without the swan, and what is the swan without\nthe lotus-bed?\"\n\nWhen the king said this, and the queen expressed her complete\napprobation of it, Mand\u00e1ravat\u00ed suddenly became bewildered with\nlove. She remained with her wide expanded eyes immoveably fixed on the\npicture, as if possessed, as if asleep, (though she was wide awake,)\nas if herself a painting. Then Mand\u00e1radeva, seeing his daughter in\nthat state, consented to give her in marriage, and he honoured that\nambassador.\n\nAnd on the next day the king sent off his counter-ambassador, who was\na Br\u00e1hman named Kum\u00e1radatta, to king Mah\u00e1sena. And he said to the two\nambassadors, \"Go quickly to that king Mah\u00e1sena, the lord of Alak\u00e1,\nand say to him from me, 'I give you my daughter out of friendship;\nso tell me, will your son come here, or shall I send my daughter to\nyou?'\" When the two ambassadors had received this message from the\nking, they immediately started off together on the sea in a ship;\nand they reached Sas\u00e1nkapura, and thence they travelled by land, and\nreached that opulent city of Alak\u00e1, which seemed like the original\nAlak\u00e1. [442] They went to the king's palace, and entered it with\nthe usual courtesies, and saw king Mah\u00e1sena who welcomed them. And\nthey told that king the answer which Mand\u00e1radeva entrusted to them;\nand when the king heard it, he was pleased, and shewed both of them\ngreat honour.\n\nThen the king found out the star, under which the princess was born,\nfrom her father's ambassador; and he asked his astrologers when a\nfavourable time would arrive for the marriage of his son. And they\nanswered that an auspicious time would present itself in three months\nfor bridegroom and bride, on the fifth day of the white fortnight\nof the month K\u00e1rtika. And so the king of Alak\u00e1 informed Mand\u00e1radeva\nthat the marriage ought to take place on that day, and that he would\nsend his son, and this he wrote in a letter, and committed it to the\ncare of the ambassador Kum\u00e1radatta, and another ambassador of his own\nnamed Chandrasv\u00e1min. So the ambassadors departed, and gave the letter\nas they were directed, and told the king of Hansadv\u00edpa all that had\ntaken place. The king approved, and after honouring Chandrasv\u00e1min,\nthe ambassador of Mah\u00e1sena, he sent him back to his master. And he\nreturned to Alak\u00e1, and reported that the business was satisfactorily\nsettled; and then all on both sides remained eagerly expecting the\nauspicious day.\n\nAnd in the meanwhile Mand\u00e1ravat\u00ed in Hansadv\u00edpa, who had long ago\nfallen in love with the prince from seeing his picture, thought\nthat the auspicious day for the marriage was a long way off, and\nfelt unable to endure so much delay; and being affectionate, she\nbecame desperately enamoured, and was grievously tormented with the\nfire of love. And in the eager longing of her heart for Sundarasena,\neven the anointing with sandal-wood ointment became a shower of hot\ncoals on her body, and a bed of lotus-leaves was to her a bed of hot\nsand, and the rays of the moon seemed like the scorching points of\nflame of a forest conflagration. She remained silent, avoiding food,\nadopting a vow of loneliness; and when her confidante questioned\nher in her anxiety, she was at last, with difficulty, induced to\nmake the following avowal; \"My friend, my marriage is far off, and I\ncannot bear to wait for the time, separated from my intended husband,\nthe son of the king of Alak\u00e1. Distant is the time, and the place, and\nvarious is the course of Fate; so who knows what will happen to any one\nhere in the meantime? So I had better die.\" Saying this, Mand\u00e1ravat\u00ed,\nbeing sick with separation, passed immediately into a miserable state.\n\nWhen her father and mother heard that from the mouth of her confidante,\nand saw her in such a condition, they deliberated with the ministers,\nand came to the following conclusion, \"That king Mah\u00e1sena, the\nsovereign of Alak\u00e1, is on good terms with us, and the princess\nMand\u00e1ravat\u00ed is unable to endure the delay here, so why should we feel\nany delicacy about it? Happen what will, let us send her to Alak\u00e1,\nfor when she is near her beloved, she will be able patiently to endure\nthe delay.\" When king Mand\u00e1radeva had gone through these deliberations,\nhe comforted his daughter Mand\u00e1ravat\u00ed, and made her embark on a ship\nwith wealth and attendants, and after her mother had recited a prayer\nfor her good fortune, he sent her off from Hansadv\u00edpa by sea on an\nauspicious day, to travel to Alak\u00e1, in order that she might be married\nthere; and he sent with her a minister of his own, named Vin\u00edtamati.\n\nAnd after the princess, travelling in a ship on the ocean, had left\nHansadv\u00edpa some days' sail behind her, there suddenly rose up against\nher a roaring cloud, as it were a bandit, showering raindrops like\narrows, that sang terribly in the whistling wind. And the gale, like\nmighty fate, in a moment dragged her ship to a distance, and smote it,\nand broke it in pieces. And those attendants were drowned, and among\nthem Vin\u00edtamati; and all her treasure was whelmed in the ocean.\n\nBut the sea lifted up the princess with a wave, as it were with an arm,\nand flung her up alive in a forest on the shore, near the scene of\nthe shipwreck. To think that she should have fallen into the sea, and\nthat a towering wave should have landed her in a forest! Behold now,\nhow nothing is impossible to Destiny! Then she, in such a situation,\nterrified and confused, seeing that she was alone in a solitary wood,\nwas again plunged in a sea, but this time it was the sea of grief. She\nexclaimed, \"Where have I arrived? Surely it is a very different place\nfrom that for which I set out! Where too are those attendants of\nmine? Where is Vin\u00edtamati? Why has this suddenly happened to me? Where\nshall I go, ill-starred as I am? Alas! I am undone! What shall I\ndo? Cursed Fate, why did you rescue me from the sea? Ah! father! Ah,\nmother! Ah, husband, son of the king of Alak\u00e1! Look; I am perishing\nbefore I reach you; why do you not deliver me?\" While uttering these\nand similar exclamations, Mand\u00e1ravat\u00ed wept copiously with tears that\nresembled the pearls of a broken necklace.\n\nAnd at that very time a hermit, named Matanga, came there from his\nhermitage, which was not far off, to bathe in the sea. That sage,\nwho was accompanied by his daughter, named Yamun\u00e1, who had observed a\nvow of virginity from her childhood, heard the sound of Mand\u00e1ravat\u00ed's\nweeping. And with his daughter he approached her kindly, and he saw\nher, looking like a doe separated from a herd of deer, casting her\nsorrowing eyes in every direction. And the great sage said to her with\nan affectionate voice, \"Who are you, and how did you get into this\nwood, and why do you weep?\" Then Mand\u00e1ravat\u00ed, seeing that he was a\ncompassionate man, slowly recovered herself, and told him her story,\nwith face dejected from shame.\n\nThen the hermit Matanga, after meditating, said to her, \"Princess,\ncease to despair; recover your composure! Though you are delicate\nof body as a sir\u00edsha-flower, the calamity of sorrow afflicts you;\ndo misfortunes ever consider whether their victim is tender or\nnot? But you shall soon obtain the husband you desire; so come to\nthis hermitage of mine, which is at no great distance from this\nplace; and remain there with this daughter of mine as in your own\nhouse.\" When the great hermit had comforted her with these words,\nhe bathed, and accompanied by his daughter, led Mand\u00e1ravat\u00ed to his\nhermitage. There she remained leading an ascetic life, longing to\nmeet her husband, delighting herself with waiting upon that sage,\naccompanied by his daughter.\n\nAnd in the meanwhile Sundarasena, who was emaciated with long\nexpectation, remained killing the time in Alak\u00e1, continually counting\nthe days, eager for his marriage with Mand\u00e1ravat\u00ed, and his friend\nChandaprabha and the rest were trying to console him. And in course\nof time, as the auspicious day drew nigh, his father, the king, made\npreparations for his journey to Hansadv\u00edpa. And after prayers had\nbeen offered for a prosperous journey, prince Sundarasena started\nfrom his home on an auspicious day, shaking the earth with his armies.\n\nAnd as he was marching along with his ministers, he reached in course\nof time, to his delight, that city Sas\u00e1nkapura, which adorned the\nshore of the sea. There king Mahendr\u00e1ditya, hearing of his approach,\ncame to meet him, bowing humbly, and the prince entered the city with\nhis followers, and mounted on an elephant, he reached the palace\nof the king. And as he went along, the splendour of his beauty\nfluttered the hearts of the ladies of the city, as the hurricane\nflutters the lotus-bed. In the palace, king Mahendr\u00e1ditya shewed him\nevery attention, and promised to accompany him: and so he rested\nthere that day. And he spent the night in such thoughts as these,\n\"Shall I ever get across the sea, and win that blushing bride?\"\n\nAnd next morning he left his army in that very city, and went with king\nMahendr\u00e1ditya to the shore of the sea. There he and his ministers,\ntogether with that king, embarked on a large ship, that was well\nsupplied with food and water. And the prince made the small retinue,\nthat he could not help taking, embark on a second ship. Then the ship\nwas let go, and its flag fluttered in the wind, and those two kings,\nwho were in it, shaped their course towards the south-western quarter.\n\nAnd after two or three days had passed, as they were sailing on the\nsea, there suddenly arose a great hurricane. And the ranges of forest\non the shores of the sea shook to and fro, as if in astonishment at\nthe unprecedented character of the gale. And the waters of the sea,\ninverted by the wind, were turned upside down, again and again, as\naffections are by lapse of time. And an offering of jewels was made to\nthe sea accompanied by a loud cry of woe; and the pilots let loose the\nsail and relaxed their efforts at the same time; and all excitedly\nflung out very heavy stones on all sides, fastened by chains, and\nflung away their hopes of life at the same time; and the two vessels,\ndriven to and fro by the waves, as elephants by elephant-drivers,\n[443] wandered about in the sea, as if in the m\u00eal\u00e9e of a battle.\n\nThen Sundarasena, beholding that, was moved from his seat, as if\nfrom his self-command, [444] and said to king Mahendr\u00e1ditya, \"It\nis through my demerits in former births that this day of doom has\nsuddenly come upon you. So I cannot endure to witness it; I will fling\nmyself into the sea.\" When the prince had said this, he quickly girt\nhis upper garment round his loins, and flung himself then and there\ninto the sea. And when his five friends, Chandaprabha and the others,\nsaw that, they too flung themselves in, and Mahendr\u00e1ditya did the\nsame. And while, having recovered their presence of mind, they were\nswimming across the ocean, they all went in different directions,\nbeing separated by the force of the waves. And immediately the wind\nfell, and the sea became hushed and calm, and bore the semblance of\na good man whose wrath is appeased. [445]\n\nAnd in the meanwhile Sundarasena, with whom was Dridhabuddhi, found\na ship that had been driven from somewhere or other by the wind,\nand with that minister of his as his only companion he climbed up on\nit, as it were on a second swing of incertitude oscillating between\nrescue and destruction. Then, having lost all courage, he drifted,\nnot knowing his bearings, looking on the whole world as made of water,\nconfiding in his god: and the ship, which was wafted along by a gentle\nand favourable breeze, as if by a deity, carried him to the shore in\nthree days. There it stuck fast, and he and his companion sprang to\nshore and to a hope of life at the same moment.\n\nAnd when there, he recovered breath, and said to Dridhabuddhi; \"I\nhave escaped even from the sea, from the infernal regions, though I\nwent below; but since I have not been able to do so without causing\nthe death of my ministers Vikramasakti, and Vy\u00e1ghrapar\u00e1krama, and\nChandaprabha and Bh\u00edmabhuja, such fine fellows as they were, and also\nof king Mahendr\u00e1ditya, who became without cause so good a friend to\nme,--of all these,--how can I now live with honour?\" When he said\nthis, his minister Dridhabuddhi said to him, \"Prince, recover your\ncomposure; I am persuaded that we shall have good fortune; for they\nmay perhaps make their way across the sea, as we have done. Who can\ndiscern the mysterious way of Destiny?\"\n\nWhile Dridhabuddhi was saying this and other things of the same\nkind, two hermits came there to bathe. The good men, seeing that the\nprince was despondent, came up to him, and asked him his story, and\nsaid kindly to him; \"Wise sir, even the gods are not able to alter\nthe mighty influence of actions in a previous state of existence,\nthat bestow joy and sorrow. So a resolute man, who wishes to take\nleave of sorrow, should practise right doing; for right doing is\nthe true remedy for it, not regrets, nor emaciation of the body. So\nabandon despondency, and preserve your body by resolute endurance;\nas long as the body is preserved, what object of human endeavour\ncannot be attained? Moreover, you possess auspicious marks; you are\ncertain to enjoy prosperity.\" Saying this the hermits consoled him,\nand took him to their hermitage.\n\nAnd prince Sundarasena remained waiting there for some days,\naccompanied by Dridhabuddhi.\n\nAnd in the meanwhile his ministers Bh\u00edmabhuja and Vikramasakti,\nhaving swum across the sea, reached the shore in a separate place. And\nhoping that perhaps the prince might have escaped from the sea like\nthemselves, they entered that great forest, and searched for him\nbewildered with grief. And his other two ministers, Chandaprabha and\nVy\u00e1ghrapar\u00e1krama, and king Mahendr\u00e1ditya, in the same way escaped\nfrom the sea, and sorrowfully sought for Sundarasena, and when they\ndid not find him, were afflicted; and at last they found their ship\nunharmed and went to Sas\u00e1nkapura. Then those two ministers, and the\narmy that had been left in that city, hearing what had happened,\n[446] went weeping to their own city Alak\u00e1. And when they arrived\nwithout the prince, lamenting their loss, the citizens wept, and\none universal wail was heard in the city. When king Mah\u00e1sena and\nhis queen heard that news of their son, they were in such a state\nthat they would have died, if it were not that their allotted term\nof life had not yet expired. And when the king and the queen were\nbent on suicide, the ministers dissuaded them with various speeches,\nwhich gave them reasons for entertaining hope. Then the king remained\nin a temple of Svayambh\u00fa [447] outside the town, engaged in asceticism\nwith his attendants, enquiring for news of his son.\n\nAnd in the meanwhile king Mand\u00e1radeva, in Hansadv\u00edpa, heard the\nnews of the shipwreck of his daughter, and of that of his proposed\nson-in-law. And he also came to know that his son-in-law's two\nministers had arrived in Alak\u00e1, and that king Mah\u00e1sena there\nwas keeping himself alive by hope, being engaged in practising\nausterities. Then that king also, who was afflicted by grief for the\nloss of his daughter, and was only prevented by his ministers from\ncommitting suicide, entrusted to them the care of his kingdom, and\nwith the queen Kandarpasen\u00e1 went to the city of Alak\u00e1 to visit king\nMah\u00e1sena, who was his partner in misfortune. And he made up his mind\nthat he would do whatever that king did, as soon as he had trustworthy\nintelligence with regard to the fate of his son. And so he came to\nking Mah\u00e1sena, who was still more grieved when he heard of the fate\nof Mand\u00e1ravat\u00ed, and sorrowed in sympathy with him. Then that king of\nHansadv\u00edpa remained practising austerities with the king of Alak\u00e1,\nrestraining his senses, eating little, sleeping on darbha-grass.\n\nWhen they had been all scattered in this way in different directions\nby the Disposer, as leaves by a wind, it happened that Sundarasena set\nforth from the hermitage in which he was, and reached that hermitage\nof Matanga, in which Mand\u00e1ravat\u00ed was staying. There he beheld a lake\nof clear water, the bank of which was thickly planted with trees bent\ndown with the weight of many ripe fruits of various flavours. As he was\nweary, he bathed in that lake, and ate sweet fruits, and then walked\non with Dridhabuddhi, and reached a forest stream. And going along\nits bank, he saw some hermit maidens engaged in gathering flowers\nnear a temple containing a Linga. And in the midst of them he beheld\none hermit maiden, who seemed to be the peerless beauty of the world,\nilluminating the whole wood with her loveliness, as if with moonlight,\nmaking all the regions full of blown blue lilies with her glance,\nand sowing with her foot-falls a thicket of lotuses in the forest.\n\nThen the prince said to Dridhabuddhi, \"Who can this be? Can she be a\nnymph of heaven worthy of being gazed upon by the hundred-eyed Indra;\nor is she the presiding goddess of the forest with her shoot-like\nfingers clinging to the flowers? Surely the Creator framed this very\nwonderful form of hers after he had perfected his skill by continual\npractice in creating many nymphs of heaven. And lo! she exactly\nresembles in appearance my beloved Mand\u00e1ravat\u00ed, whose beauty I beheld\nin a picture. Why should she not be the lady herself? But how can this\nbe? She is in Hansadv\u00edpa far away from this heart of the forest. So\nI cannot [448] conceive who this fair one is, and whence she comes,\nand how she comes to be here.\" And Dridhabuddhi, when he saw that fair\nmaid, said to the prince, \"She must be whom you suppose her to be,\notherwise how could her ornaments, though made of forest flowers,\nthus resemble a necklace, a zone, a string of bells, and the other\nornaments usually worn? Moreover, this beauty and delicacy are not\nproduced in a forest; so you may be certain that she is some heavenly\nnymph, or some princess, not the daughter of a hermit. Let us rise\nup and stand here [449] a moment to find out.\" When Dridhabuddhi had\nsaid this, they both of them stood there concealed by a tree.\n\nAnd in the meanwhile those hermit maidens, having gathered their\nflowers, went down into that river with that lovely girl to bathe. And\nwhile they were amusing themselves by splashing about in it, it\nhappened that an alligator came and seized that lovely girl. When those\nmaidens saw that, they were bewildered, and they cried out in their\nsorrow, \"Help, help, ye woodland deities! For here is Mand\u00e1ravat\u00ed,\nwhile bathing in the river, suddenly and unexpectedly seized by an\nalligator, and perishing.\" When Sundarasena heard that, he thought\nto himself, \"Can this really be that beloved of mine?\" and rushing\nforward he quickly killed that alligator with his dagger. And when\nshe fell from the monster's mouth, as it were from the mouth of death,\nhe carried her up on the bank, and comforted her.\n\nAnd she, for her part, having got over her fear, and seeing that he was\na charming person, said to herself, \"Who is this great-hearted one that\nmy good fortune has brought here to save my life? Wonderful to say,\nhe bears a close resemblance to that lover of mine whom I saw in a\npicture, the high-born son of the king of Alak\u00e1. Can he possibly be\nthat very man? But out on my evil thought! Heaven forefend! May such\na man never be an exile from his native land! So it is not fitting\nfor me now to remain in the society of a strange man. Accordingly, I\nwill leave this place: may prosperity be the lot of this great-souled\none!\" After going through these reflections, Mand\u00e1ravat\u00ed said to\nthose companions of hers, \"First take a respectful leave of this\nnoble gentleman, and then come with me; we will now depart.\"\n\nWhen prince Sundarasena, whose doubts were before unsatisfied,\nheard this, he conceived great confidence from merely hearing his\nown name, and he questioned one of her companions, saying to her,\n\"Auspicious one, whose daughter and of what condition is this\nfriend of yours? Tell me, for I feel a great desire to know.\" When\nhe questioned the hermit maiden in these words, she said to him,\n\"This is the princess Mand\u00e1ravat\u00ed, the daughter of king Mand\u00e1radeva,\nthe sovereign of Hansadv\u00edpa. She was being conducted to the city of\nAlak\u00e1 to be married to prince Sundarasena, when her ship was wrecked\nin the sea, and the waves flung her up upon the shore: and the hermit\nMatanga found her there and brought her to his hermitage.\"\n\nWhen she said this, Sundarasena's friend Dridhabuddhi, dancing\nlike one bewildered with joy and despondency, said to the prince,\n\"I congratulate you on having now been successful in obtaining the\nprincess Mand\u00e1ravat\u00ed; for is not this that very lady of whom we were\nthinking?\" When he had said this, her companions the hermit maidens\nquestioned him, and he told them his story; and they gladdened with it\nthat friend of theirs. Then Mand\u00e1ravat\u00ed exclaimed, \"Ah, my husband,\"\nand fell weeping at the feet of that Sundarasena. He, for his part,\nembraced her and wept, and while they were weeping there, even stocks\nand herbs wept, melted with compassion.\n\nThen the hermit Matanga, having been informed of all this by those\nhermit maidens, came there quickly, accompanied by Yamun\u00e1. He comforted\nthat Sundarasena, who prostrated himself at his feet, and took him\nwith Mand\u00e1ravat\u00ed to his own hermitage. And that day he refreshed\nhim by entertaining him, and made him feel happy; and the next day\nthe great hermit said to that prince, \"My son, I must to-day go for a\ncertain affair to Svetadv\u00edpa, so you must go with Mand\u00e1ravat\u00ed to Alak\u00e1;\nthere you must marry this princess and cherish her; for I have adopted\nher as my daughter, and I give her to you. And you shall rule the\nearth for a long time with her; and you shall soon recover all those\nministers of yours.\" When the hermit had said this to the prince and\nhis betrothed, he took leave of them, and went away through the air\nwith his daughter Yamun\u00e1, who was equal to himself in power.\n\nThen Sundarasena, with Mand\u00e1ravat\u00ed, and accompanied by Dridhabuddhi,\nset out from that hermitage. And when he reached the shore of\nthe sea, he saw coming near him a light ship under the command\nof a young merchant. And in order to accomplish his journey more\neasily, he asked the young merchant who was the owner of that ship,\nthrough Dridhabuddhi, hailing him from a distance, to give him a\npassage in it. The wicked merchant, who beheld Mand\u00e1ravat\u00ed, and was\nat once distracted with love, consented, and brought his ship near\nthe shore. Then Sundarasena first placed his beloved on board the\nship, and was preparing to get on board himself from the bank where\nhe stood, when the wicked merchant, coveting his neighbour's wife,\nmade a sign to the steersman, and so set the ship in motion. And the\nship, on board of which the princess was crying piteously, rapidly\ndisappeared from the view of Sundarasena, who stood gazing at it.\n\nAnd he fell on the ground crying out, \"Alas! I am robbed by thieves,\"\nand wept for a long time, and then Dridhabuddhi said to him, \"Rise\nup! Abandon despondency! this is not a course befitting a hero. Come\nalong! Let us go in that direction to look for that thief: for even in\nthe most grievous hour of calamity the wise do not take leave of their\nfortitude.\" When Sundarasena had been thus exhorted by Dridhabuddhi, he\nwas at last induced to rise up from the shore of the sea and set out.\n\nAnd he went on his way weeping, and crying out, \"Alas, queen! Alas,\nMand\u00e1ravat\u00ed!\" continually scorched by the fire of separation,\nfasting, accompanied only by the weeping Dridhabuddhi; and almost\nbeside himself with distraction he entered a great wood. And when\nin it, he paid no attention to the wise counsels of his friend,\nbut ran hither and thither, thinking only of his beloved. When he\nsaw the creepers in full bloom, he said, \"Can this be my beloved\ncome here, adorned with blown flowers, having escaped from that\nmerchant-robber?\" When he saw the beautiful lotuses, he said,\n\"Can she have dived into a tank in her fear, and is she lifting\nup her face with long-lashed eyes and looking at me?\" And when he\nheard the cuckoos singing concealed by the leafy creepers, he said,\n\"Is the sweet-voiced fair one here addressing me?\" Thus raving at\nevery step, he wandered about for a long time, scorched by the moon,\nas if it were the sun; and so to him the night was the same as the day.\n\nAnd at last the prince with Dridhabuddhi emerged from that wood,\nthough with difficulty, and having lost his way, reached a great\nwilderness. It was perilous with fierce rhinoceroses, dangerous as\nbeing inhabited by lions, and so was as formidable [450] as an army,\nand moreover it was beset by a host of bandits. When the prince entered\nthis wilderness, which was refugeless, and full of many misfortunes,\nlike misery, he was set upon with uplifted weapons, by some Pulindas,\nwho happened to be on the look out for human victims to offer to\nDurg\u00e1, by order of Vindhyaketu the king of the Pulindas, who lived\nin that region. When the prince was tormented with five fires, of\nmisfortune, exile, the grief of separation, that affront from a base\nman, fasting, and the fatigue of the journey; alas! Fate created a\nsixth fire in the form of an attack of bandits, as if in order to\nexhaust his self-command.\n\nAnd when many of the bandits rushed towards him to seize him, showering\narrows, he, with only one companion to help him, killed them with his\ndagger. When king Vindhyaketu discovered that, he sent forward another\nforce, and Sundarasena, being skilled in fighting, killed a great many\nbandits belonging to that force also. At last he and his companion\nfainted from the exhaustion of their wounds; and then those Savaras\nbound them, and took them and threw them into prison. The prison was\nfull of multitudes of vermin, filthy with cobwebs, and it was evident\nthat snakes frequented it, as they had dropped there the skins that\nclung to their throats. The dust in it rose as high as the ancle,\n[451] it was honey-combed with the holes and galleries of mice,\nand full of many terrified and miserable men that had been thrown\ninto it. In that place, which seemed the very birthplace of hells,\nthey saw those two ministers Bh\u00edmabhuja and Vikramasakti, who, like\nthemselves, had entered that wilderness after escaping from the sea,\nin order to look for their master, and had been already bound and\nthrown into prison. They recognised the prince and fell weeping at\nhis feet, and he recognised them, and embraced them, bathed in tears.\n\nThen their woes were increased a hundredfold by seeing one another;\nbut the other prisoners there said to them, in order to console them,\n\"Enough of grief! Can we avoid the effect of acts done in a previous\nstate of existence? Do you not see that the death of all of us together\nis imminent? For we have been collected here by this king of the\nPulindas, in order that he may offer us up to Durg\u00e1 on the coming\nfourteenth day of the month. So why should you grieve? The way of\nFate, that sports with living beings, is strange; as she has given\nyou misfortune, she may in the same way give you prosperity.\" When\nthe other prisoners had said this to them, they remained there bound\nwith them; it is terrible to see how little respect calamities shew\neven for the great.\n\nAnd when the fourteenth day arrived, they were all taken thence by the\norders of the king to the temple of Durg\u00e1 to be sacrificed. It seemed\nlike the mouth of death, the flame of the lamp being its lolling\ntongue, the range of bells being its row of teeth, to which the\nheads of men clung. [452] Then Sundarasena, when he saw that goddess,\nbowed before her, and praised her with mind humbled by devotion, and\nuttered this prayer, \"O thou goddess that didst quell the oppression\nof the Asuras with thy blood-streaming trident, which mangled haughty\nDaityas, thou that givest security to thy votaries, look upon me,\ngoddess, that am burned up with the forest-fire of grief, with a\nfavourable nectar-shedding eye, and refresh me. Honour to thee!\"\n\nWhile the prince was saying this, Vindhyaketu, that king of the\nPulindas, came there to worship the goddess Durg\u00e1. The moment the\nprince saw the king of the Bhillas, he recognised him, and being\nbowed down with shame, said of his own accord to his friends,\n\"Ha! this is that very Vindhyaketu, the chief of the Pulindas, who\ncomes to my father's court to pay him homage, and is the lord of this\nvast wilderness. Whatever may happen, we must not say anything here,\nfor it is better for a man of honour to die, than to make known who\nhe is under such circumstances.\"\n\nWhile the prince was saying this to his ministers, king Vindhyaketu\nsaid to his servants, \"Come now, shew me this heroic human victim,\nwho killed so many of my warriors when he was being captured.\" As soon\nas his servants heard this, they brought Sundarasena, smeared with\nclotted blood, and defiled with wounds, into the presence of that\nking. When the king of the Bhillas saw him, he half recognised him,\nand being terrified, said to him, \"Tell me, who are you, and whence\ndo you come?\" Sundarasena answered the king of the Bhillas, \"What does\nit matter who I am, or whence I come? Do what you are about to do.\"\n\nThen Vindhyaketu recognised him completely by his voice, and exclaiming\nexcitedly, \"Alas! Alas!\" fell on the ground. Then he embraced the\nprince, and said, \"Alas, great king Mah\u00e1sena, see what a fitting\nreturn I, villain that I am, have now made for your numerous benefits,\nin that I have here reduced to such a state your son, whom you value\nas your life, prince Sundarasena, who has come here from somewhere\nor other!\" This and many other such laments he uttered in such a way\nthat all there began to shed tears. But the delighted companions\nof Sundarasena comforted the Bhilla king, saying to him, \"Is not\nthis much that you recognised the prince before any misfortune had\nhappened? What could you have done after the event had taken place? So\nwhy do you despond in the midst of this joy?\"\n\nThen the king fell at the feet of Sundarasena, and lovingly honoured\nhim, and Sundarasena got him to set all the human victims free. And\nafter he had shown him all due respect, he took him to his village\nand his friends with him, and proceeded to bandage his wounds and\nadminister medicines to him; and he said to him, \"Tell me, prince, what\nbrought you to this place, for I have a great desire to know.\" Then\nSundarasena related to him all his adventures. And that prince of the\nSavaras, being astonished, said to him, \"What a wonderful chain of\nevents! That you should have set out to marry Mandaravat\u00ed, and that\nyou should then have been wrecked [453] in the sea, and that this\nshould have led to your reaching the hermitage of Matanga, and to\nyour meeting your beloved there, and that this merchant, in whom you\nconfided, should have carried her off from you, and that you should\nhave entered the wilderness, and have been imprisoned for sacrifice,\nand recognised by me and delivered from that death--how strangely does\nall this hang together! Therefore honour by all means to mysteriously\nworking Destiny! And you must not feel anxious about your beloved,\nfor, as Destiny has done all this, she will also do you that other\nservice soon.\"\n\nWhile the king of the Pulindas was saying this, his commander-in-chief\ncame quickly in a state of high delight, and entering said to him,\n\"King, a certain merchant entered this wilderness with his followers,\nand he had with him much wealth and a very beautiful lady, a very gem\nof women; and when I heard of this, I went with an army, and seized\nhim and his followers, with the wealth and the lady, and I have them\nhere outside.\" When Sundarasena and Vindhyaketu heard this, they said\nto themselves \"Can these be that merchant and Mand\u00e1ravat\u00ed?\" And they\nsaid, \"Let the merchant and the lady be brought in here at once,\" and\nthereupon the commander-in-chief brought in that merchant and that\nlady. When Dridhabuddhi saw them, he exclaimed, \"Here is that very\nprincess Mand\u00e1ravat\u00ed, and here is that villain of a merchant. Alas,\nprincess! How came you to be reduced to this state, like a creeper\nscorched by the heat, with your bud-like lip dried up, and with your\nflower-ornaments stripped off?\" While Dridhabuddhi was uttering this\nexclamation, Sundarasena rushed forward, and eagerly threw his arms\nround the neck of his beloved. Then the two lovers wept for a long\ntime, as if to wash off from one another, by the water of a shower\nof tears, the defilement of separation.\n\nThen Vindhyaketu, having consoled them both, said to that merchant,\n\"How came you to carry off the wife of one who confided in\nyou?\" Then the merchant said, with a voice trembling with fear,\n\"I have fruitlessly done this to my own destruction, but this holy\nsaint was preserved by her own unapproachable splendour; I was no\nmore able to touch her, than if she had been a flame of fire; and I\ndid intend, villain that I was, to take her to my own country, and\nafter her anger had been allayed, and she had been reconciled to me,\nto marry her.\" When the merchant had said this, the king ordered him to\nbe put to death on the spot; but Sundarasena saved him from execution;\nhowever he had his abundant wealth confiscated, a heavier loss than\nthat of life; for those that have lost their wealth die daily, not\nso those that have lost their breath.\n\nSo Sundarasena had that merchant set at liberty, and the wretched\ncreature went where he would, pleased at having escaped with life; and\nking Vindhyaketu took Mand\u00e1ravat\u00ed, and went with her and Sundarasena to\nthe palace of his own queen. There he gave orders to his queen, and had\nMand\u00e1ravat\u00ed honoured with a bath, with clothes and with unguents, and\nafter Sundarasena had been in the same way bathed and adorned, he made\nhim sit down on a splendid throne, and honoured him with gifts, pearls,\nmusk, and so on. And on account of the reunion of that couple, the king\nmade a great feast, at which all the Savara women danced delighted.\n\nThen, the next day, Sundarasena said to the king, \"My wounds are\nhealed, and my object is attained, so I will now go hence to my own\ncity; and, please, send off at once to my father a messenger with a\nletter, to tell the whole story, and announce my arrival.\" [454] When\nthe Savara chief heard this, he sent off a messenger with a letter,\nand gave him the message which the prince suggested.\n\nAnd just as the letter-carrier was reaching the city of Alak\u00e1, it\nhappened that king Mah\u00e1sena and his queen, afflicted because they\nheard no tidings of Sundarasena, were preparing to enter the fire in\nfront of a temple of Siva, surrounded by all the citizens, who were\nlamenting their approaching loss. Then the Savara, who was bearing the\nletter, beholding king Mah\u00e1sena, came running up proclaiming who he\nwas, stained with dust, bow in hand, with his hair tied up in a knot\nbehind with a creeper, black himself, and wearing a loin-cincture\nof vilva-leaves. That letter-carrier of the king of the Bhillas\nsaid, \"King, you are blessed with good fortune to-day, as your son\nSundarasena has come with Mand\u00e1ravat\u00ed, having escaped from the sea; for\nhe has arrived at the court of my master Vindhyaketu, and is on his way\nto this place with him, and has sent me on before.\" Having said this,\nand thus discharged his confidential commission, the letter-carrier\nof the Bhilla king laid the letter at the monarch's feet. Then all\nthe people there, being delighted, raised a shout of joy; and the\nletter was read out, and the whole of the wonderful circumstances\nbecame known; and king Mah\u00e1sena recompensed the letter-carrier, and\nabandoned his grief, and made great rejoicings, and entered his palace\nwith all his retainers. And the next day, being impatient, he set out\nto meet his son, whose arrival he expected, accompanied by the king\nof Hansadv\u00edpa. And his force of four arms marched along with him,\ninnumerable, so that the earth trembled, dreading insupportable weight.\n\nIn the meanwhile Sundarasena set out from that village of the Bhillas\nfor his own home, with Mand\u00e1ravat\u00ed. And he was accompanied by his\nfriends Vikramasakti and Bh\u00edmabhuja, whom he found in the prison,\nand Dridhabuddhi too was with him. He himself rode on a horse swift\nas the wind, by the side of Vindhyaketu, and seemed by the hosts of\nPulindas that followed him, to be exhibiting the earth as belonging\nto that race. And as he was marching along, in a few days he beheld\non the road his father coming to meet him, with his retinue and his\nconnections. Then he got down from his horse, and the people beheld him\nwith joy, and he and his friends went up and fell at the feet of his\nfather. His father, when he beheld his son looking like the full moon,\nfelt like the sea which surges up with throbbings of joy, and overflows\nits bounds, and could not contain himself for happiness. [455] And\nwhen he saw Mand\u00e1ravat\u00ed, his daughter-in-law, bowing at his feet,\nhe considered himself and his family prosperous, and rejoiced. And\nthe king welcomed Dridhabuddhi and the other two ministers of his\nson, who bowed at his feet, and he received Vindhyaketu with still\nwarmer welcome.\n\nThen Sundarasena bowed before his father-in-law Mand\u00e1radeva, whom his\nfather introduced to him, and rejoiced exceedingly; and beholding\nhis ministers Chandaprabha and Vy\u00e1ghrapar\u00e1krama, who had arrived\nbefore, clinging to his feet, he considered that all his wishes were\naccomplished. And immediately king Mahendr\u00e1ditya, who was delighted\nat hearing what had happened, came there from Sas\u00e1nkapura out of\naffection. Then prince Sundarasena, mounted on a splendid horse,\nescorting his beloved, as Nadak\u00favara did Rambh\u00e1, went with all those to\nhis own home, the city of Alak\u00e1, the dwelling-place of all felicities,\nabounding in virtuous men. And accompanied by his beloved he entered\nthe palace of his father, being sprinkled, as he passed through the\ncity, by the wives of the citizens, who were all crowding to the\nwindows, with the blue lotuses of their eyes. And in the palace he\nbowed at the feet of his mother, whose eyes were full of tears of joy,\nand then spent that day in rejoicings, in which all his relations\nand servants took part.\n\nAnd the next day, in the long desired hour fixed by the astrologers,\nthe prince received the hand of Mand\u00e1ravat\u00ed, who was bestowed on him by\nher father. And his father-in-law, king Mand\u00e1radeva, as he had no son,\nbestowed on him many priceless jewels, in his joy, and the reversion\nof his kingdom after his own death. And his father, king Mah\u00e1sena,\nwithout exhausting the earth, made a great feast, in a style suitable\nto his desires and means, in which all prisoners were released, and a\nrain of gold was seen. [456] And having beheld Sundarasena prosperous\nby his union with Mand\u00e1ravat\u00ed, and having taken part in his wedding\nfestivities, in which all the women danced to song, and having been\nhonoured by king Mah\u00e1sena, king Mand\u00e1radeva returned to his own\nterritory, and the king of Sas\u00e1nkapura returned to that city, and\nVindhyaketu, the lord of the great wilderness, returned to his domain.\n\nAnd after some days had elapsed, king Mah\u00e1sena, perceiving that his son\nSundarasena was virtuous and beloved by the subjects, established him\nin his throne, and went himself to the forest. And prince Sundarasena,\nhaving thus obtained the kingdom, and having conquered all his enemies\nby the might of his arm, ruled with those ministers the whole earth,\nand found his joy in the possession of Mand\u00e1ravat\u00ed ever increasing.\n\nWhen the minister Vy\u00e1ghrasena had told this story on the bank of the\nlake to Mrig\u00e1nkadatta, he went on to say to him, \"This wonderful tale,\nprince, did the hermit Kanva relate to us in the hermitage, and at\nthe end of the tale the compassionate man said to us, to comfort\nus, 'So, my sons, those who endure with resolute hearts terrible\nmisfortunes hard to struggle through, attain in this way the objects\nthey most desire; but those others, whose energies are paralysed by\nloss of courage, fail. Therefore abandon this despondency, and go\non your way. Your master also, prince Mrig\u00e1nkadatta, shall recover\nall his ministers, and shall long rule the earth, after having been\nunited with Sas\u00e1nkavat\u00ed.' When that great hermit had said this to\nus, we plucked up courage, and spent the night there, and then set\nout from that hermitage, and in course of time reached this wood,\ntravel-worn. And while here, being tortured with excessive thirst\nand hunger, we climbed up this tree sacred to Ganesa, to get fruits,\nand we were ourselves turned into fruits, and we have now, prince,\nbeen released from our fruit-transformation by your austerities. Such\nhave been the adventures of us four, during our separation from you\n[457] brought about by the curse of the N\u00e1ga; and now that our curse\nis expired, advance, united with us all, towards the attainment of\nyour object.\"\n\nWhen Mrig\u00e1nkadatta had heard all this from his minister Vy\u00e1ghrasena,\nhe conceived hopes of obtaining Sas\u00e1nkavat\u00ed, and so passed that\nnight there.\n\n\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER CII.\n\n\nThen, the next morning, Mrig\u00e1nkadatta rose up from the shore of that\nbeautiful lake, together with all his ministers, who had rejoined\nhim; and in company with them, and the Br\u00e1hman Srutadhi, set out for\nUjjayin\u00ed, to win Sas\u00e1nkavat\u00ed, after he had paid his orisons to that\ntree of Ganesa. [458]\n\nThen the heroic prince, accompanied by his ministers, again crossed\nvarious stretches of woodland, which contained many hundreds of lakes,\nand were black with tam\u00e1la-trees [459] throughout their whole expanse,\nlooking like nights in the rainy season, when the clouds collect;\nand others which had their canes broken by terrible infuriated\nelephants roaming through them, in which the arjuna-trees formed a\nstrong contrast to the tam\u00e1la-trees, [460] and which thus resembled\nso many cities of king Vir\u00e1ta; and ravines of mighty mountains,\nwhich were pure, though strewn with flowers, and though frequented\nby subdued hermits, were haunted by fierce beasts; and at last came\nnear the city of Ujjayin\u00ed.\n\nThen he reached the river Gandhavat\u00ed, and dispelled his fatigue by\nbathing in it, and after crossing it, he arrived with his companions\nin that cemetery of Mah\u00e1k\u00e1la. There he beheld the image of mighty\nBhairava, black with the smoke from neighbouring pyres, surrounded\nwith many fragments of bones and skulls, terrible with the skeletons\nof men which it held in its grasp, worshipped by heroes, frequented\nby many troops of demons, dear to sporting witches.\n\nAnd after crossing the cemetery, he beheld the city of Ujjayin\u00ed,\na yuga old, ruled by king Karmasena. Its streets were watched by\nguards with various weapons, who were themselves begirt by many brave\nhigh-born R\u00e1jp\u00fats; it was surrounded with ramparts resembling the\npeaks of mighty mountains; it was crowded with elephants, horses,\nand chariots, and hard for strangers to enter.\n\nWhen Mrig\u00e1nkadatta beheld that city, which was thus inaccessible\non every side, he turned his face away in despondency, and said to\nhis ministers, \"Alas! ill-starred man that I am! though it has cost\nme hundreds of hardships to reach this city, I cannot even enter it;\nwhat chance then have I of obtaining my beloved?\" When they heard this,\nthey said to him, \"What! do you suppose, prince, that this great city\ncould ever be stormed by us, who are so few in number? We must think\nof some expedient to serve in this emergency, and an expedient will\ncertainly be found; how comes it that you have forgotten that this\nexpedition has frequently been enjoined by the gods?\"\n\nWhen Mrig\u00e1nkadatta had been thus addressed by his ministers, he\nremained for some days roaming about outside the city.\n\nThen his minister Vikramakesarin called to mind that Vet\u00e1la, which he\nhad long ago won over, intending to employ him to fetch the prince's\nlove from her dwelling-house. And the Vet\u00e1la came, black in hue,\ntall, with a neck like a camel, elephant-faced, with legs like a bull,\neyes like an owl, and the ears of an ass. But finding that he could\nnot enter the city, he departed; the favour of Siva secures that city\nagainst being invaded by such creatures.\n\nThen the Br\u00e1hman Srutadhi, who was versed in policy, said to\nMrig\u00e1nkadatta, as he was sitting in gloom, surrounded by his ministers,\nlonging in his heart to enter the city; \"Why, prince, though you\nknow the true principles of policy, do you remain bewildered, like\none ignorant of them? Who will ever be victorious in this world by\ndisregarding the difference between himself and his foe? For at every\none of the four gates of this city, two thousand elephants, twenty-five\nthousand horses, ten thousand chariots, and a hundred thousand footmen\nremain harnessed and ready, day and night, to guard it; and they are\nhard to conquer, being commanded by heroes. So, as for a handful of\nmen, like ourselves, entering it by force, that is a mere chimerical\nfancy, [461] not a measure calculated to ensure success. Moreover,\nthis city cannot be overthrown by a small force; and a contest with an\noverwhelming force is like fighting on foot against an elephant. So\njoin with your friend M\u00e1y\u00e1vatu the king of the Pulindas, whom you\ndelivered from the terrible danger of the water-monsters in the\nNarmad\u00e1, and with his friend Durgapis\u00e1cha the very powerful king of the\nM\u00e1tangas, who is attached to you on account of his alliance with him,\n[462] and with that king of the Kir\u00e1tas, named Saktirakshita, who is\nfamous for his valour and has observed a vow of strict chastity from\nhis youth upwards, and let them all bring their forces, and then do\nyou, thus strengthened by allies, fill every quarter with your hosts,\nand so accomplish the object you have in view. Moreover, the king\nof the Kir\u00e1tas is awaiting your coming from a distance in accordance\nwith your agreement; how have you come to forget this? And no doubt,\nM\u00e1y\u00e1vatu is ready awaiting your arrival, in the territory of [463]\nthe king of the M\u00e1tangas, for you made this agreement with him. So\nlet us go to the castle named Karabhagr\u00edva, on the southern slope of\nthe Vindhyas, in which that chief of the M\u00e1tangas dwells. And let us\nsummon there Saktirakshita, the king of the Kir\u00e1tas, and united with\nthem all make a fortunate expedition with every chance of success.\n\nWhen Mrig\u00e1nkadatta and his ministers heard this speech of Srutadhi's,\nwhich was full of sense and such as the wise would approve, they\neagerly accepted it, saying, \"So be it.\" And the next day the prince\nadored that unresting traveller of the sky, the sun, the friend\nof the virtuous, that had just arisen, revealing every quarter of\nthe world, [464] and set out for the abode of Durgapis\u00e1cha king\nof the M\u00e1tangas on the southern slope of the Vindhya range. And\nhis ministers Bh\u00edmapar\u00e1krama, and Vy\u00e1ghrasena, and Gun\u00e1kara, and\nMeghabala with Vimalabuddhi, and Sth\u00falab\u00e1hu with Vichitrakatha, and\nVikramakesarin, and Prachandasakti, and Srutadhi and Dridhamushti\nfollowed him. With them he successively crossed forests wide-ranging\nas his own undertakings, and stretches of woodland profound as his\nown schemes, with no better refuge at night than the root of a tree\n[465] on the shore of a lake, and reached and ascended the Vindhya\nmountain lofty as his own soul.\n\nThen the prince went from the summit of the mountain down its\nsouthern slope, and beholding afar off the villages of the Bhillas\nfull of elephants' tusks and deer-skins, he said to himself, \"How am\nI to know where the dwelling of that king of the M\u00e1tangas is?\" While\nengaged in such reflections, he and his ministers saw a hermit boy come\ntowards them, and after doing obeisance to him, they said, \"Fair Sir,\ndo you know in what part of this region the palace of Durgapis\u00e1cha,\nthe king of the M\u00e1tangas, is? For we wish to see him.\"\n\nWhen that good young ascetic heard this, he said, \"Only a kos distant\nfrom this place is a spot called Panchavat\u00ed, and not far from it was\nthe hermitage of the hermit Agastya, who with small effort cast down\nfrom heaven the haughty king Nahusha; where R\u00e1ma, who by command of\nhis father took up his dwelling in a forest, accompanied by Lakshmana\nand his wife S\u00edt\u00e1, long waited on that hermit; where Kabandha, [466]\nwho guided R\u00e1ma to the slaughter of the R\u00e1kshasas, proceeded to attack\nR\u00e1ma and Lakshmana, as R\u00e1hu does the sun and moon, whose arm a yojana\nin length R\u00e1ma felled, so that it resembled Nahusha in his serpent\nform, come to supplicate Agastya; where even now the R\u00e1kshasas hearing\nthe roaring of the clouds at the beginning of the rainy season, call\nto mind the twanging of the bow of R\u00e1ma; where the aged deer, that\nwere fed by S\u00edt\u00e1, beholding the regions deserted in every direction,\nwith eyes filling with tears, reject the mouthful of grass; where\nM\u00e1r\u00edcha, who brought about S\u00edt\u00e1's separation from her husband,\nassumed the form of a golden deer and enticed away R\u00e1ma, as if to\nsave from slaughter those deer, that were still left alive; where,\nin many a great lake full of the water of the K\u00e1ver\u00ed, it appears as if\nAgastya had vomited up in driblets the sea that he swallowed. Not far\nfrom that hermitage, on a table-land of the Vindhya, is a stronghold\ntangled and inaccessible, named Karabhagr\u00edva. In it dwells that mighty\nDurgapis\u00e1cha of terrible valour, chief of the M\u00e1tangas, whom kings\ncannot conquer. And he commands a hundred thousand bowmen of that\ntribe, every one of whom is followed by five hundred warriors. With\nthe aid of those brigands he robs caravans, destroys his enemies, and\nenjoys this great forest, caring nought for this or that king. [467]\n\nWhen Mrig\u00e1nkadatta had heard this from the young hermit, he took\nleave of him, and went quickly, with his companions, in the direction\nindicated by him, and in course of time he arrived in the environs of\nKarabhagr\u00edva that stronghold of the king of the M\u00e1tangas, which were\ncrowded with Bhilla villages. And within them he beheld near at hand\non every side crowds of Savaras, adorned with peacocks' feathers and\nelephants' teeth, clothed in tigers' skins, and living on the flesh of\ndeer. When Mrig\u00e1nkadatta saw those Bhillas, he said to his ministers,\n\"See! these men live a wild forest life like animals, and yet, strange\nto say, they recognise Durgapis\u00e1cha as their king. There is no race\nin the world without a king; I do believe the gods introduced this\nmagical name among men in their alarm, fearing that otherwise the\nstrong would devour the weak, as great fishes eat the little.\" [468]\nAnd while he was saying this, and trying to find the path that led to\nthe stronghold Karabhagr\u00edva, the scouts of M\u00e1y\u00e1vatu, the king of the\nSavaras, who had already arrived there, recognized him, having seen him\nbefore. They immediately went and told that M\u00e1y\u00e1vatu of his arrival;\nand he with his army went to meet him. And when that king of the\nPulindas came near, and saw the prince, he alighted from his horse,\nand ran forward, and fell at his feet. And he embraced the prince,\nwho asked after his health, and then mounted him and his ministers\non horses, and brought them to his own camp. And that king of the\nSavaras sent his own warder to inform the king of the M\u00e1tangas of\nthe prince's arrival.\n\nAnd Durgapis\u00e1cha, the king of the M\u00e1tangas, quickly came there from\nhis own place, and his appearance justified his name. [469] He seemed\nlike a second Vindhya range, for his body was firm as a rocky peak,\nhis hue was black as tam\u00e1la, and Pulindas lay at his foot. His\nface was rendered terrible by a natural three-furrowed frown, and\nso he appeared as if Durg\u00e1, the dweller in the Vindhya range, had\nmarked him with the trident, to claim him as her own. Though young,\nhe had seen the death of many \"secular birds;\" though black, he was\nnot comely; and he crouched to none, though he hugged the foot of a\nmountain. [470] Like a fresh cloud, he displayed the peacock tail and\nthe gay-coloured bow; like Hirany\u00e1ksha, [471] his body was scarred\nby the furious boar; like Ghatotkacha, he was mighty and possessed a\nhaughty and terrible shape; [472] like the Kali age, he allowed those\nborn under his sway to take pleasure in wickedness and break through\nthe bonds of rule. And the mass of his host came filling the earth,\nlike the stream of the Narmad\u00e1, when let loose from the embrace of\nArjuna. [473] And so the aggregated army of the Chand\u00e1las moved on,\nblackening all the horizon with a dark hue, making those who beheld it\nsay in perplexity to themselves \"Can this be a mass of rock that has\nrolled down from the Anjana mountain, [474] or is it a premature bank\nof the clouds of the day of doom, that has descended upon the earth?\"\n\nAnd their chief Durgapis\u00e1cha came up to Mrig\u00e1nkadatta, placing his\nhead upon the ground even when at a distance, and bowed before him,\nand said \"To-day the goddess Durg\u00e1 is pleased with me, in that\nyour Highness, of such a noble race, has come to my house. On that\naccount I consider myself fortunate and successful. When the king of\nthe M\u00e1tangas had said this, he gave him a present of pearls, musk,\nand other rarities. And the prince kindly accepted it with the usual\ncourtesies. Then they all encamped there. That great forest was covered\nall over with elephants fastened to posts, with horses in stables,\nand tented footmen; and was scarcely able to contain itself, being\nconfused with its good fortune in thus being assimilated to a city,\nwhich was unprecedented in the course of its existence.\n\nThen, in that wood, when Mrig\u00e1nkadatta had bathed in the river for\ngood fortune, and had taken food, and was sitting at his ease,\nin a secluded spot, surrounded by his ministers, M\u00e1y\u00e1vatu also\nbeing present, Durgapis\u00e1cha said to Mrig\u00e1nkadatta, in the course of\nconversation, speaking in a tone softened by affection and regard,\n\"This king M\u00e1y\u00e1vatu came here a long time ago, and has been remaining\nhere with me, my lord, awaiting your orders. So where, my prince,\nhave you all remained so long? And what have you done? Tell me, now,\nthe business that detained you.\" When the prince heard this speech of\nhis, he said, \"After I had left the palace of our friend here M\u00e1y\u00e1vatu,\nwith Vimalabuddhi and Gun\u00e1kara, and Srutadhi, and Bh\u00edmapar\u00e1krama,\nwhom I had also recovered, I found on my way this Prachandasakti and\nVichitrakatha, and in course of time also this Vikramakesarin. Then\nthese men here found on the borders of a beautiful lake a tree sacred\nto Ganesa, and climbed up it to pick its fruit, and so were turned\ninto fruits themselves by the curse of the god. Then I propitiated\nGanesa, and not without difficulty set them free, and at the same\ntime I delivered these other four ministers of mine, Dridhamushti\nand Vy\u00e1ghrasena and Meghabala and Sth\u00falab\u00e1hu, who had previously\nsuffered the same transformation. With all these, thus recovered, I\nwent to Ujjayin\u00ed; but the gates were guarded, and we could not even\nenter the town; much less could we think of any device for carrying\noff Sas\u00e1nkavat\u00ed. And as I had no army with me, I had no locus standi\nfor sending an ambassador. So we deliberated together, and came here\nto you. Now, my friend, you and your allies have to decide whether\nwe shall attain our end or no.\"\n\nWhen Mrig\u00e1nkadatta had related his adventures in these words,\nDurgapis\u00e1cha and M\u00e1y\u00e1vatu said, \"Be of good courage; this is but a\nlittle matter for us to accomplish at once; our lives were originally\ncreated for your sake. We will bring here that king Karmasena in\nchains, and we will carry off his daughter Sas\u00e1nkavat\u00ed by force.\"\n\nWhen the king of the M\u00e1tangas and M\u00e1y\u00e1vatu said this, Mrig\u00e1nkadatta\nsaid lovingly and very respectfully, \"What will you not be able\nto accomplish, for this resolute courage of yours is a sufficient\nguarantee that you will carry out that furtherance of your friend's\ninterests which you have undertaken. When the Creator made you\nhere, he infused into your composition qualities borrowed from your\nsurroundings, the firmness of the Vindhya hills, the courage of\nthe tigers, and the warm attachment to friends of the forest [475]\nlotuses. So deliberate and do what is fitting.\" While Mrig\u00e1nkadatta was\nsaying this, the sun retired to rest on the summit of the mountain\nof setting. Then they also rested that night in the royal camp,\nas was meet, sleeping in booths made by the workmen.\n\nAnd the next morning Mrig\u00e1nkadatta sent off Gun\u00e1kara to bring\nhis friend Saktirakshita, the king of the Kir\u00e1tas. He went and\ncommunicated the state of affairs to that sovereign; and in a very\nfew days the king of the Kir\u00e1tas returned with him, bringing a very\nlarge force. Ten hundred thousand footmen, and two hundred thousand\nhorse, and a myriad of furious elephants on which heroes were mounted,\nand eighty-eight thousand chariots followed that king, who darkened\nthe heaven with his banners and his umbrella. And Mrig\u00e1nkadatta,\nwith his friends and ministers, went to meet him in high spirits and\nhonoured him and conducted him into the camp. And in the meanwhile\nother friends and relations of the king of the M\u00e1tangas, and all those\nof king M\u00e1y\u00e1vatu, having been summoned by messengers, came in. [476]\nAnd the camp swelled like the ocean, giving joy to the heart of\nMrig\u00e1nkadatta: with shouts rising up like the roar of the waves,\nand hundreds of battalions pouring in like rivers. And Durgapis\u00e1cha\nhonoured [477] those assembled kings with musk, and garments, and\npieces of flesh, and spirits distilled from fruits. And M\u00e1y\u00e1vatu the\nking of the Savaras gave them all splendid baths, unguents, food,\ndrink, and beds. And Mrig\u00e1nkadatta sat down to eat with all those\nkings who were seated in their proper places. [478] He even went so\nfar as to make the king of the M\u00e1tangas eat in his presence though\nat a little distance from him: the fact is, it is necessity and place\nand time that take precedence, not one man of another.\n\nAnd the next day, when the newly arrived force of Kir\u00e1tas and others\nhad rested, Mrig\u00e1nkadatta, sitting on a throne of ivory in the assembly\nof the kings, where he had been duly honoured, after he had had the\nplace cleared of attendants, said to his friends, the king of the\nM\u00e1tangas, and the others, \"Why do we now delay? Why do we not quickly\nmarch towards Ujjayin\u00ed with the whole of this force?\" When the Br\u00e1hman\nSrutadhi heard this, he said to that prince, \"Listen prince, I now\nspeak according to the opinion of those who know policy. A king who\nwishes to be victorious must first see the distinction between what is\npracticable and what is not practicable. What cannot be accomplished by\nan expedient, he should reject as impracticable. That is practicable\nwhich can be accomplished by an expedient. Now expedients in this\nmatter are of four kinds, and are enumerated as conciliation, gifts,\ndivision and force. This order represents their comparative advantages,\nthe first being better than the second, and so on. So, my prince,\nyou ought first to make use of conciliation in this business. For, as\nking Karmasena is not greedy of gain, gifts are not likely to succeed;\nnor is division likely to be of any use, for none of his servants\nare angry, or covetous, or indignant with him, on account of having\nbeen treated with neglect. As for force, its employment is risky; as\nthat king lives in a difficult country, has a very formidable army,\nand has never been conquered by any king before. Moreover even mighty\nones cannot always be assured of having the fortune of victory on their\nside in battles; besides, it is not becoming in one, who is a suitor\nfor a maiden's hand, to slaughter her relations. So let us send an\nambassador to that monarch, adopting the method of conciliation. If\nthat does not succeed, the method of force shall be employed as being\nunavoidable.\" All there, when they heard this speech of Srutadhi's,\napproved it, and praised his statesmanship.\n\nThen Mrig\u00e1nkadatta deliberated with them all, and sent a servant of\nthe king of the Kir\u00e1tas, a noble Br\u00e1hman, Suvigraha by name, who\npossessed all the requisites of a diplomatist, to king Karmasena,\nas an ambassador to communicate the result of their deliberations,\nand he carried with him a letter, and was also entrusted with a verbal\nmessage. The ambassador went to Ujjayin\u00ed, and, being introduced by the\nwarder, entered the king's palace, the interior of which looked very\nmagnificent, as its zones were crowded with splendid horses, and with\nelephants; and he saw that king Karmasena, sitting on his throne,\nsurrounded by his ministers. He did obeisance to that sovereign,\nwho welcomed him; and after he had sat down, and his health had\nbeen enquired after, he proceeded to deliver to him his letter. And\nthe king's minister, named Prajn\u00e1kosa, took it, and broke the seal,\nand unfolding the letter, proceeded to read it out to the following\neffect. \"All-Hail! The auspicious Mrig\u00e1nkadatta, ornament of the\ncircle of the earth, son of the great king of kings who is lord of\nthe city of Ayodhy\u00e1, the fortunate Amaradatta, from the slope of the\nforest at the foot of the castle of Karabhagr\u00edva, where he now is,\nwith kings submissive and obedient to him, sends this plain message\nto the great king Karmasena in Ujjayin\u00ed, who is the moon of the\nsea of his own race, with all due respect; You have a daughter,\nand you must without fail give her to another, so give her to me;\nfor she has been declared by the gods a suitable wife for me. In this\nway we shall become allies, and our former enmity will be at an end;\nif you do not consent, I will appeal to my own strong arms to give\nme this object of my desires.\" When the letter had been thus read by\nthe minister Prajn\u00e1kosa, king Karmasena, inflamed with rage, said to\nhis ministers, \"These people are always hostile to us; and observe,\nthis man, not knowing his place, has on the present occasion worded\nhis communication in an objectionable form. He has put himself first\nand me last, out of contempt; and at the end the conceited fellow has\nbragged of the might of his arm. So, I do not consider that I ought\nto send any reply; as for giving him my daughter, that is out of the\nquestion. Depart, ambassador; let your master do what he can.\" [479]\n\nWhen king Karmasena said this, that Br\u00e1hman ambassador Suvigraha,\nbeing a man of spirit, gave him an answer well-suited to the occasion,\n\"Fool, you boast now, because you have not seen that prince; make\nready; when be arrives, you will learn the difference between yourself\nand your opponent.\" When the ambassador said this, the whole court\nwas in a state of excitement; but the king, though in wrath, said,\n\"Away with you! Your person is inviolable, so what can we do?\" Then\nsome of those present, biting their lips, and wringing their hands\ntogether, said one to another, \"Why do we not follow him and kill him\nthis moment.\" But others, being masters of themselves, said, \"Let the\nyoung fool of a Br\u00e1hman go! why do you trouble yourselves about the\nspeech of this babbler? We will shew what we can do.\" Others again,\nappearing to foreshadow by their frowns the speedy bending of their\nbows, remained silent, with faces red with rage.\n\nThe whole court being thus incensed, the ambassador Suvigraha went\nout, and repaired to Mrig\u00e1nkadatta in his camp. He told him and his\nfriends what Karmasena had said; and the prince, when he heard it,\nordered the army to march. Then the sea of soldiers, set in motion\nby the order of the commander, as by a violent gust of wind, in which\nmen, horses, and elephants moved like bounding sea-monsters, exciting\nsatisfaction in the mind of the allied monarchs, [480] assumed an\nagitation terrifying to the minds of timid men. Then Mrig\u00e1nkadatta,\nmaking the earth miry with the foam of high-mettled horses, and the\nfrontal ichor of elephants, and deafening the world with the noise\nof his drums, moved on slowly to Ujjayin\u00ed to victory.\n\n\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER CIII.\n\n\nThen Mrig\u00e1nkadatta, accompanied by his friends, crossed the Vindhya\nrange, and with his army ready for battle, reached the frontier of\nUjjayin\u00ed. When the brave king Karmasena heard that, he also made\nready for the fight, and with his army moved out from the city\nto meet him. And when those two armies came to close quarters,\nand could see one another, a battle took place between them, that\ngladdened heroes. The battlefield seemed like the dwelling-place of\nHiranyakasipu, as it was full of timid demons dispersed in terror\nby the roar of the Man-lion; [481] the continued dense showers of\narrows flying through the air, and cutting one another, descended\non brave warriors, like locusts on the tender herb. Dense clouds of\npearls gleamed as they sprang from the frontal globes of elephants\nstruck with swords, resembling the necklace of the Fortune of that\nbattle broken in her agitation. That place of combat appeared like the\nmouth of Death; and the sharp points of spears, that seized on men,\nhorses, and elephants, were like his fangs. The heads of strong-armed\nwarriors, cut off with crescent-headed arrows, flew up to heaven,\nas if leaping up [482] to kiss the heavenly nymphs; and at every\nmoment trunks of brave heroes danced, as if in delight at the battle\nof their noble leader being gloriously illuminated; and so for five\ndays that hero-destroying battle went on, with flowing rivers of blood,\nrich in mountains of heads.\n\nAnd in the evening of the fifth day the Br\u00e1hman Srutadhi came secretly\nto Mrig\u00e1nkadatta when he was closeted with his ministers, and said to\nhim, \"While you were engaged in fighting, I went away from the camp,\nin the disguise of a mendicant, and entered Ujjayin\u00ed, the gates of\nwhich were almost deserted; and now listen; I will tell you truly what\nI observed, being myself all the while, though near at hand, unseen in\nvirtue of my knowledge. As soon as king Karmasena went out to battle,\nSas\u00e1nkavat\u00ed with the permission of her mother also left the palace, and\nrepaired to a temple of Gaur\u00ed in that city, to propitiate the goddess,\nin order to ensure her father's success in the combat. And while she\nwas there, she said in secret to a devoted confidante 'My friend, it\nis for my sake, that my father has become involved in this war. And if\nhe is conquered, he will give me to that prince; for kings disregard\nlove for offspring altogether, when the interests of their kingdoms\nare at stake. And I do not know whether that prince is a suitable match\nfor me in respect of personal appearance, or not. I would sooner meet\nmy death than marry an ugly husband. I think a good-looking husband,\neven though poor, is to be preferred to an ugly one, though he be\nemperor over the whole earth. So you must go to the army and see what\nhe is like, and then return. For, my fortunate friend, Prudence [483]\nis your name, and Prudence is your nature.'\n\n\"When the princess had given this order to her confidante, that girl\nmanaged to come to our camp, and after seeing you, prince, went and\nsaid to that princess, 'My friend, I can say nothing but this; even\nV\u00e1suki [484] himself has not got a tongue able to describe the beauty\nof that prince. So far however I can give you an idea of it: as there\nis no woman in the world equal to you in good looks, so there is no\nman equal to him. But alas! that is but a feeble description of him;\nI believe in these three worlds there is no Siddha, or Gandharva,\nor god like him.' By this speech of her confidante's Sas\u00e1nkavat\u00ed's\nheart was fixed on you, and at the same moment it was nailed to you\nby the god of love with his arrows. And from that time forth she has\nremained desiring the welfare of you and also of her father, becoming\ngradually attenuated by penance and the grief of separation from you.\"\n\n\"So go secretly this very night, and carry off that princess from\nthat sanctuary of Gaur\u00ed, which is now unfrequented, and bring her here\nwithout being observed. Let her be conveyed to the palace of M\u00e1y\u00e1vatu;\nand then these kings, after securing your rear against the fury of\nthe foe, shall come there with me. Let this fighting be put an end\nto. Do not allow any further slaughter of soldiers. And ensure the\npersonal safety of yourself and the king your father-in-law. For war,\nthat involves a great waste of human life, is an inexpedient expedient,\nand sages affirm it to be the worst of all political measures.\"\n\nWhen Srutadhi had said this to Mrig\u00e1nkadatta, that prince and his\nministers mounted their horses and set out secretly at night. And\nthe prince arrived at the city of Ujjayin\u00ed, in which only women, and\nchildren, and sleepy men were left, and entered it easily, as the gates\nwere kept by only a few drowsy guards. [485] And then he proceeded\nto that famous sanctuary of Gaur\u00ed, which was easily discovered by the\ndescription which Srutadhi had given of it. It was situated in a great\ngarden called Pushpakarnda, and was just then illuminated by the rays\nof the moon, which at that time adorned the face of the East. [486]\n\nIn the meanwhile Sas\u00e1nkavat\u00ed, who remained sleepless, though her\ncompanions, worn out by attendance and other fatigues, were sleeping\naround her, was saying to herself; \"Alas! for my sake brave kings\nand princes and heroes are being slain every day in battle in both\nthese armies. Moreover, that prince, who has appealed to the ordeal\nof battle for my sake, was long ago designated as my husband by the\ngoddess Durg\u00e1 in a dream; and the god of love has with unfailing\naim cut out my heart with a continual shower [487] of arrows, and\ntaken it, and presented it to him. But, ill-starred girl that I am,\nmy father will not give me to that prince, on account of the previous\nenmity between them, and his own pride; so much I gathered from his\nletter. So what is the use of a sure revelation by a goddess in a\ndream, when Fate is adverse? The fact is, I see no chance of obtaining\nmy beloved in any way. So, why should I not abandon my hopeless life,\nbefore I hear of some misfortune happening to my father or to my lover\nin battle? [488]\" With these words she rose up, and in her grief went\nin front of the image of Gaur\u00ed and made a noose with her outer garment,\nfastening it to an asoka-tree.\n\nIn the meanwhile Mrig\u00e1nkadatta, with his companions, entered that\ngarden and fastened his horse to a tree in front of the temple and\nsanctuary of Gaur\u00ed. Then Mrig\u00e1nkadatta's minister Vimalabuddhi,\nseeing the princess near, said of his own accord to the prince,\n\"Look prince, here is some lovely girl trying to hang herself; now,\nwho can she be?\" When the prince heard that, he looked at her and\nsaid, \"Dear me! who can this girl be? Is she the goddess Rati? Or\nis she happiness incarnate in bodily form? Or is she the beauty of\nthe moon, having taken shape, [489] or the command of Cupid living\nand walking? Or is she a nymph of heaven? No, that cannot be. For\nwhat can make heavenly nymphs desire to hang themselves? So let us\nremain here for a time concealed by the trees, until we find out for\ncertain, somehow or other, who she is.\" When he had said this, he and\nhis ministers remained there in concealment; and in the meanwhile\nthe despondent Sas\u00e1nkavat\u00ed offered this prayer to the goddess,\n\"O adorable Gaur\u00ed that deliverest the afflicted from their pain,\ngrant that, though, owing to my sins in a former state of existence,\nprince Mrig\u00e1nkadatta has not become my husband in this birth, he\nmay become such in a future life.\" When the princess had said this,\nshe bowed before the goddess, and fastened the noose round her neck\nwith eyes moist with tears.\n\nAt that moment her companions woke up, and distressed at not seeing\nher, began to look for her, and quickly came where she was. And they\nsaid, \"Alas, friend, what is this that you have undertaken? Out on\nyour rashness!\" With these words they removed the noose from her\nneck. So, while the girl was standing there ashamed and despondent,\na voice came from the inner shrine of Gaur\u00ed's temple, \"Do not despond,\nmy daughter Sas\u00e1nkavat\u00ed; that word, fair one, that I spake to thee\nin a dream, cannot prove false. Here is that husband of thine in a\nformer life, Mrig\u00e1nkadatta, come to thy side; go and enjoy with him\nthe whole earth.\"\n\nWhen Sas\u00e1nkavat\u00ed heard this sudden utterance, she slowly looked aside\na little confused, and at that moment Vikramakesarin, the minister\nof Mrig\u00e1nkadatta, came up to her, and pointing out the prince with\nhis finger, said to her, \"Princess, Bhav\u00e1n\u00ed has told you the truth,\nfor here is the prince, your future husband, come to you, drawn by\nthe cords of love.\" When the princess heard that, she cast a sidelong\nglance, and beheld that noble lover of hers [490] standing in the\nmidst of his companions, looking like the moon having descended from\nheaven begirt by the planets, like the standard by which beauty is\ntested in others, raining nectar into the eyes.\n\nThen she remained motionless as a pillar, and every hair stood erect\nwith joy on all her limbs, so that they appeared to be covered with\nthe feathers at the end of Cupid's arrows raining upon her; and at\nthat moment Mrig\u00e1nkadatta came up to her, and in order to dispel her\nshame, he addressed to her, with a voice raining the honey of love,\nthe following speech appropriate to the occasion, [491] \"Fair one,\nyou have made me leave my own country and kingdom and relations,\nand brought me from a distance, enslaving me and binding me with\nthe chain of your virtues. So now I have gained this fruit of my\ndwelling in the forest, and of my sleeping on the ground, and of\nmy living on wild fruits, and enduring the fierce heat of the sun,\nand of my emaciation with asceticism, that I have beheld this form\nof yours which rains nectar into my eyes. And if you love me enough\nto care to please me, bestow also, gazelle-eyed one, that feast of\nthe eyes upon the ladies of our city. Let the war cease; let the\nwelfare of both armies be ensured; let my birth be made a success,\nand let my father's blessing be gained for me at the same time!\"\n\nWhen Mrig\u00e1nkadatta had said this to Sas\u00e1nkavat\u00ed, she slowly answered\nwith eyes fixed on the ground, \"I indeed have been purchased with\nyour virtues and made your slave, so do, my husband, what you think\nwill be for our good.\" When Mrig\u00e1nkadatta had been refreshed by\nthis nectar-like speech of hers, and saw that his point was gained,\nhe praised the goddess Gaur\u00ed and bowed before her, and then he made\nthe princess get up behind him on his horse, and his ten [492] brave\nministers mounted and took her ladies-in-waiting up behind them;\nand then the prince, with his sword drawn, set out from that city at\nnight, accompanied by them sword in hand. And though the city-guards\nsaw those eleven heroes, they did not dare to stop them, for they\nlooked as formidable as so many angry Rudras. And leaving Ujjayin\u00ed,\nthey went with Sas\u00e1nkavat\u00ed to the palace of M\u00e1y\u00e1vatu, in accordance\nwith the advice of Srutadhi.\n\nWhile the guards were exclaiming in their distraction, \"Who are these,\nand whither are they gone?\" it gradually became known in Ujjayin\u00ed that\nthe princess had been carried off. And the queen-consort hurriedly\ndespatched the governor of the city to the camp, to tell king Karmasena\nwhat had taken place. But in the meanwhile the head of the scouts\ncame to king Karmasena in the camp there at night, and and said to\nhim, \"King, Mrig\u00e1nkadatta and his ministers left the army secretly\nin the early part of this night, and went on horseback to Ujjayin\u00ed,\nto carry off Sas\u00e1nkavat\u00ed, who is in the temple of Gaur\u00ed. So much I\nhave discovered for certain; your Highness knows what step it is now\ndesirable to take.\"\n\nWhen king Karmasena heard this, he sent for his general, and\ncommunicated to him privately the information he had received,\nand said to him, \"Choose five hundred swift horses, and set picked\nmen on them, and go with them secretly and rapidly to Ujjayin\u00ed, and\nwherever you find that villain Mrig\u00e1nkadatta, kill him, or make him\nprisoner: know that I will follow you quickly, leaving my army behind\nme.\" When the general received this order from the king, he said,\n\"So be it,\" and set out by night for Ujjayin\u00ed with the prescribed\nforce. And on the way he met the governor of the town, from whom he\nheard that the princess had been carried off by some daring men in\nanother direction. Then he returned with the governor of the town,\nand told king Karmasena what had taken place. When the king heard it,\nhe thought it impossible, and remained quiet during the night, without\nmaking an attack. And in the camp of Mrig\u00e1nkadatta M\u00e1y\u00e1vatu and the\nother kings passed the night under arms, by the advice of Srutadhi.\n\nAnd next morning the sagacious king Karmasena found out the real state\nof the case, and sent off an ambassador to the kings in the camp of\nMrig\u00e1nkadatta, and he instructed the ambassador to give this message\nby word of mouth, \"Mrig\u00e1nkadatta has carried off my daughter by a\nstratagem; never mind that; for what other man would be as suitable\na match for her? So now let him come to my palace, and do you come\ntoo, in order that I may celebrate my daughter's marriage with\nappropriate ceremonies.\" [493] And the kings and Srutadhi approved\nof this proposal, [494] and said to the ambassador, \"Then let your\nmaster retire to his own city, and we will ourselves go and bring\nthe prince there.\" When the ambassador heard that proposal, he went\nand reported it to his master, and Karmasena agreed to it, and left\nfor Ujjayin\u00ed with his army. When the kings saw that, they went, with\nM\u00e1y\u00e1vatu at their head, and accompanied by Srutadhi, to Mrig\u00e1nkadatta.\n\nAnd in the meanwhile Mrig\u00e1nkadatta, with Sas\u00e1nkavat\u00ed, had reached\nthe palace of M\u00e1y\u00e1vatu in the city of K\u00e1nchanapura. There the queens\nof M\u00e1y\u00e1vatu welcomed him, and his companions, and his beloved,\nwith becoming hospitality, and he rested there with them, having\nsuccessfully accomplished his object. And the next day the kings came\nthere with Srutadhi; the heroic king of the Kir\u00e1tas Saktirakshita with\nhis army, and the mighty king M\u00e1y\u00e1vatu leader of the Savaras, and the\nhero Durgapis\u00e1cha lord of the host of the M\u00e1tangas; and all of them,\nwhen they beheld Mrig\u00e1nkadatta united to Sas\u00e1nkavat\u00ed like the white\nwater-lily to the night, rejoiced and congratulated him. And after\nthey had shewn him the honour he deserved, they told him the message\nof Karmasena, and how he had gone to his own palace.\n\nThen Mrig\u00e1nkadatta, having established there his camp, that was like\na moving city, sat down with them all to take counsel. And he said to\nthe kings and to his ministers, \"Tell me; shall I go to Ujjayin\u00ed to be\nmarried, or not?\" And they with one accord gave the following answer,\n\"That king is a villain; so how can a visit to his palace turn out\nwell? [495] Moreover, there is no need of it, as his daughter has\narrived here.\" Then Mrig\u00e1nkadatta said to the Br\u00e1hman Srutadhi,\n\"Why do you remain silent, Br\u00e1hman, like one taking no interest in\nthe proceedings? Tell me, do you approve of this step or not?\"\n\nThen Srutadhi said, \"If you will listen, I will tell you what I think:\nmy opinion is that you ought to go to the palace of Karmasena. For\nhe sent you this message because he saw no other way out of the\ndifficulty; otherwise, how would a powerful prince like that, when his\ndaughter had been carried off, give up fighting, and go home? Moreover,\nwhat could he do to you, when you arrived at his court, since you\nwould take your army with you? On the contrary, if you go there,\nhe will be well-disposed to you, and he will again be one of your\nchief allies out of love for his daughter. The reason he makes this\nproposal, which is a perfectly legitimate one, is that he does not\nwish his daughter to be married in an irregular manner. So I think it\nadvisable that you should go to Ujjayin\u00ed.\" When Srutadhi said this,\nall, who were present, approved his speech, and said, \"Bravo! Bravo!\"\n\nThen Mrig\u00e1nkadatta said to them, \"I admit the truth of all this;\nbut I do not like to marry without my father and mother. So let some\none be sent off from this place to summon my father and mother: and\nwhen I have learnt their wish, I will do what is proper.\" When the\nhero had said this, he took the advice of his friends, and then and\nthere sent off his minister Bh\u00edmapar\u00e1krama to his parents.\n\nAnd in the meanwhile his father, king Amaradatta, in the city of\nAyodhy\u00e1, found out in course of time from his subjects that the\ncharge which Vin\u00edtamati brought against the prince, and which caused\nhis banishment from his native land, was wholly groundless. Then,\nin his wrath, he put to death that wicked minister and his family,\nand fell into a pitiable state, being terribly afflicted on account\nof the banishment of his son. And he left his capital, and remained\nin a sanctuary of Siva, outside the city, called Nandigr\u00e1ma; and\nthere he and his wives gave themselves up to severe asceticism.\n\nAfter he had remained there some time, Bh\u00edmapar\u00e1krama, whose approach\nwas announced by scouts, arrived, thanks to the speed of his swift\nhorse, at the city of Ayodhy\u00e1. He beheld that city plunged in despair,\non account of the absence of the prince, as if it were once more going\nthrough the painful agitation caused by the exile of R\u00e1ma. Thence he\nwent to Nandigr\u00e1ma, surrounded by citizens who asked him for news\nof the prince, and hearing from their mouths what had happened to\nthe king. There he beheld king Amaradatta, with his body emaciated\nby asceticism, surrounded by his queens, eager for news of his\nbeloved son.\n\nBh\u00edmapar\u00e1krama went up to him and fell at his feet: and the\nking embraced him, and asked for news of his son; and thereupon\nBh\u00edmapar\u00e1krama said to him with tears; \"Your son Mrig\u00e1nkadatta\nhas won by his valour the princess Sas\u00e1nkavat\u00ed, the daughter of\nking Karmasena. But, as he is devoted to his parents, it does not\nseem at all becoming to him to marry her, unless the king and the\nqueen can be present at the ceremony. So your son, placing his head\nupon the ground, has sent me to request you to come to him. And he\nawaits your Highness's arrival, in K\u00e1nchanapura, in the palace of\nking M\u00e1y\u00e1vatu, the monarch of the Savaras. Now hear the story of our\nadventures.\" And thereupon Bh\u00edmapar\u00e1krama began with the banishment\nof his master, and related all his various and wonderful adventures,\ninvolving the long story of the misfortunes of their forest sojourn\nand their separation, with the war, and winding up with the prince's\nreconciliation with Karmasena.\n\nWhen king Amaradatta heard that, he made up his mind that it was\nwell with his son, and in his joy he announced that he would set out\nthat moment. He mounted an elephant, and accompanied by his queen,\nhis subject kings, and his ministers, and followed by a force of\nelephants and cavalry, he started full of eagerness to join his\nson. And travelling uninterruptedly, the king reached in a few days\nhis son's camp, that was pitched in the territory of the monarch of\nthe Savaras.\n\nAnd when Mrig\u00e1nkadatta, who had long been yearning for his father,\nheard of his approach, he went out to meet him with all the kings. And\nhe saw him from a distance, and dismounted from his horse, and fell\nat the feet of his father, who was seated on an elephant, and at the\nfeet of his mother. And when embraced by his father, he filled with\nhis body his clasping arms, with satisfaction his heart, and his eyes\nwith tears. His mother too folded him in a long embrace, and looking\nat him again and again, was for some time unable to let him go, as\nif fearing a second separation. And Mrig\u00e1nkadatta introduced to his\nfather Amaradatta the kings his friends, and they bowed before him and\nthe queen. And that couple, the king and the queen, received lovingly\nthose friends who had stood by their only son in his difficulties.\n\nThen Amaradatta entered the palace of M\u00e1y\u00e1vatu, and saw Sas\u00e1nkavat\u00ed,\nhis future daughter-in-law, who bowed at his feet. And after accepting\na present, he departed with the queen and that daughter-in-law, and\ntook up his quarters in his own camp. And there he took food with\nhis son and all the kings, and spent that day agreeably with song,\nmusic, and dancing. And he thought that all his objects in life had\nbeen gained, thanks to his son Mrig\u00e1nkadatta, the future emperor,\nwho had attained so much glory.\n\nAnd in the meanwhile the wise king Karmasena, after deliberating,\nsent off an ambassador to Mrig\u00e1nkadatta with the following message,\nwhich was contained in a letter, and also intended to be delivered\nby word of mouth; \"I know that you will not come to Ujjayin\u00ed; so I\nwill send to you my own son Sushena; he will bestow on you with due\nceremonies his sister Sas\u00e1nkavat\u00ed; so you ought not, blameless one,\nto marry her in an irregular manner, if you value my friendship.\"\n\nAnd when the prince had heard this message delivered in the royal\nhall of audience, his father the king himself gave this answer to\nthe ambassador; \"Who but king Karmasena would send such a gracious\nmessage? That excellent monarch is truly well-disposed to us; so\nlet him send here his son Sushena; we will so order matters as that\nhis daughter's marriage shall give him satisfaction.\" When the king\nhad given this answer and dismissed the messenger with due honours,\nhe said to his son, and Srutadhi, and the kings, \"We had better\ngo now to Ayodhy\u00e1; that is the place where the marriage can be\nperformed with most \u00e9clat; and there we can entertain Sushena with\nbecoming magnificence. And let king M\u00e1y\u00e1vatu wait here for Sushena;\nwhen that prince arrives he can come on after us to Ayodhy\u00e1 with\nhim. But we will go on in front to make the necessary preparations\nfor the marriage.\" And all present approved this speech of the king's.\n\nThen, the next day, the king with the queen and his soldiers, and\nMrig\u00e1nkadatta with the kings and his ministers, started off with\nSas\u00e1nkavat\u00ed, exulting in their success, leaving M\u00e1y\u00e1vatu to wait there\nfor Sushena. Their army moved on like a deep and terrible sea, agitated\nwith hundreds of waves in the form of troops of bounding horses,\nfilling all the horizon with a flood of countless marching footmen,\nrendering all other sounds inaudible with the confused din that arose\nfrom it. And gradually advancing, father and son reached the palace\nof Saktirakshita the king of the Kir\u00e1tas, that lay in their course.\n\nThere they and their attendants were courteously and generously\nwelcomed with heaps of valuable jewels, gold, and splendid\ngarments. And they stayed there one day with their army, taking\nfood and resting, and then they set out and reached in course of\ntime their city of Ayodhy\u00e1. It seemed like a lake in windy weather,\nas they entered it: for the ladies of the city that had climbed up\nto the windows of the palaces, as they moved to and fro, seemed like\nswaying full-blown lotuses, sending forth shoots of beauty; and their\nrolling eyes eager to behold the prince, who after a long absence had\nreturned, bringing a bride with him, were like dancing blue lilies;\nit was crowded with assembling kingly swans; and tossing with wavy\nbanners. And father and son looked grand, as they sat on thrones,\nbeing blessed by the Br\u00e1hmans, praised by heralds, and hymned by bards.\n\nAnd when the people there saw the great beauty of Sas\u00e1nkavat\u00ed,\nthey exclaimed in their astonishment, \"If they were to behold this\ndaughter of Karmasena, the Ocean would cease to boast of the beauty\nof his daughter Lakshm\u00ed, and the Him\u00e1laya would no longer pride\nhimself on Gaur\u00ed.\" And then, when the festival came on, the quarters,\nre-echoing the sound of the auspicious drums of rejoicing, as it were,\ngave notice to the kings. And the whole city was full of exultation,\nand the vermilion colours that covered it throughout, seemed like\nits red glow of affection overflowing in external form.\n\nThe next day the astrologers fixed an auspicious date for the prince's\nmarriage, and his father king Amaradatta began to make preparations\nfor it. And the city was filled so full of various jewels, coming\nfrom all quarters, that it put to shame the city of Kuvera.\n\nAnd soon a servant of king M\u00e1y\u00e1vatu's came to the sovereign in high\nspirits, introduced by the warder, and said to him, \"King, prince\nSushena and king M\u00e1y\u00e1vatu have arrived, and they are both waiting\non the frontier of this realm of Ayodhy\u00e1.\" When king Amaradatta\nheard that, he sent his own general with a body of soldiers to meet\nSushena. And Mrig\u00e1nkadatta, out of regard for his friend, also went\nout with the general from Ayodhy\u00e1 to meet the prince. And both of\nthose princes dismounted, while yet a great distance apart, and\nmet together, embracing one another and asking after one another's\nhealth. And out of love they entered the city in the same chariot,\ngiving a great feast to the eyes of the ladies of the city.\n\nAnd there Sushena had an interview with the king, and was received by\nhim with much respect, and then he went to the private apartments of\nhis sister Sas\u00e1nkavat\u00ed. There she rose up weeping and embraced him,\nand he sat down, and said to the princess who was overwhelmed with\nshame, \"My father directs me to tell you that you have done nothing\nunbecoming, for he has just come to learn that prince Mrig\u00e1nkadatta\nwas appointed your husband by the goddess Gaur\u00ed in a dream, and it is\nthe highest duty of women to follow the steps of their husbands.\" When\nhe said this to the girl, she dismissed her shame, looking at her\nheart with downcast face, as if to tell it that its desire was gained.\n\nThen Sushena brought and gave to Sas\u00e1nkavat\u00ed in the presence of\nthe king her own accumulated wealth; two thousand bh\u00e1ras [496] of\ngold, five camels heavily laden with jewelled ornaments, and another\ntreasure of gold. And he said, \"This is her own private property, but,\nas for what her father has sent, I will give it her in due course at\nthe marriage altar.\" Then they all ate and drank, and spent the day\nthere in the king's presence in great comfort, with Mrig\u00e1nkadatta\nand his suite.\n\nThe next day dawned, the day fixed as auspicious, and Mrig\u00e1nkadatta\nperformed his own daily ceremony, of bathing and so on; in which\nthe king himself displayed the utmost interest, in his joy at the\noccasion. And then Sas\u00e1nkavat\u00ed, though her beauty was sufficient\nbridal ornament, was solemnly adorned by the ladies, only out of\nregard for the good old custom, not because anything of the kind\nwas needed. Then the bride and bridegroom left the room in which\nthe previous ceremony took place, and in which Sushena presided, and\nascended the altar-platform, where a fire was burning. And on it the\nprince received the hand of the princess, which was resplendent with\nthe hues of a lotus that she held, as Vishnu the hand of Lakshm\u00ed. And\nwhen they circumambulated the fire, the face of Sas\u00e1nkavat\u00ed was red\nand tearful from heat and smoke, though anger was far from her. And\nthe handfuls of parched grain, thrown into the fire, appeared like\nthe laughs of the god of Love, pleased with the success of his\nscheme. And when the first handful was thrown, Sushena gave five\nthousand horses, and a hundred elephants, and two hundred bh\u00e1ras of\ngold, and twenty camels laden with loads of splendid raiment, valuable\ngems, and pearl-ornaments. And at each subsequent sprinkling of grain,\nSas\u00e1nkavat\u00ed's brother gave her a portion of the wealth gained by the\nconquest of the earth, double that given at the preceding.\n\nThen Mrig\u00e1nkadatta, the auspicious ceremony of his marriage having\nbeen performed, entered his own palace with his newly married bride,\nSas\u00e1nkavat\u00ed, while the sound of festal drums rose in the air. And\nthe king, his father, gratified his ministers and the citizens of\nhis capital, with presents of elephants, horses, garments, ornaments,\nmeat, and drink, suited to the worth of the recipient, beginning with\nthe circle of dependent monarchs, and ending with the parrots and\npet mainas. And the king displayed on this occasion such exceedingly\nlavish generosity that even the trees had garments and gems fastened\nto them, and presented the appearance of earthly wishing-trees.\n\nThen the king and Mrig\u00e1nkadatta feasted with the kings and Sas\u00e1nkavat\u00ed\nand Sushena, and spent the rest of the day in a wine-party. Then,\nafter the inhabitants of the palace had eaten and drunk well, and\nenjoyed music and dancing, the sun, having accomplished his journey,\nand having drunk up the moisture of the earth, entered the cavern of\nthe western mountain. And the glory of the day, seeing that he had\ndeparted somewhere or other with the evening that was all ablaze with\na warm glow, ran after him in a fit of jealous anger, and the birds\nflying to and fro seemed like her agitated zone. [497] And then in due\ncourse appeared advancing the wanton nymph Night, beautiful with her\nwaving black robe of darkness, and showing a face in which stars rolled\nfor eyeballs, and the god of Love waxed mighty. And the moon, own\nbrother to the curved corner of an angry long-eyed beauty's eye, arose,\nand glowing with fresh rosy colour, made itself the driving-hook of the\nelephant of the eastern mountain. And the eastern quarter, that was\nclear and bright with the departure of the darkness, bore a laughing\nface, to which the moon, like a new shoot of the twining plant of\nLove, formed an extemporized ear-ornament. And at night Mrig\u00e1nkadatta,\nafter performing his evening devotions, retired to his luxuriously\nappointed bed-chamber with his bride Sas\u00e1nkavat\u00ed. And during it, that\nfair one's moonlike countenance, dispelling the darkness, and lighting\nup the pictured panels of the room, seemed to render unnecessary\nthe lamps hanging there, that were made of precious stones. [498]\nAnd the next morning Mrig\u00e1nkadatta was aroused by the soft sweet\nstrains of the following song, \"The night has past; leave your bed,\nprince, for the breezes of morning are blowing, fanning the perfumed\nlocks of the gazelle-eyed fair ones. And the dewdrops collected on the\npoints of the blades of d\u00farva-grass sparkle brilliantly, looking like\npearls fallen from the necklace of the night quickly following the\nmoon. And observe, prince, the bees that long sported in the cups of\nthe white water-lilies opening when touched by the beams of the moon,\nand drank the honey, and were joyous at having obtained an entrance,\nnow that the water-lilies are closed and their glory is departing,\nare seeking some other retreat; for to whom are black souls faithful\nin calamity? And the god of Love, seeing that the lip of night has\nbeen adorned by the finger of the sun, has stripped it of the moon\nwhich served it for a beauty-patch, and has gradually dissipated\nthe darkness which was a black powder to set it off.\" Aroused by\nthese strains at the hour of dawn, Mrig\u00e1nkadatta cast off sleep,\nand leaving Sas\u00e1nkavat\u00ed, at once started up from his couch. And\nhe rose and performed the ceremonies of the day, his father having\nmade all the arrangements that devolved on him; and accompanied by\nhis beloved he passed many more days in similar rejoicing. Then his\nfather, Amaradatta, first inaugurated the prince's brother-in-law\nSushena with the holy waters, and placed a turban of honour on his\nhead; and bestowed on him as a mark of respect a suitable territory\nand elephants, horses, quantities of gold, and garments, and a hundred\nbeautiful women. And then the king complimented the king of the Savaras\nand the king of the Kir\u00e1tas, M\u00e1y\u00e1vatu and Saktirakshita, with their\nrelations and wives, and that king Durgapis\u00e1cha the leader of the host\nof the M\u00e1tangas, and the ministers of Mrig\u00e1nkadatta with Srutadhi,\nby giving them territories, cows, horses, gold and garments. Then king\nAmaradatta dismissed the king of the Kir\u00e1tas and the other monarchs,\nwith Sushena, to their own dominions: and ruled his realm in happiness,\nat ease because his valour was so well known. Mrig\u00e1nkadatta, for his\npart, having conquered his enemies, and attained his ends, remained\nin happiness with his wife Sas\u00e1nkavat\u00ed, whom he had gained after a\nlong struggle, and with Bh\u00edmapar\u00e1krama and his other ministers.\n\nAnd in course of time old age, slowly creeping on, approached the root\nof the ear of that king Amaradatta, appearing as if it had taken form\nin order to say to him, \"You have enjoyed the good things of fortune;\nyour age is fully ripe; surely it is now time to retire from the\nworld.\" Then the king's mind became averse to enjoyment, and he said to\nhis ministers, \"Listen, I will now tell you the scheme which I have in\nmy mind. My life has passed; that grey hue which is the harbinger of\nDeath has just now twitched my locks; and when old age once arrives,\na vicious clinging to enjoyment on the part of persons like myself,\nwhen all the zest is gone, is mere vanity. And though in some people\na mad passion of avarice and lust goes on increasing with increasing\nage, that is without doubt the natural tendency of base souls, and the\ngood do not acquire it. Now I have this son here Mrig\u00e1nkadatta, who\nhas gained glory by conquering the sovereign of Avanti and his allied\nkings [499], who abounds in good qualities, is beloved by the subjects,\nand has excellent friends. So I propose to make over to him my mighty\nkingdom, and to retire to a holy water for mortification of the flesh;\nconduct in conformity with the laws laid down for the various periods\nof life, that their enemies cannot blame, becomes men of great soul.\"\n\nWhen the calm and resolute ministers heard this determined speech\nof the king's, they, and in due course the queen and the citizens\nall approved it, saying, \"So let it be!\" Then the king performed\nthe joyful ceremony of the coronation [500] of his son Mrig\u00e1nkadatta\nat a moment fixed by the astrologers, on a day selected by the chief\nBr\u00e1hmans assembled together. And on that day the palace of the king was\nfull of people running hither and thither at the order of the warder,\nand all the officials in it had their hands full, and it reeled with\nthe merriment of famous bards and of lovely women who were dancing\nthere. And while the water of holy places was being poured in copious\nshowers upon the head of Mrig\u00e1nkadatta and his wife, a second flood\nseemed to gush from the eyes of his joyful parents. And, when that\nnew king, of lion-like might, mounted his lion-seat, it seemed as if\nhis enemies, bowed down by fear of his wrath, crouched on the ground\nin a fashion other than lion-like.\n\nThen his father, king Amaradatta, prolonged for seven days the\ngreat feast, in which the king's highway was decorated, and the\nsubject kings honoured according to their worth. And on the eighth\nday he went out of the city with his wife, and after turning back\nMrig\u00e1nkadatta and the citizens, who followed him with tearful faces,\nhe went with his ministers to V\u00e1r\u00e1nas\u00ed. There the king remained with\nhis body steeped in Ganges water, worshipping Siva three times a day,\nperforming penance, like a hermit, by living on roots and fruits;\nand his wife shared all his devotions and privations.\n\nBut Mrig\u00e1nkadatta, for his part, having obtained that kingdom broad\nand pure as the sky, which the sun takes as his domain, and having\noverwhelmed the kings with imposition of numerous tributes, as the\nsun does the mountains with showers of rays, began to blaze forth\nwith increasing heat of valour. And associated with his lieutenants\nM\u00e1y\u00e1vatu and Karmasena and the others, and with his own ministers\nheaded by Srutadhi, he conquered this circle of the earth, with all\nits continents, as far as the four cardinal points, and ruled it under\none umbrella. And while he was king, such calamities as famine, and the\ndread of robbers and of foreign invaders were heard of only in tales;\nand the world was ever joyous and happy, and enjoyed unparalleled\nfelicity, so that it seemed as if the gentle reign of R\u00e1ma the good\nwere renewed. And so the monarch established himself in that city of\nAyodhy\u00e1 with his ministers, and kings came from various quarters to\nworship the lotus of his foot, and he long enjoyed with his beloved\nSas\u00e1nkavat\u00ed pleasures the joy of which no enemy marred. [501]\n\nWhen the hermit Pisangajata had told this story in the wood on the\nMalaya mountain to Narav\u00e1hanadatta, who was separated from his beloved,\nhe went on to say to him, \"So, my son, as Mrig\u00e1nkadatta in old time\ngained Sas\u00e1nkavat\u00ed after enduring affliction, you also will regain\nyour Madanamanchuk\u00e1.\" When Narav\u00e1hanadatta had heard this nectarous\nutterance of the mighty hermit Pisangajata, he conceived in his heart\nthe hope of regaining Madanamanchuk\u00e1. And with his mind fixed on her,\nhe took leave of that good hermit, and roamed about on the Malaya\nmountain, looking for Lalitalochan\u00e1, whom he had lost, the fair one\nthat originally brought him there.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nBOOK XIII.\n\n\nCHAPTER CIV.\n\n\nMay that Ganesa, whom, when dancing in the twilight intervals between\nthe Yugas, all the worlds seem to imitate by rising and falling,\nprotect you!\n\nMay the blaze of the eye in the forehead of Siva, who is smeared with\nthe beautiful red dye used by Gaur\u00ed for adorning her feet, befriend\nyou for your happiness!\n\nWe adore the goddess Sarasvat\u00ed, taking form as speech to our heart's\ndelight, the bee that dwells in the lotus on the lake of the mighty\npoet's mind. [502]\n\n\n\nThen Narav\u00e1hanadatta, the son of the king of Vatsa, afflicted with\nseparation, being without Madanamanchuk\u00e1, roamed about on those lower\nslopes of mount Malaya, and in its bordering forests, which were\nin all the beauty of spring, but found joy nowhere. The cluster of\nmango-blossoms, though in itself soft, yet seeming, on account of the\nbees [503] that settled on it, like the pliant bow of the god of Love,\ncleft his heart. And the song of the cuckoo, though sweet in itself,\nwas hard to bear, and gave pain to his ears, as it seemed to be harsh\nwith the reproachful utterances of M\u00e1ra. [504] And the wind of the\nMalaya mountain, though in itself cool, yet being yellow with the\npollen of flowers, and so looking like the fire of Cupid, seemed to\nburn him, when it fell on his limbs. So he slowly left that region,\nbeing, so to speak, drummed out of it by those groves that were all\nresonant with the hum of bees.\n\nAnd gradually, as he journeyed on, with the deity for his guide, by a\npath that led towards the Ganges, he reached the bank of a lake in a\nneighbouring wood. And there he beheld two young Br\u00e1hmans of handsome\nappearance, sitting at the foot of a tree, engaged in unrestrained\nconversation. And when they saw him, they thought he was the god of\nLove, and they rose up, and bowing before him, said, \"All hail to thee,\nadorable god of the flowery bow! Tell us why thou wanderest here alone\nwithout that fragrant artillery of thine, and where is that Rati thy\nconstant companion?\" When the son of the king of Vatsa heard that,\nhe said to those Br\u00e1hmans, \"I am not the god K\u00e1ma, I am a mere mortal;\nbut I have indeed lost my Rati.\" [505] When the prince had said this,\nhe told his history, and said to those Br\u00e1hmans, \"Who are you, and of\nwhat kind is this talk that you two are carrying on here?\" Then one\nof those young Br\u00e1hmans said to him respectfully, \"King, how can we\ntell our secret in the presence of a man of your worth? Nevertheless,\nout of respect for your command, I will tell our history; give ear!\"\n\n\n\nThe first Br\u00e1hman's story.\n\nThere is in the territory of Kalinga a city of the name of Sobh\u00e1vat\u00ed,\nwhich has never been entered by the demon Kali, nor touched by\nevildoers, nor seen by a foreign foe: such has it been made by the\nCreator. In it there was a wise and rich Br\u00e1hman, of the name of\nYasaskara, who had offered many sacrifices, and he had an excellent\nwife named Mekhal\u00e1. I was born to them as an only son, when they were\nalready in middle life, and I was in due course reared up by them,\nand invested with the sacrificial thread.\n\nThen, while as a boy I was studying the Vedas, there arose a mighty\nfamine in that land, owing to drought. So my father and my mother went\noff with me to a city named Vis\u00e1l\u00e1, taking with them their wealth and\ntheir servants. In that city, in which fortune and learning dwelt\ntogether, having laid aside their long feud, my father established\nhimself, having had a house given him by a merchant, who was a friend\nof his. And I dwelt there in the house of my preceptor, engaged in\nthe acquisition of learning, in the society of my fellow-students of\nequal age.\n\nAnd among them I had a friend, a promising young man of the military\ncaste, Vijayasena by name, the son of a very rich Kshatriya. And\none day the unmarried sister of that friend of mine, whose name was\nMadir\u00e1vat\u00ed, came with him to my teacher's house. So beautiful was\nshe that I feel convinced that the Creator made the orb of the moon,\nthat is like nectar to the eyes of men, out of the overflowing of\nthe perfect loveliness of her face. I ween, the god of Love, when\nhe beheld her form, which was to him a sixth weapon, bewildering the\nworld, valued but little his other five shafts. When I saw her, and\nheard from that friend her name and descent, I was at once overpowered\nby Love's potent sway, and my mind was altogether fixed upon her. And\nshe, for her part, looked askance at me with modest loving eye, and\nthe down standing erect on her cheeks told that love had begun to\nsprout. And after she had remained there a long time on the pretext of\nplay, she at last tore herself away and went home, sending to me from\nthe reverted corner of her eye a look that was a messenger of love.\n\nThen I went home, grieved at having to part with her, and throwing\nmyself flat, I tossed up and down convulsively like a fish on dry\nland. I said to myself, \"Shall I ever again behold her face, which\nis the Creator's storehouse of all the nectar of beauty? Happy are\nher companions [506] whom she looks at with that laughing eye, and\ntalks freely to with that mouth.\" Engaged in such thoughts as these,\nI with difficulty got through that day and night, and on the second\nday I went to the house of my teacher.\n\nThere my friend Vijayasena approached me courteously, and in the course\nof a confidential conversation, said to me joyfully, \"My mother has\nheard from my sister Madir\u00e1vat\u00ed that you are so great a friend of mine,\nand being full of love for you, she wishes to behold you; so, if you\nhave any regard for me, come with me to our house; let it be adorned\nfor us with the dust of your lotus-like foot.\" This speech of his was\na sudden refreshment to me, as an unexpected heavy shower of rain is\nto a traveller in the desert. So I consented, and went to his house,\nand there I had an interview with his mother, and was welcomed by her,\nand remained there gladdened by beholding my beloved.\n\nThen Vijayasena, having been summoned by his father, left me, and the\nfoster-sister of Madir\u00e1vat\u00ed came to me, and said, bowing before me,\n\"Prince, the princess Madir\u00e1vat\u00ed trained up to maturity in our garden\na jasmine creeper; and it has recently produced a splendid crop of\nflowers, which laugh and gleam with joyous exultation at being united\nwith the spring. To-day the princess herself has gathered its buds, in\ndefiance of the bees that settled on the flowers; and she has threaded\nthem, like pearls, into a necklace, and she sends this to you her old\nfriend as a new present.\" When that dexterous girl had said this, she\ngave me the garland, and with it leaves of the betel, together with\ncamphor and the five fruits. So I threw round my neck the garland,\nwhich my beloved had made with her own hand, and I enjoyed exceeding\npleasure, surpassing the joy of many embraces. [507] And putting\nthe betel into my mouth, I said to that dear companion of hers,\n\"What can I say more than this, my good girl? I have in my heart\nsuch intense love for your companion, that, if I could sacrifice\nmy life for her, I should consider that it had not been given me in\nvain; for she is the sovereign of my being.\" When I had said this,\nI dismissed her, and I went to my teacher's house with Vijayasena,\nwho had that moment come in.\n\nThe next day Vijayasena came with Madir\u00e1vat\u00ed to our house, to the great\ndelight [508] of my parents. So the love of myself and Madir\u00e1vat\u00ed,\nthough carefully concealed, increased every day from being in one\nanother's society.\n\nAnd one day a servant of Madir\u00e1vat\u00ed's said to me in secret, \"Listen,\nnoble sir, and lay up [509] in your heart what I am going to tell\nyou. Ever since my darling Madir\u00e1vat\u00ed beheld you there in your\nteacher's house, she has no appetite for her food, she does not adorn\nherself, she takes no pleasure in music, she does not play with her\nparrots and other pets; she finds that fanning with plantain leaves,\nand moist anointings with sandal-wood ointment, and the rays of the\nmoon, though cool as snow, torture her with heat; and every day she\ngrows perceptibly thinner, like the streak of the moon in the black\nfortnight, and the only thing that seems to give her any relief is\nconversation about you; this is what my daughter told me, who knows\nall that she does, who attends her like a shadow, and never leaves\nher side. Moreover, I drew Madir\u00e1vat\u00ed herself into a confidential\nconversation, and questioned her, and she confessed to me that her\naffections were fixed on you. So now, auspicious sir, if you wish\nher life to be saved, take steps to have her wishes fulfilled.\" This\nnectarous speech of hers delighted me, and I said, \"That altogether\ndepends on you, I am completely at your disposal.\" When she heard\nthis, she returned delighted, and I, relying on her, conceived hopes,\nand went home with my mind at ease.\n\nThe next day an influential young Kshatriya came from Ujjayin\u00ed and\nasked Madir\u00e1vat\u00ed's father for her hand. And her father promised to\ngive him his daughter; and I heard that news, terrible to my ears,\nfrom her attendants. Then I was for a long time amazed, as if fallen\nfrom heaven, as if struck with a thunderbolt, as if possessed by\na demon. But I recovered, and said to myself, \"What is the use of\nbewilderment now? I will wait and see the end. It is the self-possessed\nman that gains his desire.\"\n\nBuoyed up by such hopes I passed some days, and my beloved one's\ncompanions came to me and supported me by telling me what she said;\nbut at last Madir\u00e1vat\u00ed was informed that the auspicious moment had\nbeen fixed, and the day of her marriage arrived celebrated with\ngreat rejoicings. So she was shut up in her father's house, and\nprevented from roaming about at will, and the processional entry of\nthe bridegroom's friends drew nigh, heralded by the sound of drums.\n\nWhen I saw that, I considered that my miserable life had lost all its\nzest, and came to the conclusion that death was to be preferred to\nseparation; so I went outside the city, and climbed up a banyan-tree,\nand fastened a noose to it, and I let myself drop from the tree\nsuspended by that noose, and let go at the same time my chimerical\nhope of obtaining my beloved. And a moment afterwards I found myself,\nhaving recovered the consciousness which I had lost, lying in the\nlap of a young man who had cut the noose; and perceiving that he had\nwithout doubt saved my life, I said to him, \"Noble sir, you have to-day\nshewn your compassionate nature; but I am tortured by separation from\nmy beloved and I prefer death to life. The moon is like fire to me,\nfood is poison, songs pierce my ear like needles, a garden is a prison,\na wreath of flowers is a series of envenomed shafts, and anointing\nwith sandal-wood ointment and other unguents is a rain of burning\ncoals. Tell me, friend, what pleasure can wretched bereaved ones,\nlike myself, to whom everything in the world is turned upside down,\nfind in life?\"\n\nWhen I had said this, that friend in misfortune asked me my history,\nand I told him the whole of my love affair with Madir\u00e1vat\u00ed. Then that\ngood man said to me, \"Why, though wise, are you bewildered? What is\nthe use of surrendering life, for the sake of which we acquire all\nother things?\" \u00c0 propos of this, hear my story, which I now proceed\nto relate to you.\n\n\n\nThe second Br\u00e1hman's story.\n\nThere is in the bosom of the Him\u00e1layas a country named Nishada, which\nis the only refuge of virtue, banished from the earth by Kali, and the\nnative land of truth, and the home of the Krita age. The inhabitants\nof that land are insatiable of learning, but not of money-getting;\nthey are satisfied with their own wives, but with benefiting others\nnever. I am the son of a Br\u00e1hman of that country who was rich in\nvirtue and wealth. I left my home, my friend, out of a curiosity which\nimpelled me to see other countries, and wandering about, visiting\nteachers, I reached in course of time the city of Sankhapura not\nfar from here, where there is a great purifying lake of clear water,\nsacred to Sankhap\u00e1la king of the N\u00e1gas, and called Sankhahrada.\n\nWhile I was living there in the house of my spiritual preceptor,\nI went one holy bathing festival to visit the lake Sankhahrada. Its\nbanks were crowded, and its waters troubled on every side by people\nwho had come from all countries, like the sea when the gods and Asuras\nchurned it. I beheld that great lake, which seemed to make the women\nlook more lovely, as their garlands of flowers fell from their loosened\nbraids, while it gently stroked their waists with its waves like hands,\nand made itself slightly yellow with the unguents which its embraces\nrubbed off from their bodies. I then went to the south of the lake,\nand beheld a clump of trees, which looked like the body of Cupid being\nconsumed by the fire of Siva's eye; its l\u00e1pinchas did duty for smoke,\nits kinsukas for red coals, and it was all aflame with twining masses\nof the full-blown scarlet asoka.\n\nThere I saw a certain maiden gathering flowers at the entrance of\nan arbour composed of the atimukta creeper; she seemed with her\nplayful sidelong glances to be threatening the lotus in her ear;\nshe kept raising her twining arm and displaying half her bosom; and\nher beautiful loosened hair, hanging down her back, seemed like the\ndarkness seeking shelter to escape from her moon-like face. And I\nsaid to myself \"Surely the Creator must have made this girl, after\nhe had got his hand in by creating Rambh\u00e1 and her sister-nymphs,\nbut one can see that she is mortal by the winking of her eyes.\"\n\nThe moment I saw that gazelle-eyed maid, she pierced my heart, like\na crescent-headed javelin of M\u00e1ra, bewildering the three worlds. And\nthe moment she saw me, she was overcome by Cupid, and her hands\nwere rendered nerveless and listless by love, and she desisted from\nher amusement of gathering flowers. She seemed, with the flashings\nof the ruby in the midst of her moving flexible chain, [510] to be\ndisplaying the flames of affection that had broken forth from her\nheart in which they could not be contained; and turning round, she\nlooked at me again and again with an eye that seemed to be rendered\nmore charming by the pupil coming down to rest in its corner.\n\nWhile we stood for a while looking at one another, there arose there\na great noise of people flying in terror. And there came that way an\ninfuriated elephant driven mad by the smell of the wild elephants;\nit had broken its chain, and thrown its rider, and the elephant-hook\nwas swinging to and fro at the end of its ear. The moment I saw the\nanimal, I rushed forward, and taking up in my arms my beloved, who was\nterrified, and whose attendants had run away, I carried her into the\nmiddle of the crowd. Then she began to recover her composure, and her\nattendants came up; but just at that moment the elephant, attracted by\nthe noise of the people, charged in our direction. The crowd dispersed\nin terror at the monster's approach, and she disappeared among them,\nhaving been carried off by her attendants in one direction, while I\nwent in another.\n\nAt last the alarm caused by the elephant came to an end, and then\nI searched in every direction for that slender-waisted maid, but\nI could not find her, as I did not know her name, her family, or\nher dwelling-place; and so roaming about, with a void in my heart,\nlike a Vidy\u00e1dhara that has lost his magic power, I with difficulty\ntottered into my teacher's house. There I remained like one in a faint\nor asleep, remembering the joy of embracing my beloved, and anxious\nlest her love might fail. [511] And in course of time reflection\nlulled me in her lap, as if affected with the compassion natural\nto noble women, and shewed me a glimpse of hope, and soul-paining\nignorance hugged my heart, and an exceedingly severe headache took\npossession of my brain. [512] In the meanwhile the day slipped away\nand my self-command with it, and the lotus-thicket folded its cups\nand my face was contracted with them, and the couples of Brahmany\nducks were dispersed with my hopes, the sun having gone to rest.\n\nThen the moon, the chief friend of Love, that gladdens the eyes of\nthe happy, rose up, adorning the face of the east; its rays, though\nambrosial, seemed to me like fiery fingers, and though it lit up\nthe quarters of the sky, it closed in me all hope of life. Then one\nof my fellow-students, seeing that in my misery I had flung my body\ninto moonlight as into a fire, and was longing for death, said to me,\n\"Why are you in this evil case? You do not appear to have any disease;\nbut, if you have mental affliction caused by longing for wealth or\nby love, I will tell you the truth about those objects; listen to\nme. The wealth, which through over-covetousness men desire to gain by\ncheating their neighbours, or by robbing them, does not remain. The\npoison-trees [513] of wealth, which are rooted in wickedness and\nbring forth an abundant crop of wickedness, are soon broken by the\nweight of their own fruit. All that is gained by that wealth in this\nworld, is the toil of acquiring it and other annoyances, and in the\nnext world great suffering in hell, a suffering that shall continue\nas long as the moon and stars endure. As for love, that love which\nfails of attaining its object brings disappointment that puts an end\nto life, and unlawful love, though pleasing in the mouth, is simply\nthe forerunner of the fire of hell, [514] but a man's mind is sound\nowing to good actions in a former life, and a hero, who possesses\nself-command and energy, obtains wealth, and the object of his desires,\nnot a spiritless coward like you. So, my good fellow, have recourse\nto self-command, and strive for the attainment of your ends.\"\n\nWhen that friend said this to me I returned him a careless and random\nanswer. However, I concealed my real thoughts, spent the night in\na calm and composed manner, and in course of time came here, to\nsee if by any chance she lived in this town. When I arrived here,\nI saw you with your neck in a noose, and after you were cut down,\nI heard from you your sorrow, and I have now told you my own.\n\nSo I have made efforts to obtain that fair one whose name and\ndwelling-place I know not, and have thus exerted myself to gain what\nno heroism could procure; but why do you, when Madir\u00e1vat\u00ed is within\nyour grasp, play the faint-heart, instead of manfully striving to\nwin her? Have you not heard the legend of old days with regard to\nRukmin\u00ed? Was she not carried off by Vishnu after she had been given\nto the king of Chedi?\n\nWhile that friend of mine was thus concluding his tale, Madir\u00e1vat\u00ed\ncame there with her followers, preceded by the usual auspicious band\nof music, in order to worship the god of Love in this temple of the\nMothers. And I said to my friend, \"I knew all along that maidens on\nthe day of their marriage come here to worship the god of Love, this is\nwhy I tried to hang myself on the banyan-tree in front of this temple,\nin order that when Madir\u00e1vat\u00ed came here, she might see that I had died\nfor her sake.\" When that resolute Br\u00e1hman friend heard that, he said,\n\"Then let us quickly slip into this temple and remain hidden behind the\nimages of the Mothers, and see whether any expedient will then present\nitself to us or not.\" When my friend made this proposal, I consented,\nand went with him into that temple, and remained there concealed.\n\nAnd Madir\u00e1vat\u00ed came there slowly, escorted by the auspicious wedding\nmusic, and entered that temple. And she left at the door all her female\nfriends and male attendants, saying to them, \"I wish in private to\ncrave from the awful god of Love a certain boon [515] that is in my\nmind, so remain all of you outside the building.\" Then she came in and\naddressed the following prayer to K\u00e1madeva after she had worshipped\nhim, \"O god, since thou art named 'the mind-born,' how was it that\nthou didst not discern the beloved that was in my mind? Why hast thou\ndisappointed and slain me? If thou hast not been able to grant me my\nboon in this birth, at any rate have mercy upon me in my next birth,\nO husband of Rati. Shew me so much favour as to ensure that handsome\nyoung Br\u00e1hman's being my husband in my next birth.\"\n\nWhen the girl had said this in our hearing and before our eyes, she\nmade a noose by fastening her upper garment to a peg, and put it round\nher neck. And my friend said to me, \"Go and shew yourself to her,\nand take the noose from her neck;\" so I immediately went towards\nher. And I said to her with a voice faltering from excess of joy,\n\"Do not act rashly, my beloved; see, here is your slave in front of\nyou, bought by you with the risk of your life, in whom affection has\nbeen produced by your utterance in the moment of your grief;\" and\nwith these words I removed the noose from the neck of that fair one.\n\nShe immediately looked at me, and remained for a moment divided between\njoy and terror, and then my friend said quickly to me, \"As this is\na dimly lighted hour owing to the waning of the day, I will go out\ndressed in Madir\u00e1vat\u00ed's garments with her attendants. And do you go\nout by the second door, taking with you this bride wrapped up in our\nupper garments. And make for whatever foreign country you please,\nduring the night, when you will be able to avoid detection. And do\nnot be anxious about me. Fate will bestow on me prosperity.\" When\nmy friend had said this, he put on Madir\u00e1vat\u00ed's dress, and went out,\nand left that temple in the darkness, surrounded by her attendants.\n\nAnd I slipped out by another door with Madir\u00e1vat\u00ed, who wore a necklace\nof priceless jewels, and went three yojanas in the night. In the\nmorning I took food, and slowly travelling on, I reached in the\ncourse of some days, with my beloved, a city named Achalapura. There\na certain Br\u00e1hman shewed himself my friend, and gave me a house,\nand there I quickly married Madir\u00e1vat\u00ed.\n\nSo I have been living there in happiness, having obtained my desire,\nand my only anxiety has been as to what could have become of my\nfriend. And in course of time I came here to bathe in the Ganges,\non this day which is the festival of the summer solstice, and lo! I\nfound here this man who without cause shewed himself my friend. And\nfull of embarrassment I folded him in a long embrace, and at last\nmade him sit down and asked him to tell me his adventures, and at\nthat moment your Highness came up. Know, son of the king of Vatsa,\nthat this other Br\u00e1hman at my side is my true friend in calamity,\nto whom I owe my life and my wife.\n\nWhen one Br\u00e1hman had told his story in these words, Narav\u00e1hanadatta\nsaid to the other Br\u00e1hman, \"I am much pleased; now tell me, how did you\nescape from so great a danger? For men like yourself, who disregard\ntheir lives for the sake of their friends, are hard to find.\" When\nthe second Br\u00e1hman heard this speech of the son of the king of Vatsa,\nhe also began to tell his adventures.\n\n\n\nSubsequent adventures of the second Br\u00e1hman.\n\nWhen I went out that night from the temple in Madir\u00e1vat\u00ed's dress,\nher attendants surrounded me under the impression that I was their\nmistress. And being bewildered with dancing, singing and intoxication,\nthey put me in a palanquin [516] and took me to the house of Somadatta,\nwhich was in festal array. In one part it was full of splendid raiment,\nin another of piled up ornaments; here you might see cooked food\nprovided, there an altar-platform made ready; one corner was full\nof singing female slaves, another of professional mimes; and a third\nwas occupied by Br\u00e1hmans waiting for the auspicious moment.\n\nInto one room of this house I was ushered in the darkness, veiled,\nby the servants, who were beside themselves with drink and took me\nfor the bride. And when I sat down there, the females surrounded me,\nfull of joy at the wedding festival, busied with a thousand affairs.\n\nImmediately the sound of bracelets and anklets was heard near the door,\nand a maiden entered the room surrounded by her attendants. Like a\nfemale snake, her head was adorned with flashing jewels, and she had\na white skin-like boddice; like a wave of the sea, she was full of\nbeauty, [517] and covered with strings of pearls. She had a garland of\nbeautiful flowers, arms shapely as the stalk of the creeper, and bright\nbud-like fingers; and so she looked like the goddess of the garden\nmoving among men. And she came and sat down by my side, thinking I was\nher beloved confidante. When I looked at her, I perceived that that\nthief of my heart had come to me, the maiden that I saw at the Sankha\nlake whither she had come to bathe; whom I saved from the elephant,\nand who, almost as soon as seen, disappeared from my sight among the\ncrowd. I was overpowered with excess of joy, and I said to myself,\n\"Can this be mere chance, or is it a dream, or sober waking reality?\"\n\nImmediately those attendants of Madir\u00e1vat\u00ed said to the visitor,\n\"Why do you seem so disturbed in mind, noble lady?\" When she heard\nthat, she said, concealing her real feelings, [518] \"What! are you\nnot aware what a dear friend of mine Madir\u00e1vat\u00ed is. And she, as soon\nas she is married, will go off to her father-in-law's house, and I\nshall not be able to live without her; this is why I am afflicted. So\nleave the room quickly, in order that I may have the pleasure of a\nlittle confidential chat with Madir\u00e1vat\u00ed.\"\n\nWith these words she put them all out, and fastened the door herself,\nand then sat down, and under the impression that I was her confidante,\nbegan to speak to me as follows; \"Madir\u00e1vat\u00ed, no affliction can be\ngreater than this affliction of yours, in that you are in love with\none man, and you are given by your father in marriage to another;\nstill you may possibly have a meeting or be united with your beloved,\nwhom you know by having been in his society. But for me a hopeless\naffliction has arisen, and I will tell you what it is; for you are\nthe only repository of my secrets, as I am of yours.\n\n\"I had gone to bathe on a festival in the lake named the lake of\nSankha, [519] in order to divert my mind which was oppressed with\napproaching separation from you. While thus engaged, I saw in the\ngarden near that lake a beautiful blooming young Br\u00e1hman, whose budding\nbeard seemed like a swarm of bees come to feed on the lotus of his\nface; he himself looked like the moon come down from heaven in the\nday, like the golden binding-post of the elephant of beauty. I said\nto myself, 'Those hermits' daughters who have not seen this youth,\nhave only endured to no purpose hardship in the woods; what fruit have\nthey of their asceticism?' And even as I thought this in my heart,\nthe god of Love pierced it so completely with his shafts, that shame\nand fear at once left it together.\n\n\"Then, while I looked with sidelong looks at him, whose eyes were fixed\non me, there suddenly came that way a furious elephant that had escaped\nfrom its binding-post. That scared away my attendants and terrified\nmyself; and the young man, perceiving this, ran, and taking me up in\nhis arms, carried me along way into the midst of the crowd. While in\nhis arms, I assure you, my friend, I was rendered dead to all beside\nby the joy of his ambrosial touch, and I knew not the elephant, nor\nfear, nor who I was, nor where I was. In the meanwhile my attendants\ncame up, and thereupon the elephant rushed down on us like Separation\nincarnate in bodily form, and my servants, alarmed at it, took me up\nand carried me home; and in the m\u00eal\u00e9e my beloved disappeared, whither I\nknow not. Ever since that time I do nothing but think on him, who saved\nmy life, but whose name and dwelling I know not, who was snatched from\nme as one might snatch away from my grasp a treasure that I had found;\nand I weep all night with the female chakrav\u00e1kas, longing for sleep,\nthat takes away all grief, in order that I may behold him in a dream.\n\n\"In this hopeless affliction my only consolation, my friend,\nis the sight of yourself, and that is now being far removed from\nme. Accordingly, Madir\u00e1vat\u00ed, the hour of my death draws nigh, and\nthat is why I am now enjoying the pleasure of beholding your face.\"\n\nWhen she had uttered this speech, which was like a shower of nectar in\nmy ears, staining all the while the moon of her face with tear-drops\nmixed with the black pigment of her eyes, she lifted up the veil from\nmy face, and beheld and recognized me, and then she was filled with\njoy, wonder, and fear. Then I said, \"Fair one, what is your cause of\nalarm? Here I am at your service. For Fate, when propitious, brings\nabout unexpected results. I too have endured for your sake intolerable\nsorrow; the fact is, Fate produces a strange variety of effects in\nthis phenomenal universe. Hereafter I will tell you my story at full\nlength; this is not the time for conversation; now devise, if you can,\nmy beloved, some artifice for escaping from this place.\" When I said\nthis to the girl, she made the following proposal, which was just\nwhat the occasion demanded; \"Let us slip out quietly from this house\nby the back-door; the garden belonging to the house of my father, a\nnoble Kshatriya, is just outside: let us pass through it and go where\nchance may take us.\" When she had said this, she hid her ornaments,\nand I left the house with her by the way which she recommended.\n\nSo in that night I went a long distance with her, for we feared\ndetection, and in the morning we reached together a great forest. And\nas we were going along through that savage wilderness, with no comfort\nbut our mutual conversation, noon gradually came on. The sun, like a\nwicked king, afflicted with his rays the earth that furnished no asylum\nfor travellers, and no shelter. [520] By that time my beloved was\nexhausted with fatigue and tortured with thirst, so I slowly carried\nher into the shade of a tree, which it cost me a great effort to reach.\n\nThere I tried to restore her by fanning her with my garment, and\nwhile I was thus engaged, a buffalo that had escaped with a wound,\ncame towards us. And there followed in eager pursuit of it a man\non horseback armed with a bow, whose very appearance proclaimed him\nto be a noble-minded hero. He slew that great buffalo with a second\nwound from a crescent-headed arrow; striking him down as Indra strikes\ndown a mountain with the dint of a thunder-bolt. When he saw us, he\nadvanced towards us, and said kindly to me, \"Who are you, my good sir;\nand who is this lady; and why have you come here?\"\n\nThen I shewed my Br\u00e1hmanical thread, and gave him an answer which\nwas half truth and half falsehood; \"I am a Br\u00e1hman, this is my wife:\nbusiness led us to a foreign land, and on the way our caravan was\ndestroyed by bandits, and we, separating from it, lost our way,\nand so came to enter this forest; here we have met you, and all our\nfears are at an end.\" When I said this, he was moved by compassion for\nmy Br\u00e1hmanical character, and said \"I am a chief of the foresters,\ncome here to hunt; and you way-worn travellers have arrived here as\nmy guests; so now come to my house, which is at no great distance,\nto rest.\"\n\nWhen he had said this, he made my wearied darling got up on his horse,\nand himself walked, and so he led us to his dwelling. There he provided\nus with food and other requisites, as if he had been a relation. [521]\nEven in bad districts some few noble-hearted men spring up here and\nthere. Then he gave me attendants, who enabled me to get out of that\nwood, and I reached a royal grant to Br\u00e1hmans, where I married that\nlady. Then I wandered about from country to country, and meeting with\na caravan, I have to-day come here with her to bathe in the water of\nthe Ganges. And here I have found this man whom I selected for myself\nas a friend; and I have seen your Highness; this, prince, is my story.\"\n\nWhen he had said this, he ceased, and the prince of Vatsa loudly\npraised that Br\u00e1hman, who had obtained the prize he desired, the\nfitting reward of his genuine goodness; and in the meanwhile the\nprince's ministers, Gomukha and the others, who had long been roaming\nabout looking for him, came up and found him. And they fell at the\nfeet of Narav\u00e1hanadatta, and tears of joy poured down their faces;\nwhile he welcomed them all with due and fitting respect. Then the\nprince, accompanied by Lalitalochan\u00e1, returned with those ministers\nto his city, taking with him those two young Br\u00e1hmans, whom he valued\non account of the tact and skill they had displayed in attaining\nworthy objects.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nBOOK XIV.\n\n\nCHAPTER CV.\n\n\nMay Siva, the granter of boons, who, when pleased, bestowed on Um\u00e1\nhalf his own body, grant you your desire!\n\nMay the vermilion-stained trunk which Ganesa at night throws up in the\ndance, and so seems to furnish the moon-umbrella with a coral handle,\nprotect you!\n\n\n\nThen Narav\u00e1hanadatta, son of the king of Vatsa, possessing as his\nwives those various ladies, the most beautiful in the three worlds,\nand Madanamanchuk\u00e1 as his head-queen, dwelt with Gomukha and his other\nministers in Kaus\u00e1mb\u00ed, having his every want supplied by his father's\nmagnificent resources. His days passed pleasantly in dancing, singing,\nand conversation, and were enlivened by the exquisite enjoyment of\nthe society of the ladies whom he loved.\n\nThen it happened one day that he could not find his principal charmer\nMadanamanchuk\u00e1 anywhere in the female apartments, nor could her\nattendants find her either. [522] When he could not see his beloved,\nhe became pale from grief, as the moon loses its beauty in the\nmorning, by being separated from the night. And he was distracted by\nan innumerable host of doubts, saying to himself, \"I wonder whether\nmy beloved has hidden herself somewhere to ascertain my sentiments\ntowards her; or is she indignant with me for some trifling fault\nor other; or is she concealed by magic, or has she been carried off\nby some one?\" When he had searched for her, and could not find her\nanywhere, he was consumed by violent grief for his separation from\nher, which raged in his bosom like a forest conflagration. His father,\nthe king of Vatsa, who came to visit him, as soon as he knew the state\nof affairs, and his mothers, ministers, and servants were all beside\nthemselves. The pearl necklace, sandal-wood ointment, the rays of the\nmoon, lotus-fibres and lotus-leaves did not alleviate his torture,\nbut rather increased it. As for Kalingasen\u00e1, when she was suddenly\ndeprived of that daughter, she was confounded like a Vidy\u00e1dhar\u00ed,\nwho has lost her magic power.\n\nThen an aged female guardian of the women's apartments said in the\npresence of Narav\u00e1hanadatta, so that all there heard, \"Long ago, that\nyoung Vidy\u00e1dhara, named M\u00e1nasavega, having beheld Madanamanchuk\u00e1,\nwhen she was a maiden, on the top of the palace, suddenly descended\nfrom heaven, and approaching Kalingasen\u00e1, told her his name, and asked\nher to give him her daughter. When Kalingasen\u00e1 refused, he went as\nhe came; but why should he not have now come secretly and carried her\noff by his magic power? It is of course true that heavenly beings do\nnot carry off the wives of others; on the other hand, who, that is\nblinded by passion, troubles himself about the right or wrong of an\naction?\" When Narav\u00e1hanadatta heard this, his heart was overwhelmed\nwith anger, impatience, and the sorrow of bereavement, and became\nlike a lotus in the waves.\n\nThen Rumanvat said, \"This palace is guarded all round, and it\nis impossible to enter or go out from it, except through the\nair. Moreover, by the favour of Siva no misfortune can befall her;\nso we may be certain that she has hidden herself somewhere, because\nher affection has been wounded. Listen to a story which will make\nthis clear.\"\n\n\n\nStory of S\u00e1vitr\u00ed and Angiras.\n\nOnce on a time a hermit, named Angiras, asked Asht\u00e1vakra for the\nhand of his daughter S\u00e1vitr\u00ed. But Asht\u00e1vakra would not give him his\ndaughter S\u00e1vitr\u00ed, though he was an excellent match, because she was\nalready betrothed to some one else. Then Angiras married Asrut\u00e1 his\nbrother's daughter, and lived a long time with her as his wife in\ngreat happiness; but she was well aware that he had previously been\nin love with S\u00e1vitr\u00ed.\n\nOne day that hermit Angiras remained muttering for a long time in\nan inaudible voice. Then his wife Asrut\u00e1 asked him again and again\nlovingly, \"Tell me, my husband, why do you remain so long fixed\nin thought?\" He said, \"My dear, I am meditating on the S\u00e1vitr\u00ed;\"\nand she, thinking that he meant S\u00e1vitr\u00ed, the hermit's daughter, was\nvexed in soul. She said to herself, \"He is miserable,\" so she went\noff to the forest determined to abandon the body; and after she had\nprayed that good fortune might attend her husband, she fastened a\nrope round her neck. And at that moment G\u00e1yatr\u00ed appeared with rosary\nof aksha-beads and ascetic's pitcher, and said to her, \"Daughter,\ndo not act rashly! Your husband was not thinking of any woman; he was\nmeditating on me, the holy S\u00e1vitr\u00ed;\" and with these words she freed her\nneck from the noose; and the goddess, merciful to her votaries, having\nthus consoled her, disappeared. Then her husband Angiras, searching\nfor her, found her in the wood, and brought her home. So you see that\nwomen in this world cannot endure the wounding of their affections.\n\n\"So you may be certain that this wife of the prince is angry on account\nof some trifling injury, and is hidden somewhere in this place; for\nshe is under the protection of Siva; and we must again search for her.\"\n\nWhen Rumanvat said this, the sovereign of Vatsa said, \"It must be so:\nfor no misfortune can befall her, inasmuch as a heavenly voice said\n'This Madanamanchuk\u00e1 is an incarnation of Rati, appointed by the god to\nbe the wife of Narav\u00e1hanadatta, who is an emanation of the god of Love,\nand he shall rule the Vidy\u00e1dharas with her as his consort for a kalpa\nof the gods,' and this utterance cannot be falsified by the event. So\nlet her be carefully looked for.\" When the king himself said this,\nNarav\u00e1hanadatta went out, though he was in such a miserable state.\n\nBut, however much he searched for her, he could not find her, so he\nwandered about in various parts of the grounds, like one distracted;\nwhen he went to her dwelling, the rooms with closed doors seemed\nas if they had shut their eyes in despair at beholding his grief;\nand when he went about in the groves asking for her, the trees,\nagitating their shoots like hands seemed to say, \"We have not seen\nyour beloved.\" When he searched in the gardens, the s\u00e1rasa-birds,\nflying up to the sky, seemed to tell him that she had not gone that\nway. And his ministers Marubh\u00fati, Harisikha, Gomukha, and Vasantaka\nwandered about in every direction to find her.\n\nIn the meanwhile an unmarried Vidy\u00e1dhar\u00ed, of the name of Vegavat\u00ed,\nhaving beheld Madanamanchuk\u00e1 in her splendid and glorious beauty,\ndeliberately took her shape, and came and stood alone in the garden\nunder an asoka-tree. Marubh\u00fati saw her, as he was roaming about in\nsearch of the queen, and she seemed at once to extract the dart from\nhis pierced heart. And in his joy he went to Narav\u00e1hanadatta, and said\nto him, \"Cheer up, I have seen your beloved in the garden.\" When he\nsaid this, Narav\u00e1hanadatta was delighted, and immediately went with\nhim to that garden.\n\nThen, exhausted with long bereavement, he beheld that semblance\nof Madanamanchuk\u00e1, with feelings like those with which a thirsty\ntraveller beholds a stream of water. And the moment he beheld her, the\nmuch afflicted prince longed to embrace her, but she, being cunning\nand wishing to be married by him, said to him, \"Do not touch me now,\nfirst hear what I have to say. Before I married you, I prayed to the\nYakshas to enable me to obtain you, and said, 'On my wedding-day\nI will make offerings to you with my own hand.' But, my beloved,\nwhen my wedding-day came, I forgot all about them. That enraged the\nYakshas, and so they carried me off from this place. And they have\njust brought me here, and let me go, saying, 'Go and perform over\nagain that ceremony of marriage, and make oblations to us, and then\nrepair to your husband; otherwise you will not prosper.' So marry\nme quickly, in order that I may offer the Yakshas the worship they\ndemand; and then fulfil all your desire.\"\n\nWhen Narav\u00e1hanadatta heard that, he summoned the priest S\u00e1ntisoma and\nat once made the necessary preparations, and immediately married the\nsupposed Madanamanchuk\u00e1, who was no other than the Vidy\u00e1dhar\u00ed Vegavat\u00ed,\nhaving been for a short time quite cast down by his separation from\nthe real one. Then a great feast took place there, full of the clang\nof cymbals, delighting the king of Vatsa, gladdening the queens,\nand causing joy to Kahngasen\u00e1. And the supposed Madanamanchuk\u00e1,\nwho was really the Vidy\u00e1dhar\u00ed Vegavat\u00ed, made with her own hand an\noffering of wine, flesh, and other dainties to the Yakshas. Then\nNarav\u00e1hanadatta, remaining with her in her chamber, drank wine with\nher in his exultation, though he was sufficiently intoxicated with\nher voice. And then he retired to rest with her, who had thus changed\nher shape, as the sun with the shadow. And she said to him in secret,\n\"My beloved, now that we have retired to rest, you must take care not\nto unveil my face suddenly and look at me while asleep [523].\" When\nthe prince heard this, he was filled with curiosity, to think what this\nmight be, and the next day he uncovered her face while she was asleep,\nand looked at it, and lo! it was not Madanamanchuk\u00e1, but some one else,\nwho, when asleep, had lost the power of disguising her appearance by\nmagic. [524] Then she woke up, while he was sitting by her awake. And\nhe said to her, \"Tell me, who are you?\" And the discreet Vidy\u00e1dhar\u00ed\nseeing him sitting up awake, and being conscious that she was in her\nown shape and that her secret was discovered, began to tell her tale\nsaying, \"Listen, my beloved, I will now tell you the whole story.\"\n\n\"There is in the city of the Vidy\u00e1dharas a mountain of the name\nof \u00c1sh\u00e1dhapura. There dwells a chief of the Vidy\u00e1dharas, named\nM\u00e1nasavega, a prince puffed up with the might of his arm, the son of\nking Vegavat. I am his younger sister, and my name is Vegavat\u00ed. And\nthat brother of mine hated me so much that he was not willing\nto bestow on me the sciences. Then I obtained them, though with\ndifficulty, from my father, who had retired to a wood of ascetics,\nand, thanks to his favour, I possess them of greater power than any\nother of our race. I myself saw the wretched Madanamanchuk\u00e1, in the\npalace of mount \u00c1sh\u00e1dha, in a garden, surrounded by sentinels, I mean\nyour beloved, whom my brother has carried off by magic, as R\u00e1vana\ncarried off the afflicted S\u00edt\u00e1, the wife of R\u00e1mabhadra. And as the\nvirtuous lady repels his caresses, he cannot subdue her to his will,\nfor a curse has been laid upon him, that will bring about his death,\nif he uses violence to any woman.\n\n\"So that wicked brother of mine made use of me, to try and talk\nher over; and I went to that lady, who could do nothing but talk of\nyou. And in my conversation with her, that virtuous lady mentioned\nyour name, [525] which was like a command from the god of Love, and\nthus my mind then became fixed upon you alone. And then I remembered\nan announcement which P\u00e1rvat\u00ed made to me in a dream, much to the\nfollowing effect, 'You shall be married to that man the mere hearing of\nwhose name overpowers you with love.' When I had called this to mind,\nI cheered up Madanamanchuk\u00e1, and came here in her form, and married\nmyself to you by an artifice. So come, my beloved, I am filled with\nsuch compassion for your wife Madanamanchuk\u00e1 that I will take you where\nshe is; for I am the devoted servant of my rival, even as I am of you,\nbecause you love her. For I am so completely enslaved by love for you,\nthat I am rendered quite unselfish by it.\"\n\nWhen Vegavat\u00ed had said this, she took Narav\u00e1hanadatta, and by\nthe might of her science flew up with him into the sky during the\nnight. And next morning, while she was slowly travelling through the\nheaven, the attendants of the husband and wife were bewildered by\ntheir disappearance. And when the king of Vatsa came to hear of it,\nhe was immediately, as it were, struck by a thunderbolt, and so were\nV\u00e1savadatt\u00e1, Padm\u00e1vat\u00ed and the rest. And the citizens, and the king's\nministers Yaugandhar\u00e1yana and the others, together with their sons\nMarubh\u00fati and the rest, were altogether distracted.\n\nThen the hermit N\u00e1rada, surrounded with a circle of light, descended\nthere from heaven, like a second sun. The king of Vatsa offered him the\narghya, and the hermit said to him, \"Your son has been carried off by\na Vidy\u00e1dhar\u00ed to her country, but he will soon return; and I have been\nsent by Siva to cheer you up.\" And after this prelude he went on to\ntell the king of Vegavat\u00ed's proceedings, exactly as they took place;\nthen the king recovered his spirits and the hermit disappeared.\n\nIn the meanwhile Vegavat\u00ed carried Narav\u00e1hanadatta through the air to\nthe mountain \u00c1sh\u00e1dhapura. And M\u00e1nasavega, hearing of it, hastened\nthere to kill them both. Then Vegavat\u00ed engaged with her brother in\na struggle which was remarkable for a great display of magic power;\nfor a woman values her lover as her life, and much more than her own\nrelations. Then she assumed by the might of her magic a terrible form\nof Bhairava, and at once striking M\u00e1nasavega senseless, she placed\nhim on the mountain of Agni. [526] And she took Narav\u00e1hanadatta, whom\nat the beginning of the contest she had deposited in the care of one\nof her sciences, [527] and placed him in a dry well in the city of\nthe Gandharvas, to keep him. And when he was there, she said to him,\n\"Remain here a little while, my husband; good fortune will befall you\nhere; and do not despond in your heart, O man appointed to a happy\nlot, for the sovereignty over all the Vidy\u00e1dharas is to be yours. But\nI must leave this for the present, to appease my sciences, impaired\nby my resistance to my elder brother; however, I will return to you\nsoon.\" When the Vidhy\u00e1dhar\u00ed Vegavat\u00ed had said this, she departed\nsomewhere or other.\n\n\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER CVI.\n\n\nThen a certain Gandharva, of the name of V\u00edn\u00e1datta, saw Narav\u00e1hanadatta\nin that well. Truly if there were not great souls in this world,\nborn for the benefit of others, relieving distress as wayside trees\nheat, the world would be a withered forest. Thus the good Gandharva,\nas soon as he saw Narav\u00e1hanadatta, asked him his name and lineage, and\nsupporting him with his hand, drew him out of that well, and said to\nhim, [528] \"If you are a man and not a god, how did you reach this city\nof the Gandharvas inaccessible to man? Tell me!\" Then Narav\u00e1hanadatta\nanswered him, \"A Vidy\u00e1dhar\u00ed brought me here, and threw me into the well\nby her power.\" Then the good Gandharva V\u00edn\u00e1datta, seeing that he had\nthe veritable signs of an emperor, took him to his own dwelling, and\nwaited upon him with all the luxuries at his command. And the next day,\nNarav\u00e1hanadatta, perceiving that the inhabitants of the city carried\nlyres in their hands, said to his host, \"Why have all these people,\neven down to the children, got lyres in their hands?\" [529]\n\nThen V\u00edn\u00e1datta gave him this answer, \"S\u00e1garadatta the king of the\nGandharvas, who lives here, has a daughter named Gandharvadatt\u00e1, who\neclipses the nymphs of heaven; it seems as if the Creator had blended\nnectar, the moon, and sandalwood, and other choice things, in order\nto compose her body, as a specimen of his skill in making all that is\nfair. She is always singing to the lyre the hymn of Vishnu, which the\ngod himself bestowed on her, and so she has attained supreme skill in\nmusic. [530] And the princess has firmly resolved that whoever is so\nwell skilled in music, that he can play on the lyre, and sing perfectly\nin three scales a song in praise of Vishnu, shall be her husband. The\nconsequence is, that all here are trying to learn to play the lyre, but\nthey have not acquired the amount of skill demanded by the princess.\"\n\nPrince Narav\u00e1hanadatta was delighted at hearing this speech from the\nmouth of V\u00edn\u00e1datta and he said to him, \"All the accomplishments have\nchosen me for a husband, and I know all the music, that there is in\nthe three worlds.\" When he said this, his friend V\u00edn\u00e1datta conducted\nhim into the presence of king S\u00e1garadatta, and said there, \"Here is\nNarav\u00e1hanadatta, the son of the king of Vatsa, who has fallen into\nyour city from the hand of a Vidy\u00e1dhar\u00ed. He is an adept in music,\nand he knows the song in praise of Vishnu, in which the princess\nGandharvadatt\u00e1 takes so much pleasure.\" When the king heard this, he\nsaid, \"It is true; I heard so much before from the Gandharvas; so I\nmust to-day receive him with respect here. And he is an emanation of\na divinity; he is not out of place in the abode of gods; otherwise,\nif he were a man, how could he have come here by associating with a\nVidy\u00e1dhar\u00ed? So summon Gandharvadatt\u00e1 quickly and let us test him.\" When\nthe king said this, the chamberlains went to fetch her.\n\nAnd the fair one came there, all glorious with flower-ornaments,\nagitating with her beauty, as if with a wind, the creepers of\nspring. She sat down at her father's side, and the servants told her\nwhat had taken place, and immediately, at his command, she sang a\nsong to the lyre. When she was joining the notes to the quarter-tones,\nlike Sarasvat\u00ed the wife of Brahm\u00e1, Narav\u00e1hanadatta was astonished at\nher singing and her beauty. Then he said to her, \"Princess, your lyre\ndoes not seem to me to sound well, I think there must be a hair on\nthe string.\" Thereupon the lyre was examined, and they found the hair\nwhere he said, and that astonished even the Gandharvas. Then the king\ntook the lyre from his daughter's hand, and gave it to him, saying,\n\"Prince, take this, and pour nectar into our ears.\" Then he played on\nit, and sang the hymn of Vishnu with such skill that the Gandharvas\nthere became motionless as painted pictures.\n\nThen Gandharvadatt\u00e1 herself threw on him a look tender with affection,\nas it were a garland of full-blown blue lotuses, [531] and therewith\nchose him as her husband. When the king saw it, and called to\nmind his promise of that import, he at once gave him his daughter\nGandharvadatt\u00e1 in marriage. As for the wedding that thereupon took\nplace, gladdened by the drums of the gods and other festal signs,\nto what could we compare it, as it served as the standard by which\nto estimate all similar rejoicings? Then Narav\u00e1hanadatta lived there\nwith his new bride Gandharvadatt\u00e1 in heavenly bliss.\n\nAnd one day he went out to behold the beauty of the city, and after he\nhad seen all kinds of places, he entered the park attached to it. There\nhe saw a heavenly female descending from the sky with her daughter,\nlike the lightning with the rain in a cloudless atmosphere. And she\nwas saying to her daughter, as she descended, recognising him by\nher knowledge, \"This, my daughter, is your future husband, the son\nof the king of Vatsa.\" \"When he saw her alight and come towards him,\nhe said to her, \"Who are you, and why have you come?\" And the heavenly\nfemale said to him, thus introducing the object of her desire:\n\n\"Prince, I am Dhanavat\u00ed, the wife of a chief of the Vidy\u00e1dharas, named\nSinha, and this is my unmarried daughter, the sister of Chandasinha,\nand her name is Ajin\u00e1vat\u00ed. You were announced as her future husband by\na voice that came from heaven. Then, learning by my magic science, that\nyou, the future emperor of the Vidy\u00e1dharas, had been deposited here\nby Vegavat\u00ed, I came to tell you my desire. You ought not to remain in\nsuch a place as this which is accessible to the Vidy\u00e1dharas, for they\nmight slay you out of enmity, as you are alone, and have not obtained\nyour position of emperor. So come, let us now take you to a land which\nis inaccessible to them. Does not the moon delay to shine, when the\ncircle of the sun is eclipsed? And when the auspicious day arrives you\nshall marry this daughter of mine.\" When she had said this, she took\nhim and flew up into the air with him, and her daughter accompanied\nthem. And she took him to the city of Sr\u00e1vast\u00ed, and deposited him in\na garden, and then she disappeared with her daughter Ajin\u00e1vat\u00ed.\n\nThere king Prasenajit, who had returned from a distant hunting\nexpedition, saw that prince of noble form and feature. The king\napproached him full of curiosity, and asked him his name and lineage,\nand then, being much delighted, courteously conducted him to his\npalace. It was full of troops of elephants, adorned with lines\nof horses, and looked like a pavilion for the Fortune of empire\nto rest in, when wearied with her wanderings. Wherever a man born\nto prosperity may be, felicities eagerly approach him, as women do\ntheir beloved one. This accounts for the fact that the king, being\nan admirer of excellence, gave Narav\u00e1hanadatta his own daughter,\nnamed Bhag\u00edrathayasas. And the prince lived happily there with her\nin great luxury, as if with Good Fortune created by the Disposer in\nflesh and blood for his delectation.\n\nOne evening, when the lover of the night had arisen, raining joy into\nthe eyes of men, looking like the full-orbed face [532] of the nymph\nof the eastern quarter, or rather the countenance of Bhag\u00edrathayasas\ncharming as nectar, reflected in the pure mirror of the cloudless\nheaven, he drank wine with that fair one at her request on the top of\na palace silvered over with the elixir of moonlight. He quaffed the\nliquor which was adorned with the reflection of his beloved's face,\nand so gave pleasure to his eyes as well as to his palate. And then he\nconsidered the moon as far inferior in beauty to his charmer's face,\nfor it wanted the intoxicating [533] play of the eyes and eyebrows. And\nafter his drinking-bout was over he went inside the house, and retired\nto his couch with Bhag\u00edrathayasas.\n\nThen Narav\u00e1hanadatta awoke from sleep, while his beloved was still\nsleeping, and suddenly calling to mind his home, exclaimed, \"Through\nlove for Bhag\u00edrathayasas I have, so to speak, forgotten my other wives;\nhow can that have happened? But in this too Fate is all-powerful. Far\naway too are my ministers. Of them Marubh\u00fati takes pleasure in nought\nbut feats of prowess, and Harisikba is exclusively devoted to policy;\nof those two I do not now feel the need, but it grieves me that\nthe dexterous Gomukha, who has been my friend in all emergencies,\nis far away from me.\" While he was thus lamenting, he suddenly heard\nthe words \"Ah! how sad!\" uttered in a low soft tone, like that of a\nwoman, and they at once banished sleep. When he heard them, he got up,\nand lighted a candle, and looked about, and he saw in the window a\nlovely female face. It seemed as if the Disposer had determined out\nof playfulness to show him a second but spotless moon not in the sky,\nas he had that night seen the spot-beflecked moon of heaven. And not\nbeing able to discern the rest of her body, but eager to behold it,\nhis eyes being attracted by her beauty, he immediately said to himself,\n\"Long ago, when the Daitya \u00c1t\u00e1pin was impeding the creation of Brahm\u00e1,\nthat god employed the artifice of sending him to Nandana, saying to\nhim, 'Go there and see a very curious sight;' and when he got there,\nhe saw only the foot of a woman, which was of wonderful beauty; and\nso he died from an insane desire to see the rest of her body. [534]\nIn the same way it may be that the Disposer has produced this lady's\nface only to bring about my destruction.\" While he was making this\nmomentary surmise, the lady displayed her shoot-like finger at the\nwindow, and beckoned to him to come towards her.\n\nThen he deliberately went out of the chamber in which his beloved was\nsleeping, and with eager impatience approached that heavenly lady:\nand when he came near, she exclaimed, \"Madanamanchuk\u00e1, they say that\nyour husband is in love with another woman: alas! you are undone.\" When\nNarav\u00e1hanadatta heard this, he called to mind his beloved, and the fire\nof separation flamed up in his bosom, and he said to that fair one,\n\"Who are you? Where did you see my beloved Madanamanchuk\u00e1? And why have\nyou come to me? Tell me!\" Then the bold lady took the prince away to\na distance in the night, and saying to him, \"Hear the whole story,\"\nshe thus began to speak.\n\n\"There is in the city of Pushkar\u00e1vat\u00ed a prince of the Vidy\u00e1dharas\nnamed Pingalag\u00e1ndh\u00e1ra, who has become yellow with continually adoring\nthe fire. Know that I am his unmarried daughter, named Prabh\u00e1vat\u00ed,\nfor he obtained me by the special favour of the god of fire, who\nwas pleased with his adoration. I went to the city of Ash\u00e1dbapura to\nvisit my friend Vegavat\u00ed, and I did not find her there, as she had\ngone somewhere to perform asceticism. But hearing from her mother\nPrithiv\u00eddev\u00ed that your beloved Madanamanchuk\u00e1 was there, I went to\nher. I beheld her emaciated with fasting, pale and squalid, with\nonly one lock, weeping, talking only of your virtues, surrounded by\ntearful bands of Vidy\u00e1dhara princesses, who were divided between grief\nproduced by seeing her, and joy produced by hearing of you. She told\nme what you were like, and I comforted her by promising to bring you,\nfor my mind was overpowered by pity for her, and attracted by your\nexcellences. And finding out by means of my magic skill that you were\nhere at present, I came to you, to inserve her interests and my own\nalso. But when I found that you had forgotten your first love and\nwere talking here of other persons, I bewailed the lot of that wife\nof yours, and exclaimed 'Ah! how sad!'\"\n\nWhen the prince had been thus addressed by her, he became impatient\nand said, \"Take me where she is, and impose on me whatever command\nyou think fit.\" When the Vidy\u00e1dhar\u00ed Prabh\u00e1vat\u00ed heard that, she flew up\ninto the air with him, and proceeded to journey on through the moonlit\nnight. And as she was going along, she saw a fire burning in a certain\nplace, so she took Narav\u00e1hanadatta's hand, and moved round it, keeping\nit on the right. In this way the bold lady managed by an artifice to\ngo through the ceremony of marriage with Narav\u00e1hanadatta, for all the\nactions of heavenly beings have some important end in view. [535]\nThen she pointed out to her beloved from the sky the earth looking\nlike a sacrificial platform, the rivers like snakes, the mountains\nlike ant-hills, and many other wonders did she show him from time to\ntime, until at last she had gradually accomplished a long distance.\n\nThen Narav\u00e1hanadatta became thirsty with his long journey through\nthe air, and begged for water; so she descended to earth from her\nairy path. And she took him to the corner of a forest, and placed\nhim near a lake, which seemed to be full of molten silver, as its\nwater was white with the rays of the moon. So his craving for water\nwas satisfied by the draught which he drank in that beautiful forest,\nbut there arose in him a fresh craving as he felt a desire to embrace\nthat lovely lady. [536] But she, when pressed, would hardly consent;\nfor her thoughts reverted with pity to Madanamanchuk\u00e1, whom she had\ntried to comfort; in truth the noble-minded, when they have undertaken\nto forward the interests of others, put out of sight their own. And\nshe said to him, \"Do not think ill, my husband, of my coldness;\nI have an object in it; and now hear this story which will explain it.\"\n\n\n\nStory of the child that died of a broken heart because his mother\nforgot to bring him a sweetmeat.\n\nOnce on a time, there lived in the city of P\u00e1taliputra a certain widow\nwho had one child; she was young, and beautiful, but poor. And she was\nin the habit of making love to a strange man for her gratification, and\nat night she used to leave her house and roam where she pleased. But,\nbefore she went, she used invariably to console her infant son\nby saying to him, \"My boy, I will bring you a sweetmeat to-morrow\nmorning,\" and every day she brought him one. And the child used to\nremain quiet at home, buoyed up by the hope of that sweetmeat.\n\nBut one day she forgot, and did not bring him the sweetmeat. And\nwhen the child asked for the sweetmeat, she said to him, \"Sweetmeat\nindeed! I know of no sweet, but my sweetheart.\" Then the child said\nto himself, \"She has not brought me a sweetmeat, because she loves\nanother better than me.\" So he lost all hope, and his heart broke.\n\n\"So if I were over-eager to appropriate you whom I have long loved,\nand if Madanamanchuk\u00e1, whom I consoled with the hope of a joyful\nreunion with you, were to hear of it, and lose all hope through me,\nher heart, which is as soft as a flower, would break. [537] It is\nthis desire to spare her feelings, which prevents me from being so\neager now for your society, before I have consoled her, though you\nare my beloved, dearer to me than life.\"\n\nWhen Prabh\u00e1vat\u00ed said this to Narav\u00e1hanadatta, he was full of joy and\nastonishment, and he said to himself, \"Well! Fate seems to take a\npleasure in perpetually creating new marvels, since it has produced\nPrabh\u00e1vat\u00ed, whose conduct is so inconceivably noble.\" With these\nthoughts in his mind, the prince lovingly praised her, and said,\n\"Then take me where that Madanamanchuk\u00e1 is.\" When Prabh\u00e1vat\u00ed heard\nthat, she took him up, and in a moment carried him through the air to\nthe mountain \u00c1sh\u00e1dhapura. There she bestowed him on Madanamanchuk\u00e1,\nwhose body had long been drying up with grief, as a shower bestows\nfullness on a river.\n\nThen Narav\u00e1hanadatta beheld that fair one there, afflicted with\nseparation, thin and pale, like a digit of the new moon. That reunion\nof those two seemed to restore them to life, and gave joy to the world,\nlike the union of the night and the moon. And the pair embraced,\nscorched with the fire of separation, and as they were streaming\nwith fatigue, they seemed to melt into one. Then they both partook\nat their ease of luxuries suddenly provided in the night by the might\nof Prabh\u00e1vat\u00ed's science. And thanks to her science, no one there but\nMadanamanchuk\u00e1, saw Narav\u00e1hanadatta.\n\nThe next morning Narav\u00e1hanadatta proceeded to loose Madanamanchuk\u00e1's\none lock, [538] but she, overpowered with resentment against her enemy,\nsaid to her beloved, \"Long ago I made this vow, 'That lock of mine\nmust be loosed by my husband, when M\u00e1nasavega is slain, but not till\nthen; and if he is not slain, I will wear it till my death, and then\nit shall be loosed by the birds, or consumed with fire.' But now you\nhave loosed it, while this enemy of mine is still alive; that vexes\nmy soul. For though Vegavat\u00ed flung him down on Agniparvata, he did\nnot die of the fall. And you have now been made invisible here by\nPrabh\u00e1vat\u00ed by means of her magic power; otherwise the followers of\nthat enemy, who are continually moving near you here, would see you,\nand would not tolerate your presence.\"\n\nWhen Narav\u00e1hanadatta had been thus addressed by his wife, he,\nrecognising the fact that the proper time for accomplishing his object\nhad not yet arrived, said to her by way of calming her, \"This desire\nof yours shall be fulfilled; I will soon slay that enemy; but first I\nmust acquire the sciences; wait a little, my beloved.\" With speeches\nof this kind Narav\u00e1hanadatta consoled Madanamanchuk\u00e1; and remained\nthere in that city of the Vidy\u00e1dharas.\n\nThen Prabh\u00e1vat\u00ed disappeared herself, and, by the power of her magic\nscience, bestowed in some incomprehensible way on Narav\u00e1hanadatta\nher own shape. And the prince lived happily there in her shape, and\nwithout fear of discovery, enjoying pleasures provided by her magic\nscience. And all the people there thought, \"This friend of Vegavat\u00ed's\nis attending on Madanamanchuk\u00e1, partly out of regard for Vegavat\u00ed, and\npartly on account of the friendly feelings which she herself entertains\nfor the captive princess;\" for they all supposed that Narav\u00e1hanadatta\nwas no other than Prabh\u00e1vat\u00ed, as he was disguised in her shape: and\nthis was the report that they carried to M\u00e1nasavega. Then, one day,\nsomething caused Madanamanchuk\u00e1 to relate to Narav\u00e1hanadatta her\nadventures in the following words,\n\n\n\nMadanamanchuk\u00e1's account of her treatment while in captivity.\n\nWhen M\u00e1nasavega first brought me here, he tried to win me to his will\nby his magic power, endeavouring to alarm me by cruel actions. And\nthen Siva appeared in a terrible form, with drawn sword and lolling\ntongue, and making an appalling roar, said to M\u00e1nasavega; \"How is it\nthat, while I still exist, thou dost presume to treat disrespectfully\nthe wife of him who is destined to be emperor over all the Vidy\u00e1dhara\nkings?\" When the villain M\u00e1nasavega had been thus addressed by Siva,\nhe fell on the earth vomiting blood from his mouth. Then the god\ndisappeared, and that villain immediately recovered, and went to his\nown palace, and again began to practise cruelties against me. [539]\n\nThen in my terror, and in the agony of separation, I was thinking of\nabandoning my life, but the attendants of the harem came to me, and\nsaid to me by way of consolation, \"Long ago this M\u00e1nasavega beheld a\ncertain beautiful hermit maiden and tried to carry her off by force\nbut was thus cursed by her relations; 'When, villain, you approach\nanother's wife against her will, your head shall split into a thousand\nfragments;' so he will never force himself on the wife of another, do\nnot be afraid. Moreover you will soon be reunited with your husband,\nas the god announced.\" Soon after the maids had said this to me,\nVegavat\u00ed, the sister of that M\u00e1nasavega, came to me to talk me over;\nbut when she saw me, she was filled with compassion, and she comforted\nme by promising to bring you; and you already know how she found you.\n\nThen Prithiv\u00eddev\u00ed, the good mother of that wicked M\u00e1nasavega,\ncame to me, looking, with her garments white as moonlight, like\nthe orb of Luna without a spot, seeming to bathe me with nectar by\nher charming appearance; and with a loving manner she said to me,\n\"Why do you refuse food and so injure your bodily health, though you\nare destined to great prosperity? And do not say to yourself, 'How\ncan I eat an enemy's food?' For my daughter Vegavat\u00ed has a share in\nthis kingdom, bestowed on her by her father, and she is your friend,\nfor your husband has married her. Accordingly her wealth, as belonging\nto your husband, is yours as much as hers. So enjoy it. What I tell\nyou is true, for I have discovered it by my magic knowledge.\" This she\nsaid, and confirmed it with an oath, and then, being attached to me,\non account of her daughter's connexion, she fed me with food suited\nto my condition. Then Vegavat\u00ed came here with you, and conquered her\nbrother, and saved you; the sequel I do not know.\n\nSo I, remembering the magic skill of Vegavat\u00ed and the announcement of\nthe god, did not surrender my life, which was supported by the hope\nof regaining you, and, thanks to the power of the noble Prabh\u00e1vat\u00ed,\nI have regained you, although I am thus beset by my enemies. But my\nonly anxiety is as to what would happen to us, if Prabh\u00e1vat\u00ed here\nwere deprived of her power, and you were so to lose her shape, which\nshe has bestowed on you by way of disguise.\n\nThis and other such things did Madanamanchuk\u00e1 say, while the brave\nNarav\u00e1hanadatta remained there with her, endeavouring to console\nher. But one night Prabh\u00e1vat\u00ed went to her father's palace, and in the\nmorning Narav\u00e1hanadatta, owing to her being at a distance, lost her\nshape, which she had bestowed on him. And next day the attendants\nbeheld him there in male form, and they all ran bewildered and\nalarmed to the king's court and said, \"Here is an adulterer crept in;\"\nthrusting aside the terrified Madanamanchuk\u00e1, who tried to stop them.\n\nThen king M\u00e1nasavega came there at full speed, accompanied by his\narmy, and surrounded him. Then the king's mother Prithiv\u00eddev\u00ed hurried\nthither and said to him, \"It will not do for you or me either to put\nthis man to death. For he is no adulterer, but Narav\u00e1hanadatta, the\nson of the king of Vatsa, who has come here to visit his own wife. I\nknow this by my magic power; why are you so blinded with wrath that\nyou cannot see it? Moreover I am bound to honour him, as he is my\nson-in-law, and sprung from the race of the moon.\" When M\u00e1nasavega's\nmother said this to him, he flew into a passion, and said, \"Then\nhe is my enemy.\" Then his mother, out of love for her son-in-law,\nused another argument with him. She said, \"My son, you will not be\nallowed to act wrongfully in the world of the Vidy\u00e1dharas. For here\nthere exists a court of the Vidy\u00e1dharas to protect the right. So accuse\nhim before the president of that court [540]. Whatever steps you take\nwith regard to your captive in accordance with the court's decision\nwill be commendable; but if you act otherwise, the Vidy\u00e1dharas will\nbe displeased, and the gods will not tolerate it.\"\n\nM\u00e1nasavega, out of respect for his mother, consented to follow\nher advice, and attempted to have Narav\u00e1hanadatta bound, with the\nintention of taking him before the court. But he, unable to endure the\nindignity of being bound, tore a pillar from the arched gateway, and\nkilled with it a great number of his captor's servants. And the hero,\nwhose valour was godlike, snatched a sword from one of those that he\nhad killed, and at once slew with it some more of his opponents. Then\nM\u00e1nasavega fettered him by his superhuman powers, and took him, with\nhis wife, before the court. Then the Vidy\u00e1dharas assembled there from\nall quarters, summoned by the loud sound of a drum, even as the gods\nassemble in Sudharm\u00e1.\n\nAnd the president of the court, king V\u00e1yupatha, came there,\nand sat down on a jewelled throne surrounded by Vidy\u00e1dharas, and\nfanned by chowries which waved to and fro, as if to winnow away all\ninjustice. And the wicked M\u00e1nasavega stood in front of him, and said\nas follows, \"This enemy of mine, who though a mortal, has violated my\nharem, and seduced my sister, ought immediately to be put to death;\nespecially as he actually wishes to be our sovereign.\" When the\npresident heard this, he called on Narav\u00e1hanadatta for an answer, and\nthe hero said in a confident tone, \"That is a court, where there is a\npresident; he is a president, who says what is just; that is just, in\nwhich there is truth; that is truth in which there is no deceit. Here\nI am bound by magic, and on the floor, but my adversary here is on\na seat, and free; what fair controversy can there be between us?\"\n\nWhen V\u00e1yupatha heard this, he made M\u00e1nasavega also sit upon the floor,\nas was just, and had Narav\u00e1hanadatta set free from his bonds. Then\nbefore V\u00e1yupatha, and in the hearing of all, Narav\u00e1hanadatta made the\nfollowing reply to the accusations of M\u00e1nasavega; \"Pray, whose harem\nhave I violated by coming to visit my own wife, Madanamanchuk\u00e1 here,\nwho has been carried off by this fellow? And if his sister came and\ntricked me into marrying her by assuming my wife's form, what fault\nhave I committed in this? As for my desiring empire, is there any\none that does not desire all sorts of things?\" When king V\u00e1yupatha\nheard this, he reflected a little, and said, \"This noble fellow says\nwhat is quite just; take care, my good M\u00e1nasavega, that you do not\nact unjustly towards one, whom great exaltation awaits.\"\n\nThough V\u00e1yupatha said this, M\u00e1nasavega, blinded with delusion,\nrefused to turn from his wicked way; and then V\u00e1yupatha flew into a\npassion. Then, out of regard for justice, he engaged in a contest\nwith M\u00e1nasavega, in which fully equipped armies were employed on\nboth sides. For resolute men, when they sit on the seat of justice,\nkeep only the right in view, and look upon the mighty as weak, and\none of their own race as an alien. [541] And then Narav\u00e1hanadatta,\nlooking towards the nymphs of heaven, who were gazing at the scene\nwith intense interest, said to M\u00e1nasavega, \"Lay aside your magic\ndisguises, and fight with me in visible shape, in order that I may\ngive you a specimen of my prowess by slaying you with one blow.\"\n\nAccordingly those Vidy\u00e1dharas there remained quarrelling among\nthemselves, when suddenly a splendid pillar in the court cleft asunder\nin the middle with a loud noise, [542] and Siva issued from it in\nhis terrific form. He filled the whole sky, in colour like antimony;\nhe hid the sun; the gleams of his fiery eyes flickered like flashes of\nlightning; his shining teeth were like cranes flying in a long row; and\nso he was terrible like a roaring cloud of the great day of doom. The\ngreat god exclaimed \"Villain, this future emperor of the Vidy\u00e1dharas\nshall not be insulted,\" and with these words he dismissed M\u00e1nasavega\nwith face cast down, and encouraged V\u00e1yupatha. And then the adorable\none took Narav\u00e1hanadatta up in his arms, and in order to preserve\nhis life, carried him in this way to the beautiful and happy mountain\nRishyam\u00faka, and after setting him down there, disappeared. And then\nthe quarrel among the Vidy\u00e1dharas in that court came to an end, and\nV\u00e1yupatha went home again accompanied by the other Vidy\u00e1dharas his\nfriends. But M\u00e1nasavega, making Madanamanchuk\u00e1, who was distracted\nwith joy and grief, precede him, went despondent to \u00c1sh\u00e1dhapura his\nown dwelling.\n\n\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER CVII.\n\n\nI think, a hero's prosperity must be unequal; Fate again and again\nseverely tests firmness by the ordeals of happiness and misery:\nthis explains why the fickle goddess kept uniting Narav\u00e1hanadatta to\nwife after wife, when he was alone in those remote regions, and then\nseparated him from them.\n\nThen, while he was residing on the mountain Rishyam\u00faka, his beloved\nPrabh\u00e1vat\u00ed came up to him, and said, \"It was owing to the misfortune of\nmy not being present that M\u00e1nasavega carried you off on that occasion\nto the court, with the intention of doing you an injury. When I heard\nof it, I at once went there, and by means of my magic power I produced\nthe delusion of an appearance of the god, and brought you here. For,\nthough the Vidy\u00e1dharas are mighty, their influence does not extend\nover this mountain, for this is the domain of the Siddhas. [543]\nIndeed even my science is of no avail here for that reason, and that\ngrieves me, for how will you subsist on the products of the forest\nas your only food?\" When she had said this, Narav\u00e1hanadatta remained\nwith her there, longing for the time of deliverance, thinking on\nMadanamanchuk\u00e1. And on the banks of the sanctifying Pamp\u00e1-lake near\nthat mountain, he ate fruits and roots of heavenly flavour, and he\ndrank the holy water of the lake which was rendered delicious and\nfragrant by the fruits dropped from trees on its bank, as a relish\nto his meal of deer's flesh. [544] And he lived at the foot of trees\nand in the interior of caverns, and so he imitated the conduct of\nR\u00e1ma who once lived in the forests of that region. And Prabh\u00e1vat\u00ed,\nbeholding there various hermitages once occupied by R\u00e1ma, told him\nthe story of R\u00e1ma for his amusement.\n\n\n\n\nStory of R\u00e1ma.\n\nIn this forest R\u00e1ma once dwelt accompanied by Lakshmana, and waited\non by S\u00edt\u00e1, in the society of hermits, making to himself a hut at the\nfoot of a tree. And S\u00edt\u00e1, perfuming the whole forest with the perfume\ngiven her by Anas\u00fay\u00e1, remained here in the midst of the hermits'\nwives, wearing a robe of bark.\n\nHere the Daitya Dundubhi was slain in a cave by B\u00e1li, which was the\noriginal cause of the enmity between B\u00e1li and Sugr\u00edva. For Sugr\u00edva,\nwrongly supposing that the Daitya had slain B\u00e1li, blocked up the\nentrance of the cave with mountains, and went away terrified. But B\u00e1li\nbroke through the obstruction, and came out, and banished Sugr\u00edva,\nsaying, \"This fellow imprisoned me in the cave because he wanted to\nget my kingdom.\" But Sugr\u00edva fled, and came and established himself\non this plateau of Rishyam\u00faka with the lords of the monkeys, of whom\nHanum\u00e1n was the chief.\n\nThen R\u00e1vana came here, and beguiling the soul of R\u00e1ma with the phantom\nof a golden deer, he carried off his wife the daughter of Janaka. Then\nthe descendant of Raghu, who longed for news of S\u00edt\u00e1, made an alliance\nwith Sugr\u00edva, who desired the slaughter of B\u00e1li. And in order to let\nhis might be known, he cleft seven palm-trees here with an arrow, while\nthe mighty B\u00e1li with great difficulty cleft one of them. And then the\nhero went hence to Kishkindhya, and after slaying B\u00e1li with a single\narrow, which he launched as if in sport, gave his kingdom to Sugr\u00edva.\n\nThen the followers of Sugr\u00edva, headed by Hanum\u00e1n, went hence in every\ndirection to gain information about S\u00edt\u00e1. And R\u00e1ma remained here during\nthe rainy season with the roaring clouds, which seemed to share his\ngrief shedding showery tear-drops. At last Hanum\u00e1n crossed the sea at\nthe suggestion of Samp\u00e1ti, and by great exertions obtained for R\u00e1ma the\nrequired information; whereupon he marched with the monkeys, and threw\na bridge over the sea, and killed his enemy the lord of Lank\u00e1, and\nbrought back queen S\u00edt\u00e1 in the flying chariot, passing over this place.\n\n\"So, my husband, you also shall attain good fortune: successes come of\ntheir own accord to heroes who remain resolute in misfortunes.\" This\nand other such tales did Prabh\u00e1vat\u00ed tell, while she roamed about here\nand there for her pleasure with Narav\u00e1hanadatta.\n\nAnd one day, as he was in the neighbourhood of Pamp\u00e1, two Vidy\u00e1dhar\u00eds,\nDhanavat\u00ed and Ajin\u00e1vat\u00ed, descended from heaven and approached\nhim. These were the two ladies who carried him from the city of\nthe Gandharvas to the city of Sr\u00e1vast\u00ed, where he [545] married\nBhag\u00edrathayasas. And while Ajin\u00e1vat\u00ed was conversing with Prabh\u00e1vat\u00ed as\nan old friend, Dhanavat\u00ed thus addressed Narav\u00e1hanadatta, \"I long ago\nbestowed on you this daughter of mine Ajin\u00e1vat\u00ed, as far as promises\ncould do it; so marry her; for the day of your exaltation is nigh at\nhand.\" Prabh\u00e1vat\u00ed, out of love for her friend, and Narav\u00e1hanadatta\nboth agreed to this proposal. Then Dhanavat\u00ed bestowed that daughter\nof hers Ajin\u00e1vat\u00ed on that son of the king of Vatsa, with appropriate\nceremonies. And she celebrated the great feast of her daughter's\nwedding in such style that the glorious and heavenly preparations\nshe had accumulated by means of her magic knowledge made it really\nbeautiful.\n\nThen the next day she said to Narav\u00e1hanadatta, \"My son, it will\nnever do for you to remain long in a nondescript place like this:\nfor the Vidy\u00e1dharas are a deceitful race, and you have no business\nhere. So depart now with your wife for your own city of Kaus\u00e1mb\u00ed;\nand I will come there with my son Chandasinha and with the Vidy\u00e1dhara\nchiefs that follow me, to ensure your success.\" [546] When Dhanavat\u00ed\nhad said this, she mounted up into the sky, illuminating it, as it\nwere, with moonlight, though it was day, by the gleam of her white\nbody and raiment.\n\nAnd Prabh\u00e1vat\u00ed and Ajin\u00e1vat\u00ed carried Narav\u00e1hanadatta through the air\nto his city of Kaus\u00e1mb\u00ed. When he reached the garden of the city,\nhe descended from heaven into his capital, and was seen by his\nattendants. And there arose there a cry from the people on all sides,\n\"We are indeed happy; here is the prince come back.\" Then the king\nof Vatsa, hearing of it, came there quickly in high delight, as\nif irrigated with a sudden shower of nectar, with V\u00e1savadatt\u00e1 and\nPadm\u00e1vat\u00ed, and the prince's wives, Ratnaprabh\u00e1 and the rest; and\nYaugandhar\u00e1yana and the other ministers of the king of Vatsa, and\nKalingasen\u00e1 and the prince's own ministers, Gomukha and his fellows,\napproached him in order of precedence as eagerly as travellers make\nfor a lake in the hot season. And they saw the hero, whose high birth\nqualified him for a lofty station, sitting between his two wives,\nlike Krishna between Rukmin\u00ed and Satyabh\u00e1m\u00e1. And when they saw him,\nthey hid their eyes with tears of joy, as if for fear lest they\nshould leap out of their skins in their delight. And the king of\nVatsa and his queens embraced after a long absence that son of theirs,\nand could not let him go, for they were, as it were, riveted to him\nby the hairs of their bodies erect from joy.\n\nThen a great feast began by beat of drum, and Vegavat\u00ed, the daughter of\nVegavat, and sister of M\u00e1nasavega, who was married to Narav\u00e1hanadatta,\nfinding it all out by the might of her recovered science, came down to\nKaus\u00e1mb\u00ed through the air, and fell at the feet of her father-in-law\nand mother-in-law, and prostrating herself before her husband, said\nto him, \"Auspicious sir, after I had become weak by my exertions on\nyour behalf, I recovered my magic powers by self-mortification in a\ngrove of ascetics and now I have returned into your presence.\" When\nshe had said this, she was welcomed by her husband and the others,\nand she repaired to her friends Prabh\u00e1vat\u00ed, and Ajin\u00e1vat\u00ed.\n\nThey embraced her and made her sit between them; and at that moment\nDhanavat\u00ed, the mother of Ajin\u00e1vat\u00ed, also arrived; and various kings\nof the Vidy\u00e1dharas came with her, surrounded by their forces, that\nhid the heaven like clouds; her own heroic son, the strong-armed\nChandasinha, and a powerful relation of hers, Amitagati by name,\nand Pingalag\u00e1ndh\u00e1ra the mighty father of Prabh\u00e1vat\u00ed, and V\u00e1yupatha,\nthe president of the court, who had previously declared himself on\nNarav\u00e1hanadatta's side, and the heroic king Hemaprabha, the father\nof Ratnaprabh\u00e1, accompanied by his son Vajraprabha and followed by\nhis army. And S\u00e1garadatta the king of the Gandharvas came there,\naccompanied by his daughter Gandharvadatt\u00e1, and by Chitr\u00e1ngada. And\nwhen they arrived, they were becomingly honoured by the king of Vatsa\nand his son, and sat in due order on thrones.\n\nAnd immediately king Pingalag\u00e1ndh\u00e1ra said to his son-in-law\nNarav\u00e1hanadatta, as he was in the hall of assembly, \"King, you have\nbeen appointed by the god [547] emperor over us all, and it is owing\nto our great love for you, that we have all come to you. And queen\nDhanavat\u00ed here, your mother-in-law, a strict votary, possessing\ndivine knowledge, wearing the rosary, and the skin of the black\nantelope, like an incarnation of Durg\u00e1, or S\u00e1vitr\u00ed having acquired\nmagic powers, an object of reverence to the noblest Vidy\u00e1dharas, has\nmade herself ready to protect you; so you are certain to prosper in\nyour undertaking; but listen to what I am about to say. There are two\ndivisions of the Vidy\u00e1dhara territory [548] on the Him\u00e1layas here,\nthe northern and the southern, both extending over many peaks of\nthat range; the northern division is on the other side of Kail\u00e1sa,\nbut the southern is on this side of it. And this Amitagati here has\njust performed a difficult penance on mount Kail\u00e1sa, in order to obtain\nthe sovereignty over the northern division, and propitiated Siva. And\nSiva made this revelation to him, 'Narav\u00e1hanadatta thy emperor will\naccomplish thy desire,' so he has come here to you. In that division\nthere is a chief monarch, named Mandaradeva, who is evilly disposed,\nbut though mighty, he will be easy for you to conquer, when you have\nobtained the sciences peculiar to the Vidy\u00e1dharas.\n\n\"But the king named Gaur\u00edmunda, who rules in the midst of the southern\ndivision, is evil-minded and exceedingly hard to conquer on account\nof the might of his magic science. Moreover he is a great friend of\nyour enemy M\u00e1nasavega. Until he is overcome, your undertaking will\nnot prosper; so acquire as quickly as possible great and transcendent\npower of science.\"\n\nWhen Pingalag\u00e1ndh\u00e1ra had said this, Dhanavat\u00ed spake, \"Good, my son,\nit is as this king tells thee. Go hence to the land of the Siddhas\n[549] and propitiate the god Siva, in order that thou mayest obtain\nthe magic sciences, for how can there be any excelling without his\nfavour? And these kings will be assembled there to protect thee.\" Then\nChitr\u00e1ngada said, \"It is even so; but I will advance in front of all;\nlet us conquer our enemies.\"\n\nThen Narav\u00e1hanadatta determined to do as they had advised, and he\nperformed the auspicious ceremony before setting out, and bowed at\nthe feet of his tearful parents, and other superiors, and received\ntheir blessing, and then ascended with his wives and ministers a\nsplendid palanquin provided by the skill of Amitagati, and started on\nhis expedition, obscuring the heaven with his forces, that resembled\nthe water of the sea raised by the wind at the end of a kalpa, as it\nwere proclaiming by the echoes of his army's roar on the limits of the\nhorizon, that the emperor of the Vidy\u00e1dharas had come to visit them.\n\nAnd he was rapidly conducted by the king of the Gandharvas and the\nchiefs of the Vidy\u00e1dharas and Dhanavat\u00ed to that mountain, which was\nthe domain of the Siddhas. There the Siddhas prescribed for him a\ncourse of self-mortification, and he performed asceticism by sleeping\non the ground, bathing in the early morning, and eating fruits. And\nthe kings of the Vidy\u00e1dharas remained surrounding him on every side,\nguarding him unweariedly day and night. And the Vidy\u00e1dhara princesses,\ncontemplating him eagerly while he was performing his penance, seemed\nwith the gleams of their eyes to clothe him in the skin of a black\nantelope. Others shewed by their eyes turned inwards out of anxiety\nfor him, and their hands placed on their breasts, that he had at once\nentered their hearts.\n\nAnd five more noble maidens of the Vidy\u00e1dhara race, beholding him,\nwere inflamed with the fire of love, and made this agreement together,\n\"We five friends must select this prince as our common husband,\nand we must marry him at the same time, not separately; if one of us\nmarries him separately, the rest must enter the fire on account of\nthat violation of friendship.\"\n\nWhile the heavenly maidens were thus agitated at the sight of\nhim, suddenly great portents manifested themselves in the grove\nof ascetics. A very terrible wind blew, uprooting splendid trees,\nas if to shew that even thus in that place should heroes fall in\nfight; and the earth trembled as if anxious as to what all that could\nmean, and the hills cleft asunder, as if to give an opening for the\nterrified to escape, and the sky, rumbling awfully, though cloudless,\n[550] seemed to say, \"Ye Vidy\u00e1dharas, guard, guard to the best of\nyour power, this emperor of yours.\" And Narav\u00e1hanadatta, in the\nmidst of the alarm produced by these portents, remained unmoved,\nmeditating upon the adorable three-eyed god; and the heroic kings of\nthe Gandharvas and lords of the Vidy\u00e1dharas remained guarding him,\nready for battle, expecting some calamity; and they uttered war-cries,\nand agitated the forest of their lithe swords, as if to scare away\nthe portents that announced the approach of evil.\n\nAnd the next day after this the army of the Vidy\u00e1dharas was suddenly\nseen in the sky, dense as a cloud at the end of the kalpa, uttering\na terrible shout. Then Dhanavat\u00ed, calling to mind her magic science,\nsaid, \"This is Gaur\u00edmunda come with M\u00e1nasavega.\" Then those kings of\nthe Vidy\u00e1dharas and the Gandharvas raised their weapons, but Gaur\u00edmunda\nwith M\u00e1nasavega rushed upon them exclaiming, \"What right has a mere\nman to rank with beings like us? So I will to-day crush your pride,\nyou sky-goers that take part with him.\" When Gaur\u00edmunda said this,\nChitr\u00e1ngada rushed upon him angrily, and attacked him.\n\nAnd king S\u00e1garadatta, the sovereign of the Gandharvas, and Chandasinha,\nand Amitagati, and king V\u00e1yupatha, and Pingalag\u00e1ndh\u00e1ra, and all\nthe chiefs of the Vidy\u00e1dharas, great heroes all, rushed upon the\nwicked M\u00e1nasavega, roaring like lions, followed by the whole of their\nforces. And right terrible was that storm of battle, thick with the\nclouds of dust raised by the army, with the gleams of weapons for\nflashes of lightning, and a falling rain of blood. And so Chitr\u00e1ngada\nand his friends made, as it were, a great sacrifice for the demons,\nwhich was full of blood for wine, and in which the heads of enemies\nwere strewn as an offering. And streams of gore flowed away, full of\nbodies for alligators, and floating weapons for snakes, and in which\nmarrow intermingled took the place of cuttle-fish bone.\n\nThen Gaur\u00edmunda, as his army was slain, and he himself was nigh\nto death, called to mind the magic science of Gaur\u00ed, which he had\nformerly propitiated and made well-disposed to him; and that science\nappeared in visible form, with three eyes, armed with the trident,\n[551] and paralysed the chief heroes of Narav\u00e1hanadatta's army. Then\nGaur\u00edmunda, having regained strength, rushed with a loud shout towards\nNarav\u00e1hanadatta, and fell on him to try his strength in wrestling. And\nbeing beaten by him in wrestling, the cogging Vidy\u00e1dhara again summoned\nup that science, and by its power he seized his antagonist in his\narms and flew up to the sky. However, he was prevented by the might\nof Dhanavat\u00ed's science from slaying the prince, so he flung him down\non the mountain of fire.\n\nBut M\u00e1nasavega seized his comrades Gomukha and the rest, and\nflew up into the sky with them, and flung them at random in all\ndirections. But, after they had been flung up, they were preserved\nby a science in visible shape employed by Dhanavat\u00ed, and placed in\ndifferent spots on the earth. And that science comforted those heroes,\none by one, saying to them, \"You will soon recover that master of yours\nsuccessful and flourishing,\" and having said this it disappeared. Then\nGaur\u00edmunda went back home with M\u00e1nasavega, thinking that their side\nhad been victorious.\n\nBut Dhanavat\u00ed said, \"Narav\u00e1hanadatta will return to you after he\nhas attained his object, no harm will befall him;\" and thereupon the\nlords of the Gandharvas and princes of the Vidy\u00e1dharas, Chitr\u00e1ngada\nand the others, flung off their paralysing stupor, and went for the\npresent to their own abodes. And Dhanavat\u00ed took her daughter Ajin\u00e1vat\u00ed,\nwith all her fellow-wives, and went to her own home.\n\nM\u00e1nasavega, for his part, went and said to Madanamanchuk\u00e1, \"Your\nhusband is slain; so you had better marry me;\" but she, standing in\nfront of him, said to him laughing, \"He will slay you, no one can\nslay him, as he has been appointed by the god.\"\n\nBut when Narav\u00e1hanadatta was being hurled down by his enemy on the\nmountain of fire, a certain heavenly being came there, and received\nhim; and after preserving his life, he took him quickly to the cool\nbank of the Mand\u00e1kin\u00ed. And when Narav\u00e1hanadatta asked him who he\nwas, he comforted him, and said to him, \"I, prince, am a king of the\nVidy\u00e1dharas named Amritaprabha, and I have been sent by Siva on the\npresent occasion to save your life. Here is the mountain of Kail\u00e1sa\nin front of you, the dwelling-place of that god; if you propitiate\nSiva there, you will obtain unimpeded felicity. So, come, I will take\nyou there.\" When that noble Vidy\u00e1dhara had said this, he immediately\nconveyed him there, and took leave of him, and departed.\n\nBut Narav\u00e1hanadatta, when he had reached Kail\u00e1sa, propitiated with\nasceticism Ganesa, whom he found there in front of him. And after\nobtaining his permission, he entered the hermitage of Siva, emaciated\nwith self-mortification, and he beheld Nandin at the door. He devoutly\ncircumambulated him, and then Nandin said to him, \"Thou hast well-nigh\nattained all thy ends; for all the obstacles that hindered thee have\nnow been overcome; so remain here, and perform a strict course of\nasceticism that will subdue sin, until thou shalt have propitiated\nthe adorable god; for successes depend on purity.\" When Nandin had\nsaid this, Narav\u00e1hanadatta began a severe course of penance there,\nliving on air and meditating on the god Siva and the goddess P\u00e1rvat\u00ed.\n\nAnd the adorable god Siva, pleased with his asceticism, granted him\na vision of himself, and accompanied by the goddess, thus spake to\nthe prince, as he bent before him, \"Become now emperor over all the\nVidy\u00e1dharas, and let all the most transcendent sciences be immediately\nrevealed to thee! By my favour thou shalt become invincible by thy\nenemies, and, as thou shalt be proof against cut or thrust, thou\nshalt slay all thy foes. And when thou appearest, the sciences of\nthy enemies shall be of no avail against thee. So go forth: even\nthe science of Gaur\u00ed shall be subject to thee.\" When Siva and Gaur\u00ed\nhad bestowed these boons on Narav\u00e1hanadatta, the god also gave him a\ngreat imperial chariot, in the form of a lotus, made by Brahm\u00e1. Then\nall the sciences presented themselves to the prince in bodily form,\nand expressed their desire to carry out his orders by saying, \"What\ndo you enjoin on us, that we may perform it?\"\n\nAccordingly Narav\u00e1hanadatta, having obtained many boons, bowed before\nthe great god, and ascended the heavenly lotus-chariot, after he had\nreceived permission from him to depart, and went first to the city\nof Amitagati, named Vakrapura; and as he went, the sciences shewed\nhim the path, and the bards of the Siddhas sang his praises. And\nAmitagati, seeing him from a distance, as he came along through the\nair, mounted on a chariot, advanced to meet him and bowed before\nhim, and made him enter his palace. And when he described how he had\nobtained all these magic powers, Amitagati was so delighted that he\ngave him as a present his own daughter named Sulochan\u00e1. And with her,\nthus obtained, like a second imperial fortune of the Vidy\u00e1dhara race,\nthe emperor joyfully passed that day as one long festival.\n\n\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER CVIII.\n\n\nThe next day, as the new emperor Narav\u00e1hanadatta was sitting in\nVakrapura, in the hall of audience, a certain man descended from\nheaven, with a wand in his hand, and came up to him, and bowing\nbefore him, said to him, \"Know, O king, that I am Pauraruehideva the\nhereditary warder of the emperor of the Vidy\u00e1dharas, and I am come here\nto tender my services to you in that capacity.\" When Narav\u00e1hanadatta\nheard this, he looked at the face of Amitagati; and he said, \"It is\ntrue, my liege:\" so Narav\u00e1hanadatta gladly admitted the new-comer to\nthe office of warder.\n\nThen Dhanavat\u00ed, finding out by her power what had occurred, with his\nwives Vegavat\u00ed and the others, and her son Chandasinha, and king\nPingalag\u00e1ndh\u00e1ra with V\u00e1yupatha, and Chitr\u00e1ngada with S\u00e1garadatta,\nand Hemaprabha and the others came there, obscuring the sun with\ntheir armies; as if declaring beforehand that they would endure no\nfire and heat in their foes. When they arrived, they fell at the feet\nof that emperor, and he honoured them with a welcome as their rank\ndeserved, but, out of great veneration, he himself fell at the feet\nof Dhanavat\u00ed, and she, being highly pleased, loaded that son-in-law\nof her's with blessings. And when he told the story of his obtaining\nmagic powers, Chandasinha and the others were exceedingly gratified\nat their emperor's success.\n\nAnd the emperor, seeing that his wives had arrived in his presence,\nsaid to Dhanavat\u00ed, \"Where are my ministers?\" And she answered him,\n\"When they had been flung in all directions by M\u00e1nasavega, I saved\nthem by the help of a mighty science, and placed them in different\nspots.\" Then he had them brought by a science incarnate in bodily form;\nand they came and enquired after his welfare and clung to his feet,\nand then he said to them, \"Why and how and where have you spent so\nmany days? Tell me one by one your marvellous tale.\" Then Gomukha\ntold his story first.\n\n\n\nGomukha's account of his adventures.\n\nWhen I was flung away by the enemy on that occasion, some goddess\nbore me up in her hands, and comforted me, and placed me in a distant\nforest, and disappeared. Then I was minded in my affliction to abandon\nthe body by hurling myself from a precipice; but a certain ascetic\ncame up to me and dissuaded me saying, \"Do not act thus, Gomukha,\nyou will again behold your master when he has gained his object.\" Then\nI said to him, \"Who are you, and how do you know that?\" He answered,\n\"Come to my hermitage, and there I will tell you.\" Then I went with\nthat man, who by his knowing my name had proved the greatness of his\nknowledge, to his hermitage, which was called Sivakshetra. There he\nentertained me and told me his story in the following words:\n\n\n\nStory of N\u00e1gasv\u00e1min and the witches.\n\nI am a Br\u00e1hman named N\u00e1gasv\u00e1min, from a city called Kundina. When\nmy father went to heaven, I went to P\u00e1taliputra, and repaired to a\nteacher named Jayadatta, to acquire learning. But in spite of all the\nteaching that I got, I was so stupid that I did not manage to learn\na single syllable; so all the pupils there made game of me. Then,\nbeing the victim of contempt, I set out on a pilgrimage to the shrine\nof the goddess Durg\u00e1 in the Vindhya mountains; and when I had got\nhalfway I came across a city named Vakrolaka.\n\nI went into that city to beg; and in one house the mistress gave me\nwith my alms a red lotus. I took it, and went on to another house,\nand there the mistress said to me, when she saw me, \"Alas! a witch\nhas secured possession of you. See! she has given you a man's hand,\n[552] which she has passed off on you for a red lotus.\" When I heard\nthat, I looked myself, and lo! it was no lotus, but a human hand. I\nflung it away, and fell at her feet, and said, \"Mother, devise some\nexpedient for me, that I may live.\" When she heard this she said,\n\"Go! in a village of the name of Karabha, three yojanas distant from\nthis place, there is a Br\u00e1hman of the name of Devarakshita. He has\nin his house a splendid brown cow, an incarnation of Surabhi; she\nwill protect you during this night, if you repair to her for refuge.\"\n\nWhen she said this, I ran full of fear, and reached, at the close of\nthe day, the house of that Br\u00e1hman in the village of Karabha. When I\nhad entered, I beheld that brown cow, and I worshipped her and said,\n\"Being terrified, goddess, I have come to you for protection.\" And just\nthen, night having set in, that witch came there through the air with\nother witches, threatening me, longing for my flesh and blood. When the\nbrown cow saw that, she placed me between her hoofs, and defended me,\nfighting against those witches all the livelong night. In the morning\nthey went away, and the cow said to me with an articulate voice,\n\"My son, I shall not be able to protect you the next night. So go\non further; at a distance of five yojanas from this place there is\na mighty P\u00e1supata ascetic named Bh\u00fatisiva, dwelling in a temple of\nSiva in a forest. He possesses supernatural knowledge, and he will\nprotect you for this one night, if you take refuge with him.\"\n\nWhen I heard that, I bowed before her, and set out from that place;\nand I soon reached that Bh\u00fatisiva, and took refuge with him. And\nat night those very same witches came there also in the very same\nway. Then that Bh\u00fatisiva made me enter the inner apartment of his\nhouse, [553] and taking up a position at the door, trident in hand,\nkept off the witches. Next morning, Bh\u00fatisiva, having conquered them,\ngave me food, and said to me, \"Br\u00e1hman, I shall not be able to protect\nyou any longer; but in a village named Sandhy\u00e1v\u00e1sa, at a distance\nof ten yojanas from this place, there is a Br\u00e1hman named Vasumati:\ngo to him: and if you manage to get through this third night, you\nwill escape altogether.\"\n\nWhen he said this to me, I bowed before him, and set out from that\nplace. But on account of the length of the journey that I had to make,\nthe sun set before I had reached my destination. And when night had\nset in, the witches pursued after me and caught me. And they seized me\nand went off with me through the air much pleased. But thereupon some\nother witches of great power flew past them in front. And suddenly\nthere arose between the two parties a tumultuous fight. And in the\nconfusion I escaped from the hands of my captors, and fell to the\nground in a very desolate part of the country. [554]\n\nAnd there I saw a certain great palace, which seemed to say to me with\nits open door, \"Come in.\" So I fled into it bewildered with fear,\nand I beheld a lady of wonderful beauty, surrounded with a hundred\nladies-in-waiting, gleaming with brightness, like a protecting herb\n[555] that shines in the night, made by the Creator out of pity for\nme. I immediately recovered my spirits and questioned her, and she\nsaid to me, \"I am a Yakshin\u00ed named Sumitr\u00e1, and I am thus here owing\nto a curse. And in order that my curse may come to an end, I have been\ndirected to marry a mortal: so marry me, as you have unexpectedly\narrived here; fear not.\" When she had said this, she quickly gave\norders to her servants; and she provided me, to my great delight,\nwith baths and unguents, food and drink, and garments. Strange was the\ncontrast between the terror caused by those witches and the happiness\nthat immediately followed! Even fate itself cannot comprehend the\nprinciple that makes men fall into happiness or misery.\n\nThen I remained there in happiness with that Yakshin\u00ed during those\ndays; but at last one day she said to me of her own accord, \"Br\u00e1hman,\nmy curse is at an end; so I must leave this place at once. However,\nby my favour you shall have divine insight; and, though an ascetic, you\nshall have all enjoyments at your command, and be free from fear. But\nas long as you are here, do not visit the middle block of buildings\nof this palace of mine.\" When she had said this, she disappeared;\nand thereupon, I, out of curiosity, went up to the middle block of\nbuildings, and there I saw a horse. I went up to the horse, and he\nflung me from him with a kick; and immediately I found myself in this\ntemple of Siva. [556]\n\nSince that time I have remained here, and I have gradually acquired\nsupernatural powers. Accordingly, though I am a mortal, I possess\nknowledge of the three times. In the same way do all men in this world\nfind successes beset with difficulties. So do you remain in this place;\nSiva will bestow on you the success that you desire.\n\nWhen that wise being had told me all this, I conceived hopes of\nrecovering you, and I remained there some days in his hermitage. And\nto-day, my lord, Siva in a dream informed me of your success, and\nsome heavenly nymph seized me up, and brought me here. This is the\nhistory of my adventures.\n\nWhen Gomukha had said this, he stopped, and then Marubh\u00fati began to\ntell his tale in the presence of Narav\u00e1hanadatta.\n\n\n\nMarubh\u00fati's account of his adventures.\n\nWhen I was flung away on that occasion by M\u00e1nasavega, some divinity\ntook me up in her hands, and placing me in a distant forest,\ndisappeared. Then I wandered about afflicted and anxious to obtain\nsome means of committing suicide, when I saw a certain hermitage\nencircled with a river. I entered it, and beheld an ascetic with\nmatted hair sitting on a slab of rock, and I bowed before him and\nwent up to him. He said to me, \"Who are you, and how did you reach\nthis uninhabited land?\" Thereupon, I told him my whole story. Then\nhe understood and said to me, \"Do not slay yourself now! You shall\nlearn here the truth about your master, and afterwards you shall do\nwhat is fitting.\"\n\nIn accordance with this advice of his I remained there, eager for\ntidings of you, my liege: and while I was there, some heavenly nymphs\ncame to bathe in the river. Then the hermit said to me, \"Go quickly\nand carry off the clothes of one of those nymphs bathing there; [557]\nand then you will learn tidings of your master.\" When I heard that,\nI did as he advised me, and that nymph, whose garments I had taken,\nfollowed me, with her bathing-dress dripping with moisture, [558]\nand with her arms crossed in front of her breasts.\n\nThat hermit said to her, \"If you tell us tidings of Narav\u00e1hanadatta,\nyou may have back your two garments.\" Then she said, \"Narav\u00e1hanadatta\nis at present on mount Kail\u00e1sa, engaged in worshipping Siva, and in\na few days he will be the emperor of the Vidy\u00e1dharas.\"\n\nAfter she had said this, that heavenly nymph became, in virtue of a\ncurse, the wife of that ascetic, having made acquaintance with him by\nconversing with him. [559] So the ascetic lived with that Vidy\u00e1dhar\u00ed,\nand on account of her prophecy I conceived the hope of being reunited\nwith you and I went on living there. And in a few days the heavenly\nnymph became pregnant, and brought forth a child, and she said to the\nascetic, \"My curse has been brought to an end by living with you. [560]\nIf you desire to see any more of me, cook this child of mine with rice\nand eat it; then you will be reunited to me.\" When she had said this,\nshe went away, and that ascetic cooked her child with rice, and ate\nit: and then he flew up into the air and followed her.\n\nAt first I was unwilling to eat of that dish, though he urged me to\ndo so; but seeing that eating of it bestowed supernatural powers, I\ntook two grains of rice from the cooking-vessel, and ate them. That\nproduced in me the effect that wherever I spat, gold [561] was\nimmediately produced. Then I roamed about relieved from my poverty,\nand at last I reached a town. There I lived in the house of a het\u00e6ra,\nand, thanks to the gold I was able to produce, indulged in the most\nlavish expenditure; but the kuttan\u00ed, eager to discover my secret,\ntreacherously gave me an emetic. That made me vomit, and in the process\nthe two grains of rice, that I had previously eaten, came out of my\nmouth, looking like two glittering rubies. And no sooner had they\ncome out, than the kuttan\u00ed snapped them up, and swallowed them. So I\nlost my power of producing gold, of which the kuttan\u00ed thus deprived me.\n\nI thought to myself, \"Siva still retains his crescent and Vishnu his\nkaustubha jewel; but I know what would be the result, if those two\ndeities were to fall into the clutches of a kuttan\u00ed. [562] But such\nis this world, full of marvels, full of frauds; who can fathom it,\nor the sea, at any time?\" With such sad reflections in my bosom I\nwent despondent to a temple of Durg\u00e1, to propitiate the goddess with\nasceticism, in order to recover you. And after I had fasted for three\nnights, the goddess gave me this command in a dream, \"Thy master has\nobtained all he desires: go, and behold him;\" upon hearing this I\nwoke up; and this very morning some goddess carried me to your feet;\nthis, prince, is the story of my adventures.\n\nWhen Marubh\u00fati had said this, Narav\u00e1hanadatta and his courtiers\nlaughed at him for having been tricked by a kuttan\u00ed.\n\n\n\nHarisikha's account of his adventures.\n\nThen Harisikha said;--On that occasion when I was seized by my enemy,\nsome divinity saved me and deposited me in Ujjayin\u00ed. There I was so\nunhappy that I conceived the design of abandoning the body; so at\nnightfall I went into the cemetery and proceeded to construct a pyre\nwith the logs there. I lighted it and began to worship the fire, and\nwhile I was thus engaged, a prince of the demons, named T\u00e1lajangha,\ncame up to me, and said to me, \"Why do you enter the fire? Your master\nis alive, and you shall be united with him, now that he has obtained\nthe supernatural powers he desired.\" With these words, the demon,\nthough naturally cruel, lovingly dissuaded me from death; even some\nstones melt when fate is propitious. Then I went and remained for a\nlong time performing asceticism in front of the god; and some divinity\nhas to-day brought me to your side, my liege.\n\nThus Harisikha told his tale, and the others in their turn told theirs,\nand then, at the suggestion of Amitagati, king Narav\u00e1hanadatta incited\nthe venerable Dhanavat\u00ed, adored by the Vidy\u00e1dharas, to bestow all the\nsciences on those ministers of his also. Then all his ministers also\nbecame Vidy\u00e1dharas; and Dhanavat\u00ed said, \"Now conquer your enemies;\"\nso on a fortunate day the hero gave orders that the imperial troops\nshould march out towards the city of Gaur\u00edmunda, called Govindak\u00fata.\n\nThen the army of the Vidy\u00e1dharas mounted up into the sky, obscuring\nthe sun, looking like a rising of R\u00e1hu out of due time chilling to\nthe foe. And Narav\u00e1hanadatta himself ascended the pericarp of the\nlotus-chariot, and placed his wives on the filaments, and his friends\non the leaves, and preceded by Chandasinha and the others, set out\nthrough the air to conquer his enemies. And when he had completed\nhalf his journey, he came to the palace of Dhanavat\u00ed which was called\nM\u00e1tangapura, and he stayed there that day, and she did the honours\nof the house to him. And while he was there, he sent an ambassador\nto challenge to the combat the Vidy\u00e1dhara princes Gaur\u00edmunda and\nM\u00e1nasavega.\n\nThe next day he deposited his wives in M\u00e1tangapura, and went with the\nVidy\u00e1dhara kings to Govindak\u00fata. There Gaur\u00edmunda and M\u00e1nasavega came\nout to fight with them, and Chandasinha and his colleagues met them\nface to face. When the battle began, brave warriors fell like trees\nmarked out for the axe, and torrents of blood flowed on the mountain\nGovindak\u00fata. The combat, eager to devour the lives of heroes, yawned\nlike a demon of destruction, with tongues in the form of flexible\nswords greedily licking up blood. [563] That great feast of slaughter,\nterrible with the rhythmic clapping of hands on the part of Vet\u00e1las\ndrunk with blood and flesh, and covered with palpitating corpses for\ndancers, gave great delight to the demons.\n\nThen M\u00e1nasavega met Narav\u00e1hanadatta face to face in the conflict,\nand the prince himself rushed on him in wrath. And having rushed on\nhim, that emperor seized the villain by the hair, and at once cut\noff his head with his sword. When Gaur\u00edmunda saw that, he too sprang\nforward in a fury, and Narav\u00e1hanadatta dragged him along by the hair,\nfor the power of his science left him as soon as he saw the prince,\nand flung him on the ground, and seizing his legs whirled him round\nin the air, and dashed him to pieces on a rock. In this way he slew\nGaur\u00edmunda and M\u00e1nasavega; and the rest of their army, being terrified,\n[564] took to flight. And a rain of flowers fell into the lap of that\nemperor, and all the gods in heaven exclaimed, \"Bravo! Bravo!\" Then\nNarav\u00e1hanadatta, with all those kings that followed him, entered the\npalace of Gaur\u00edmunda; and immediately the chiefs of the Vidy\u00e1dharas,\nwho were connected with Gaur\u00edmunda's party, came and submitted humbly\nto his sway.\n\nThen Dhanavat\u00ed came up to that sovereign in the midst of the rejoicings\non account of his having taken possession of his kingdom after slaying\nall his enemies, and said to him, \"My liege, Gaur\u00edmunda has left a\ndaughter named Ih\u00e1tmatik\u00e1, the belle of the three worlds; you should\nmarry that maiden.\" When she said this to the king, he immediately\nsent for the girl, and married her, and passed the day very happily\nin her society.\n\nThe next morning he sent Vegavat\u00ed and Prabh\u00e1vat\u00ed, and had\nMadanamanchuk\u00e1 brought by them from the town of M\u00e1nasavega. When\nbrought, she looked upon that hero in his prosperity, who had\ndestroyed the darkness of his enemies, with face expanded and wet with\ntears of joy; and at the end of her night of separation she enjoyed\nindescribable happiness, like a lotus-bed, the open flowers of which\nare wet with dew. Then he bestowed on her all the sciences, and having\npined for her long, he exulted in the society of his beloved, who had\nthus in a moment attained the rank of a Vidy\u00e1dhar\u00ed. And in the garden\nof Gaur\u00edmunda's city he spent those days with his wives in the joys\nof a banquet. And then he sent Prabh\u00e1vat\u00ed, and had Bhag\u00edrathayasas\nalso brought there, and bestowed on her the sciences.\n\nAnd one day, as the emperor was sitting in his hall of audience, two\nVidy\u00e1dharas came and said to him with due respect, \"Your majesty, we\nwent hence, by the orders of Dhanavat\u00ed, to the northern division of the\nland of the Vidy\u00e1dharas, to find out the movements of Mandaradeva. And\nthere we, being ourselves invisible, saw that king of the Vidy\u00e1dharas\nin his hall of audience, and he happened to be saying with regard\nto your Highness, 'I hear, that Narav\u00e1hanadatta has obtained the\nsovereignty over the Vidy\u00e1dharas, and has slain Gaur\u00edmunda and the\nrest of his opponents; so it will not do for me to overlook that enemy;\non the contrary, I must nip him in the bud.' When we heard that speech\nof his, we came here to tell you.\"\n\nWhen the assembly of Narav\u00e1hanadatta's partizans heard this from the\nspies, they were all beside themselves with anger, and appeared like\na lotus-bed smitten by the wind. The arms of Chitr\u00e1ngada, frequently\nwaved and extended, seemed with the tinkling of their bracelets\nto be demanding the signal for combat. The necklace of Amitagati,\nrising up on his breast, as he sighed with anger, seemed to say again\nand again, \"Rouse thyself, rouse thyself, hero.\" Pingalag\u00e1ndh\u00e1ra,\nstriking the ground with his hand so that it resounded, seemed to be\ngoing through a prelude introductory to the crushing of his enemies. A\nfrown took its seat upon the face of V\u00e1yupatha, looking like a bow\nstrung by Fate for the destruction of his foes. Chandasinha, angrily\npressing one hand against the other, seemed to say, \"Even thus will\nI pulverize my enemies.\" The arm of S\u00e1garadatta, struck by his hand,\nproduced a sound that rang through the air, and seemed to challenge\nthat foe. But Narav\u00e1hanadatta, though angry, was no whit disturbed;\nfor imperturbability is the characteristic sign of the greatness of\ngreat ones.\n\nThen he resolved to march forth to conquer his enemy, after obtaining\nthe jewels essential to an emperor of the Vidy\u00e1dharas. So the emperor\nmounted a chariot, with his wives and his ministers, and set out\nfrom that Govindak\u00fata. And all his partizans, the kings of the\nGandharvas and the chiefs of the Vidy\u00e1dharas, accompanied by their\narmies, marched along with him, encircling him, as the planets do\nthe moon. Then Narav\u00e1hanadatta reached the Him\u00e1layas, preceded by\nDhanavat\u00ed, and found there a large lake. With its white lotuses like\nlofty umbrellas and its soaring swans like waving chowries, it seemed\nto have brought a present fit for a sovereign. With its lofty waves\nflung up towards him like beckoning hands at no great distance, it\nseemed to summon him again and again to take the bath which should\nensure him supreme sovereignty. Then V\u00e1yupatha said to the king,\n\"My emperor, you must go down and bathe in this lake;\" so he went\ndown to bathe in it. And a heavenly voice said, \"None but an emperor\ncan ever succeed in bathing in this lake, so now you may consider\nthe imperial dignity secured to you.\"\n\nWhen the emperor heard that, he was delighted, and he sported in the\nwater of that lake with his wives, as Varuna does in the sea. He took\npleasure in watching them with the moist garments clinging to their\nbodies, with the fastenings of their hair loosened, and their eyes\nreddened by the washing into them of antimony. The rows of birds,\nflying up with loud cries from that lake, appeared like the girdles\nof its presiding nymphs advancing to meet him. And the lotuses,\neclipsed by the beauty of the lotus-like faces of his wives, plunged\nbeneath the waves as if ashamed. And after bathing, Narav\u00e1hanadatta,\nwith his attendants, spent that day on the bank of that lake.\n\nThere the successful prince, with his wives and ministers, spent his\ntime in jocose conversation, and next morning he set forth thence in\nhis chariot with his army. And as he was going along, he reached the\ncity of V\u00e1yupatha, which lay in his way; and he stayed there a day to\nplease him. There he fell in love with a maiden, that he came across\nin a garden, the sister of V\u00e1yupatha, by name V\u00e1yuvegayasas. She,\nwhile amusing herself in a garden on the bank of the Hemab\u00e1luka [565]\nriver, saw him arrive, and though in love with him, disappeared at\nonce. Then Narav\u00e1hanadatta, supposing that she had turned her back on\nhim for some reason other than the real one, returned with downcast\nface to his quarters. There the queens found out the adventure that\nhad befallen the king by means of Marubh\u00fati who was with him, (for\nGomukha was too clever for them to try him,) and then they made all\nkinds of jokes at the king's expense, while Gomukha stood by ashamed\nat the indiscretion of Marubh\u00fati.\n\nThen Gomukha, seeing the king out of countenance, consoled him, and,\nin order to ascertain the real sentiments of V\u00e1yuvegayasas, went to\nher city. There V\u00e1yupatha saw him suddenly arrived as if to take a\nlook at the city, and he lovingly entertained him, and taking him\naside, said to him, \"I have an unmarried sister named V\u00e1yuvegayasas,\nand holy seers have prophesied that she is destined to be the wife of\nan emperor. So I am desirous of giving her as a present to the emperor\nNarav\u00e1hanadatta; pray do your best to bring about the accomplishment of\nmy wish. And with this very object in view I was preparing to come to\nyou.\" When the minister Gomukha had been thus addressed by V\u00e1yupatha,\nhe said to him; \"Although this prince of ours set out primarily with\nthe object of conquering his enemies, still you have only to make the\nrequest, and I will arrange this matter for you.\" With these words\nGomukha took leave of him, and going back informed Narav\u00e1hanadatta\nthat he had gained his object without any solicitation.\n\nAnd the next day V\u00e1yupatha came in person and requested the favour,\nand the sagacious Gomukha said to the king, \"My prince, you must not\nrefuse the request of V\u00e1yupatha; he is your faithful ally; your majesty\nshould do whatever he asks.\" Then the king consented to do it; and\nV\u00e1yupatha himself brought his younger sister, and bestowed her on the\nemperor against her will. And while the marriage was being performed,\nshe exclaimed, \"Ye guardians of the world, I am being bestowed in\nmarriage by my brother by force, and against my will, so I have\nnot committed any sin thereby.\" When she said this, all the females\nbelonging to V\u00e1yupatha's household made such a noise that no outsiders\nheard what she said. But the king was put out of countenance by her\nspeech, so Gomukha was anxious to find some means of ascertaining\nits import, and he roamed hither and thither with that object.\n\nAnd after he had roamed about awhile, he saw in a certain retired\nspot four Vidy\u00e1dhara maidens preparing to enter the fire at the same\ntime. And when he asked them the cause, those fair ones told him how\nV\u00e1yuvegayasas had broken her solemn agreement. Then Gomukha went\nand told it to king Narav\u00e1hanadatta in the presence of all there,\nexactly as he had seen and heard. When the king heard it, he smiled,\nbut V\u00e1yuvegayasas said, \"Arise, my husband, let us two quickly go and\nsave these maidens; afterwards I will tell you the reason of this act\nof theirs.\" When she said this to the king, he went with her and with\nall his followers to the spot where the tragedy was to take place.\n\nAnd he saw those maidens with a blazing fire in front of them; and\nV\u00e1yuvegayasas, after dragging them away from it, said to the king,\n\"This first here is K\u00e1lik\u00e1, the daughter of the lord of K\u00e1lak\u00fata, and\nthis second is Vidyutpunj\u00e1, the daughter of Vidyutpunja; and this third\nis Matangin\u00ed, the daughter of Mandara; and this fourth is Padmaprabh\u00e1\nthe daughter of Mah\u00e1danshtra; and I am the fifth; all we five, when\nwe saw you performing asceticism in the domain of the Siddhas, were\nbewildered with love, and we made the following mutual agreement,\n'We will all five [566] at the same time take this prince as our dear\nhusband, and no one of us must surrender herself to him alone; if any\none of us marries him separately, the others shall enter the fire to\nbring down vengeance on her who has been guilty of such treachery\nto friends.' It was out of respect for this agreement that I did\nnot wish to marry you separately; indeed I did not even to-day give\nmyself to you; you, my husband, and the guardians of the world can\nbear testimony as to whether even now I have broken this agreement\nwillingly. So now, my husband, marry also those friends of mine;\nand you, my friends, must not let any other lot befall you.\" [567]\n\nWhen she said this, those maidens, who had escaped from death, rejoiced\nand embraced one another; and the king was delighted in his heart. And\nthe fathers of the ladies, hearing what had taken place, came there\nimmediately, and bestowed their daughters on Narav\u00e1hanadatta. And\nthose chiefs of the Vidy\u00e1dharas, headed by the lord of K\u00e1lak\u00fata,\n[568] agreed to accept the sovereignty of their son-in-law. Thus\nNarav\u00e1hanadatta obtained at one stroke the daughters of five great\nVidy\u00e1dharas, and gained great importance thereby.\n\nAnd the prince remained there some days with those wives, and then\nhis Commander-in-Chief Harisikha said, \"Why, my liege, though you are\nversed in the approved treatises on the subject, do you act contrary to\npolicy? What means this devotion on your part to the pleasures of love,\nwhen it is time to fight? This raising of an expedition to conquer\nMandaradeva, and this your dallying for so many days with your wives,\nare things wholly incompatible.\" When Harisikha said this, the great\nking answered him, \"Your reproof is just, but I am not acting for my\nown pleasure in all this; this allying of myself with wives involves\nthe acquisition of friends; and is so the most efficacious method\nat present of crushing the foe; this is why I have had recourse to\nit. So let these my troops now advance to the conquest of the enemy!\"\n\nWhen the king had given this order, his father-in-law Mandara said to\nhim, \"King, that Mandaradeva lives in a distant and difficult country,\nand he will be hard for you to overcome until you have achieved all\nthe distinctive jewels of an emperor. For he is protected by the cave,\ncalled the cave of Tris\u00edrsha, [569] which forms the approach to his\nkingdom, and the entrance of which is guarded by the great champion\nDevam\u00e1ya. But that cave can be forced by an emperor who has obtained\nthe jewels. And the sandal-wood tree, which is one of the jewels of\nan emperor, is in this country, so quickly gain possession of it,\nin order that you may attain the ends you have in view. For no one\nwho is not an emperor ever gets near that tree.\"\n\nHaving heard this from Mandara, Narav\u00e1hanadatta set out at night,\nfasting and observing a strict vow, for that sandal-wood tree. As\nthe hero went along, very terrible portents arose to bewilder him,\nbut he was not terrified at them, and so he reached the foot of that\nmighty tree. And when he saw that sandal-wood tree surrounded with\na lofty platform made of precious jewels, he climbed up to it with\nladders and adored it. The tree then said to him with bodiless voice,\n\"Emperor, thou hast won me the sandal-wood tree, and when thou thinkest\non me, I will appear to thee, so leave this place at present, and go to\nGovindak\u00fata; thus thou wilt win the other jewels also; and then thou\nwilt easily conquer Mandaradeva.\" On hearing this, Narav\u00e1hanadatta,\nthe mighty sovereign of the Vidy\u00e1dharas, said, \"I will do so,\" and\nbeing now completely successful, he worshipped that heavenly tree,\n[570] and went delighted through the air to his own camp.\n\nThere he spent that night; and the next morning in the hall of\naudience he related at full length, in the presence of all, his\nnight's adventure by which he had won the sandal-wood tree. And when\nthey heard it, his wives, and the ministers who had grown up with him\nfrom infancy, and those Vidy\u00e1dharas who were devoted to him, namely,\nV\u00e1yupatha and the other chiefs with their forces, and the Gandharvas,\nheaded by Chitr\u00e1ngada, were delighted at this sudden attainment of\ngreat success, and praised his heroism remarkable for its uninterrupted\nflow of courage, enterprise, and firmness. And after deliberating with\nthem, the king, determined to overthrow the pride of Mandaradeva,\nset out in a heavenly chariot for the mountain of Govindak\u00fata, in\norder to obtain the other jewels spoken of by the sandal-wood tree.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nBOOK XV.\n\n\nCHAPTER CIX.\n\n\nMay Ganesa, who at night seems with the spray blown forth from his\nhissing trunk uplifted in the tumultuous dance, to be feeding the\nstars, dispel your darkness!\n\nThen, as the emperor Narav\u00e1hanadatta was in his hall of audience on\nthe mountain Govindak\u00fata, a Vidy\u00e1dhara named Amritaprabha came to him\nthrough the air, the same who had before saved him, when he was flung\ndown by his enemy on the Mountain of Fire. That Vidy\u00e1dhara came and\nhumbly made himself known, and having been lovingly entertained by\nthat emperor, said to him, \"There is a great mountain named Malaya in\nthe southern region; and in a hermitage on it lives a great hermit\nnamed V\u00e1madeva. He, my liege, invites you to come to him alone for\nthe sake of some important affair, and on this account he has sent me\nto you to-day. Moreover you are my sovereign, won by previous merits;\nand therefore have I come; so come along with me; let us quickly go\nto that hermit in order to ensure your success!\"\n\nWhen that Vidy\u00e1dhara had said this, Narav\u00e1hanadatta left his wives and\nforces there, and himself flew up into the air with that Vidy\u00e1dhara,\nand in that way quickly reached the Malaya mountain, and approached\nthe hermit V\u00e1madeva. And he beheld that hermit white with age, tall of\nstature, with eye-balls sparkling like bright jewels in the fleshless\nsockets of his eyes, the depository of the jewels of the emperor of\nthe Vidy\u00e1dharas, with his matted hair waving like creepers, looking\nlike the Him\u00e1laya range accompanying the prince, to assist him in\nattaining success. Then the prince worshipped the feet of that sage,\nand he entertained him, and said to him, \"You are the god of Love\nconsumed long ago by Siva, and appointed by him emperor of all the\nVidy\u00e1dhara chiefs, because he was pleased with Rati. [571] Now, I\nhave in this my hermitage, within the deep recess of an inner cave,\ncertain jewels, which I will point out to you, and you must seize\nthem. For you will find Mandaradeva easy enough to conquer, after you\nhave obtained the jewels; and it was with this object that I invited\nyou hither by the command of Siva.\"\n\nWhen the hermit had said this to him, and had instructed him in the\nright method of procedure, Narav\u00e1hanadatta joyfully entered that\ncave. In it the hero overcame many and various obstacles, and then\nhe beheld a huge furious elephant charging him with a deep guttural\nroar. The king smote it on the forehead with his fist, and placed his\nfeet on its tusks, and actively mounted that furious elephant. And\na bodiless voice came from the cave, \"Bravo, emperor! thou hast won\nthe jewel of the mighty elephant.\" Then he saw a sword looking like\na mighty snake, and he fell upon it, and seized it, as if it were\nthe locks of the Fortune of Empire. Again a bodiless voice sounded\nin the cave, \"Bravo, conqueror of thy foes! thou hast obtained the\nvictorious sword-jewel.\" Then he obtained the moonlight-jewel and the\nwife-jewel, and the jewel of charms, named the destroying charm. And\nthus having achieved in all seven jewels (useful in time of need, and\nbestowers of majesty), taking into account the two first, the lake and\nthe sandal-wood tree, he went out from that cave and told the hermit\nV\u00e1madeva that he had succeeded in accomplishing all his objects. [572]\n\nThen the hermit said lovingly to that emperor, \"Go, my son, now\nthat you have obtained the jewels of a great emperor, and conquer\nMandaradeva on the north side of Kail\u00e1sa, and enjoy the glorious\nfortune of the sovereignty of both sides of that mountain.\" When the\nhermit had said this to him, the successful emperor bowed before him,\nand went off through the air with Amritaprabha. And in a moment he\nreached his camp on Govindak\u00fata guarded by his mighty mother-in-law\nDhanavat\u00ed. Then those kings of the Vidy\u00e1dharas, that had sided\nwith him, and his wives and his ministers, who were all watching\nfor him, saw him, and welcomed him with delight. Then he sat down\nand they questioned him, and he told them how he had seen the hermit\nV\u00e1madeva, and how he had entered the cave, and how he had obtained the\njewels. Then a great festival took place there, in which celestial\ndrums were joyfully beaten, and the Vidy\u00e1dharas danced, and people\ngenerally were drunk with wine.\n\nAnd the next day, in a moment in which a malignant planet stood in\nthe house of his foe, and one which argued his own success [573] as\na planet benignant to him, predominated over his enemy's house, and\nwhich was fraught with every other kind of prosperity, Narav\u00e1hanadatta\nperformed the ceremonies for good fortune, and ascended that car made\nby Brahm\u00e1, which Siva had bestowed on him, and set out with his army\nthrough the air, accompanied by his wives, to conquer Mandaradeva. And\nvarious heroes, his followers, marched surrounding him, and kings of\nthe Gandharvas and chiefs of the Vidy\u00e1dharas, fearless and faithful,\nobedient to the orders of the general Harisikha, and Chandasinha,\nwith his mother the wise Dhanavat\u00ed, and the brave Pingalag\u00e1ndh\u00e1ra,\nand V\u00e1yupatha the strong, and Vidyutpunja and Amitagati, and the\nlord of K\u00e1lak\u00fata, and Mandara, and Mah\u00e1danshtra and his own friend\nAmritaprabha, and the hero Chitr\u00e1ngada with S\u00e1garadatta,--all these,\nand others who were there of the party of the slain Gaur\u00edmunda,\npressed eagerly after him, with their hosts, as he advanced intent\non victory. Then the sky was obscured by his army, and the sun hid\nhis face, as if for shame, somewhere or other, his brightness being\neclipsed by the splendour of the monarch.\n\nThen the emperor passed the M\u00e1nasa lake haunted by troops of divine\nhermits, and left behind him Gandas\u00e1ila the pleasure-garden of the\nnymphs of heaven, and reached the foot of mount Kail\u00e1sa gleaming\nwhite like crystal, resembling a mass of his own glory. [574] There he\nencamped on the bank of the Mand\u00e1kin\u00ed, and while he was sitting there,\nthe wise chief of the Vidy\u00e1dharas, named Mandara, came up to him, and\naddressed to him the following pleasing speech, \"Let your army halt\nhere, king, on the bank of the river of the gods! It is not fitting\nthat you should advance over this mountain Kail\u00e1sa. For all sciences\nare destroyed by crossing this dwelling-place of Siva. So you must\npass to the other side of the mountain by the cave of Tris\u00edrsha. And\nit is guarded by a king named Devam\u00e1ya, who is exceedingly haughty;\nso how can you advance further without conquering him?\" When Mandara\nsaid this, Dhanavat\u00ed approved it, and Narav\u00e1hanadatta waited there\nfor a day.\n\nWhile he was there, he sent an ambassador to Devam\u00e1ya with\na conciliatory message, but he did not receive the order it\nconveyed in a conciliatory spirit. So the next day the emperor\nmoved out against Devam\u00e1ya with all the allied kings prepared for\nbattle. And Devam\u00e1ya too, when he heard it, marched out towards him\nto give battle, accompanied by numerous kings, Var\u00e1ha, Vajramushti\nand others, and followed by his army. Then there took place on\nKail\u00e1sa a battle between those two armies, and while it was going\non, the sky was obscured by the chariots of the gods who came to\nlook on. Terrible was that thunder-cloud of war, awful with the\ndense hailstorm of many severed heads, and loud with the shouting\nof heroes. That Chandasinha slew Var\u00e1ha the general of Devam\u00e1ya,\nas he fought in the front rank, was in truth by no means wonderful;\nbut it was strange that Narav\u00e1hanadatta, without employing any magic\npower, took captive Devam\u00e1ya himself, when exhausted by the wounds he\nreceived from him in the combat. And when he was captured, his army\nwas broken, and fled, together with the great champions Vajramushti,\nMah\u00e1b\u00e1hu, Tikshnadanshtra and their fellows. Then the gods in their\nchariots exclaimed, \"Bravo! Bravo!\" and all present congratulated\nthe victorious emperor. Then that mighty monarch consoled Devam\u00e1ya,\nwho was brought before him bound, and welcomed him kindly, and set\nhim at liberty. But he, having been subdued by the emperor's arm,\nhumbly submitted to him, together with Vajramushti and the others.\n\nThen, the battle having come to an end, that day passed away, and next\nmorning Devam\u00e1ya came to the place of audience, and stood by the side\nof the emperor, and when questioned by him about the cave of Tris\u00edrsha,\nwhich he wished to enter, related the following true history of it.\n\n\n\nHistory of the cave of Tris\u00edrsha.\n\nIn old time, my liege, the two sides of mount Kail\u00e1sa, the north and\nthe south side, formed different kingdoms, having been assigned to\ndistinguished Vidy\u00e1dharas. Then one, Rishabha by name, propitiated\nSiva with austerities, and was appointed by that god emperor over\nboth of them. But one day he was passing over Kail\u00e1sa to go to the\nnorthern side, and lost his magic science owing to the anger of Siva,\nwho happened to be below, and so fell from the sky. Rishabha again\npropitiated Siva with severe asceticism, and the god again appointed\nhim Supreme Sovereign of both sides; so he thus humbly addressed the\ngod, \"I am not permitted to pass over Kail\u00e1sa, so by what path am I\nto travel in order to be able to exercise my prerogatives on both\nsides of the mountain?\" When Siva, the trident-bearing god, heard\nthis, he cleft asunder Kail\u00e1sa, and made this cave-like opening for\nRishabha to pass to the northern side.\n\nThen mount Kail\u00e1sa, having been pierced, was despondent, and addressed\nthis petition to Siva, \"Holy one, this north side of me used to\nbe inaccessible to mortals, but it has now been made accessible to\nthem by this cave-passage; so provide that this law of exclusion be\nnot broken.\" When Siva had been thus supplicated by the mountain,\nhe placed in the cave as guards, elephants of the quarters, mighty\nbasilisks, [575] and Guhyakas; and at its southern opening he placed\nMah\u00e1m\u00e1ya the Vidy\u00e1dhara chief, and at its northern opening K\u00e1lar\u00e1tri\nthe invincible Chandik\u00e1. [576]\n\nWhen Siva had thus provided for the guarding of the cave, he produced\ngreat jewels, and made this decree with regard to the cave, \"This cave\nshall be open at both ends to any one who has obtained the jewels, and\nis emperor over the Vidy\u00e1dharas with their wives and their messengers,\n[577] and to those who may be appointed by him as sovereigns over the\nnorthern side of the mountain,--by these, I say, it may be passed,\nbut by no one else in the world.\" When the three-eyed god had made\nthis decree, Risbabha went on holding sway over the Vidy\u00e1dharas,\nbut in his pride made war on the gods and was slain by Indra. This\nis the history, my liege, of the cave, named the cave of Tris\u00edrsha;\nand the cave cannot be passed by any but persons like yourself.\n\nAnd in course of time I Devam\u00e1ya was born in the family of Mah\u00e1m\u00e1ya\nthe keeper of the entrance of the cave. And at my birth a heavenly\nvoice proclaimed, \"There is now born among the Vidy\u00e1dharas a champion\nhard for his foes to conquer in fight; and he, who shall conquer him,\nshall be emperor over them; he shall be the master of this child now\nborn, and shall be followed by him as a lord.\" I, that Devam\u00e1ya,\nhave been now conquered by you, and you have obtained the jewels,\nand are the mighty sole emperor of both sides of mount Kail\u00e1sa,--the\nlord of us all here. So, now pass the cave of Tris\u00edrsha, and conquer\nthe rest of your enemies.\n\nWhen Devam\u00e1ya had told the story of the cave in these words, the\nemperor said to him, \"We will march now and encamp for the present at\nthe mouth of the cave, and to-morrow morning, after we have performed\ndue ceremonies, we will enter it.\" When Narav\u00e1hanadatta had said this,\nhe went and encamped with all those kings at the mouth of the cave. And\nhe saw that underground passage with deep rayless cavity, looking like\nthe birthplace of the sunless and moonless darkness of the day of doom.\n\nAnd the next day he offered worship, and entered it in his chariot,\nwith his followers, assisted by the glorious jewels, which presented\nthemselves to him, when he thought of them. He dispelled the darkness\nwith the moonlight jewel, the basilisks with the sandal-wood tree,\nthe elephants of the quarters with the elephant-jewel, the Guhyakas\nwith the sword-jewel, and other obstacles with other jewels; and\nso passed that cave with his army, and emerged at its northern\nmouth. And coming out from the bowels of the cave, he saw before\nhim the northern side of the mountain, looking like another world,\nentered without a second birth. And then a voice came from the sky,\n\"Bravo, emperor! thou hast passed this cave by means of the majesty\nconferred by the power of the jewels.\"\n\nThen Dhanavat\u00ed and Devam\u00e1ya said to the emperor, \"Your Majesty,\nK\u00e1lar\u00e1tri is always near this opening. She was originally created\nby Vishnu, when the sea was churned for the nectar, in order that\nshe might tear in pieces the chiefs of the D\u00e1navas, who wished to\nsteal that heavenly drink. And now she has been placed here by Siva\nto guard this cave, in order that none may pass it, except those\nbeings like yourself, of whom we spoke before. You are our emperor,\nand you have obtained the jewels, and have passed this cave; so,\nin order to gain the victory, you must worship this goddess, who is\na meet object of worship.\"\n\nIn such words did Dhanavat\u00ed and Devam\u00e1ya address Narav\u00e1hanadatta,\nand so the day waned for him there. And the northern peaks of Kail\u00e1sa\nwere reddened with the evening light, and seemed thus to foreshadow\nthe bloodshed of the approaching battle. The darkness, having gained\npower, obscured the army of that king, as if recollecting its animosity\nagainst him for his recent victory over it in its home the cave;\nan animosity which was still fresh and new. And goblins, vampires,\njackals, and the sisterhood [578] of witches roamed about, as it were\nthe first shoots of the anger of K\u00e1lar\u00e1tri enraged on account of\nNarav\u00e1hanadatta having omitted to worship her. And in a moment the\nwhole army of Narav\u00e1hanadatta became insensible, as if with sleep,\nbut he alone remained in full possession of his faculties. Then the\nemperor perceived that this was a display of power on the part of\nK\u00e1lar\u00e1tri, angry because she had not been worshipped, and be proceeded\nto worship her with flowers of speech.\n\n\"Thou art the power of life, animating all creatures, of loving\nnature, skilful in directing the discus to the head of thy foes;\nthee I adore. Hail! thou, that under the form of Durg\u00e1 dost console\nthe world with thy trident and other weapons streaming with the\ndrops of blood flowing from the throat of the slain Mahisha. Thou\nart victorious dancing with a skull full of the blood of Ruru in thy\nagitated hand, as if thou wast holding the vessel of security of the\nthree worlds. Goddess beloved of Siva, with uplifted eyes, though\nthy name means the night of doom, still, with skull surmounted by a\nburning candle, and with a skull in thy hand, thou dost shine as if\nwith the sun and moon.\"\n\nThough he praised K\u00e1lar\u00e1tri in these words, she was not propitiated,\nand then he made up his mind to appease her by the sacrifice of\nhis head; and he drew his sword for that purpose. Then the goddess\nsaid to him, \"Do not act rashly my son. Lo! I have been won over by\nthee, thou hero. Let this thy army be as it was before, and be thou\nvictorious!\" And immediately his army awoke as it were from sleep. Then\nhis wives, and his companions, and all the Vidy\u00e1dharas praised the\nmight of that emperor. And the hero, having eaten and drunk and\nperformed the necessary duties, spent that night, which seemed as\nlong as if it consisted of a hundred watches instead of three.\n\nAnd the next morning he worshipped K\u00e1lar\u00e1tri, and marched thence to\nengage Dh\u00famasikha, who had barred his further advance with an army\nof Vidy\u00e1dharas. Then the emperor had a fight with that king, who was\nthe principal champion of Mandaradeva, of such a desperate character,\nthat the air was full of swords, the earth covered with the heads of\nwarriors, and the only speech heard was the terrible cry of heroes\nshouting, \"Slay! slay!\" Then the emperor took Dh\u00famasikha captive\nin that battle by force, and afterwards treated him with deference;\nand made him submit to his sway. And he quartered his army that night\nin his city, and the host seemed like fuel consumed with fire, as it\nhad seen the extinction of Dh\u00famasikha's [579] pride.\n\nAnd the next day, hearing from the scouts that Mandaradeva, having\nfound out what had taken place, was advancing to meet him in fight,\nNarav\u00e1hanadatta marched out against him with the chiefs of the\nVidy\u00e1dharas, determined to conquer him. And after he had gone\nsome distance, he beheld in front of him the army of Mandaradeva,\naccompanied by many kings, attacking in order of battle. Then\nNarav\u00e1hanadatta, with the allied kings at his side, drew up his forces\nin an arrangement fitted to encounter the formation of his enemies,\nand fell upon his army.\n\nThen a battle took place between those two armies, which imitated\nthe disturbed flood of the ocean overflowing its banks at the day of\ndoom. On one side were fighting Chandasinha and other great champions,\nand on the other K\u00e1nchanadanshtra and other mighty kings. And\nthe battle waxed sore, resembling the rising of the wind at the\nday of doom, for it made the three worlds tremble, and shook the\nmountains. Mount Kail\u00e1sa, red on one side with the blood of heroes,\nas with saffron paint, and on the other of ashy whiteness, resembled\nthe husband of Gaur\u00ed. That great battle was truly the day of doom\nfor heroes, being grimly illuminated by innumerable orbs of the sun\narisen in flashing sword-blades. Such was the battle that even N\u00e1rada\nand other heavenly beings, who came to gaze at it, were astonished,\nthough they had witnessed the fights between the gods and the Asuras.\n\nIn this fight, which was thus terrible, K\u00e1nchanadanshtra rushed on\nChandasinha, and smote him on the head with a formidable mace. When\nDhanavat\u00ed saw that her son had fallen under the stroke of the mace,\nshe cursed and paralysed both armies by means of her magic power. And\nNarav\u00e1hanadatta on one side, in virtue of his imperial might, [580]\nand on the other side, Mandaradeva were the only two that remained\nconscious. Then even the gods in the air fled in all directions,\nseeing that Dhanavat\u00ed, if angry, had power to destroy a world.\n\nBut Mandaradeva, seeing that the emperor Narav\u00e1hanadatta was left\nalone, ran upon him with uplifted weapon. Narav\u00e1hanadatta, for his\npart, descended from his chariot, and drawing the sword which was one\nof his imperial jewels, quickly met him. Then Mandaradeva, wishing\nto gain the victory by magic arts, assumed by his science the form\nof a furious elephant maddened with passion. When Narav\u00e1hanadatta,\nwho was endowed with pre-eminent skill in magic, saw this, he assumed\nby his supernatural power the form of a lion. Then Mandaradeva flung\noff the body of an elephant, and Narav\u00e1hanadatta abandoned that of a\nlion, and fought with him openly in his own shape. [581] Armed with\nsabres, and skilled in every elaborate trick and attitude of fence,\nthey appeared like two actors skilled in gesticulation, engaged\nin acting a pantomime. Then Narav\u00e1hanadatta by a dexterous sleight\nforced from the grasp of Mandaradeva his sword the material symbol of\nvictory. And Mandaradeva, having been thus deprived of his sword, drew\nhis dagger, but the emperor quickly made him relinquish that in the\nsame way. Then Mandaradeva, being disarmed, began to wrestle with the\nemperor, but he seized him by the ancles, and laid him on the earth.\n\nAnd then the sovereign set his foot on his enemy's breast, and laying\nhold of his hair, was preparing to cut off his head with his sword,\nwhen the maiden Mandaradev\u00ed, the sister of Mandaradeva, rushed up to\nhim, and in order to prevent him, said, \"When I saw you long ago in\nthe wood of ascetics, I marked you for my future husband, so do not, my\nsovereign, kill this brother of mine, who is your brother-in-law.\" When\nthe resolute king had been thus addressed by that fair-eyed one,\nhe let go Mandaradeva, who was ashamed at having been conquered, and\nsaid to him, \"I set you at liberty; do not be ashamed on that account,\nVidy\u00e1dhara chief; victory and defeat in war bestow themselves on heroes\nwith varying caprice.\" When the king said this, Mandaradeva answered\nhim, \"Of what profit is my life to me, now that I have been saved in\nwar by a woman? So I will go to my father in the wood where he is,\nand perform asceticism; you have been appointed emperor over both\ndivisions of our territory here. Indeed this occurrence was foretold\nlong ago to me by my father as sure to take place.\" When the proud\nhero had said this, he repaired to his father in the grove of ascetics.\n\nThen the gods, that were present in the air on that occasion,\nexclaimed, \"Bravo! great emperor, you have completely conquered your\nenemies, and obtained sovereign sway.\" When Mandaradeva had gone,\nDhanavat\u00ed by her power restored her own son and both armies with him\nto consciousness. So Narav\u00e1hanadatta's followers, ministers and all,\narose as it were from sleep, and finding out that the foe had been\nconquered, congratulated Narav\u00e1hanadatta their victorious master. And\nthe kings of Mandaradeva's party, K\u00e1nchanadanshtra, Asokaka, Rakt\u00e1ksha,\nK\u00e1lajihva and the others, submitted to the sway of Narav\u00e1hanadatta. And\nChandasinha, when he saw K\u00e1nchanadanshtra, remembered the blow of the\nmace, which he received from him in fight, and was wroth with him,\nbrandishing his good sword firmly grasped in his strong hand. But\nDhanavat\u00ed said to him, \"Enough of wrath, my beloved son! Who could\nconquer you in the van of battle? But I myself produced that momentary\nglamour, in order to prevent the destruction of both armies.\" With\nthese words she pacified her son and made him cease from wrath, and\nshe delighted the whole army and the emperor Narav\u00e1hanadatta [582]\nby her magic skill. And Narav\u00e1hanadatta was exceedingly joyful, having\nobtained the sovereignty of the north side of Kail\u00e1sa, the mountain of\nSiva, a territory now free from the scourge of war, since the heroes,\nwho opposed him, had been conquered, or had submitted, or fled, and\nthat too with all his friends unharmed. Then shrill kettle-drums were\nbeaten for the great festival of his victory over his enemies, [583]\nand the triumphant monarch, accompanied by his wives and ministers,\nand girt with mighty kings, spent that day, which was honoured by the\nsplendid dances and songs of the Vidy\u00e1dhara ladies, in drinking wine,\nas it were the fiery valour of his enemies.\n\n\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER CX.\n\n\nThen, the next day, the emperor Narav\u00e1hanadatta, with his army, left\nthat plateau of Kail\u00e1sa, and by the advice of king K\u00e1nchanadanshtra,\nwho shewed him the way, went to that city of Mandaradeva named\nVimala. And he reached that city, which was adorned with lofty ramparts\nof gold, and looked like mount Sumeru come to adore Kail\u00e1sa, and\nentering it, found that it resembled the sea in all but the presence\nof water, being very deep, characterized by unfailing prosperity,\n[584] and an inexhaustible mine of jewels.\n\nAnd as the emperor was sitting in the hall of audience in that city\nsurrounded by Vidy\u00e1dhara kings, an old woman of the royal harem\ncame and said to him, \"Since Mandaradeva has gone to the forest,\nhaving been conquered by you, his wives desire to enter the fire;\nyour Highness has now been informed and will decide upon the proper\ncourse.\" When this had been announced, the emperor sent those kings\nto them, and dissuaded them from suicide, and bestowed upon them\ndwelling-houses and other gifts, treating them like sisters. By that\nstep he caused the whole race of the Vidy\u00e1dhara chiefs to be bound\nto him with bonds of affection.\n\nAnd then the grateful monarch anointed Amitagati, who had been\ndesignated beforehand by Siva, king over the realm of Mandaradeva,\nsince he was loyal and could be trusted not to fall away, and he\nplaced under him the princes who had followed Mandaradeva, namely,\nK\u00e1nchanadanshtra and his fellows. And he diverted himself there in\nsplendid gardens for seven days, being caressed by the fortune of\nthe northern side of Kail\u00e1sa, as by a newly-married bride.\n\nAnd then, though he had acquired the imperial authority over the\nVidy\u00e1dhara kings of both divisions, he began to long for more. He\nset out, though his ministers tried to dissuade him, to conquer the\ninaccessible fields of Meru situated in the northern region, the\nhome of the gods. For high-spirited men, though abundantly loaded\nwith possessions, cannot rest without acquiring something still more\nglorious, advancing like blazing forest-fires.\n\nThen the hermit N\u00e1rada came and said to the king, \"Prince, what\nmeans this striving after things out of your reach, though you know\npolicy? For one who out of overweening self-confidence attempts\nthe impossible, is disgraced like R\u00e1vana, who, in his pride,\nendeavoured to uproot Kail\u00e1sa. For even the sun and moon find Meru\nhard to overstep; moreover, Siva has not bestowed on you the sway\nover the gods, but the sway over the Vidy\u00e1dharas. You have already\nconquered the Him\u00e1layas, the home of the Vidy\u00e1dharas, so what need\nhave you of Meru the home of the gods? Dismiss from your mind this\nchimerical scheme. Moreover, if you desire good fortune, you must go\nand visit the father of Mandaradeva, Akampana by name, in the forest,\nwhere he is residing.\" When the hermit N\u00e1rada had said this, the\nemperor consented to do as he directed, and so he took leave of him,\nand returned whence he came.\n\nAnd the politic emperor, having been advised by N\u00e1rada to relinquish\nhis enterprise, [585] and remembering the destruction of Rishabha, of\nwhich he had heard from Devam\u00e1ya, and having reflected over the matter\nin his own mind, gave up the idea, and went to visit the kingly sage\nAkampana in the grove of ascetics. And when he reached that ascetic\ngrove, it was crowded with great sages, engaged in contemplation,\nsitting in the posture called padm\u00e1sana, and so resembled the world\nof Brahm\u00e1. There he saw that aged Akampana, wearing matted hair and\na deerskin, looking like a great tree resorted to by hermits. So he\nwent and worshipped the feet of that ascetic, and that royal sage\nwelcomed him and said to him, \"You have done well, king, in coming\nto this hermitage, for if you had passed on neglectful of it, these\nhermits here would have cursed you.\"\n\nWhile the royal sage was saying this to the emperor, Mandaradeva,\nwho was staying in that grove of ascetics, having taken the vows of a\nhermit, came to his father, accompanied by his sister, the princess\nMandaradev\u00ed. And Narav\u00e1hanadatta, when he saw him, embraced him,\nfor it is fitting that truly brave men should show kindness to foes\nwhen conquered and pacified.\n\nThen the royal sage Akampana, seeing Mandaradev\u00ed come with her brother,\nsaid to that emperor, \"Here, king, is my daughter, Mandaradev\u00ed by name;\nand a heavenly voice said that she should be the consort of an emperor;\nso marry her, emperor, for I give her to you.\"\n\nWhen the royal sage said this, his daughter said, \"I have four\ncompanions here, of like age, noble maidens; one is a maiden called\nKanakavat\u00ed, the daughter of K\u00e1nchanadanshtra; the second is the\ndaughter of K\u00e1lajihva, K\u00e1lavat\u00ed by name; the third is the offspring of\nD\u00edrghadanshtra named Srut\u00e1; the fourth is the daughter of the king of\nPaundra, named Ambaraprabh\u00e1; and I am the fifth of those Vidy\u00e1dhara\nmaidens. We five, when roaming about, saw previously in a grove of\nascetics this my destined husband, and setting our hearts on him,\nwe made an agreement together that we would all, at one and the same\ntime, take him for our husband, but that, if any single one married\nhim alone, the others should enter the fire, and lay the guilt at her\ndoor. So it is not fitting that I should marry without those friends\nof mine; for how could persons like myself commit the outrageous\ncrime of breaking plighted faith?\"\n\nWhen that self-possessed lady had said this, her father Akampana\nsummoned those four Vidy\u00e1dhara chiefs, who were the fathers of the\nfour maidens, and told them exactly what had occurred, and they\nimmediately thought themselves very fortunate, and brought those\nmaidens their daughters. Then Narav\u00e1hanadatta married the five in\norder, beginning with Mandaradev\u00ed. And he remained there with them\nmany days, worshipping the hermits three times a day, at dawn, noon,\nand sunset, while his attendants held high festival.\n\nAnd Akampana said to him, \"King, you must now go to the Rishabha\nmountain for the great ceremony of your coronation,\" and thereupon\nDevam\u00e1ya also said to him, \"King, you must indeed do so, for the\nemperors of old time, Rishabhaka and others, were anointed [586]\non that mountain.\" When Harisikha heard that, he spoke in favour of\nNarav\u00e1hanadatta's being anointed emperor on the splendid mountain of\nMandara, which was near; but then a voice came from heaven, \"King,\nall former emperors went through the ceremony of their coronation\non the Rishabha mountain; do you also go there, for it is a holy\nplace.\" [587] When the heavenly voice said this, Narav\u00e1hanadatta bowed\nbefore the hermits and Akampana, and set out thence for that mountain\non an auspicious day. And he reached that northern opening of the\ncave of Tris\u00edrsha, with many great chiefs of the Vidy\u00e1dharas headed by\nAmitagati. There the emperor worshipped that K\u00e1lar\u00e1tri, and entered the\ncave by that opening, and came out by the southern opening. And after\nhe had come out with his forces, he rested, at Devam\u00e1ya's request,\nin his palace for that day, together with his attendants.\n\nAnd while he was there, he reflected that Siva was near him on that\nmountain of Kail\u00e1sa, and he went of his own accord, with Gomukha,\nto visit the god. And when he reached his hermitage, he saw and\nadored the cow Surabhi and the sacred bull, and approached Nandin\nthe door-keeper. And Nandin was pleased when the king circumambulated\nhim, and opened the door to him, and then he entered and beheld Siva\naccompanied by Dev\u00ed. The god diffused gladness afar by the streams\nof rays from the moon on his crest, that seemed to dart hither and\nthither as if conquered by the splendour of Gaur\u00ed's face. He was\nplaying with his beloved with dice, that, like eyes, were allowed at\nwill to pursue their objects independently,--that, though under his\ncommand, were ever restlessly rolling. And when Narav\u00e1hanadatta saw\nthat giver of boons, and that goddess the daughter of the Mountain,\nhe fell at their feet, and circumambulated them three times. The\ngod said to him, \"It is well, my son, that thou hast come hither;\nfor otherwise thou mightest have suffered loss. But now all thy magic\npowers shall ever be unfailing. So go thou to the Rishabha mountain,\nthat holy place, and obtain there at once in fitting time thy great\ninauguration.\" When the emperor had received this command from\nthe god, he hastened to obey it, exclaiming \"I will do thy will,\"\nand bowed before him and his wife, and returned to that palace of\nDevam\u00e1ya. The queen Madanamanchuk\u00e1 playfully said to him on his return,\n\"Where have you been, my husband? You appear to be pleased. Have you\nmanaged to pick up here another set of five maidens?\" When she made\nuse of these playful taunts, the prince gladdened her by telling her\nthe real state of affairs, and remained with her in happiness.\n\nAnd the next day, Narav\u00e1hanadatta, accompanied by a host of Gandharvas\nand Vidy\u00e1dharas, making, as it were, a second sun in the heavens\nby his glorious presence, ascended his splendid car, with his wives\nand his ministers, and made for the Rishabha mountain. And when he\nreached that heavenly hill, the trees, like hermits, with their\ncreepers like matted hair waving in the wind, shed their flowers\nbefore him by way of a respectful offering. And there various kings\nof the Vidy\u00e1dharas brought the preparations for the coronation on a\nscale suited to the might of their master. And the Vidy\u00e1dharas came\nto his coronation from all quarters, with presents in their hands,\nall loyal, terrified, vanquished or respectful.\n\nThen the Vidy\u00e1dharas said to him, \"Tell us, king; who is to occupy\nhalf your throne, and to be anointed as queen consort?\" The king\nanswered, \"The queen Madanamanchuk\u00e1 is to be anointed together with\nme;\" and this at once set the Vidy\u00e1dharas thinking. Then a bodiless\nvoice came from the air, \"Hearken, Vidy\u00e1dharas! This Madanamanchuk\u00e1\nis not a mortal; for she is Rati become incarnate, in order to be\nthe wife of this your master, who is the god of Love. She was not\nborn to Madanavega by Kalingasen\u00e1, but, being of superhuman origin,\nwas immediately substituted by the gods, who employed their deluding\npower, for the infant to which Kalingasen\u00e1 gave birth. [588] But the\ninfant to which she gave birth, was named Ityaka, and remained at the\nside of Madanavega, having been assigned to him by the Creator. So\nthis Madanamanchuk\u00e1 is worthy to share the throne of her husband, for\nSiva long ago granted her this honour as a boon, having been pleased\nwith her asceticism.\" When the voice had said so much, it ceased,\nand the Vidy\u00e1dharas were pleased, and praised the queen Madanamanchuk\u00e1.\n\nThen, on an auspicious day, the great hermits sprinkled with water\nfrom many sacred bathing-places, brought in pitchers of gold,\nNarav\u00e1hanadatta seated on the imperial throne, while Madanamanchuk\u00e1\noccupied the left half of it. And during the ceremony S\u00e1ntisoma the\ndomestic chaplain was busily occupied, and the assembled cymbals of\nthe heavenly nymphs resounded aloud, and the murmur made by Br\u00e1hmans\nreciting prayers filled the ten points of the sky. Strange to say! when\nthe water, made more purifying by holy texts, fell on his head, the\nsecret defilement [589] of enmity was washed out from the minds of his\nfoes. The goddess of fortune seemed to accompany in visible presence\nthat water of consecration, under the impression that it came from\nthe sea, and so was a connexion of her own, and to join with it in\ncovering the body of that king. A series of flower-garlands flung by\nthe hands of the nymphs of heaven, falling on him, appeared like the\nGanges spontaneously descending on his body with a full stream. Adorned\nwith red unguent and valour, he appeared like the sun in the glory\nof rising, washed in the water of the sea. [590]\n\nAnd crowned with a garland of mand\u00e1ra flowers, resplendent with\nglorious raiment and ornaments, having donned a heavenly diadem,\nhe wore the majesty of Indra. And queen Madanamanchuk\u00e1, having been\nalso anointed, glittered with heavenly ornaments at his side, like\nSach\u00ed at the side of Indra.\n\nAnd that day, though drums sounded like clouds, and flowers fell\nfrom the sky like rain, and though it was full [591] of heavenly\nnymphs like lightning gleams, was, strange to say, a fair one. On that\noccasion, in the city of the chief of mountains, not only did beautiful\nVidy\u00e1dhara ladies dance, but creepers shaken by the wind danced also;\nand when cymbals were struck by minstrels at that great festival,\nthe mountain seemed to send forth responsive strains from its echoing\ncaves; and covered all over with Vidy\u00e1dharas moving about intoxicated\nwith the liquor of heavenly cordials, it seemed to be itself reeling\nwith wine; and Indra, in his chariot, having beheld the splendour of\nthe coronation which has now been described, felt his pride in his\nown altogether dashed.\n\nNarav\u00e1hanadatta, having thus obtained his long-desired inauguration as\nemperor, thought with yearning of his father. And having at once taken\ncounsel with Gomukha and his other ministers, the monarch summoned\nV\u00e1yupatha and said to him, \"Go and say to my father, 'Narav\u00e1hanadatta\nthinks of you with exceeding longing,' and tell him all that has\nhappened, and bring him here, and bring his queens and his ministers\ntoo, addressing the same invitation to them.\" When V\u00e1yupatha heard\nthis, he said \"I will do so,\" and made for Kaus\u00e1mb\u00ed through the air.\n\nAnd he reached that city in a moment, beheld with fear and\nastonishment by the citizens, as he was encircled by seventy million\nVidy\u00e1dharas. And he had an interview with Udayana king of Vatsa, with\nhis ministers and wives, and the king received him with appropriate\ncourtesy. And the Vidy\u00e1dhara prince sat down and asked the king\nabout his health, and said to him, while all present looked at him\nwith curiosity, \"Your son Narav\u00e1hanadatta, having propitiated Siva,\nand beheld him face to face, and having obtained from him sciences\ndifficult for his enemies to conquer, has slain M\u00e1nasavega and\nGaur\u00edmunda in the southern division of the Vidy\u00e1dhara territory,\nand conquered Mandaradeva who was lord in the northern division, and\nhas obtained [592] the high dignity of emperor over all the kings of\nthe Vidy\u00e1dharas in both divisions, who acknowledge his authority; and\nhas now gone through his solemn coronation on the Rishabha mountain,\nand is thinking, king, with eager yearning of you and your queens and\nministers. And I have been sent by him, so come at once; for fortunate\nare those who live to see their offspring elevate their race.\"\n\nWhen the king of Vatsa heard V\u00e1yupatha say this, being full of\nlonging for his son, he seemed like a peacock that rejoices when\nit hears the roaring of the rain-clouds. So he accepted V\u00e1yupatha's\ninvitation, and immediately mounted a palanquin with him, and by the\nmight of his sciences travelled through the air, accompanied by his\nwives and ministers, and reached that great heavenly mountain called\nRishabha. And there he saw his son on a heavenly throne, in the midst\nof the Vidy\u00e1dhara kings, accompanied by many wives; resembling the\nmoon reclining on the top of the eastern mountain, surrounded by the\nplanetary host, and attended by a company of many stars. To the king\nthe sight of his son in all this splendour was a shower of nectar,\nand when he was bedewed with it, his heart swelled with joy, and he\nclosely resembled the sea when the moon rises.\n\nNarav\u00e1hanadatta, for his part, beholding that father of his after a\nlong separation, rose up hurriedly and eager, and went to meet him\nwith his train. And then his father embraced him, and folded him to\nhis bosom, and he went through a second sprinkling, [593] being bathed\nin a flood of his father's tears of joy. And the queen V\u00e1savadatt\u00e1\nlong embraced her son, and bathed him with the milk that flowed from\nher breasts at beholding him, so that he remembered his childhood. And\nPadm\u00e1vat\u00ed, and Yaugandhar\u00e1yana, and the rest of his father's ministers,\nand his uncle Gop\u00e1laka, beholding him after a long interval, drank in\nwith thirsty eyes his ambrosial frame, like partridges; while the king\ntreated them with the honour which they deserved. And Kalingasen\u00e1,\nbeholding her son-in-law and also her daughter, felt as if the whole\nworld was too narrow for her, much less could her own limbs contain her\nswelling heart. And Yaugandhar\u00e1yana and the other ministers, beholding\ntheir sons, Harisikha and the others, on whom celestial powers had been\nbestowed by the favour of their sovereign, congratulated them. [594]\n\nAnd queen Madanamanchuk\u00e1 wearing heavenly ornaments, with Ratnaprabh\u00e1,\nAlank\u00e1ravat\u00ed, Lalitalochan\u00e1, Karp\u00farik\u00e1, Saktiyasas and Bhag\u00edrathayasas,\nand the sister of Ruchiradeva, who bore a heavenly form, and Vegavat\u00ed,\nand Ajin\u00e1vat\u00ed with Gandharvadatt\u00e1, and Prabh\u00e1vat\u00ed and \u00c1tmanik\u00e1 and\nV\u00e1yuvegayasas, and her four beautiful friends, headed by K\u00e1lik\u00e1,\nand those five other heavenly nymphs, of whom Mandaradev\u00ed was the\nchief,--all these wives of the emperor Narav\u00e1hanadatta bowed before the\nfeet of their father-in-law the king of Vatsa, and also of V\u00e1savadatt\u00e1\nand Padm\u00e1vat\u00ed, and they in their delight loaded them with blessings,\nas was fitting.\n\nAnd when the king of Vatsa and his wives had occupied seats suited to\ntheir dignity, Narav\u00e1hanadatta ascended his lofty throne. And the queen\nV\u00e1savadatt\u00e1 was delighted to see those various new daughters-in-law,\nand asked their names and lineage. And the king of Vatsa and his\nsuite, beholding the godlike splendour of Narav\u00e1hanadatta, came to\nthe conclusion that they had not been born in vain.\n\nAnd in the midst of this great rejoicing [595] at the reunion\nof relations, the brave warder Ruchideva entered and said \"The\nbanqueting-hall is ready, so be pleased to come there.\" When they\nheard it, they all went to that splendid banqueting-hall. It was\nfull of goblets made of various jewels, which looked like so many\nexpanded lotuses, and strewn with many flowers, so that it resembled\na lotus-bed in a garden; and it was crowded with ladies with jugs full\nof intoxicating liquor, who made it flash like the nectar appearing in\nthe arms of Garuda. There they drank wine that snaps those fetters of\nshame that bind the ladies of the harem; wine, the essence of Love's\nlife, the ally of merriment. Their faces, expanded and red with wine,\nshone like the lotuses in the lakes, expanded and red with the rays\nof the rising sun. And the goblets of the rosy hue of the lotus,\nfinding themselves surpassed by the lips of the queens, and seeming\nterrified at touching them, hid with their hue the wine.\n\nThen the queens of Narav\u00e1hanadatta began to show signs of intoxication,\nwith their contracted eye-brows and fiery eyes, and the period of\nquarrelling seemed to be setting in; [596] nevertheless they went\nthence in order to the hall [597] of feasting, which was attractive\nwith its various viands provided by the power of magic. It was\nstrewed with coverlets, abounding in dishes, and hung with curtains\nand screens, full of all kinds of delicacies and enjoyments, and it\nlooked like the dancing-ground of the goddesses of good fortune.\n\nThere they took their meal, and the sun having retired to rest\nwith the twilight on the western mountain, they reposed in sleeping\npavilions. And Narav\u00e1hanadatta, dividing himself by his science into\nmany forms, was present in the pavilions of all the queens. But in his\ntrue personality he enjoyed the society of his beloved Madanamanchuk\u00e1,\nwho resembled the night in being moon-faced, having eyes twinkling\nlike stars, and being full of revelry. And the king of Vatsa too, and\nhis train, spent that night in heavenly enjoyments, seeming as if they\nhad been born again without changing their bodies. And in the morning\nall woke up, and delighted themselves in the same way with various\nenjoyments in splendid gardens and pavilions produced by magic power.\n\nThen, after they had spent many days in various amusements, the king of\nVatsa, wishing to return to his own city, went full of affection to his\nson the king of all the Vidy\u00e1dharas, who bowed humbly before him, and\nsaid to him, \"My son, who, that has sense, can help appreciating these\nheavenly enjoyments? But the love of dwelling in one's mother-country\nnaturally draws every man; [598] so I mean to return to my own city;\nbut do you enjoy this fortune of Vidy\u00e1dhara royalty, for these regions\nsuit you as being half god and half man. However, you must summon me\nagain some time, when a suitable occasion presents itself; for this\nis the fruit of this birth of mine, that I behold this beautiful moon\nof your countenance, full of nectar worthy of being drunk in with the\neyes, and that I have the delight of seeing your heavenly splendour.\n\nWhen king Narav\u00e1hanadatta heard this sincere speech of his father the\nking of Vatsa, he quickly summoned Devam\u00e1ya the Vidy\u00e1dhara prince, and\nsaid to him in a voice half-choked with a weight of tears, \"My father\nis returning to his own capital with my mothers, and his ministers,\nand the rest of his train, so send on in front of him a full thousand\nbh\u00e1ras [599] of gold and jewels, and employ a thousand Vidy\u00e1dhara\nserfs to carry it.\" When Devam\u00e1ya had received this order given in\nkind tones by his master, he bowed and said, \"Bestower of honour,\nI will go in person with my attendants to Kaus\u00e1mb\u00ed to perform this\nduty.\" Then the emperor sent V\u00e1yupatha and Devam\u00e1ya to attend on their\njourney his father and his followers, whom he honoured with presents\nof raiment and ornaments. Then the king of Vatsa and his suite mounted\na heavenly chariot, and he went to his own city, after making his\nson, who followed him a long way, turn back. And queen V\u00e1savadatt\u00e1,\nwhose longing regret rose at that moment with hundred-fold force,\nturned back her dutiful son with tears, and looking back at him, with\ndifficulty tore herself away. And Narav\u00e1hanadatta, who, accompanied by\nhis ministers, had followed his parents and elders, returned to that\nmountain of Rishabha with his eyes blinded with tears. There that\nemperor remained with his ministers, Gomukha and the rest, who had\ngrown up with him from his youth, and with hosts of Vidy\u00e1dhara kings,\nwith his wives, and with Madanamanchuk\u00e1 at his side, in the perpetual\nenjoyment of heavenly pleasures, and he was ever free from satiety.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nBOOK XVI.\n\n\nCHAPTER CXI.\n\n\nMay Ganesa protect you, the ornamental streaks of vermilion on whose\ncheeks fly up in the dance, and look like the fiery might of obstacles\nswallowed and disgorged by him.\n\n\n\nWhile Narav\u00e1hanadatta was thus living on that Rishabha mountain with\nhis wives and his ministers, and was enjoying the splendid fortune\nof emperor over the kings of the Vidy\u00e1dharas, which he had obtained,\nonce on a time spring came to increase his happiness. After long\nintermission the light of the moon was beautifully clear, and the\nearth, enfolded by the young fresh grass, shewed its joy by sweating\ndewy drops, and the forest trees, closely embraced again and again\nby the winds of the Malaya mountain, were all trembling, bristling\nwith thorns, and full of sap. [600] The warder of Cupid, the cuckoo,\nbeholding the stalk of the mango-tree, with his note seemed to forbid\nthe pride of coy damsels; and rows of bees fell with a loud hum from\nthe flowery creepers, like showers of arrows shot from the bow of\nthe great warrior Eros. And Narav\u00e1hanadatta's ministers, Gomukha and\nthe others, beholding at that time this activity of Spring, said to\nNarav\u00e1hanadatta; \"See, king, this mountain of Rishabha is altogether\nchanged, and is now a mountain of flowers, since the dense lines of\nforest with which it is covered, have their blossoms full-blown with\nspring. Behold, king, the creepers, which, with their flowers striking\nagainst one another, seem to be playing the castanets; and with the\nhumming of their bees, to be singing, as they are swayed to and fro by\nthe wind; while the pollen, that covers them, makes them appear to be\ncrowned with garlands; and the garden made ready by spring, in which\nthey are, is like the Court of Cupid. Look at this mango shoot with\nits garland of bees; it looks like the bow of the god of love with\nloosened string, as he reposes after conquering the world. So come,\nlet us go and enjoy this festival of spring on the bank of the river\nMand\u00e1kin\u00ed where the gardens are so splendid.\"\n\nWhen Narav\u00e1hanadatta had been thus exhorted by his ministers, he went\nwith the ladies of his harem to the bank of the Mand\u00e1kin\u00ed. And there\nhe diverted himself in a garden resounding with the song of many\nbirds, adorned with cardamom-trees, clove-trees, vakulas, asokas,\nand mand\u00e1ras. And he sat down on a broad slab of moonstone, placing\nqueen Madanamanchuk\u00e1 at his left hand, accompanied by the rest of\nhis harem, and attended by various princes of the Vidy\u00e1dharas, of\nwhom Chandasinha and Amitagati were the chief; and while drinking\nwine and talking on various subjects, the sovereign, having observed\nthe beauty of the season, said to his ministers, \"The southern breeze\nis gentle and soft to the feel; the horizon is clear; the gardens in\nevery corner are full of flowers and fragrant; sweet are the strains\nof the cuckoo, and the joys of the banquet of wine; what pleasure\nis wanting in the spring? Still, separation from one's beloved is\nduring that season hard to bear. Even animals [601] find separation\nfrom their mates in the spring a severe affliction. For instance,\nbehold this hen-cuckoo here distressed with separation! For she has\nbeen long searching for her beloved, that has disappeared from her\ngaze, with plaintive cries, and not being able to find him, she is\nnow cowering on a mango, mute and like one dead.\"\n\nWhen the king had said this, his minister Gomukha said to him, \"It is\ntrue, all creatures find separation hard to bear at this time; and\nnow listen, king; I will tell you in illustration of this something\nthat happened in Sr\u00e1vast\u00ed.\"\n\n\n\nStory of the devoted couple, S\u00farasena and Sushen\u00e1. [602]\n\nIn that town there dwelt a R\u00e1jp\u00fat, who was in the service of the\nmonarch, and lived on the proceeds of a village. His name was S\u00farasena,\nand he had a wife named Sushen\u00e1, who was a native of M\u00e1lava. She was in\nevery respect well suited to him, and he loved her more than life. One\nday the king summoned him, and he was about to set out for his camp,\nwhen his loving wife said to him, \"My husband, you ought not to go off\nand leave me alone; for I shall not be able to exist here for a moment\nwithout you.\" When S\u00farasena's wife said this to him, he replied, \"How\ncan I help going, when the king summons me? Do you not understand my\nposition, fair one? You see, I am a R\u00e1jp\u00fat, and a servant, dependent\non another for my subsistence.\" When his wife heard this, she said\nto him with tears in her eyes, \"If you must of necessity go, I shall\nmanage to endure it somehow, if you return not one day later than the\ncommencement of spring.\" Having heard this, he at last said to her,\n\"Agreed, my dear! I will return on the first day of the month Chaitra,\neven if I have to leave my duty.\"\n\nWhen he said this, his wife was at last induced to let him go;\nand so S\u00farasena went to attend on the king in his camp. And his\nwife remained at home, counting the days in eager expectation,\nlooking for the joyful day on which spring begins, on which her\nhusband was to return. At last, in the course of time, that day of\nthe spring-festival arrived, resonant with the songs of cuckoos,\nthat seemed like spells to summon the god of love. The humming of\nbees drunk with the fragrance of flowers, fell on the ear, like the\ntwanging of Cupid's bow as he strung it.\n\nOn that day S\u00farasena's wife Sushen\u00e1 said to herself, \"Here is that\nspring-festival arrived; my beloved will, without fail, return\nto-day. So she bathed, and adorned herself, and worshipped the\ngod of Love, and remained eagerly awaiting his arrival. But the\nday came to an end and her husband did not return, and during the\ncourse of that night she was grievously afflicted by despondency,\nand said to herself, \"The hour of my death has come, but my husband\nhas not returned; for those whose souls are exclusively devoted to\nthe service of another do not care for their own families.\" While she\nwas making these reflections, with her heart fixed upon her husband,\nher breath left her body, as if consumed by the forest-fire of love.\n\nIn the meanwhile S\u00farasena, eager to behold his wife, and true\nto the appointed day, got himself, though with great difficulty,\nrelieved from attendance on the king, and mounting a swift camel,\naccomplished a long journey, and arriving in the last watch of the\nnight, reached his own house. There he beheld that wife of his lying\ndead, with all her ornaments on her, looking like a creeper, with\nits flowers full blown, rooted up by the wind. When he saw her, he\nwas beside himself, and he took her up in his arms, and the bereaved\nhusband's life immediately left his body in an outburst of lamentation.\n\nBut when their family goddess Chand\u00ed, the bestower of boons, saw\nthat that couple had met their death in this way, she restored them\nto life out of compassion. And after breath had returned to them,\nhaving each had a proof of the other's affection, they continued\ninseparable for the rest of their lives.\n\n\"Thus, in the season of spring, the fire of separation, fanned by the\nwind from the Malaya mountain, is intolerable to all creatures.\" When\nGomukha had told this tale, Narav\u00e1hanadatta, thinking over it,\nsuddenly became despondent. The fact is, in magnanimous men, the\nspirits, by being elevated or depressed, indicate beforehand the\napproach of good or evil fortune. [603]\n\nThen the day came to an end, and the sovereign performed his evening\nworship, and went to his bedroom, and got into bed, and reposed\nthere. But in a dream at the end of the night [604] he saw his\nfather being dragged away by a black female towards the southern\nquarter. The moment he had seen this, he woke up, and suspecting\nthat some calamity might have befallen his father, he thought upon\nthe science named Prajnapti, who thereupon presented herself, and\nhe addressed this question to her, \"Tell me, how has my father the\nking of Vatsa been going on? For I am alarmed about him on account\nof a sight which I saw in an evil dream.\" When he said this to the\nscience that had manifested herself in bodily form, she said to him,\n\"Hear what has happened to your father the king of Vatsa.\n\n\"When he was in Kaus\u00e1mb\u00ed, he suddenly heard from a messenger, who had\ncome from Ujjayin\u00ed, that king Chandamah\u00e1sena was dead, and the same\nperson told him that his wife the queen Ang\u00e1ravat\u00ed had burnt herself\nwith his corpse. This so shocked him, that he fell senseless upon the\nground: and when he recovered consciousness, he wept for a long time,\nwith queen V\u00e1savadatt\u00e1 and his courtiers, for his father-in-law and\nmother-in-law who had gone to heaven. But his ministers roused him\nby saying to him, 'In this transient world what is there that hath\npermanence? Moreover you ought not to weep for that king, who has you\nfor a son-in-law, and Gop\u00e1laka for a son, and whose daughter's son is\nNarav\u00e1hanadatta.' When he had been thus admonished and roused from\nhis prostration, he gave the offering of water to his father-in-law\nand mother-in-law.\n\n\"Then that king of Vatsa said, with throat half-choked with tears, to\nhis afflicted brother-in-law Gop\u00e1laka, who remained at his side out\nof affection, [605] 'Rise up, go to Ujjayin\u00ed, and take care of your\nfather's kingdom, for I have heard from a messenger that the people\nare expecting you.' When Gop\u00e1laka heard this, he said, weeping, to\nthe king of Vatsa, 'I cannot bear to leave you and my sister, to go\nto Ujjayin\u00ed. Moreover, I cannot bring myself to endure the sight of\nmy native city, now that my father is not in it. So let P\u00e1laka, my\nyounger brother, be king there with my full consent.' When Gop\u00e1laka\nhad by these words shown his unwillingness to accept the kingdom,\nthe king of Vatsa sent his commander-in-chief Rumanvat to the city of\nUjjayin\u00ed, and had his younger brother-in-law, named P\u00e1laka, crowned\nking of it, with his elder brother's consent.\n\n\"And reflecting on the instability of all things, he became disgusted\nwith the objects of sense, and said to Yangandhar\u00e1yana and his other\nministers, 'In this unreal cycle of mundane existence all objects\nare at the end insipid; and I have ruled my realm, I have enjoyed\npleasures, I have conquered my enemies; I have seen my son in the\npossession of paramount sway over the Vidy\u00e1dharas; and now my allotted\ntime has passed away together with my connections; and old age has\nseized me by the hair to hand me over to death; and wrinkles have\ninvaded my body, as the strong invade the kingdom of a weakling; [606]\nso I will go to mount K\u00e1linjara, and abandoning this perishable body,\nwill there obtain the imperishable mansion of which they speak.' When\nthe ministers had been thus addressed by the king, they thought over\nthe matter; and then they all and queen V\u00e1savadatt\u00e1 said to him with\ncalm equanimity, 'Let it be, king, as it has pleased your highness;\nby your favour we also will try to obtain a high position in the\nnext world.'\n\n\"When they had said this to the king, being like-minded with himself,\nhe formed a deliberate resolution, and said to his elder brother-in-law\nGop\u00e1laka, who was present, 'I look upon you and Narav\u00e1hanadatta\nas equally my sons; so take care of this Kaus\u00e1mb\u00ed, I give you my\nkingdom.' When the king of Vatsa said this to Gop\u00e1laka, he replied,\n'My destination is the same as yours, I cannot bear to leave you.' This\nhe asserted in a persistent manner, being ardently attached to his\nsister; whereupon the king of Vatsa said to him, assuming [607] an\nanger, that he did not feel, 'To-day you have become disobedient,\nso as to affect a hypocritical conformity to my will; and no wonder,\nfor who cares for the command of one who is falling from his place\nof power.' When the king spoke thus roughly to him, Gop\u00e1laka wept,\nwith face fixed on the ground, and though he had determined to go to\nthe forest, he turned back for a moment from his intention.\n\n\"Then the king mounted an elephant, and accompanied by the queens\nV\u00e1savadatt\u00e1 and Padm\u00e1vat\u00ed, set out with his ministers. And when he\nleft Kaus\u00e1mb\u00ed, the citizens followed him, with their wives, children,\nand aged sires, crying aloud and raining a tempest of tears. The king\ncomforted them by saying to them, 'Gop\u00e1laka will take care of you,'\nand so at last he induced them to return, and passed on to mount\nK\u00e1linjara. And he reached it, and went up it, and worshipped Siva,\nand holding in his hand his lyre Ghoshavat\u00ed, that he had loved all\nhis life, and accompanied by his queens that were ever at his side,\nand Yangandhar\u00e1yana and his other ministers, he hurled himself from the\ncliff. And even as they fell, a fiery chariot came and caught up the\nking and his companions, and they went in a blaze of glory to heaven.\"\n\nWhen Narav\u00e1hanadatta heard this from the science, he exclaimed,\n\"Alas! my father!\" and fell senseless on the ground. And when he\nrecovered consciousness, he bewailed his father and mother and his\nfather's ministers, in company with his own ministers, who had lost\ntheir fathers.\n\nBut the chiefs of the Vidy\u00e1dharas and Dhanavat\u00ed admonished him,\nsaying, \"How is it, king, that you are beside yourself, though you\nknow the nature of this versatile world that perishes in a moment,\nand is like the show of a juggler? And how can you lament for your\nparents that are not to be lamented for, as they have done all they\nhad to do on earth; who have seen you their son sole emperor over\nall the Vidy\u00e1dharas?\" When he had been thus admonished, he offered\nwater to his parents, and put another question to that science,\n\"Where is my uncle Gop\u00e1laka now? What did he do?\" Then that science\nwent on to say to the king,\n\n\"When the king of Vatsa had gone to the mountain from which he meant\nto throw himself, Gop\u00e1laka, having lamented for him and his sister,\nand considering all things unstable, remained outside the city, and\nsummoning his brother P\u00e1laka from Ujjayin\u00ed, made over to him that\nkingdom of Kaus\u00e1mb\u00ed also. And then, having seen his younger brother\nestablished in two kingdoms, he went to the hermitage of Kasyapa in\nthe ascetic-grove on the Black Mountain, [608] bent on abandoning the\nworld. And there your uncle Gop\u00e1laka now is, clothed with a dress of\nbark, in the midst of self-mortifying hermits.\"\n\nWhen Narav\u00e1hanadatta heard that, he went in a chariot to the Black\nMountain, with his suite, eager to visit that uncle. There he\nalighted from the sky, surrounded by Vidy\u00e1dhara princes, and beheld\nthat hermitage of the hermit Kasyapa. It seemed to gaze on him with\nmany roaming black antelope like rolling eyes, and to welcome him\nwith the songs of its birds. With the lines of smoke ascending into\nthe sky, where pious men were offering the Agnihotra oblations, it\nseemed to point the way to heaven to the hermits. It was full of many\nmountain-like huge elephants, and resorted to by troops of monkeys\n[609]; and so seemed like a strange sort of P\u00e1t\u00e1la, above ground,\nand free from darkness.\n\nIn the midst of that grove of ascetics, he beheld his uncle surrounded\nby hermits, with long matted locks, clothed in the bark of a tree,\nlooking like an incarnation of patience. And Gop\u00e1laka, when he saw his\nsister's son approach, rose up and embraced him, and pressed him to his\nbosom with tearful eyes. Then they, both of them, lamented their lost\ndear ones with renewed grief; whom will not the fire of grief torture,\nwhen fanned by the blast of a meeting with relations? When even the\nanimals there were pained to see their grief, Kasyapa and the other\nhermits came up and consoled those two. Then that day came to an end,\nand next morning the emperor entreated Gop\u00e1laka to come and dwell in\nhis kingdom. But Gop\u00e1laka said to him, \"What, my child, do you not\nsuppose that I have all the happiness I desire by thus seeing you? If\nyou love me, remain here in this hermitage, during this rainy season,\nwhich has arrived.\"\n\nWhen Narav\u00e1hanadatta had been thus entreated by his uncle, he remained\nin the hermitage of Kasyapa on the Black Mountain, with his attendants,\nfor the term mentioned.\n\n\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER CXII.\n\n\nNow, one day, when Narav\u00e1hanadatta was in the hall of audience on\nthe Black Mountain, his Commander-in-chief came before him, and said,\n\"Last night, my sovereign, when I was on the top of my house, looking\nafter my troops, I saw a woman being carried off through the air by\na heavenly being, crying out, 'Alas! my husband!' and it seemed as if\nthe moon, which is powerful at that season, had taken her and carried\nher off, finding that she robbed it of all its beauty. I exclaimed, 'Ah\nvillain! where will you go, thus carrying off the wife of another? In\nthe kingdom of king Narav\u00e1hanadatta the protector, which is the\nterritory of the Vidy\u00e1dharas, extending over sixty thousand yojanas,\neven animals do not work wickedness, much less other creatures.' When\nI had said this, I hastened with my attendants and arrested that\nswift-footed [610] one, and brought him down from the air with the\nlady: and when we looked at him, after bringing him down, we found\nthat it was your brother-in-law, the Vidy\u00e1dhara Ityaka, the brother of\nyour principal queen, born to Madanavega by queen Kalingasen\u00e1. We said\nto him, 'Who is this lady, and where are you taking her?' and then he\nanswered; 'This is Suratamanjar\u00ed the daughter of the Vidy\u00e1dhara chief\nMatangadeva by Ch\u00fatamanjar\u00ed. Her mother promised her to me long ago;\nand then her father bestowed her on another, a mere man. So, if I\nhave to-day recovered my own wife, and carried her off, what harm\nhave I done?' When Ityaka had said so much, he was silent.\n\n\"Then I said to Suratamanjar\u00ed, 'Lady, by whom were you married,\nand how did this person get possession of you?' Then she said,\n'There is in Ujjayin\u00ed a fortunate king named P\u00e1laka, he has a son,\na prince named [611] Avantivardhana; by him I was married; and this\nnight, when I was asleep on the top of the palace, and my husband was\nasleep also, I was carried off by this villain.' When she said this,\nI kept both of them here, the lady and Ityaka, the latter in fetters;\nit now remains for your majesty to decide what is to be done.\"\n\nWhen the emperor heard this from his Commander-in-chief Harisikha, he\nwent in some perplexity to Gop\u00e1laka, and told him the story. Gop\u00e1laka\nsaid, \"My dear nephew, I do not know about this; I know so much,\nthat the lady was lately married to P\u00e1laka's son; so let the prince\nbe summoned from Ujjayin\u00ed, together with the minister Bharataroha;\nthen we shall get at the truth.\" When the emperor received this\nadvice from his uncle, he sent the Vidy\u00e1dhara Dh\u00famasikha to P\u00e1laka\nhis younger uncle, and summoned from Ujjayin\u00ed that prince, his son,\nand the minister. When they arrived and bowed before the emperor,\nhe and Gop\u00e1laka received them with love and courtesy, and questioned\nthem about the matter under consideration.\n\nThen, in the presence of Avantivardhana, who looked like the moon\nrobbed of the night, [612] of Suratamanjar\u00ed, her father, and of\nItyaka, of V\u00e1yupatha and his peers, and the hermit Kasyapa, and the\nmen-at-arms, Bharataroha began to speak as follows, \"Once on a time\nall the citizens of Ujjayin\u00ed met together and said to P\u00e1laka the king\nof that city 'To-morrow the festival, called the giving of water,\nwill take place in this city, and if your majesty has not heard the\ntrue account of the origin of this festival, please listen to it now.'\"\n\n\n\nStory of king Chandamah\u00e1sena and the Asura's daughter. [613]\n\nLong ago your father Chandamah\u00e1sena propitiated the goddess Chand\u00ed\nwith asceticism, in order to obtain a splendid sword and a wife. She\ngave him her own sword, and about a wife said to him, \"Thou shalt soon\nslay, my son, the Asura called Ang\u00e1raka, and obtain his beautiful\ndaughter Ang\u00e1ravat\u00ed for a wife.\" When the king had been favoured\nwith this revelation from the goddess, he remained thinking on the\nAsura's daughter.\n\nNow, at this time, everybody that was appointed head police officer\nin Ujjayin\u00ed, was at once carried off by some creature at night and\ndevoured. And this went on night after night. Then Chandamah\u00e1sena\nroaming leisurely about the city at night, to investigate the matter\nfor himself, found an adulterer. He cut off with his sword his oiled\nand curled head, and no sooner was his neck severed than a certain\nR\u00e1kshasa came and laid hold of him. The king exclaimed, \"This is\nthe gentleman that comes and eats the heads of the police at night,\"\nand laying hold of that R\u00e1kshasa by the hair, he prepared to slay him.\n\nThen the R\u00e1kshasa said \"King, do not slay me under a false\nimpression! There is another creature in this neighbourhood that eats\nthe heads of the police.\" The king said, \"Tell me! who is it?\" and\nthe R\u00e1kshasa continued, \"There is in this neighbourhood an Asura of\nthe name of Ang\u00e1raka, whose home is in P\u00e1t\u00e1la. He it is that eats your\npolice-officers at the dead of night, O smiter of your foes. Moreover,\nprince, he carries off by force the daughters of kings from every\nquarter, and makes them attend on his daughter Ang\u00e1ravat\u00ed. If you see\nhim roaming about in the forest, slay him, and attain your object in\nthat way.\"\n\nWhen the R\u00e1kshasa had said this, the king let him go, and returned\nto his palace. And one day he went out to hunt. And in the place\nwhere he was hunting he saw a monstrous boar, with eyes red with\nfury, looking like a piece of the mountain of Antimony fallen from\nheaven. The king said to himself, \"Such a creature cannot be a real\nboar, I wonder whether it is the Asura Ang\u00e1raka that has the power\nof disguising himself:\" so he smote the boar with shafts. But the\nboar recked not of his shafts, and overturning his chariot, entered\na wide opening in the earth.\n\nBut the heroic king entered after him, and did not see that boar,\nbut saw in front of him a splendid castle. And he sat down on the bank\nof a lake, and saw there a maiden with a hundred others attending on\nher, looking like an incarnation of Rati. She came up to him and asked\nhim the reason of his coming there, and having conceived an affection\nfor him, said to him, looking at him with tearful eyes; \"Alas! What a\nplace have you entered! That boar that you saw, was really a Daitya,\nAng\u00e1raka by name, of adamantine frame and vast strength. At present\nhe has abandoned the form of a boar and is sleeping, as he is tired,\nbut when the time for taking food comes, he will wake up and do you\na mischief. And I, fair sir, am his daughter, Ang\u00e1ravat\u00ed by name;\nand fearing that some misfortune may befall you, I feel as if my life\nwere in my throat.\"\n\nWhen she said this to the king, he, remembering the boon that the\ngoddess Chand\u00ed had given him, felt that he had now a good hope of\naccomplishing his object, and answered her, \"If you have any love for\nme, do this which I tell you: when your father awakes, go and weep\nat his side, and when he asks you the reason, say, fair one, 'Father,\nif any one were to kill you in your reckless daring, what would become\nof me?' If you do this, you will ensure the happiness of both of us.\"\n\nWhen the king said this to her, she went, bewildered with love,\nand sat down and wept at the side of her father who had woke up;\nand when he asked her the cause of her weeping, she told him how she\nwas afraid that some one would slay him. [614] Then the Daitya said\nto her, \"Why, who can slay me who am of adamantine frame? the only\nvulnerable and vital point I have is in my left hand, and that the\nbow protects.\" This speech of his was heard by the king, who was at\nthe time concealed near.\n\nThen the Daitya bathed and proceeded to worship Siva. At that moment\nthe king appeared with his bow strung, and challenged to mortal combat\nthe Daitya, who was observing religious silence. The Daitya lifted\nup his left hand, his right hand being engaged, and made a sign to\nthe king to wait a little. That very moment the king smote him in\nthat hand, which was his vital point, with a well-aimed arrow, and\nthe Daitya fell on the earth. And just before he expired, he said,\n\"If that man who has thus slain me when thirsty, does not every year\noffer water to my manes, his five ministers shall perish.\" The Daitya\nbeing thus slain, the king took his daughter Ang\u00e1ravat\u00ed, and returned\nto this city of Ujjayin\u00ed.\n\n\"And after that king, your father, had married that queen, he used\nevery year to have an offering of water made to the manes of Ang\u00e1raka;\nand all here celebrate the feast called the giving of water; and to-day\nit has come round; so do, king, what your father did before you.\"\n\n\n\nStory of prince Avantivardhana and the daughter of the M\u00e1tanga who\nturned out to be a Vidy\u00e1dhar\u00ed.\n\n\"When king P\u00e1laka heard this speech of his subjects', he proceeded\nto set going in that city the festival of the giving of water. When\nthe festival had begun, and the people had their attention occupied\nby it, and were engaged in shouting, suddenly an infuriated elephant,\nthat had broken its fastenings, rushed in among them. That elephant,\nhaving got the better of its driving-hook, and shaken off its\ndriver, roamed about in the city, and killed very many men in a\nshort time. Though the elephant-keepers ran forward, accompanied by\nprofessional elephant-drivers, and the citizens also, no man among\nthem was able to control that elephant. At last, in the course of\nits wanderings, the elephant reached the quarter of the Chand\u00e1las,\nand there came out from it a Chand\u00e1la maiden. She illuminated the\nground with the beauty of the lotus that seemed to cling to her feet,\ndelighted because she surpassed with the loveliness of her face the\nmoon its enemy. [615] She looked like the night that gives rest to\nthe eyes of the world, because its attention is diverted from other\nobjects, and so it remains motionless at that time. [616]\n\nThat maiden struck that mighty elephant, that came towards her,\nwith her hand, on its trunk; and smote it with those sidelong looks\naskance of hers. The elephant was fascinated with the touch of her\nhand and penetrated with her glance, and remained with head bent down,\ngazing at her, and never moved a step. [617] Then that fair lady made\na swing with her upper garment, which she fastened to its tusks, and\nclimbed up and got into it, and amused herself with swinging. Then\nthe elephant, seeing that she felt the heat, went into the shade of a\ntree; and the citizens, who were present, seeing this great wonder,\nexclaimed, \"Ah! This is some glorious heavenly maiden, who charms\neven animals by her power, which is as transcendent as her beauty.\"\n\nAnd in the meanwhile the prince Avantivardhana, hearing of it,\ncame out to see the wonderful sight, and beheld that maiden. As he\ngazed, the deer of his heart ran into that net of the hunter Love,\nand was entangled by it. She too, when she saw him, her heart being\ncharmed by his beauty, came down from that swing, which she had put\nup on the elephant's tusks, and took her upper garment. Then a driver\nmounted the elephant, and she went home, looking at the prince with\nan expression of shame and affection.\n\nAnd Avantivardhana, for his part, the disturbance caused by the\nelephant having come to an end, went home to his palace with his\nbosom empty, his heart having been stolen from it by her. And when\nhe got home, he was tortured by no longer seeing that lovely maiden,\nand forgetting the feast of the giving of water, which had begun, he\nsaid to his companions, \"Do you know whose daughter that maiden is,\nand what her name is?\" When his friends heard that, they said to him,\n\"There is a certain M\u00e1tanga [618] in the quarter of the Chand\u00e1las,\nnamed Utpalahasta, and she is his daughter, Suratamanjar\u00ed by name. Her\nlovely form can give pleasure to the good [619] only by being looked\nat, like that of a pictured beauty, but cannot be touched without\npollution.\" When the prince heard that from his friends, he said\nto them, \"I do not think she can be the daughter of a M\u00e1tanga,\nshe is certainly some heavenly maiden; for a Chand\u00e1la maiden would\nnever possess such a beautiful form. Lovely as she is, if she does\nnot become my wife, what is the profit of my life?\" So the prince\ncontinued to say, and his ministers could not check him, but he was\nexceedingly afflicted with the fire of separation from her.\n\nThen queen Avantivat\u00ed and king P\u00e1laka, his parents, having heard that,\nwere for a long time quite bewildered. The queen said, \"How comes it\nthat our son, though born in a royal family, has fallen in love with\na girl of the lowest [620] caste?\" Then king P\u00e1laka said, \"Since the\nheart of our son is thus inclined, it is clear that she is really\na girl of another caste, who for some reason or other has fallen\namong the M\u00e1tangas. The minds of the good tell them by inclination\nor aversion what to do and what to avoid. In illustration of this,\nqueen, listen to the following tale, if you have not already heard it.\"\n\n\n\nStory of the young Chand\u00e1la who married the daughter of king\nPrasenajit. [621]\n\nLong ago king Prasenajit, in a city named Supratishthita, had a very\nbeautiful daughter named Kurang\u00ed. One day she went out into the garden,\nand an elephant, that had broken from its fastenings, charged her,\nand flung her up on his tusks litter and all. Her attendants dispersed\nshrieking, but a young Chand\u00e1la snatched up a sword and ran towards\nthe elephant. The brave fellow cut off the trunk of that great elephant\nwith a sword-stroke, and killed it, and so delivered the princess. Then\nher retinue came together again, and she returned to her palace with\nher heart captivated by the great courage and striking good looks\nof the young Chand\u00e1la. And she remained in a state of despondency at\nbeing separated from him, saying to herself, \"Either I must have that\nman who delivered me from the elephant for a husband, or I must die.\"\n\nThe young Chand\u00e1la, for his part, went home slowly, and having his\nmind captivated by the princess, was tortured by thinking on her. He\nsaid to himself, \"What a vast gulf is fixed between me, a man of the\nlowest caste, and that princess! How can a crow and a female swan ever\nunite? The idea is so ridiculous that I cannot mention it or consider\nit, so, in this difficulty, death is my only resource.\" After the\nyoung man had gone through these reflections, he went at night to\nthe cemetery, and bathed, and made a pyre, and lighting the flame\nthus prayed to it, \"O thou purifying fire, Soul of the Universe, may\nthat princess be my wife hereafter in a future birth, in virtue of\nthis offering up of myself as a sacrifice to thee!\" When he had said\nthis, he prepared to fling himself into the fire, but the Fire-god,\npleased with him, appeared in visible shape before him, and said to\nhim, \"Do not act rashly, for she shall be thy wife, for thou art not\na Chand\u00e1la by birth, and what thou art I will tell thee, listen!\n\n\"There is in this city a distinguished Br\u00e1hman of the name of\nKapilasarman; in his fire-chamber I dwell in visible bodily shape. One\nday his maiden daughter came near me, and smitten with her beauty, I\nmade her my wife, inducing her to forego her objections by promising\nher immunity from disgrace. And thou, my son, wert immediately born\nto her by virtue of my power, and she thereupon, out of shame, flung\nthee away in the open street; there thou wast found by some Chand\u00e1las\nand reared on goat's milk. [622] So thou art my son, born to me by\na Br\u00e1hman lady. Therefore thou canst not be deemed impure, as thou\nart my son; and thou shalt obtain that princess Kurang\u00ed for a wife.\"\n\nWhen the god of fire had said this, he disappeared, and the M\u00e1tanga's\nadopted child was delighted, and conceived hope, and so went home. Then\nking Prasenajit, having been urged by the god in a dream, investigated\nthe case, and finding out the truth, gave his daughter to the son of\nthe Fire-god.\n\n\"Thus, queen, there are always to be found heavenly beings in disguise\nupon the earth, and you may be assured Suratamanjar\u00ed is not a woman of\nthe lowest caste, but a celestial nymph. For such a pearl, as she is,\nmust belong to some other race than that of the M\u00e1tangas, and without\ndoubt she was the beloved of my son in a former birth, and this is\nproved by his falling in love with her at first sight.\" When king\nP\u00e1laka said this in our presence, I proceeded to relate the following\nstory about a man of the fisher-caste.\n\n\n\nStory of the young fisher man who married a princess.\n\nLong ago there lived in R\u00e1jagriha a king named Malayasinha, and he had\na daughter named M\u00e1y\u00e1vat\u00ed of matchless beauty. One day a young man of\nthe fisher-caste, named Suprah\u00e1ra, who was in the bloom of youth and\ngood looks, saw her as she was amusing herself in a spring-garden. The\nmoment he saw her, he was overpowered by love; for destiny never\nconsiders whether a union is possible or impossible. So he went home,\nand abandoning his occupation of catching fish, he took to his bed, and\nrefused to eat, thinking only on the princess. And when persistently\nquestioned, he told his wish to his mother named Rakshitik\u00e1, and she\nsaid to her son, \"My son, abandon your despondency, and take food;\nI will certainly compass this your end for you by my ingenuity.\"\n\nWhen she said this to him, he was consoled, and cherished hopes,\nand took food; and his mother went to the palace of the princess\nwith fish from the lake. [623] There that fisher-wife was announced\nby the maids, and went in, on the pretext of paying her respects,\nand gave the princess that present of fish. And in this way she\ncame regularly day after day, and made the princess a present, and\nso gained her goodwill, and made her desirous of speaking. And the\npleased princess said to the fisher-wife, \"Tell me what you wish me\nto do; I will do it, though it be ever so difficult.\"\n\nThen the fisher-wife begged that her boldness might be pardoned, and\nsaid in secret to the princess, \"Royal lady, my son has seen you in\na garden, and is tortured by the thought that he cannot be near you;\nand I can only manage to prevent his committing suicide by holding\nout hopes to him; so, if you feel any pity for me, restore my son to\nlife by touching him.\" When the princess was thus entreated by the\nfisher-wife, hesitating between shame and a desire to oblige, after\nreflection, she said to her, \"Bring your son to my palace secretly\nat night.\" When the fisher-wife heard this, she went in high spirits\nto her son.\n\nAnd when night came, she deliberately adorned her son as well as she\ncould, and brought him to the private apartments of the princess. There\nthe princess took Suprah\u00e1ra, who had pined for her so long, by the\nhand, and affectionately welcomed him, and made him lie down on a\nsofa, and comforted him whose limbs were withered by the fire of\nseparation, by shampooing him with her hand, the touch of which was\ncool as sandal-wood. And the fisher-boy was thereby, as it were,\nbedewed with nectar, and thinking that after long waiting he had\nattained his desire, he took his rest, and was suddenly seized by\nsleep. And when he was asleep, the princess escaped, and slept in\nanother room, having thus pleased the fisher-boy, and having avoided\nbeing disgraced through him.\n\nThen that son of the fisher-folk woke up, owing to the cessation of\nthe touch of her hand, and not seeing his beloved, who had thus come\nwithin his grasp, and again vanished, like a pot of treasure in the\ncase of a very poor man, who is despondent for its loss, he was reft\nof all hope, and his breath at once left his body. When the princess\nfound that out, she came there, and blamed herself, and made up her\nmind to ascend the funeral pyre with him next morning.\n\nThen her father, king Malayasinha, heard of it, and came there, and\nfinding that she could not be turned from her resolve, he rinsed his\nmouth, and spake this speech; \"If I am really devoted to the three-eyed\ngod of gods, tell me, ye guardians of the world, what it is my duty\nto do.\" When the king said this, a heavenly voice answered him, \"Thy\ndaughter was in a former life the wife of this son of the fisher-folk.\n\n\"For, long ago, there lived in a village, called N\u00e1gasthala, a virtuous\nBr\u00e1hman of the name of Baladhara, the son of Mah\u00eddhara. When his father\nhad gone to heaven, he was robbed of his wealth by his relations,\nand being disgusted with the world, he went with his wife to the\nbank of the Ganges. While he was remaining there without food, in\norder to abandon the body, he saw some fishermen eating fish, and\nhis hunger made him long for it in his heart. So he died with his\nmind polluted by that desire, but his wife kept her aspirations pure,\nand continuing firm in penance, followed him in death. [624]\n\n\"That very Br\u00e1hman, owing to that pollution of his desires, has\nbeen born in the fisher-caste. But his wife, who remained firm in\nher asceticism, has been born as thy daughter, O king. So let this\nblameless daughter of thine, by the gift of half her life, [625] raise\nup this dead youth, who was her husband in a former life. For, owing\nto the might of her asceticism, this youth, who was thus purified by\nthe splendour of that holy bathing-place, shall become thy son-in-law,\nand a king.\"\n\nWhen the king had been thus addressed by the divine voice, he gave\nhis daughter in marriage to that youth Suprah\u00e1ra, who recovered his\nlife by the gift of half hers. And Suprah\u00e1ra became a king by means\nof the land, elephants, horses, and jewels, which his father-in-law\ngave him, and, having obtained his daughter as a wife, lived the life\nof a successful man.\n\n\n\nStory of the Merchant's daughter who fell in love with a thief. [626]\n\n\"In this way a connexion in a former birth usually produces affection\nin embodied beings; moreover, in illustration of this truth, listen\nto the following story about a thief.\"\n\nIn Ayodhy\u00e1 there lived of old time a king named V\u00edrab\u00e1hu, who always\nprotected his subjects as if they were his own children. And one\nday the citizens of his capital came to him and said, \"King, some\nthieves plunder this city every night, and though we keep awake for\nthe purpose, we cannot detect them.\" When the king heard that, he\nplaced scouts in the city at night to keep watch. But they did not\ncatch the thieves and the mischief did not abate. Accordingly the\nking went out himself at night to investigate the matter.\n\nAnd as he was wandering about in every direction, alone, sword in hand,\nhe saw a man going along on the top of the rampart; he seemed to tread\nlightly out of fear; his eyes rolled rapidly like those of a crow;\nand he looked round like a lion, frequently turning his neck. He was\nrendered visible by the steel-gleams that flashed from his naked\nsword, which seemed like binding ropes sent forth to steal those\njewels which men call stars. [627] And the king said to himself;\n\"I am quite certain that this man is a thief; no doubt he sallies\nout alone and plunders this my city.\"\n\nHaving come to this conclusion, the wily monarch went up to the\nthief; and the thief said to him with some trepidation, \"Who are you,\nSir?\" Then the king said to him, \"I am a desperate robber, whose many\nvices make him hard to keep; [628] tell me in turn, who you are.\" The\nthief answered, \"I am a robber, that goes out to plunder alone; and\nI have great wealth; so come to my house: I will satisfy your longing\nfor riches.\" When the thief made him this promise, the king said, \"So\nbe it,\" and went with him to his dwelling, which was in an underground\nexcavation. It was inhabited by beautiful women, it gleamed with many\njewels, it was full of ever new delights, and seemed like the city of\nthe snakes. [629] Then the thief went into the inner chamber of his\ndwelling, and the king remained in the outer room; and while he was\nthere, a female servant, compassionating him, came and said to him,\n\"What kind of place have you entered? Leave it at once, for this man is\na treacherous assassin, and as he goes on his expeditions alone, will\nbe sure to murder you, to prevent his secrets being divulged.\" [630]\nWhen the king heard that, he went out at once, and quickly repaired\nto his palace; and summoning his commander-in-chief, returned with\nhis troops. And he came and surrounded the thief's dwelling, and made\nthe bravest men enter it, and so brought the thief back a prisoner,\nand carried off all his wealth.\n\nWhen the night had come to an end, the king ordered his execution;\nand he was led off to the place of execution through the middle of the\nmarket. And as he was being led along through that part of the town,\na merchant's daughter saw him, and fell in love with him at first\nsight, and she immediately said to her father, \"Know that if this\nman, who is being led off to execution preceded by the drum of death,\ndoes not become my husband, I shall die myself.\"\n\nThen her father, seeing that she could not be dissuaded from her\nresolution, went and tried to induce the king to spare that thief's\nlife by offering ten millions of coins. But the king, instead of\nsparing the thief's life, ordered him to be immediately impaled, [631]\nand was very angry with the merchant. Then the merchant's daughter,\nwhose name was V\u00e1madatt\u00e1, took the corpse of that robber, and out of\nlove for him entered the fire with it.\n\n\"So, you see, creatures are completely dependent upon connexions in\nprevious births, and this being the case, who can avoid a destiny\nthat is fated to him, and who can prevent such a destiny's befalling\nanybody? Therefore, king, it is clear that this Suratamanjar\u00ed is\nsome excellent being that was the wife of your son Avantivardhana in\na previous birth, and is therefore destined to be his wife again;\notherwise how could such a high-born prince have formed such an\nattachment for her, a woman of the M\u00e1tanga caste? So let this M\u00e1tanga,\nher father Utpalahasta, be asked to give the prince his daughter;\nand let us see what he says.\"\n\nWhen I had said this to king P\u00e1laka, he at once sent messengers to\nUtpalahasta to ask for his daughter. And the M\u00e1tanga, when entreated\nby those messengers to give her in marriage, answered them, \"I approve\nof this alliance, but I must give my daughter Suratamanjar\u00ed to the\nman who makes eighteen thousand of the Br\u00e1hmans, that dwell in this\ncity, eat in my house.\" When the messengers heard this speech of\nthe M\u00e1tanga's, that contained a solemn promise, they went back and\nreported it faithfully to king P\u00e1laka.\n\nThinking that there was some reason for this, [632] the king called\ntogether all the Br\u00e1hmans in the city of Ujjayin\u00ed, and telling them\nthe whole story, said to them, \"So you must eat here in the house of\nthe M\u00e1tanga Utpalahasta, eighteen thousand of you; I will not have\nit otherwise.\" When the Br\u00e1hmans had been thus commanded by the king,\nbeing at the same time afraid of touching the food of a Chand\u00e1la, and\ntherefore at a loss what to do, they went to the shrine of Mah\u00e1k\u00e1la\nand performed self-torture. Then the god Siva, who was present there\nin the form of Mah\u00e1k\u00e1la, commanded those Br\u00e1hmans in a dream, saying,\n\"Eat food here in the house of the M\u00e1tanga Utpalahasta, for he is\na Vidy\u00e1dhara; neither he nor his family are Chand\u00e1las.\" Then those\nBr\u00e1hmans rose up and went to the king, and told him the dream, and\nwent on to say, \"So let this Utpalahasta cook pure food for us in some\nplace outside the quarter of the Chand\u00e1las, and then we will eat it at\nhis hands.\" When the king heard this, he had another house made for\nUtpalahasta, and being highly delighted, he had food cooked for him\nthere by pure cooks: and then eighteen thousand Br\u00e1hmans ate there,\nwhile Utpalahasta stood in front of them, bathed, and clothed in a\npure garment.\n\nAnd after they had eaten, Utpalahasta came to king P\u00e1laka, in the\npresence of his subjects, and bowing before him, said to him, \"There\nwas an influential prince of the Vidy\u00e1dharas, named Gaur\u00edmunda; I was\na dependent of his, named Matangadeva; and when, king, that daughter\nof mine Suratamanjar\u00ed had been born, Gaur\u00edmunda secretly said to me,\n'The gods assert that this son of the king of Vatsa, who is called\nNarav\u00e1hanadatta, is to be our emperor: so go quickly, and kill that\nfoe of ours by means of your magic power, before be has attained the\ndignity of emperor.'\n\n\"When the wicked Gaur\u00edmunda had sent me on this errand, I went to\nexecute it, and while going along through the air, I saw Siva in\nfront of me. The god, being displeased, made an angry roar, and\nimmediately pronounced on me this curse, 'How is it, villain, that\nthou dost plot evil against a noble-minded man? So go, wicked one,\nand fall with this same body of thine into the midst of the Chand\u00e1las\nin Ujjayin\u00ed, together with thy wife and daughter. And when some one\nshall make eighteen thousand of the Br\u00e1hmans, that dwell in that city,\neat in thy house by way of a gift to purchase thy daughter; then thy\ncurse shall come to an end, and thou must marry thy daughter to the\nman who bestows on thee that gift.'\n\n\"When Siva had said this, he disappeared, and I, that very Matangadeva,\nassuming the name of Utpalahasta, fell among men of the lowest caste,\nbut I do not mix with them. However, my curse is now at an end, owing\nto the favour of your son, so I give him my daughter Suratamanjar\u00ed. And\nnow I will go to my own dwelling-place among the Vidy\u00e1dharas, in order\nto pay my respects to the emperor Narav\u00e1hanadatta.\" When Matangadeva\nhad said this, he solemnly gave the prince his daughter, and flying\nup into the air with his wife, repaired, king, to thy feet.\n\n\"And king P\u00e1laka, having thus ascertained the truth, celebrated with\ngreat delight the marriage of Suratamanjar\u00ed and his son. And his\nson Avantivardhana, having obtained that Vidy\u00e1dhar\u00ed for a wife, felt\nhimself fortunate in having gained more than he had ever hoped for.\n\n\"Now, one day, that prince went to sleep on the top of the palace with\nher and at the end of the night he woke up, and suddenly discovered\nthat his beloved was nowhere to be seen. He looked for her, but could\nnot find her anywhere, and then he lamented, and was so much afflicted\nthat his father the king came, and was exceedingly discomposed. We all,\nbeing assembled there at that time, said, 'This city is well-guarded,\nno stranger could enter it during the night; no doubt she must have\nbeen carried off by some evilly disposed wanderer of the air;' and\neven while we were saying that, your servant the Vidy\u00e1dhara Dh\u00famasikha\ndescended from the sky. He brought here this prince Avantivardhana,\nand king P\u00e1laka also was asked to part with me, in order that I\nmight state the facts of the case. Here too is Suratamanjar\u00ed with\nher father, and the facts concerning her are such as I have said:\nyour Majesty is the best judge of what ought to be done now.\"\n\nWhen Bharataroha the minister of P\u00e1laka had told this tale, he\nstopped speaking; and the assessors put this question to Matangadeva\nin the presence of Narav\u00e1hanadatta, \"Tell us, to whom did you give\nthis daughter of yours Suratamanjar\u00ed?\" He answered, \"I gave her to\nAvantivardhana.\" Then they put this question to Ityaka, \"Now do you\ntell us why you carried her off?\" He answered, \"Her mother promised her\nto me originally.\" The assessors said to Ityaka, \"While the father is\nalive, what authority has the mother? Moreover, where is your witness\nto prove the fact of the mother having promised her to you? So she\nis with regard to you the wife of another, villain!\" When Ityaka was\nthus put to silence by the assessors, the emperor Narav\u00e1hanadatta,\nbeing angry with him, ordered his immediate execution on the ground\nof his misconduct. But the good hermits, with Kasyapa at their head,\ncame and entreated him, saying, \"Forgive now this one fault of his:\nfor he is the son of Madanavega, and therefore your brother-in-law.\" So\nthe king was at last induced to spare his life, and let him off with\na severe reprimand.\n\nAnd he reunited that son of his maternal uncle, Avantivardhana, to\nhis wife, and sent them off with their ministers to their own city,\nin the care of V\u00e1yupatha.\n\n\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER CXIII.\n\n\nWhen Narav\u00e1hanadatta on the Black Mountain had thus taken away\nthe virtuous Suratamanjar\u00ed from his brother-in-law Ityaka, who had\ncarried her off, and had reprimanded him, and had given her back to\nher husband, and was sitting in the midst of the hermits, the sage\nKasyapa came and said to him, \"There never was, king, and there never\nwill be an emperor like you, since you do not allow passion and other\nfeelings of the kind to influence your mind, when you are sitting\non the seat of judgment. Fortunate are they who ever behold such a\nrighteous lord as you are; for, though your empire is such as it is,\nno fault can be found with you.\n\n\"There were in former days Rishabha and other emperors; and they,\nbeing seized with various faults, were ruined and fell from their\nhigh estate. Rishabha, and Sarvadamana, and the third Bandhuj\u00edvaka,\nall these, through excessive pride, were punished by Indra. And the\nVidy\u00e1dhara prince J\u00edm\u00fatav\u00e1hana, when the sage N\u00e1rada came and asked\nhim the reason of his obtaining the rank of emperor, told him how he\ngave away the wishing-tree and his own body, [633] and thus he fell\nfrom his high position by revealing his own virtuous deeds. And the\nsovereign named Visv\u00e1ntara, who was emperor here, he too, when his son\nInd\u00edvar\u00e1ksha had been slain by Vasantatilaka, the king of Chedi, for\nseducing his wife, being wanting in self-control, died on account of\nthe distracting sorrow which he felt for the death of his wicked son.\n\n\"But T\u00e1r\u00e1valoka alone, who was by birth a mighty human king, and\nobtained by his virtuous deeds the imperial sovereignty over the\nVidy\u00e1dharas, long enjoyed the high fortune of empire without falling\ninto sin, and at last abandoned it of his own accord, out of distaste\nfor all worldly pleasures, and went to the forest. Thus in old times\ndid most of the Vidy\u00e1dhara emperors, puffed up with the attainment\nof their high rank, abandon the right path, and fall, blinded with\npassion. So you must always be on your guard against slipping from the\npath of virtue, and you must take care that your Vidy\u00e1dhara subjects\ndo not swerve from righteousness.\"\n\nWhen the hermit Kasyapa said this to Narav\u00e1hanadatta, the latter\napproved his speech, and said to him with deferential courtesy,\n\"How did T\u00e1r\u00e1valoka, being a man, obtain in old time the sway over the\nVidy\u00e1dharas? Tell me, reverend Sir.\" When Kasyapa heard this, he said,\n\"Listen, I will tell you his story.\"\n\n\n\nStory of T\u00e1r\u00e1valoka.\n\nThere lived among the Sivis [634] a king of the name of Chandr\u00e1valoka;\nthat sovereign had a head-wife named Chandralekh\u00e1. Her race was as\nspotless as the sea of milk, she was pure herself, and in character\nlike the Ganges. And he had a great elephant that trampled the armies\nof his enemies, known on the earth as Kuvalayap\u00edda. Owing to the\nmight of that elephant, the king was never conquered by any enemy in\nhis realm, in which the real power was in the hands of the subjects.\n\nAnd when his youth came to an end, that king had a son, with auspicious\nmarks, born to him by his queen Chandralekh\u00e1. He gave the son the\nname of T\u00e1r\u00e1valoka, and he gradually grew up, and his inborn virtues\nof liberality, self-control, and discernment grew with him. And\nthe mighty-minded youth learnt the meaning of all words except one;\nbut he was so liberal to suppliants that he cannot be said ever to\nhave learnt the meaning of the word \"No.\" Gradually he became old\nin actions, though young in years; and though like the sun in fire\nof valour, he was exceedingly pleasing to look at; [635] like the\nfull moon, he became beautiful by the possession of all noble parts;\nlike the god of Love, he excited the longing of the whole world;\nin obedience to his father he came to surpass J\u00edm\u00fatav\u00e1hana, and he\nwas distinctly marked with the signs of a great emperor.\n\nThen his father, the king Chandr\u00e1valoka, brought for that son of his\nthe daughter of the king of the Madras, named M\u00e1dr\u00ed. And when he was\nmarried, his father, pleased with the supereminence of his virtues,\nat once appointed him Crown-prince. And when T\u00e1r\u00e1valoka had been\nappointed Crown-prince, he had made, with his father's permission,\nalms-houses for the distribution of food and other necessaries. And\nevery day, the moment he got up, he mounted the elephant Kuvalayap\u00edda,\nand went round to inspect those alms-houses. [636] To whosoever\nasked anything he was ready to give it, even if it were his own life:\nin this way the fame of that Crown-prince spread in every quarter.\n\nThen he had two twin sons born to him by M\u00e1dr\u00ed, and the father\ncalled them R\u00e1ma and Lakshmana. And the boys grew like the love\nand joy of their parents, and they were dearer than life to their\ngrandparents. And T\u00e1r\u00e1valoka and M\u00e1dr\u00ed were never tired of looking\nat them, as they bent before them, being filled with virtue, like\ntwo bows of the prince, being strung. [637]\n\nThen the enemies of T\u00e1r\u00e1valoka, seeing his elephant Kuvalayap\u00edda, his\ntwo sons, and his reputation for generosity, said to their Br\u00e1hmans,\n\"Go and ask T\u00e1r\u00e1valoka to give you his elephant Kuvalayap\u00edda. If\nhe gives it you, we shall be able to take from him his kingdom,\nas he will be deprived of that bulwark; if he refuses to give it,\nhis reputation for generosity will be at an end.\" When the Br\u00e1hmans\nhad been thus entreated, they consented, and asked T\u00e1r\u00e1valoka, that\nhero of generosity, for that elephant. T\u00e1r\u00e1valoka said to himself,\n\"What do Br\u00e1hmans mean by asking for a mighty elephant? So I know for\ncertain that they have been put up to asking me by some one. Happen\nwhat will, I must give them my splendid elephant, for how can I let a\nsuppliant go away without obtaining his desire, while I live?\" After\ngoing through these reflections, T\u00e1r\u00e1valoka gave the elephant to\nthose Br\u00e1hmans with unwavering mind.\n\nThen Chandr\u00e1valoka's subjects, seeing that splendid elephant being\nled away by those Br\u00e1hmans, went in a rage to the king, and said,\n\"Your son has now abandoned this kingdom, and surrendering all\nhis rights has taken upon him the vow of a hermit. For observe,\nhe has given to some suppliants this great elephant Kuvalayap\u00edda,\nthe foundation of the kingdom's prosperity, that scatters with its\nmere smell all other elephants. So you must either send your son\nto the forest to practise asceticism, or take back the elephant,\nor else we will set up another king in your place.\" [638]\n\nWhen Chandr\u00e1valoka had been thus addressed by the citizens, he sent his\nson a message in accordance with their demands through the warder. When\nhis son T\u00e1r\u00e1valoka heard that, he said, \"As for the elephant, I have\ngiven it away, and it is my principle to refuse nothing to suppliants;\nbut what do I care for such a throne as this, which is under the thumb\nof the subjects, or for a royal dignity which does not benefit others,\n[639] and anyhow is transient as the lightning? So it is better for\nme to live in the forest, among trees which give the fortune of their\nfruits to be enjoyed by all, and not here among such beasts of men as\nthese subjects are.\" [640] When T\u00e1r\u00e1valoka had said this, he assumed\nthe dress of bark, and after kissing the feet of his parents and\ngiving away all his wealth to suppliants, he went out from his own\ncity, accompanied by his wife, who was firm in the same resolution\nas himself, and his two children, comforting, as well as he could,\nthe weeping Br\u00e1hmans. Even beasts and birds, when they saw him setting\nforth, wept so piteously that the earth was bedewed with their rain\nof tears.\n\nThen T\u00e1r\u00e1valoka went on his way, with no possessions but a chariot and\nhorses for the conveyance of his children; but some other Br\u00e1hmans\nasked him for the horses belonging to the chariot; he gave them to\nthem immediately, and drew the chariot himself, with the assistance\nof his wife to convey those tender young sons to the forest. Then,\nas he was wearied out in the middle of the forest, another Br\u00e1hman\ncame up to him, and asked him for his horseless chariot. He gave it to\nhim without the slightest hesitation, and the resolute fellow, going\nalong on his feet, with his wife and sons, at last with difficulty\nreached the grove of mortification. There he took up his abode at\nthe foot of a tree, and lived with deer for his only retinue, nobly\nwaited on by his wife M\u00e1dr\u00ed. And the forest regions ministered to\nthe heroic prince, while living in this kingdom of devotion; their\nclusters of flowers waving in the wind were his beautiful chowries,\nbroad-shaded trees were his umbrellas, leaves his bed, rocks his\nthrones, bees his singing-women, and various fruits his savoury viands.\n\nNow, one day, his wife M\u00e1dr\u00ed left the hermitage to gather fruits\nand flowers for him with her own hands, and a certain old Br\u00e1hman\ncame and asked T\u00e1r\u00e1valoka, who was in his hut, for his sons R\u00e1ma and\nLakshmana. T\u00e1r\u00e1valoka said to himself, \"I shall be better able to\nendure letting these sons of mine, though they are quite infants, be\nled away, [641] than I could possibly manage to endure the sending a\nsuppliant away disappointed: the fact is, cunning fate is eager to see\nmy resolution give way\": then he gave those sons to the Br\u00e1hman. And\nwhen the Br\u00e1hman tried to take them away, they refused to go; then\nhe tied their hands and beat them with creepers; and as the cruel man\ntook them away, they kept crying for their mother, and turning round\nand looking at their father with tearful eyes. Even when T\u00e1r\u00e1valoka\nsaw that, he was unmoved, but the whole world of animate and inanimate\nexistences was moved at his fortitude.\n\nThen the virtuous M\u00e1dr\u00ed slowly returned tired from a remote part of the\nforest to her husband's hermitage, bringing with her flowers, fruits\nand roots. And she saw her husband, who had his face sadly fixed\non the ground, but she could not see anywhere those sons of hers,\nthough their toys, in the form of horses, chariots, and elephants\nof clay, were scattered about. Her heart foreboded calamity, and she\nsaid excitedly to her husband \"Alas! I am ruined! Where are my little\nsons?\" Her husband slowly answered her, \"Blameless one, I gave those\ntwo little sons away to a poor Br\u00e1hman, who asked for them.\" When\nthe good lady heard that, she rose superior to her distraction,\nand said to her husband, \"Then you did well: how could you allow a\nsuppliant to go away disappointed?\" When she said this, the equally\nmatched goodness of that married couple made the earth tremble,\nand the throne of Indra rock.\n\nThen Indra saw by his profound meditation that the world was\nmade to tremble by virtue of the heroic generosity of M\u00e1dr\u00ed and\nT\u00e1r\u00e1valoka. Then he assumed the form of a Br\u00e1hman, and went to\nT\u00e1r\u00e1valoka's hermitage, to prove him, and asked him for his only\nwife M\u00e1dr\u00ed. And T\u00e1r\u00e1valoka was preparing to give without hesitation,\nby the ceremony of pouring water over the hands, [642] that lady who\nhad been his companion in the wild forest, when Indra, thus disguised\nas a Br\u00e1hman, said to him, \"Royal sage, what object do you mean\nto attain by giving away a wife like this?\" Then T\u00e1r\u00e1valoka said,\n\"I have no object in view, Br\u00e1hman; so much only do I desire, that I\nmay ever give away to Br\u00e1hmans even my life.\" When Indra heard this,\nhe resumed his proper shape, and said to him, \"I have made proof of\nthee, and I am satisfied with thee; so I say to thee, thou must not\nagain give away thy wife; and soon thou shalt be made emperor over\nall the Vidy\u00e1dharas.\" When the god had said this, he disappeared.\n\nIn the meanwhile that old Br\u00e1hman took with him those sons of\nT\u00e1r\u00e1valoka, whom he had received as a Br\u00e1hman's fee, and losing\nhis way, arrived, as Fate would have it, at the city of that\nking Chandr\u00e1valoka, and proceeded to sell those princes in the\nmarket. Then the citizens recognised those two boys, and went and\ninformed king Chandr\u00e1valoka, and took them with the Br\u00e1hman into his\npresence. The king, when he saw his grandsons, shed tears, and after\nhe had questioned the Br\u00e1hman, and had heard the state of the case\nfrom him, he was for a long time divided between joy and grief. Then,\nperceiving the exceeding virtue of his son, he at once ceased to\ncare about a kingdom, though his subjects entreated him to remain,\nbut with his wealth he bought those two grandsons from the Br\u00e1hman,\nand taking them with him, went with his retinue to the hermitage of\nhis son T\u00e1r\u00e1valoka.\n\nThere he saw him with matted hair, wearing a dress of bark, looking\nlike a great tree, the advantages of which are enjoyed by birds coming\nfrom every quarter, for he in like manner had bestowed all he had\nupon expectant Br\u00e1hmans. [643] That son ran towards him, while still\na long way off, and fell at his feet, and his father bedewed him with\ntears, and took him up on his lap; and thus gave him a foretaste of\nhis ascent of the throne, as emperor over the Vidy\u00e1dharas, after the\nsolemn sprinkling with water.\n\nThen the king gave back to T\u00e1r\u00e1valoka his sons R\u00e1ma and Lakshmana,\nsaying that he had purchased them, and while they were relating to one\nanother their adventures, an elephant with four tusks and the goddess\nLakshm\u00ed descended from heaven. And when the chiefs of the Vidy\u00e1dharas\nhad also descended, Lakshm\u00ed, lotus in hand, said to that T\u00e1r\u00e1valoka,\n\"Mount this elephant, and come to the country of the Vidy\u00e1dharas,\nand there enjoy the imperial dignity [644] earned by your great\ngenerosity.\"\n\nWhen Lakshm\u00ed said this, T\u00e1r\u00e1valoka, after bowing at the feet of his\nfather, mounted that celestial elephant, with her, and his wife,\nand his sons, in the sight of all the inhabitants of the hermitage,\nand surrounded by the kings of the Vidy\u00e1dharas went through the air\nto their domain. There the distinctive sciences of the Vidy\u00e1dharas\nrepaired to him, and he long enjoyed supreme sway, but at last\nbecoming disgusted with all worldly pleasures, he retired to a forest\nof ascetics.\n\n\"Thus T\u00e1r\u00e1valoka, though a man, acquired in old time by his deeds of\nspotless virtue the sovereignty of all the Vidy\u00e1dharas. But others,\nafter acquiring it, lost it by their offences: so be on your guard\nagainst unrighteous conduct either on your own part or on that of\nanother.\" [645]\n\nWhen the hermit Kasyapa had told this story, and had thus admonished\nNarav\u00e1hanadatta, that emperor promised to follow his advice. And\nhe had a royal proclamation made all round the mountain of Siva, to\nthe following effect, \"Listen, Vidy\u00e1dharas; whoever of my subjects\nafter this commits an unrighteous act, will certainly be put to\ndeath by me.\" The Vidy\u00e1dharas received his commands with implicit\nsubmission, and his glory was widely diffused on account of his causing\nSuratamanjar\u00ed to be set at liberty; and so he lived with his retinue\nin the hermitage of that excellent sage, on the Black Mountain, [646]\nin the society of his maternal uncle, and in this manner spent the\nrainy season.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nBOOK XVII.\n\n\nCHAPTER CXIV.\n\n\nGlory to Siva, who assumes various forms; who, though his beloved\ntakes up half his body, [647] is an ascetic, free from qualities,\nthe due object of a world's adoration! We worship Ganesa, who, when\nfanning away the cloud of bees, that flies up from his trunk, with\nhis flapping ears, seems to be dispersing the host of obstacles.\n\n\n\nThus Narav\u00e1hanadatta, who had been established in the position of\nlord paramount over all the kings of the Vidy\u00e1dharas, remained on that\nBlack Mountain in order to get through the rainy season, spending the\ntime in the hermitage of that sage Kasyapa, and in the society of his\nmaternal uncle Gop\u00e1laka, who was living the life of an ascetic. He\nwas accompanied by his ministers, and surrounded by twenty-five of\nhis wives, and attended by various Vidy\u00e1dhara princes, and he occupied\nhimself in telling tales. One day, the hermits and his wives said to\nhim, \"Tell us now! When M\u00e1nasavega took away queen Madanamanchuk\u00e1 by\nhis magic power, who amused you impatient of separation, and how did\nhe do it?\"\n\nWhen Narav\u00e1hanadatta had been asked this question by those hermits\nand by his wives, he proceeded to speak as follows; \"Can I tell now\nhow great grief I endured, when I found out that that wicked enemy\nhad carried off my queen? There was no building, and no garden,\nor room, into which I did not roam seeking for her in my grief,\nand all my ministers with me. Then I sat down, as if beside myself,\nin a garden at the foot of a tree, and Gomukha, having obtained\nhis opportunity, said to me, in order to console me, 'Do not be\ndespondent, my sovereign; you will soon recover the queen; for the\ngods promised that you should rule the Vidy\u00e1dharas with her as your\nconsort; that must turn out as the gods predicted, for their promises\nare never falsified; and resolute men, after enduring separation,\nobtain reunion with those they love. Were not R\u00e1mabhadra, king Nala,\nand your own grandfather, [648] after enduring separation, reunited\nto their beloved wives? And was not Mukt\u00e1phalaketu, emperor of the\nVidy\u00e1dharas, reunited to Padm\u00e1vat\u00ed, after he had been separated\nfrom her? And now listen, king; I will tell you the story of that\ncouple.' When Gomukha had said this, he told me the following tale.\"\n\n\n\nStory of king Brahmadatta and the Swans. [649]\n\nThere is in this country a city famous over the earth by the name of\nV\u00e1r\u00e1nas\u00ed, which, like the body of Siva, is adorned with the Ganges, and\nbestows emancipation. With the flags on its temples swayed up and down\nby the wind, it seems to be ever saying to men \"Come hither, and attain\nsalvation.\" With the pinnacles of its white palaces it looks like the\nplateau of mount Kail\u00e1sa, the habitation of the god with the moon for\na diadem, and it is full of troops of Siva's devoted servants. [650]\n\nIn that city there lived of old time a king named Brahmadatta, [651]\nexclusively devoted to Siva, a patron of Br\u00e1hmans, brave, generous,\nand compassionate. His commands passed current through the earth,\nthey stumbled not in rocky defiles, they were not whelmed in seas,\nthere were no continents which they did not cross. He had a queen named\nSomaprabh\u00e1, [652] who was dear and delightful to him as the moonlight\nto the chakora, and he was as eager to drink her in with his eyes. And\nhe had a Br\u00e1hman minister named Sivabh\u00fati, equal to Vrihaspati in\nintellect, who had fathomed the meaning of all the S\u00e1stras.\n\nOne night, that king, as he was lying on a bed on the top of a palace\nexposed to the rays of the moon, saw a couple of swans crossing\nthrough the air, with bodies of gleaming gold, looking like two\ngolden lotuses opened in the water of the heavenly Ganges, [653]\nand attended by a train of king-geese. When that wonderful pair had\npassed from his eyes, the king was for a long time afflicted, and his\nmind was full of regret at no longer enjoying that sight. He passed\nthat night without sleeping, and next morning he told his minister\nSivabh\u00fati what he had seen, and said to him, \"So, if I cannot feast\nmy eyes on those golden swans to my heart's content, of what profit\nto me is my kingdom or my life?\"\n\nWhen the king said this to his minister Sivabh\u00fati, he answered him,\n\"Do not be anxious; there is a means of bringing about what you\ndesire; listen, king; I will tell you what it is. Owing to the various\ninfluence of actions in a previous birth, various is this infinite\nhost of sentient beings produced by the Creator in this versatile\nworld. This world is really fraught with woe, but owing to delusion\nthere arises in creatures the fancy that happiness is to be found in\nit, and they take pleasure in house, and food, and drink, and so become\nattached to it. And Providence has appointed that different kinds of\nfood, drink, and dwellings, should be agreeable to different creatures,\naccording to the classes to which they respectively belong. So have\nmade, king, a great lake to be the dwelling-place of these swans,\ncovered with various kinds of lotuses, and watched by guards, where\nthey will be free from molestation. And keep always scattering on the\nbank food of the kind that birds love, in order that water-birds may\nquickly come there from various quarters. Among them these two golden\nswans will certainly come; and then you will be able to gaze on them\ncontinually: do not be despondent.\"\n\nWhen king Brahmadatta's minister said this to him, he had that\ngreat lake made according to his directions, and it was ready in a\nmoment. The lake was frequented by swans, s\u00e1rasas and chakrav\u00e1kas,\n[654] and after a time that couple of swans came there, and settled\ndown on a clump of lotuses in it. Then the guards set to watch the\nlake came and informed the king of that fact, and he went down to\nthe lake in a state of great delight, considering that his object had\nbeen accomplished. And he beheld those golden swans, and worshipped\nthem from a distance, and ministered to their comfort by scattering\nfor them grains of rice dipped in milk. And the king took so much\ninterest in them that he spent his whole time on the bank of that\nlake watching those swans with their bodies of pure gold, their eyes\nof pearl, their beaks and feet of coral, and the tips of their wings\nof emerald, [655] which had come there in perfect confidence.\n\nNow, one day, as the king was roaming along the bank of the lake, he\nsaw in one place a pious offering made with unfading flowers. And he\nsaid to the guards there, \"Who made this offering?\" Then the guards\nof the lake said to the king, \"Every day, at dawn, noon, and sunset,\nthese golden swans bathe in the lake, and make these offerings,\nand stand absorbed in contemplation: so we cannot say, king, what is\nthe meaning of this great wonder.\" When the king heard this from the\nguards, he said to himself, \"Such a proceeding is quite inconsistent\nwith the nature of swans; surely there must be a reason for this. So,\nI will perform asceticism until I find out who these swans are.\" Then\nthe king and his wife and his minister gave up food, and remained\nperforming penance and absorbed in meditation on Siva. And after the\nking had fasted for twelve days, the two heavenly swans came to him,\nand said to him in a dream with articulate voice, \"Rise up, king;\nto-morrow we will tell you and your wife and minister, after you have\nbroken your fast, the whole truth of the matter in private.\" When the\nswans had said this, they disappeared, and next morning the king and\nhis wife and his minister, as soon as they awoke, rose up, and broke\ntheir fast. And after they had eaten, the two swans came to them,\nas they were sitting in a pleasure-pavilion near the water. The\nking received them with respect, and said to them, \"Tell me who you\nare.\" Then they proceeded to tell him their history.\n\n\n\nHow P\u00e1rvat\u00ed condemned her five attendants to be reborn on earth.\n\nThere is a monarch of mountains famous on the earth under the name\nof Mandara, in whose groves of gleaming jewels all the gods roam, on\nwhose table-lands, watered with nectar from the churned sea of milk,\nare to be found flowers, fruits, roots, and water, that are antidotes\nto old age and death. Its highest peaks, composed of various precious\nstones, form the pleasure-grounds of Siva, and he loves it more than\nmount Kail\u00e1sa.\n\nThere, one day, that god left P\u00e1rvat\u00ed, after he had been diverting\nhimself with her, and disappeared, to execute some business for\nthe gods. Then the goddess, afflicted by his absence, roamed in the\nvarious places where he loved to amuse himself, and the other gods\ndid their best to console her.\n\nAnd one day the goddess was much troubled by the advent of spring,\nand she was sitting surrounded by the Ganas at the foot of a tree,\nthinking about her beloved, when a noble Gana, named Manipushpesvara,\nlooked lovingly at a young maiden, the daughter of Jay\u00e1, called\nChandralekh\u00e1, who was waving a chowrie over the goddess. He was a\nmatch for her in youth and beauty, and she met his glance with a\nresponsive look of love, as he stood by her side. Two other Ganas,\nnamed Pingesvara and Guhesvara, when they saw that, interchanged\nglances, and a smile passed over their faces. And when the goddess\nsaw them smiling, she was angry in her heart, and she cast her eyes\nhither and thither, to see what they were laughing at in this unseemly\nmanner. And then she saw that Chandralekh\u00e1 and Manipushpesvara were\nlooking lovingly in one another's faces.\n\nThen the goddess, who was quite distracted with the sorrow of\nseparation, was angry, and said, \"These young people have done well\nto look lovingly [656] at one another in the absence of the god,\nand these two mirthful people have done well to laugh when they\nsaw their glances: so let this lover and maiden, who are blinded\nwith passion, fall into a human birth; and there the disrespectful\npair shall be man and wife; but these unseasonable laughers shall\nendure many miseries on the earth; they shall be first poor Br\u00e1hmans,\nand then [657] Br\u00e1hman-R\u00e1kshasas, and then Pis\u00e1chas, and after that\nChand\u00e1las, and then robbers, and then bob-tailed dogs, and then they\nshall be various kinds of birds,--shall these Ganas who offended by\nlaughing; for their minds were unclouded, when they were guilty of\nthis disrespectful conduct.\n\nWhen the goddess had uttered this command, a Gana of the name of\nDh\u00farjata said, \"Goddess, this is very unjust; these excellent Ganas\ndo not deserve so severe a curse, for a very small offence.\" When the\ngoddess heard that, she said in her wrath to Dh\u00farjata also, \"Fall thou\nalso, great sir, that knowest not thy place, into a mortal womb.\" When\nthe goddess had inflicted these tremendous curses, the female warder\nJay\u00e1, the mother of Chandralekh\u00e1, clung to her feet, and addressed\nthis petition to her, \"Withdraw thy anger, goddess; appoint an end to\nthe curse of this daughter of mine, and of these thy own servants,\nthat have through ignorance committed sin.\" When P\u00e1rvat\u00ed had been\nthus entreated by her warder Jay\u00e1, she said, \"When all these, owing to\ntheir having obtained insight, shall in course of time meet together,\nthey shall, after visiting Siva the lord of magic powers, in the place\n[658] where Brahm\u00e1 and the other gods performed asceticism, return to\nour court, having been freed from their curse. And this Chandralekh\u00e1,\nand her beloved, and that Dh\u00farjata shall, all three of them, be happy\nin their life as mortals, but these two shall be miserable.\"\n\nWhen the goddess had said this, she ceased; and at that very moment\nthe Asura Andhaka came there, having heard of the absence of Siva. The\npresumptuous Asura hoped to win the goddess, but having been reproached\nby her attendants he departed, but he was slain on that account by the\ngod, who discovered the reason of his coming, and pursued him. [659]\nThen Siva returned home having accomplished his object, and P\u00e1rvat\u00ed\ndelighted told him of the coming of Andhaka, and the god said to her,\n\"I have to-day slain a former mind-born son of thine, named Andhaka,\nand he shall now be a Bhringin here, as nothing remains of him but\nskin and bone.\" When Siva had said this, he remained there diverting\nhimself with the goddess, and Manipushpesvara and the other five\ndescended to earth.\n\n\"Now, king, hear the long and strange story of these two, Pingesvara\nand Guhesvara.\"\n\n\n\nStory of the metamorphoses of Pingesvara and Guhesvara.\n\nThere is on the earth a royal grant to Br\u00e1hmans, named Yajnasthala. In\nit there lived a rich [660] and virtuous Br\u00e1hman named Yajnasoma. In\nhis middle age he had two sons born to him; the name of the elder\nwas Harisoma and of the younger Devasoma. They passed through the age\nof childhood, and were invested with the sacred thread, and then the\nBr\u00e1hman their father lost his wealth, and he and his wife died.\n\nThen those two wretched sons, bereaved of their father, and without\nsubsistence, having had their grant taken from them by their relations,\nsaid to one another, \"We are now reduced to living on alms, but we\nget no alms here. So we had better go to the house of our maternal\ngrandfather, though it is far off. Though we have come down in\nthe world, who on earth would welcome us, if we arrive of our own\naccord. Nevertheless let us go. What else indeed are we to do, for\nwe have no other resource?\"\n\nAfter deliberating to this effect they went, begging their way, by\nslow stages, to that royal grant, where the house of their grandfather\nwas. There the unfortunate young men found out, by questioning people,\nthat their grandfather, whose name was Somadeva, was dead, and his\nwife also.\n\nThen, begrimed with dust, they entered despairing the house of\ntheir maternal uncles named Yajnadeva and Kratudeva. There those\ngood Br\u00e1hmans welcomed them kindly, and gave them food and clothing,\nand they remained engaged in study. But in course of time the wealth\nof their maternal uncles diminished, and they could keep no servants,\nand then they came and said to those nephews in the most affectionate\nway, \"Dear boys, we can no longer afford to keep a man to look after\nour cattle, as we have become poor, so do you look after our cattle\nfor us.\" When Harisoma and Devasoma's uncles said this to them, their\nthroats were full of tears, but they agreed to their proposal. Then\nthey took the cattle to the forest every day, and looked after them\nthere, and at evening they returned home with them, wearied out.\n\nThen, as they went on looking after the cattle, owing to their falling\nasleep in the day, some animals were stolen, and others were eaten by\ntigers. That made their uncles very unhappy: and one day a cow and goat\nintended for sacrifice, belonging to their uncles, both disappeared\nsomewhere or other. Terrified at that, they took the other animals\nhome before the right time, and running off in search of the two that\nwere missing, they entered a distant forest. There they saw their goat\nhalf eaten by a tiger, and after lamenting, being quite despondent,\nthey said, \"Our uncles were keeping this goat for a sacrifice, and\nnow that it is destroyed, their anger will be something tremendous. So\nlet us dress its flesh with fire, and eat enough of it to put an end\nto our hunger, and then let us take the rest, and go off somewhere\nand support ourselves by begging.\"\n\nAfter these reflections they proceeded to roast the goat, and while\nthey were so engaged, their two uncles arrived, who had been running\nafter them, and saw them cooking the goat. When they saw their\nuncles in the distance, they were terrified, and they rose up in\ngreat trepidation, and fled from the spot. And those two uncles in\ntheir wrath pronounced [661] on them the following curse, \"Since,\nin your longing for flesh, you have done a deed worthy of R\u00e1kshasas,\nyou shall become flesh-eating Br\u00e1hman-Rakshasas.\" And immediately\nthose two young Br\u00e1hmans became Brahman-R\u00e1kshasas, having mouths\nformidable with tusks, flaming hair, and insatiable hunger; and they\nwandered about in the forest catching animals and eating them.\n\nBut one day they rushed upon an ascetic, who possessed supernatural\npower, to slay him, and he in self-defence cursed them, and they became\nPis\u00e1chas. And in their condition as Pis\u00e1chas, they were carrying off\nthe cow of a Br\u00e1hman, to kill it, but they were overpowered by his\nspells, and reduced by his curse to the condition of Chand\u00e1las.\n\nOne day, as they were roaming about in their condition as Chand\u00e1las,\nbow in hand, tormented with hunger, they reached, in their search for\nfood, a village of bandits. The warders of the village, supposing\nthem to be thieves, arrested them both, as soon as they saw them,\nand cut off their ears and noses. And they bound them, and beat\nthem with sticks, and brought them in this condition before the\nchiefs of the bandits. There they were questioned by the chiefs,\nand being bewildered with fear, and tormented with hunger and pain,\n[662] they related their history to them. Then the chiefs of the gang,\nmoved by pity, set them at liberty, and said to them, \"Remain here\nand take food; do not be terrified. You have arrived here on the\neighth day of the month, the day on which we worship K\u00e1rtikeya, and\nso you are our guests; and should have a share in our feast.\" [663]\n\"When the bandits had said this, they worshipped the goddess Durg\u00e1,\nand made the two Chand\u00e1las eat in their presence, [664] and having,\nas it happened, taken a fancy to them, they would not let them out\nof their sight. Then they lived with those bandits by robbing, and\nthanks to their courage, became eventually the chiefs of the gang.\n\nAnd one night those chiefs marched with their followers to plunder a\nlarge town, a favourite abode of Siva, which some of their spies had\nselected for attack. Though they saw an evil omen, they did not turn\nback, and they reached and plundered the whole city and the temple\nof the god. Then the inhabitants cried to the god for protection,\nand Siva in his wrath bewildered the bandits by making them blind. And\nthe citizens suddenly perceiving that, and thinking that it was due to\nthe favour of Siva, assembled and smote those bandits with sticks and\nstones. And Ganas, moving about invisibly, flung some of the bandits\ninto ravines, and dashed others to pieces against the ground.\n\nAnd the people, seeing the two leaders, were about to put them to\ndeath, but they immediately turned into bob-tailed dogs. And in this\ntransformation they suddenly remembered their former birth, and danced\nin front of Siva, and fled to him for protection. When the citizens,\nBr\u00e1hmans, merchants, and all, saw that, they were delighted at being\nfree from fear of robbers, and went laughing to their houses. And\nthen the delusion, that had possessed those two beings now turned\ninto dogs, disappeared, and they awoke to reality, and in order to\nput an end to their curse, they fasted, and appealed to Siva by severe\nasceticism. And the next morning, the citizens, making high festival\nand worshipping Siva, beheld those dogs absorbed in contemplation,\nand though they offered them food, the creatures would not touch it.\n\nAnd the two dogs remained in this state for several days, beheld by\nall the world, and then Siva's Ganas preferred this prayer to him,\n\"O god, these two Ganas, Pingesvara and Guhesvara, who were cursed\nby the goddess, have been afflicted for a long time, so take pity on\nthem.\" When the holy god heard that, he said, \"Let these two Ganas be\ndelivered from their canine condition and became crows!\" Then they\nbecame crows, and broke their fast upon the rice of the offering,\nand lived happily, remembering their former state, exclusively devoted\nto Siva.\n\nAfter some time, Siva having been satisfied by their devotion to\nhim, they became by his command first vultures, and then peacocks;\nthen those noble Ganas, in course of time, became swans; and in that\ncondition also they strove with the utmost devotion to propitiate\nSiva. And at last they gained the favour of that god by bathing\nin sacred waters, by performing vows, by meditations, and acts of\nworship, and they became all composed of gold and jewels, and attained\nsupernatural insight.\n\n\"Know that we are those very two, Pingesvara and Guhesvara, who by\nthe curse of P\u00e1rvat\u00ed endured a succession of woes, and have now become\nswans. But the Gana Manipushpesvara, who was in love with the daughter\nof Jay\u00e1, and was cursed by the goddess, has become a king upon earth,\neven yourself, Brahmadatta. And that daughter of Jay\u00e1 has been born\nas this lady, your wife Somaprabh\u00e1; and that Dh\u00farjata has been born\nas this your minister Sivabh\u00fati. And therefore we, having attained\ninsight, and remembering the end of the curse appointed by P\u00e1rvat\u00ed,\nappeared to you at night. By means of that artifice we have all\nbeen re-united here to-day; and we will bestow on you the perfection\nof insight.\n\n\"Come, let us go to that holy place of Siva on the Tridasa mountain,\nrightly named Siddh\u00edsvara, [665] where the gods performed asceticism in\norder to bring about the destruction of the Asura Vidyuddhvaja. And\nthey slew that Asura in fight, with the help of Mukt\u00e1phalaketu,\nthe head of all the Vidy\u00e1dhara princes, who had been obtained by\nthe favour of Siva. And that Mukt\u00e1phalaketu, having passed through\nthe state of humanity brought upon him by a curse, obtained reunion\nwith Padm\u00e1vat\u00ed by the favour of the same god. Let us go to that holy\nplace, which has such splendid associations connected with it, and\nthere propitiate Siva, and then we will return to our own home, for\nsuch was the end of the curse appointed to all of us by the goddess,\nto take place at the same time.\" When the two heavenly swans said\nthis to king Brahmadatta, he was at once excited with curiosity to\nhear the tale of Mukt\u00e1phalaketu.\n\n\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER CXV.\n\n\nThen king Brahmadatta said to those celestial swans, \"How did\nMukt\u00e1phalaketu kill that Vidyuddhvaja? And how did he pass through\nthe state of humanity inflicted on him by a curse, and regain\nPadm\u00e1vat\u00ed? Tell me this first, and afterwards you shall carry out\nyour intentions.\" When those [666] birds heard this, they began to\nrelate the story of Mukt\u00e1phalaketu as follows.\n\n\n\nStory of Mukt\u00e1phalaketu and Padm\u00e1vat\u00ed.\n\nOnce on a time there was a king of the Daityas named Vidyutprabh\u00e1,\nhard for gods to conquer. He, desiring a son, went to the bank of the\nGanges, and with his wife performed asceticism for a hundred years\nto propitiate Brahm\u00e1. And by the favour of Brahm\u00e1, who was pleased\nwith his asceticism, that enemy of the gods obtained a son named\nVidyuddhvaja, who was invulnerable at their hands.\n\nThat son of the king of the Daityas, even when a child, was of great\nvalour; and one day seeing that their town was guarded on all sides by\ntroops, he said to one of his companions, \"Tell me, my friend, what\nhave we to be afraid of, that this town is thus guarded on all sides\nby troops?\" Then his companion said to him, \"We have an adversary in\nIndra the king of the gods; and it is on his account that this system\nof guarding the town is kept up. Ten hundred thousand elephants,\nand fourteen hundred thousand chariots, and thirty hundred thousand\nhorsemen, and a hundred millions of footmen guard the city in turn\nfor one watch of the night, and the turn of guarding comes round for\nevery division in seven years.\"\n\nWhen Vidyuddhvaja heard this, he said, \"Out on such a throne, that\nis guarded by the arms of others, and not by its own might! However,\nI will perform such severe asceticism, as will enable me to conquer\nmy enemy with my own arm, and put an end to all this insolence of\nhis.\" When Vidyuddhvaja had said this, he put aside that companion\nof his, who tried to prevent him, and without telling his parents,\nwent to the forest to perform penance.\n\nBut his parents heard of it, and in their affection for their child,\nthey followed him, and said to him, \"Do not act rashly, son; severe\nasceticism ill befits a child like you. Our throne has been victorious\nover its enemies; is there one more powerful in the whole world? What\ndo you desire to get by withering yourself in vain? Why do you afflict\nus?\" When Vidyuddhvaja's parents said this to him, he answered them,\n\"I will acquire, even in my childhood, heavenly arms by the force\nof asceticism; as for our empire over the world being unopposed by\nenemies, do I not know so much from the fact that our city is guarded\nby troops ever ready in their harness?\"\n\nWhen the Asura Vidyuddhvaja, firm in his resolution, had said so much\nto his parents, and had sent them away, he performed asceticism to win\nover Brahm\u00e1. He continued for a period of three hundred years living\non fruits only, and successively for similar periods living on water,\nair, and nothing at all. Then Brahm\u00e1, seeing that his asceticism was\nbecoming capable of upsetting the system of the world, came to him,\nand at his request gave him the weapons of Brahm\u00e1. He said, \"This\nweapon of Brahm\u00e1 cannot be repelled by any weapon except the weapon\nof Pasupati Rudra, which is unattainable by me. So, if you desire\nvictory, you must not employ it unseasonably.\" When Brahm\u00e1 had said\nthis, he went away, and that Daitya went home.\n\nThen Vidyuddhvaja marched out to conquer his enemies with his father,\nand with all his forces, who came together to that great feast of\nwar. Indra, the ruler of the gods' world, heard of his coming, and\nkept guard in heaven, and when he drew near, marched out to meet\nhim, eager for battle, accompanied by his friend Chandraketu, the\nking of the Vidy\u00e1dharas, and by the supreme lord of the Gandharvas,\nnamed Padmasekhara. Then Vidyuddhvaja appeared, hiding the heaven\nwith his forces, and Rudra and others came there to behold that\nbattle. Then there took place between those two armies a battle,\nwhich was involved in darkness [667] by the sun's being eclipsed with\nthe clashing together of missiles; and the sea of war swelled high,\nlashed by the wind of wrath, with hundreds of chariots for inflowing\nstreams, and rolling horses and elephants for marine monsters.\n\nThen single combats took place between the gods and Asuras, and\nVidyutprabh\u00e1, the father of Vidyuddhvaja, rushed in wrath upon\nIndra. Indra found himself being gradually worsted by the Daitya in\nthe interchange of missiles; so he flung his thunderbolt at him. And\nthen that Daitya, smitten by the thunderbolt, fell dead. And that\nenraged Vidyuddhvaja so that he attacked Indra. And, though his life\nwas not in danger, he began by discharging at him the weapon of Brahm\u00e1;\nand other great Asuras struck at him with other weapons. Then Indra\ncalled to mind the weapon of Pasupati, presided over by Siva himself,\nwhich immediately presented itself in front of him; he worshipped\nit, and discharged it among his foes. That weapon, which was of the\nnature of a destroying fire, consumed the army of the Asuras; but\nVidyuddhvaja, being a child, only fell senseless when smitten by it;\nfor that weapon does not harm children, old men, or fugitives. Then\nall the gods returned home victorious.\n\nAnd Vidyuddhvaja, for his part, who had fallen senseless, recovered\nhis senses after a very long time, and fled weeping, and then said to\nthe rest of his soldiers, who had assembled; \"In spite of my having\nacquired the weapon of Brahm\u00e1, we were not victorious to-day, though\nvictory was in our grasp; on the contrary we were defeated. So I will\ngo and attack Indra, and lose my life in battle. Now that my father\nis slain, I shall not be able to return to my own city.\" When he\nsaid this, an old minister of his father's said to him, \"The weapon\nof Brahm\u00e1, discharged unseasonably, is too languid to contend with\nother weapons discharged, for that great weapon was to-day overcome\nby the weapon of Siva, which will not brook the presence of others. So\nyou ought not unseasonably to challenge your victorious enemy, for in\nthis way you will strengthen him and destroy yourself. The calm and\nresolute man preserves his own life, and in due time regains might,\nand takes revenge on his enemy, and so wins a reputation esteemed by\nthe whole world.\"\n\nWhen that old minister said this to Vidyuddhvaja, he said to him,\n\"Then go you and take care of my kingdom, but I will go and propitiate\nthat supreme lord Siva.\"\n\nWhen he had said this, he dismissed his followers, though they were\nloth to leave him, and he went with five young Daityas, companions\nof equal age, and performed asceticism on the bank of the Ganges, at\nthe foot of mount Kail\u00e1sa. During the summer he stood in the midst\nof five fires, and during the winter in the water, meditating on\nSiva; and for a thousand years he lived on fruits only. For a second\nthousand years he ate only roots, for a third he subsisted on water,\nfor a fourth on air, and during the fifth he took no food at all.\n\nBrahm\u00e1 once more came to grant him a boon, but he did not shew him\nany respect: on the contrary he said, \"Depart, I have tested the\nefficiency of thy boon.\" And he remained fasting for another period\nof equal duration, and then a great volume of smoke rose up from\nhis head; and Siva manifested himself to him, and said to him,\n\"Choose a boon.\" When thus addressed, that Daitya said to him,\n\"May I, Lord, by thy favour slay Indra in fight!\" The god answered,\n\"Rise up! There is no distinction between the slain [668] and the\nconquered; so thou shalt conquer Indra and dwell in his heaven.\"\n\nWhen the god had said this, he disappeared, and Vidyuddhvaja,\nconsidering that the wish of his heart was attained, broke his fast,\nand went to his city. There he was welcomed by the citizens, and\nmet by that minister of his father's, who had endured suffering\nfor his sake, and who now made great rejoicing. He then summoned\nthe armies of the Asuras, and made preparation for battle, and sent\nan ambassador to Indra to warn him to hold himself in readiness for\nfight. And he marched out, hiding with his banners the sky, which he\nclove with the thunderous roar of his host, and so he seemed to be\nfulfilling the wish [669] of the inhabitants of heaven. And Indra,\nfor his part, knowing that he had returned from winning a boon,\nwas troubled, but after taking counsel with the adviser of the gods,\n[670] he summoned his forces.\n\nThen Vidyuddhvaja arrived, and there took place between those two\narmies a great battle, in which it was difficult to distinguish\nbetween friend and foe. Those Daityas, who were headed by Sub\u00e1hu,\nfought with the wind-gods, and Ping\u00e1ksha and his followers with the\ngods of wealth, and Mah\u00e1m\u00e1ya and his forces with the gods of fire,\nand Ayahk\u00e1ya and his hosts with the sun-gods, and Akampana and\nhis warriors with the Siddhas; some other Daityas fought with the\nVidy\u00e1dharas, and the rest with the Gandharvas and their allies. So\na great battle continued between them for twenty days, and on the\ntwenty-first day the gods were routed in fight by the Asuras.\n\nAnd when routed, they fled, and entered heaven: and then Indra himself\nissued, mounted on Air\u00e1vana. And the forces of the gods rallied round\nhim, and marched out again, with the leaders of the Vidy\u00e1dharas, headed\nby Chandraketu. Then a desperate fight took place, and Asuras and gods\n[671] were being slain in great numbers, when Vidyuddhvaja attacked\nIndra, to revenge the slaughter of his father. The king of the gods\ncleft over and over again the bow of that chief of the Asuras, who\nkept repelling his shafts with answering shafts. Then Vidyuddhvaja,\nelated with the boon of Siva, seized his mace, and rushed furiously\non Indra. He leapt up, planting his feet on the tusks of Air\u00e1vana,\nand climbed up on his forehead, and killed his driver. And he gave the\nking of the gods a blow with his mace, and he quickly returned it with\na similar weapon. But when Vidyuddhvaja struck him a second time with\nhis mace, Indra fell senseless on to the chariot of the Wind-god. And\nthe Wind-god carried him away in his chariot out of the fight with\nthe speed of thought; and Vidyuddhvaja, who sprang after him, [672]\nfell on the ground.\n\nAt that moment a voice came from the air, \"This is an evil day, so\ncarry Indra quickly out of the fight.\" Then the Wind-god carried off\nIndra at the utmost speed of his chariot, and Vidyuddhvaja pursued\nthem, mounted on his; and in the meanwhile Air\u00e1vanah, infuriated and\nunrestrained by the driver's hook, ran after Indra, trampling and\nscattering the forces. And the army of the gods left the field of\nbattle and followed Indra; and Brihaspati carried off his wife Sach\u00ed,\nwho was much alarmed, to the heaven of Brahm\u00e1. Then Vidyuddhvaja,\nhaving gained the victory, and having found Amar\u00e1vat\u00ed empty, entered\nit, accompanied by his shouting troops.\n\nAnd Indra, having recovered consciousness, and seeing that it was an\nevil time, entered that heaven of Brahm\u00e1 with all the gods. And Brahm\u00e1\ncomforted him, saying, \"Do not grieve; at present this boon of Siva\nis predominant; but you will recover your position.\" And he gave him,\nto dwell in, a place of his own, furnished with all delights, named\nSam\u00e1dhisthala, situated in a region of the world of Brahm\u00e1. There the\nking of the gods dwelt, accompanied by Sach\u00ed and Air\u00e1vana: and by his\norders the Vidy\u00e1dhara kings went to the heaven of the Wind-god. And\nthe lords of the Gandharvas went to the inviolable world of the\nmoon; and others went to other worlds, abandoning severally their\nown dwellings. And Vidyuddhvaja, having taken possession of the\nterritory of the gods with beat of drum, enjoyed sway over heaven,\n[673] as an unlimited monarch.\n\nAt this point of the story, Chandraketu the Vidy\u00e1dhara king, having\nremained long in the world of the Wind-god, said to himself, \"How long\nam I to remain here, fallen from my high rank? The asceticism of my\nenemy Vidyuddhvaja has not even now spent its force; but I have heard\nthat my friend Padmasekhara, the king of the Gandharvas, has gone from\nthe world of the Moon to the city of Siva to perform asceticism. I\ndo not know as yet, whether Siva has bestowed a boon on him, or not;\nwhen I have discovered that, I shall know what I myself ought to do.\"\n\nWhile he was going through these reflections, his friend, the king of\nthe Gandharvas, came towards him, having obtained a boon. That king of\nthe Gandharvas, having been welcomed with an embrace by Chandraketu,\nand questioned, [674] told him his story, \"I went to the city of\nSiva and propitiated Siva with asceticism; and he said to me, 'Go,\nthou shalt have a noble son; and thou shalt recover thy kingdom,\nand obtain a daughter of transcendent beauty, whose husband shall\nbe the heroic slayer of Vidyuddhvaja.' [675] Having received this\npromise from Siva, I have come here to tell you.\"\n\nWhen Chandraketu had heard this from the king of the Gandharvas he\nsaid, \"I too must go and propitiate Siva in order to put an end to this\nsorrow; without propitiating him we cannot obtain the fulfilment of our\ndesires. \"When Chandraketu had formed this resolution, he went with his\nwife Mukt\u00e1val\u00ed to the heavenly abode of Siva, to perform asceticism.\n\nAnd Padmasekbara told the story of his boon to Indra, and having\nconceived a hope of the destruction of his enemy, went to the world\nof the moon. Then that king of the gods in Sam\u00e1dhisthala, having also\nconceived a hope of the destruction of his enemy, called to mind the\ncounsellor of the immortals. And he appeared as soon as he was thought\nupon, and the god, bowing before him, and honouring him, said to him,\n\"Siva, pleased with the asceticism of Padmasekhara, has promised\nthat he shall have a son-in-law who shall slay Vidyuddhvaja. So we\nshall eventually see an end put to his crimes; in the meanwhile I am\ndespondent, dwelling here in misery on account of my having fallen\nfrom my high position. So devise, holy sir, some expedient that will\noperate quickly.\" When the adviser of the gods heard this speech of\nIndra's, he said to him; \"It is true that that enemy of ours has nearly\nexhausted his asceticism by his crimes; so now we have an opportunity\nof exerting ourselves against him. Come, then; let us tell Brahm\u00e1;\nhe will point out to us an expedient.\"\n\nWhen Brihaspati had said this to Indra, he went with him to Brahm\u00e1,\nand after worshipping him, he told him what was in his mind. Then\nBrahm\u00e1 said, \"Am I not also anxious to bring about the same end? But\nSiva alone can remove the calamity that he has caused. And that god\nrequires a long propitiation: [676] so let us go to Vishnu, who is\nlike-minded with him; he will devise an expedient.\"\n\nWhen Brahm\u00e1 and Indra and Brihaspati had deliberated together to this\neffect, they ascended a chariot of swans, and went to Svetadv\u00edpa;\n[677] where all the inhabitants carried the conch, discus, lotus, and\nclub, and had four arms, being assimilated to Vishnu in appearance as\nthey were devoted to him in heart. There they saw the god in a palace\ncomposed of splendid jewels, reposing on the serpent Sesha, having his\nfeet adored by Lakshm\u00ed. After bowing before him, and having been duly\nwelcomed by him, and venerated by the divine sages, they took the seats\nbefitting them. When the holy one asked the gods how they prospered,\nthey humbly said to him, \"What prosperity can be ours, O god, as long\nas Vidyuddhvaja is alive? For you know all that he has done to us,\nand it is on his account that we have come here now: it now rests\nwith you to determine what further is to be done in this matter.\"\n\nWhen the gods said this to Vishnu, he answered them, \"Why, do I not\nknow that my regulations are broken by that Asura? But what the great\nlord, the slayer of Tripura has done, he alone can undo: I cannot. And\nfrom him must proceed the overthrow of that wicked Daitya. You must\nmake haste, provided I tell you an expedient; and I will tell you one;\nlisten! There is a heavenly abode of Siva, named Siddh\u00edsvara. There the\ngod Siva is found ever manifest. And long ago that very god manifested\nto me and Praj\u00e1pati [678] his form as the flame-linga, and told me\nthis secret. So come, let us go there and entreat him with asceticism:\nhe will put an end to this affliction of the worlds.\" When the god\nVishnu had uttered this behest, they all went to Siddh\u00edsvara by means\nof two conveyances, the bird Garuda and the chariot of swans. That\nplace is untouched by the calamities of old age, death, and sickness,\nand it is the home of unalloyed happiness, and in it beasts, birds,\nand trees are all of gold. There they worshipped the linga of Siva,\nthat exhibits in succession all his forms, [679] and is in succession\nof various jewels; and then Vishnu, Brahm\u00e1, Indra, and Brihaspati,\nall four, with their minds devoted to Siva, proceeded to perform a\nsevere course of asceticism in order to propitiate him.\n\nAnd in the meanwhile Siva, propitiated by the severe asceticism of\nChandraketu, bestowed a boon on that prince of the Vidy\u00e1dharas, \"Rise\nup, king, a son shall be born to thee, who shall be a great hero, and\nshall slay in fight thy enemy Vidyuddhvaja; he shall become incarnate\namong the human race by a curse, and shall render a service to the\ngods, and shall recover his position by virtue of the asceticism\nof Padm\u00e1vat\u00ed, the daughter of the king of the Gandharvas: and with\nher for a wife he shall be emperor over all the Vidy\u00e1dharas for ten\nkalpas.\" [680] When the god had granted this boon, he disappeared,\nand Chandraketu went back to the world of the Wind-god with his wife.\n\nIn the meanwhile Siva was pleased with the severe asceticism of Vishnu\nand his companions in Siddh\u00edsvara, and he appeared to them in the\nlinga and delighted them by the following speech, \"Rise up, afflict\nyourselves no longer; I have been fully propitiated with self-torture\nby your partizan Chandraketu, the prince of the Vidy\u00e1dharas. And he\nshall have a heroic son, sprung from a part of me, who shall soon slay\nin fight that Daitya Vidyuddhvaja. Then, in order that he may perform\nanother service to the gods, he shall fall [681] by a curse into the\nworld of men, and the daughter of the Gandharva Padmasekhara shall\ndeliver him from that condition. And he shall rule the Vidy\u00e1dharas\nwith that lady, who shall be an incarnation of a portion of Gaur\u00ed,\nand shall be named Padm\u00e1vat\u00ed, for his consort, and at last he shall\ncome to me. So bear up for a little: this desire of yours is already\nas good as accomplished.\" \"When Siva had said this to Vishnu and his\ncompanions, he disappeared; then Vishnu, Brahm\u00e1, Indra and Brihaspati\nwent, in high delight, back to the places from which they came.\n\nThen Mukt\u00e1val\u00ed the wife of that king of the Vidy\u00e1dharas, named\nChandraketu, became pregnant, and in time she brought forth a son,\nilluminating the four quarters with his irresistible splendour,\n[682] like the infant sun arisen to remove the oppression under which\nthose ascetics were groaning. And as soon as he was born this voice\nwas heard from heaven, \"Chandraketu, this son of thine shall slay the\nAsura Vidyuddhvaja, and know that he is to be by name Mukt\u00e1phalaketu,\nthe terror of his foes.\"\n\nWhen the voice had said so much to the delighted Chandraketu, it\nceased; and a rain of flowers fell; and Padmasekhara, and Indra,\nhearing what had taken place, came there, and the other gods, who\nwere lurking concealed. Conversing to one another of the story of\nthe boon of Siva, and having rejoiced thereat, they went to their own\nabodes. And Mukt\u00e1phalaketu had all the sacraments performed for him,\nand gradually grew up; and as he grew, the joy of the gods increased.\n\nThen, some time after the birth of his son, a daughter was born to\nPadmasekhara, the supreme lord of the Gandharvas. And when she was\nborn, a voice came from the air, \"Prince of the Gandharvas, this\ndaughter of thine Padm\u00e1vat\u00ed shall be the wife of that king of the\nVidy\u00e1dharas who shall be the foe of Vidyuddhvaja.\" Then that maiden\nPadm\u00e1vat\u00ed gradually grew up, adorned with an overflowing effulgence\nof beauty, as if with billowy nectar acquired by her being born in\nthe world of the moon. [683]\n\nAnd that Mukt\u00e1phalaketu, even when a child, was high-minded, and\nbeing always devoted to Siva, he performed asceticism, in the form\nof vows, fasts, and other penances. And once on a time, when he had\nfasted twelve days, and was absorbed in meditation, the adorable\nSiva appeared to him, and said, \"I am pleased with this devotion of\nthine, so by my special favour the weapons, the sciences, and all the\naccomplishments shall manifest themselves to thee. And receive from me\nthis sword named Invincible, [684] by means of which thou shalt hold\nsovereign sway, unconquered by thy enemies.\" When the god had said\nthis, he gave him the sword and disappeared, and that prince at once\nbecame possessed of powerful weapons and great strength and courage.\n\nNow, one day, about this time, that great Asura Vidyuddhvaja, being\nestablished in heaven, was disporting himself in the water of the\nheavenly Ganges. He saw the water of that stream flowing along brown\nwith the pollen of flowers, and remarked that it was pervaded by\nthe smell of the ichor of elephants, and troubled with waves. Then,\npuffed up with pride of his mighty arm, he said to his attendants,\n\"Go and see who is disporting himself in the water above me.\" When the\nAsuras heard that, they went up the stream, and saw the bull of Siva\nsporting in the water with the elephant of Indra. And they came back\nand said to that prince of the Daityas, \"King, the bull of Siva has\ngone higher up the stream, and is amusing himself in the water with\nAir\u00e1vana: so this water is full of his garlands and of the ichor of\nAir\u00e1vana.\" When that Asura heard this, he was wroth, in his arrogance\nmaking light of Rudra, and infatuated by the full ripening of his\nown evil deeds he said to his followers, \"Go and bring that bull and\nAir\u00e1vana here bound.\" Those Asuras went there, and tried to capture\nthem, and thereupon the bull and elephant ran upon them in wrath and\nslew most of them. And those who escaped from the slaughter went and\ntold Vidyuddhvaja; and he was angry, and sent a very great force of\nAsuras against those two animals. And those two trampled to death\nthat army, upon which destruction came as the result of matured crime,\nand then the bull returned to Siva, and the elephant to Indra.\n\nThen Indra heard about that proceeding of the Daitya's from the guards,\nwho followed Air\u00e1vana to take care of him, and he concluded that\nthe time of his enemy's destruction had arrived, as he had treated\nwith disrespect even the adorable Siva. He told that to Brahm\u00e1,\nand then he united himself with the assembled forces of the gods,\nand the Vidy\u00e1dharas, and his other allies; and then he mounted the\nchief elephant of the gods, and set out to slay that enemy of his;\nand on his departure Sach\u00ed performed for him the usual ceremony to\nensure good fortune.\n\n\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER CXVI.\n\n\nThen Indra reached heaven and surrounded it with his forces, that were\nrendered confident by the favour of Siva, and had gained the suitable\nopportunity and the requisite strength. When Vidyuddhvaja saw that,\nhe marched out with his army ready for battle; but as he marched out\nevil omens manifested themselves to him; lightning flashes struck his\nbanners, vultures circled above his head, the state-umbrellas were\nbroken, and jackals uttered boding howls. [685] Disregarding these\nevil omens, nevertheless that Asura sallied forth; and then there\ntook place a mighty battle between the gods and the Asuras.\n\nAnd Indra said to Chandraketu the king of the Vidy\u00e1dharas, \"Why has\nMukt\u00e1phalaketu not yet come?\" Then Chandraketu humbly made answer,\n\"When I was marching out I was in such a hurry that I forgot to\ntell him; but he is sure to hear of it, and will certainly follow\nme quickly.\" When the king of the gods heard this, he quickly\nsent the dexterous charioteer of the Wind-god to bring the noble\nMukt\u00e1phalaketu. And his father Chandraketu sent with Indra's messenger\nhis own warder, with a force and a chariot, to summon him.\n\nBut Mukt\u00e1phalaketu, hearing that his father had gone to battle with the\nDaityas, was eager to set out for that fight with his followers. Then\nhe mounted his elephant of victory, and his mother performed for him\nthe ceremony to ensure good fortune, and he set out from the world of\nthe Wind, bearing the sword of Siva. And when he had set out, a rain\nof flowers fell on him from heaven, and the gods beat their drums,\nand favouring breezes blew. And then the hosts of the gods, that had\nfled and hid themselves out of fear of Vidyuddhvaja, assembled and\nsurrounded him. As he was marching along with that large army, he saw\nin his way a great temple of P\u00e1rvat\u00ed named Meghavana. His devotion to\nthe goddess would not allow him to pass it without worshipping [686];\nso he got down from his elephant, and taking in his hand heavenly\nflowers, he proceeded to adore the goddess.\n\nNow it happened that, at that very time, Padm\u00e1vat\u00ed the daughter of\nPadmasekhara the king of the Gandharvas, who had now grown up, had\ntaken leave of her mother, who was engaged in austerities to bring\ngood fortune to her husband who had gone to war, and had come, with\nher attendant ladies, in a chariot, from the world of Indra, to that\ntemple of Gaur\u00ed, with the intention of performing asceticism in order\nto ensure success to her father in battle, and to the bridegroom on\nwhom she had set her heart.\n\nOn the way one of her ladies said to her, \"You have not as yet any\nchosen lover, who might have gone to the war, and your mother is\nengaged in asceticism for the well-being of your father; for whose\nsake, my friend, do you, a maiden, seek to perform asceticism?\" When\nPadm\u00e1vat\u00ed had been thus addressed by her friend on the way, she\nanswered, \"My friend, a father is to maidens a divinity procuring all\nhappiness; moreover there has already been chosen for me a bridegroom\nof unequalled excellence. That Mukt\u00e1phalaketu, the son who has been\nborn to the Vidy\u00e1dhara king, in order that he may slay Vidyuddhvaja,\nhas been destined for my husband by Siva. This I heard from the\nmouth of my father, when questioned by my mother. And that chosen\nbridegroom of mine has either gone, or certainly is going to battle:\nso I am about to propitiate with asceticism the holy Gaur\u00ed, desiring\nvictory for my future husband [687] as well as for my father.\"\n\nWhen the princess said this, her attendant lady answered her, \"Then\nthis exertion on your part, though directed towards an object still in\nthe future, is right and proper; may your desire be accomplished!\" Just\nas her friend was saying this to her, the princess reached a large\nand beautiful lake in the neighbourhood of the temple of Gaur\u00ed. It\nwas covered all over with bright full-blown golden lotuses, and they\nseemed as if they were suffused with the beauty flowing forth from\nthe lotus of her face. The Gandharva maiden went down into that lake,\nand gathered lotuses with which to worship Ambik\u00e1, and was preparing\nto bathe, when two R\u00e1kshas\u00eds came that way, as all the R\u00e1kshasas\nwere rushing to the battle between the gods and Asuras, eager for\nflesh. They had up-standing hair, yellow as the flames vomited forth\nfrom their mouths terrible with tusks, gigantic bodies black as smoke,\nand pendulous breasts and bellies. The moment that those wanderers\nof the night saw that Gandharva princess, they swooped down upon her,\nand seized her, and carried her up towards the heaven.\n\nBut the deity, that presided over her chariot, impeded the flight\nof those R\u00e1kshas\u00eds, and her grieving retinue cried for help; and\nwhile this was going on, Mukt\u00e1phalaketu issued from the temple of the\ngoddess, having performed his worship; and hearing the lamentation, he\ncame in that direction. When the great hero beheld Padm\u00e1vat\u00ed gleaming\nbright in the grasp of that pair of R\u00e1kshas\u00eds, looking like a flash of\nlightning in the midst of a bank of black clouds, he ran forward and\ndelivered her, hurling the R\u00e1kshas\u00eds senseless to earth by a blow from\nthe flat of his hand. And he looked on that torrent river of the elixir\nof beauty, adorned with a waist charming with three wave-like wrinkles,\nwho seemed to have been composed by the Creator of the essence of\nall beauty, when he was full of the wonderful skill he had acquired\nby forming the nymphs of heaven. And the moment he looked on her, his\nsenses were benumbed by love's opiate, though he was strong of will;\nand he remained for a moment motionless, as if painted in a picture.\n\nAnd Padm\u00e1vat\u00ed too, now that the alarm caused by the R\u00e1kshas\u00eds was at\nan end, at once recovered her spirits, and looked on the prince, who\npossessed a form that was a feast to the eyes of the world, and who\nwas one fitted to madden womankind, and seemed to have been created\nby Fate by a blending together in one body of the moon and the god of\nLove. Then, her face being cast down with shame, she said of her own\naccord to her friend, \"May good luck befall him! I will depart hence,\nfrom the presence of a strange man.\"\n\nEven while she was saying this, Mukt\u00e1phalaketu said to her friend,\n\"What did this young lady say?\" And she answered, \"This lovely maiden\nbestowed a blessing on you, the saver of her life, and said to me,\n\"Come, let us depart from the presence of a strange man.\" When\nMukt\u00e1phalaketu heard this, he said to her with eager excitement,\n\"Who is she? Whose daughter is she? To what man of great merit in a\nformer life is she to be given in marriage? [688]\"\n\nWhen he addressed this question to the princess's companion,\nshe answered him, \"Fair sir, this my friend is the maiden named\nPadm\u00e1vat\u00ed, the daughter of Padmasekhara the king of the Gandharvas,\nand Siva has ordained that her husband is to be Mukt\u00e1phalaketu,\nthe son of Chandraketu, the darling of the world, the ally of Indra,\nthe destined slayer of Vidyuddhvaja. Because she desires the victory\nfor that future husband of hers and for her father in the battle now\nat hand, she has come to this temple of Gaur\u00ed to perform asceticism.\"\n\nWhen the followers of Chandraketu's son heard this, they delighted\nthe princess by exclaiming, \"Bravo! here is that future husband of\nyours.\" Then the princess and her lover had their hearts filled with\njoy at discovering one another, and they both thought, \"It is well\nthat we came here to-day,\" and they continued casting loving sidelong\ntimid glances at one another; and while they were thus engaged, the\nsound of drums was heard, and then a host appeared, and a chariot\nwith the wind-god, [689] and the warder of Chandraketu coming quickly.\n\nThen the wind-god and the warder respectfully left the chariot,\nand went up to that Mukt\u00e1phalaketu, and said to him, \"The king of\nthe gods and your father Chandraketu, who are in the field of battle,\ndesire your presence: so ascend this chariot, and come quickly.\" Then\nthe son of the Vidy\u00e1dhara king, though fettered by love of Padm\u00e1vat\u00ed,\nascended the chariot with them, out of regard for the interests of\nhis superiors. And putting on a heavenly suit of armour [690] sent\nby Indra, he set out quickly, often turning back his head to look\nat Padm\u00e1vat\u00ed.\n\nAnd Padm\u00e1vat\u00ed followed with her eyes, as long as he was in sight,\nthat hero, who with one blow from the flat of his hand had slain\nthe two R\u00e1kshas\u00eds, and with him ever in her thoughts, she bathed and\nworshipped Siva and P\u00e1rvat\u00ed, and from that time forth kept performing\nasceticism in that very place, to ensure his success.\n\nAnd Mukt\u00e1phalaketu, still thinking on his sight of her, which was\nauspicious and portended victory, reached the place where the battle\nwas going on between the gods and Asuras. And when they saw that hero\narrive well-armed and accompanied by a force, all the great Asuras\nrushed to attack him. But the hero cut their heads to pieces with\na rain of arrows, and made with them an offering to the gods of the\ncardinal points, by way of inaugurating the feast of battle.\n\nBut Vidyuddhvaja, seeing his army being slain by that Mukt\u00e1phalaketu,\nhimself rushed in wrath to attack him. And when he smote with arrows\nthat Daitya, as he came on, the whole army of the Asuras rushed upon\nhim from every quarter. When Indra saw that, he at once attacked\nthe army of the Daityas, with the Siddhas, Gandharvas, Vidy\u00e1dharas,\nand gods at his back.\n\nThen a confused battle arose, with dint of arrow, javelin, lance,\nmace and axe, costing the lives of countless soldiers; rivers of blood\nflowed along, with the bodies of elephants and horses for alligators,\nwith the pearls from the heads of elephants [691] for sands, and\nwith the heads of heroes for stones. That feast of battle delighted\nthe flesh-loving demons, who, drunk with blood instead of wine, were\ndancing with the palpitating trunks. The fortune of victory of the\ngods and Asuras in that sea of battle, swayed hither and thither from\ntime to time, fluctuating like a tide-wave. And in this way the fight\nwent on for twenty-four days, watched by Siva, Vishnu, and Brahm\u00e1,\nwho were present in their chariots.\n\nAnd at the end of the twenty-fifth day a series of single combats was\ntaking place between the principal warriors of both armies along the\ngreater part of the line of fight. And then a duel began between the\nnoble Mukt\u00e1phalaketu, and Vidyuddhvaja, the former in a chariot, the\nlatter on an elephant. Mukt\u00e1phalaketu repelled the weapon of darkness\nwith the weapon of the sun, the weapon of cold with the weapon of heat,\nthe rock-weapon with the thunderbolt-weapon, the serpent-weapon with\nthe weapon of Garuda, and then he slew the elephant-driver of that\nAsura with one arrow, and his elephant with another. Then Vidyuddhvaja\nmounted a chariot, and Mukt\u00e1phalaketu killed the charioteer and the\nhorses. Then Vidyuddhvaja took refuge in magic. He ascended into the\nsky invisible with his whole army, and rained stones and weapons on\nall sides of the army of the gods. And as for the impenetrable net\nof arrows which Mukt\u00e1phalaketu threw around it, that Daitya consumed\nit with showers of fire.\n\nThen Mukt\u00e1phalaketu sent against that enemy and his followers the\nweapon of Brahm\u00e1, which was capable of destroying the whole world,\nafter he had pronounced over it the appropriate spells. That weapon\nkilled the great Asura Vidyuddhvaja and his army, and they fell down\ndead from the sky. And the rest, namely, Vidyuddhvaja's son and his\nfollowers, and Vajradanshtra and his crew fled in fear to the bottom\nof Ras\u00e1tala. [692]\n\nAnd then the gods from heaven exclaimed, \"Bravo! Bravo!\" and they\nhonoured the noble Mukt\u00e1phalaketu with a rain of flowers. Then Indra,\nhaving recovered his sway, as his enemy was slain, entered heaven,\nand there was great rejoicing in the three worlds. And Praj\u00e1pati\n[693] himself came there, making Sach\u00ed precede him, and fastened a\nsplendid crest-jewel on the head of Mukt\u00e1phalaketu. And Indra took the\nchain from his own neck, and placed it on the neck of that victorious\nprince, who had restored his kingdom to him. And he made him sit on\na throne equal in all respects to his own; and the gods, full [694]\nof joy, bestowed upon him various blessings. And Indra sent on his\nwarder to the city of the Asura Vidyuddhvaja, and took possession of\nit in addition to his own city, with the intention of bestowing it\non Mukt\u00e1phalaketu, when a fitting time presented itself.\n\nThen the Gandharva Padmasekhara, wishing to bestow Padm\u00e1vat\u00ed on\nthat prince, looked meaningly at the face of the Disposer. And the\nDisposer, knowing what was in his heart, said to that prince of\nthe Gandharvas, \"There is still a service remaining to be done, so\nwait a little.\" Then there took place the triumphal feast of Indra,\nwith the songs of H\u00e1h\u00e1 and H\u00fah\u00fa, and the dances of Rambh\u00e1 and others,\nwhich they accompanied with their own voices. And when the Disposer\nhad witnessed the festive rejoicing, he departed, and Indra honoured\nthe Lokap\u00e1las and dismissed them to their several stations. [695]\nAnd after honouring that Gandharva monarch Padmasekhara and his\ntrain, he dismissed them to their own Gandharva city. And Indra,\nafter treating with the utmost respect the noble Mukt\u00e1phalaketu\nand Chandraketu, sent them to their own Vidy\u00e1dhara city to enjoy\nthemselves. And then Mukt\u00e1phalaketu, having destroyed the plague of\nthe universe, returned to his palace, accompanied by his father, and\nfollowed by many Vidy\u00e1dhara kings. And on account of the prince having\nreturned victorious with his father, after a long absence, that city\ndisplayed its joy, being adorned with splendid jewels, and garlanded\nwith flags. And his father Chandraketu at once bestowed gifts on all\nhis servants and relations, and kept high festival in the city for\nthe triumph of his son, showering wealth on it, as a cloud showers\nwater. But Mukt\u00e1phalaketu, though he had gained glory by conquering\nVidyuddhvaja, derived no satisfaction from his enjoyments without\nPadm\u00e1vat\u00ed. However, being comforted in soul by a friend named Samyata,\nwho reminded him of the decree of Siva, and consoling topics of that\nkind, he managed, though with difficulty, to get through those days.\n\n\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER CXVII.\n\n\nIn the meanwhile, that king of the Gandharvas, Padmasekhara, re-entered\nhis city, celebrating a splendid triumph; and hearing from his wife\nthat his daughter Padm\u00e1vat\u00ed had performed asceticism in the temple\nof Gaur\u00ed, to procure for him victory, he summoned her. And when his\ndaughter came, emaciated with asceticism and separation from her lover,\nand fell at his feet, he gave her his blessing, and said to her,\n\"Dear girl, for my sake you have endured great hardship in the form\nof penance, so obtain quickly for a husband the noble Mukt\u00e1phalaketu,\nthe son of the king of the Vidy\u00e1dharas, the slayer of Vidyuddhvaja,\nthe victorious protector of the world, who has been appointed to\nmarry you by Siva himself.\"\n\nWhen her father said this to her, she remained with face fixed on\nthe ground, and then her mother Kuvalay\u00e1vali said to him, \"How,\nmy husband, was so terrible an Asura, that filled the three worlds\nwith consternation, slain by that prince in fight?\" When the king\nheard that, he described to her the valour of that prince, and\nthe battle between the gods and Asuras. Then Padm\u00e1vat\u00ed's companion,\nwhose name was Manoh\u00e1rik\u00e1, described the easy manner in which he slew\nthe two R\u00e1kshas\u00eds. Then the king and queen, finding out that he and\ntheir daughter had met and fallen in love, were pleased, and said,\n\"What could those R\u00e1kshas\u00eds do against one, who swallowed the whole\narmy of the Asuras, as Agastya swallowed the sea?\" Then the fire\nof Padm\u00e1vat\u00ed's love blazed up more violently, being fanned by this\ndescription of her lover's surpassing courage, as by a breeze.\n\nThen the princess left her parents' presence, and immediately ascended\nin eager longing a jewelled terrace in the women's apartments, which\nhad pillars of precious stone standing in it, and lattices of pearl\nfastened to them, and had placed on its pavement, of costly mosaic,\nluxurious couches and splendid thrones, and was rendered still more\ndelightful by means of the various enjoyments which there presented\nthemselves as soon as thought of. Even when there, she was exceedingly\ntortured with the fire of separation. And she saw from the top of\nthis terrace a magnificent heavenly garden, planted with trees and\ncreepers of gold, and full of hundreds of tanks adorned with costly\nstone. And when she saw it, she said to herself, \"Wonderful! This\nsplendid city of ours is more beautiful even than the world of the\nmoon in which I was born. And yet I have not explored this city which\nis the very crest-jewel of the Him\u00e1layas, in which there is such a\nsplendid suburban garden excelling Nandana. So I will go into this\nlovely shrubbery, cool with the shade of trees, and alleviate a little\nthe scorching of the fires of separation.\"\n\nAfter the young maiden had gone through these reflections, she\ndexterously managed to descend slowly from the terrace alone, and\nprepared to go to that city garden. And as she could not go on foot,\nshe was carried there by some birds that were brought to her by her\npower, and served as her conveyance. When she reached the garden,\nshe sat in an arbour formed of plantains growing together, on a carpet\nof flowers, with heavenly singing and music sounding in her ears. And\neven there she did not obtain relief, and her passion did not abate;\non the contrary, the fire of her love increased still more, as she\nwas separated from her beloved.\n\nThen in her longing she was eager to behold that loved one, though only\nin a picture, so by her magic power she summoned for herself a tablet\nfor painting and colour-pencils. And she said to herself, \"Considering\neven the Disposer is unable to create a second like my beloved, how can\nI, reed [696] in hand, produce a worthy likeness of him? Nevertheless,\nI will paint him as well as I can for my own consolation.\" After going\nthrough these reflections she proceeded to paint him on a tablet, and\nwhile she was thus engaged, her confidante Manoh\u00e1rik\u00e1, who had been\ntroubled at not seeing her, came to that place to look for her. She\nstood behind the princess, and saw her languishing alone in the bower\nof creepers, with her painting-tablet in her hand. She said to herself,\n\"I will just see now what the princess is doing here alone.\" So the\nprincess's confidante remained there concealed.\n\nAnd then Padm\u00e1vat\u00ed, with her lotus-like eyes gushing with tears, began\nto address in the following words her beloved in the painting. \"When\nthou didst slay the formidable Asuras and deliver Indra, how comes it\nthat thou dost not deliver me from my woe, though near me, by speaking\nto me at any rate? To one whose merits in a former life are small, even\na wishing-tree is ungenerous, even Buddha is wanting in compassion,\nand even gold becomes a stone. Thou knowest not the fever of love,\nand canst not comprehend my pain; what could the poor archer Love,\nwhose arrows are but flowers, do against one whom the Daityas found\ninvincible? But what am I saying? Truly Fate is adverse to me, for Fate\nstops my eyes with tears, and will not allow me to behold thee for\nlong together, even in a picture.\" When the princess had said this,\nshe began to weep with teardrops that were so large that it appeared\nas if her necklace were broken, and great pearls were falling from it.\n\nAt that moment her friend Manoh\u00e1rik\u00e1 advanced towards her, and the\nprincess concealed the picture and said to her, \"My friend, I have not\nseen you for ever so long; where have you been?\" When Manoh\u00e1rik\u00e1 heard\nthis, she laughed and said, \"I have been wandering about, my friend,\nfor a long time to look for you; so, why do you hide the picture? I\nsaw a moment ago a wonderful picture.\" [697]\n\nWhen Padm\u00e1vat\u00ed's friend said this to her, she seized her hand, and\nsaid to her with a face cast down from shame, and a voice choked\nwith tears, \"My friend, you knew it all long ago; why should I try to\nconceal it? [698] The fact is, that prince, though on that occasion,\nin the sacred enclosure of Gaur\u00ed, he delivered me from the terrible\nfire of the R\u00e1kshas\u00ed's wrath, plunged me nevertheless in the fire\nof love, with its intolerable flame of separation. So I do not know,\nwhere to go, whom to speak to, what to do, or what expedient I must\nhave recourse to, since my heart is fixed on one hard to obtain.\"\n\nWhen the princess said this, her friend answered her, \"My dear,\nthis attachment of your mind is quite becoming and suitable; your\nunion would certainly be to the enhancement of one another's beauty,\nas the union of the digit of the new moon with the hair of Siva matted\ninto the form of a diadem. And do not be despondent about this matter:\nof a truth he will not be able to live without you; did you not see\nthat he was affected in the same way as yourself? Even women, who\nsee you, [699] are so much in love with your beauty that they desire\nto become men; so what man would not be a suitor for your hand? Much\nmore will he be, who is equal to you in beauty. Do you suppose that\nSiva, who declared that you should be man and wife, can say what\nis false? However, what afflicted one feels quite patient about an\nobject much desired, even though it is soon to be attained? So cheer\nup! He will soon become your husband. It is not hard for you to win\nany husband, but all men must feel that you are a prize hard to win.\"\n\nWhen the princess's attendant said this to her, she answered her,\n\"My friend, though I know all this, what am I to do? My heart cannot\nendure to remain for a moment without that lord of my life, to whom it\nis devoted, and Cupid will not bear to be trifled with any further. For\nwhen I think of him, my mind is immediately refreshed, [700] but my\nlimbs burn, and my breath seems to leave my body with glowing heat.\"\n\nEven as the princess was saying this, she, being soft as a flower, fell\nfainting with distraction into the arms of that friend of hers. Then\nher weeping friend gradually brought her round by sprinkling her with\nwater and fanning her with plantain-leaves. Her friend employed with\nher the usual remedies of a necklace and bracelet of lotus-fibres, a\nmoist anointing with sandal-wood unguent, and a bed of lotus-leaves;\nbut these contracted heat by coming in contact with her body,\nand seemed by their heating and withering to feel the same pain as\nshe felt.\n\nThen Padm\u00e1vat\u00ed, in her agitation, said to that friend, \"Why do you\nweary yourself in vain? My suffering cannot be alleviated in this\nway. It would be a happy thing, if you would take the only step\nlikely to alleviate it.\" When she said this in her pain, her friend\nanswered her, \"What would not I do for your sake? Tell me, my friend,\nwhat that step is.\"\n\nWhen the princess heard this, she said with difficulty, as if ashamed,\n\"Go, my dear friend, and bring my beloved here quickly; for in no other\nway can my suffering be allayed, and my father will not be angry; on\nthe contrary, as soon as he comes here, he will give me to him.\" When\nher friend heard that, she said to her in a tone of decision, \"If it be\nso, recover your self-command. This is but a little matter. Here am I,\nmy friend, setting out for Chandrapura the famous and splendid city of\nChandraketu the king of the Vidy\u00e1dharas, the father of your beloved,\nto bring your beloved to you. Be comforted! What is the use of grief?\"\n\nWhen the princess had been thus comforted by Manoh\u00e1rik\u00e1, she said,\n\"Then rise up, my friend, may your journey be prosperous! Go at\nonce! And you must say courteously from me to that heroic lord\nof my life, who delivered the three worlds, 'When you delivered\nme so triumphantly in that temple of Gaur\u00ed from the danger of the\nR\u00e1kshas\u00eds, how is that you do not deliver me now, when I am being\nslain by the god Cupid, the destroyer of women? Tell me, my lord,\nwhat kind of virtue is this in persons like yourself able to deliver\nthe worlds--to neglect in calamity one whom you formerly saved,\nthough she is devoted to you.' [701] This is what you must say,\nauspicious one, or something to this effect as your own wisdom may\ndirect.\" When Padm\u00e1vat\u00ed had said this, she sent that friend on her\nerrand. And she mounted a bird which her magic knowledge brought to\nher, to carry her, and set out for that city of the Vidy\u00e1dharas.\n\nAnd then Padm\u00e1vat\u00ed, having to a certain extent recovered her spirits\nby hope, took the painting-tablet, and entered the palace of her\nfather. There she went into her own apartment surrounded by her\nservants, and bathed and worshipped Siva with intense devotion, and\nthus prayed to him, \"Holy one, without thy favouring consent no wish,\ngreat or small, is fulfilled for any one in these three worlds. So if\nthou wilt not give me for a husband that noble son of the emperor of\nthe Vidy\u00e1dharas, on whom I have set my heart, I will abandon my body\nin front of thy image.\"\n\nWhen she addressed this prayer to Siva, her attendants were filled\nwith grief and astonishment, and said to her, \"Why do you speak\nthus, princess, regardless of your body's weal? Is there anything in\nthese three worlds difficult for you to obtain? Even Buddha would\nforget his self-restraint, if loved by you. So he must be a man of\nexceptional merit, whom you thus love.\" When the princess heard this,\ncarried away by the thought of his virtues, she said, \"How can I help\nloving him, who is the only refuge of Indra and the rest of the gods,\nwho alone destroyed the army of the Asuras, as the sun destroys the\ndarkness, and who saved my life?\" Saying such things, she remained\nthere full of longing, engaged in conversation about her beloved with\nher confidential attendants.\n\nIn the meanwhile her friend Manoh\u00e1rik\u00e1, travelling at full speed,\nreached Chandrapura, that city of the king of the Vidy\u00e1dharas; which\nVisvakarman made wonderful, and of unparalleled magnificence, as if\ndissatisfied with the city of the gods, though of that also he was the\narchitect. There she searched for Mukt\u00e1phalaketu, but could not find\nhim, and then, riding on her bird, she went to the garden belonging\nto that city. She derived much pleasure from looking at that garden,\nthe magic splendour of which was inconceivable; the trees of which\nwere of glittering jewels, and had this peculiarity that one tree\nproduced a great many flowers of different kinds; which was rendered\ncharming by the blending of the notes of various birds with the sound\nof heavenly songs; and which was full of many slabs of precious stone.\n\nAnd then, various gardeners, in the form of birds, saw her, and came\nup to her, speaking with articulate voice, and addressing her kindly,\nand they invited her to sit down on a slab of emerald at the foot of\na p\u00e1rij\u00e1ta-tree, and when she was seated, served her with appropriate\nluxuries. And she received that attention gratefully, and said to\nherself, \"Wonderful are the magic splendours of the princes of the\nVidy\u00e1dharas, since they possess such a garden in which enjoyments\npresent themselves unlooked for, in which the servants are birds,\nand the nymphs of heaven keep up a perpetual concert.\" When she had\nsaid this to herself, she questioned those attendants, and at last,\nsearching about, she found a thicket of p\u00e1rij\u00e1ta and other trees of\nthe kind, and in it she saw Mukt\u00e1phalaketu appearing to be ill, [702]\nlying on a bed of flowers sprinkled with sandal-wood juice. And she\nrecognized him, as she had become acquainted with him in the hermitage\nof Gaur\u00ed, and she said to herself, \"Let me see what his illness is,\nthat he is lying here concealed.\"\n\nIn the meanwhile Mukt\u00e1phalaketu began to say to his friend Samyataka,\nwho was attempting to restore him with ice, and sandal-wood, and\nfanning, \"Surely this god of love has placed hot coals in the ice for\nme, and in the sandal-wood juice a flame of chaff, and in the air of\nthe fan a fire as of a burning forest, since he produces a scorching\nglow on every side of me, who am tortured with separation. So why,\nmy friend, do you weary yourself in vain? In this garden, which\nsurpasses Nandana, even the delightful songs and dances and other\nsports of heavenly nymphs afflict my soul. And without Padm\u00e1vat\u00ed,\nthe lotus-faced, the daughter of Padmasekhara, this fever produced\nby the arrows of love cannot be alleviated. But I do not dare to say\nthis, and I do not find a refuge in any one; indeed I know only of one\nexpedient for obtaining her. I will go to the temple of Gaur\u00ed, where\nI saw my beloved, and where she tore out my heart with the arrows of\nher sidelong glances, and carried it away. There Siva, who is united\nwith the daughter of the king of mountains, will, when propitiated\nwith penance, shew me how to become united with my beloved.\"\n\nWhen the prince had said this, he was preparing to rise up, and then\nManoh\u00e1rik\u00e1, being much pleased, shewed herself; and Samyataka,\ndelighted, said to that prince, \"My friend, you are in luck;\nyour desire is accomplished. Look! here is that beloved's female\nattendant come to you. I beheld her at the side of the princess in\nthe hermitage of the goddess Ambik\u00e1.\" Then the prince, beholding the\nfriend of his beloved, was in a strange state, a state full of the\nbursting forth of joy, astonishment, and longing. And when she came\nnear him, a rain of nectar to his eyes, he made her sit by his side,\nand asked her about the health of his beloved.\n\nThen she gave him this answer, \"No doubt my friend will be well enough,\nwhen you become her husband; but at present she is afflicted. For\never since she saw you, and you robbed her of her heart, she has been\ndespondent, and neither hears nor sees. The maiden has left off her\nnecklace, and wears a chain of lotus-fibres; and has abandoned her\ncouch, and rolls on a bed of lotus-leaves. Best of conquerors, I tell\nyou, her limbs, now white with the sandal-wood juice which is drying\nup with their heat, seem laughingly [703] to say, 'That very maiden,\nwho formerly was too bashful to endure the mention of a lover [704],\nis now reduced to this sad condition by being separated from her dear\none.' And she sends you this message.\" Having said so much, Manoh\u00e1rik\u00e1\nrecited the two verses which Padm\u00e1vat\u00ed had put into her mouth.\n\nWhen Mukt\u00e1phalaketu heard all that, his pain departed, and he joyfully\nwelcomed Manoh\u00e1rik\u00e1, and said to her, \"This my mind has been irrigated\nby your speech, as by nectar, and is refreshed; and I have recovered\nmy spirits, and got rid of my languor: my good deeds in a former life\nhave to-day borne fruit, in that that daughter of the Gandharva king\nis so well-disposed towards me. But, though I might possibly be able\nto endure the agony of separation, how could that lady, whose body\nis as delicate as a sir\u00edsha-flower, endure it? So I will go to that\nvery hermitage of Gaur\u00ed; and do you bring your friend there, in order\nthat we may meet at once. And go quickly, auspicious one, and comfort\nyour friend, and give her this crest-jewel, which puts a stop to all\ngrief, which the Self-existent gave me, when pleased with me. And\nthis necklace, which Indra gave me, is a present for yourself.\" When\nthe prince had said this, he gave her the crest-jewel from his head,\nand he took the necklace from his neck, and put it on hers.\n\nThen Manoh\u00e1rik\u00e1 was delighted, and she bowed before him, and set out,\nmounted on her bird, to find her friend Padm\u00e1vat\u00ed. And Mukt\u00e1phalaketu,\nhis languor having been removed by delight, quickly entered his own\ncity with Samyataka.\n\nAnd Manoh\u00e1rik\u00e1, when she came into the presence of Padm\u00e1vat\u00ed, told her\nof the love-pain of her beloved, as she had witnessed it, and repeated\nto her his speech, sweet and tender with affection, as she had heard\nit; and told her of the arrangement to meet her in the hermitage of\nGaur\u00ed, which he had made, and then gave her the crest-jewel which he\nhad sent, and shewed her the chain which he had given herself as a\npresent. Then Padm\u00e1vat\u00ed embraced and honoured that friend of hers who\nhad been so successful; and forgot that pain of the fire of love which\nhad tortured her before, and she fastened that crest-jewel on her head,\nas if it were joy, and began to prepare to go to the wood of Gaur\u00ed.\n\nIn the meanwhile it happened that a hermit, of the name of Tapodhana,\ncame to that grove of Gaur\u00ed, with his pupil, named Dridhavrata. And\nwhile there, the hermit said to his pupil Dridhavrata, \"I will engage\nin contemplation for a time in this heavenly garden. You must remain\nat the gate, and not let any one in, and after I have finished my\ncontemplation, I will worship P\u00e1rvat\u00ed.\" When the hermit had said this,\nhe placed that pupil at the gate of the garden, and began to engage\nin contemplation under a p\u00e1rij\u00e1ta-tree. After he rose up from his\ncontemplation, he went into the temple to worship Ambik\u00e1, but he did\nnot tell his pupil, who was at the gate of the garden.\n\nAnd in the meanwhile Mukt\u00e1phalaketu came there adorned, with Samyataka,\nmounted on a heavenly camel. And as he was about to enter that\ngarden, that pupil of the hermit forbade him, saying, \"Do not do\nso! My spiritual superior is engaged in contemplation within.\" But\nthe prince, longing to see his beloved, said to himself, \"The area\nof this garden is extensive, and it is possible that she may have\narrived and may be somewhere within it, whereas the hermit is only\nin one corner of it.\" So he got out of sight of that hermit's pupil,\nand with his friend entered the garden by flying through the air.\n\nAnd while he was looking about, the hermit's pupil came in to see\nif his spiritual superior had completed his meditation. He could not\nsee his superior there, but he did see the noble Mukt\u00e1phalaketu with\nhis friend, who had entered the garden by a way by which it was not\nmeant to be entered. Then that pupil of the hermit cursed the prince\nin his anger, saying to him, \"As you have interrupted the meditation\nof my spiritual guide, and driven him away, go with your friend to the\nworld of men on account of this disrespect.\" After he had pronounced\nthis curse, he went in search of his superior. But Mukt\u00e1phalaketu\nwas thrown into great despondency by this curse having fallen on\nhim like a thunderbolt, when his desire was on the point of being\nfulfilled. And in the meanwhile, Padm\u00e1vat\u00ed, eager to meet her beloved,\ncame mounted on a bird, with Manoh\u00e1rik\u00e1 and her other attendants. And\nwhen the prince saw that lady, who had come to meet him of her own\naccord, but was now separated from him by a curse, he was reduced to\na painful frame of mind in which sorrow and joy were blended. And at\nthat very moment Padm\u00e1vat\u00ed's right eye throbbed, boding evil fortune,\nand her heart fluttered. Then the princess, seeing that her lover was\ndespondent, thought that he might be annoyed because she had not come\nbefore he did, and approached him with an affectionate manner. Then\nthe prince said to her, \"My beloved, our desire, though on the point\nof fulfilment, has been again baffled by Fate.\" She said excitedly,\n\"Alas! how baffled?\" And then the prince told her how the curse was\npronounced on him.\n\nThen they all went, in their despondency, to entreat the hermit, who\nwas the spiritual guide of him who inflicted the curse, and was now\nin the temple of the goddess, to fix an end to the curse. When the\ngreat hermit, who possessed supernatural insight, saw them approach\nin humble guise, he said with a kind manner to Mukt\u00e1phalaketu,\n\"You have been cursed by this fool who acted rashly before he had\nreflected; [705] however you have not done me any harm, since I rose\nup of myself. And this curse can only be an instrument, not the real\nreason of your change; in truth you have in your mortal condition\nto do the gods a service. You shall come in the course of destiny\nto behold this Padm\u00e1vat\u00ed, and sick with love, you shall abandon your\nmortal body, and be quickly released from your curse. And you shall\nrecover this lady of your life, wearing the same body that she wears\nnow; for being a deliverer of the universe, you do not deserve to\nlie long under a curse. And the cause of all this that has befallen\nyou is the slight stain of unrighteousness which attaches to you,\non account of your having slain with that weapon of Brahm\u00e1, which\nyou employed, old men and children.\"\n\nWhen Padm\u00e1vat\u00ed heard this, she said, with tears in her eyes, to that\nsage, \"Holy Sir, let me now have the same lot as my future husband! I\nshall not be able to live for a moment without him.\" When Padm\u00e1vat\u00ed\nmade this request, the hermit said to her, \"This cannot be: do you\nremain here for the present engaged in asceticism, in order that he\nmay be quickly delivered from his curse, and may marry you. And then,\nas the consort of that Mukt\u00e1phalaketu, you shall rule the Vidy\u00e1dharas\nand Asuras for ten kalpas. And while you are performing asceticism,\nthis crest-jewel, which be gave you, shall protect you; for it is of\ngreat efficacy, having sprung from the water-pot of the Disposer.\"\n\nWhen the hermit, possessing divine insight, had said this to Padm\u00e1vat\u00ed,\nMukt\u00e1phalaketu, bending low, addressed this prayer to him, \"Holy Sir,\nmay my faith in Siva be unwavering during my life as a man, and may my\nmind never be inclined to any lady but Padm\u00e1vat\u00ed.\" The hermit replied,\n\"So let it be!\" and then Padm\u00e1vat\u00ed, sorely grieved, pronounced on that\npupil, whose fault had entailed these misfortunes, the following curse,\n\"Since you cursed in your folly my destined husband, you shall be\na vehicle for him to ride on in his human condition, possessing the\nproperty of going with a wish and changing your shape at will.\" When\nthe pupil had been thus cursed, he was despondent, and then the hermit\nTapodhana disappeared with him.\n\nThen Mukt\u00e1phalaketu said to Padm\u00e1vat\u00ed, \"I will now go to my city,\nand see what will happen to me there.\" When Padm\u00e1vat\u00ed heard this,\nbeing terrified at separation, she at once fell on the earth with all\nher ornaments, as a creeper, broken by the wind, falls with all its\nflowers. And Mukt\u00e1phalaketu comforted, as well as he could, his crying\nlove, and departed with his friend, frequently turning round his eyes\nto look at her. And after he was gone, Padm\u00e1vat\u00ed was much grieved,\nand weeping, said to her friend Manoh\u00e1rik\u00e1, who tried to comfort her,\n\"My friend, I am certain that I saw the goddess P\u00e1rvat\u00ed to-day in\na dream, and she was about to throw a garland of lotuses round my\nneck, when she said, 'Never mind! I will give it you on some future\noccasion,' and desisted from her intention. So I understand that she\nwished in this way to let me know that my union with my beloved would\nbe hindered.\" When she was mourning in this way over what had occurred,\nher friend said to her, \"This dream was no doubt sent to you when you\nsay, by the goddess, in order to comfort you. And the hermit said\nthe very same to you, and the gods have clearly thus ordained: so,\nbe of good cheer, you will soon be reunited with your beloved.\"\n\nThis and other speeches from her friend, and the magic efficacy\nof the crest-jewel made Padm\u00e1vat\u00ed recover her self-command, and\nshe remained there in the hermitage of Gaur\u00ed. And she performed\nasceticism, worshipping there Siva and P\u00e1rvat\u00ed, three times a day,\nand also the picture of her beloved, which she had brought from her\nown city, looking upon it as the image of a divinity. Her parents,\nhearing what had taken place, came to her in tears, and tried to\nprevent her, saying, \"Do not uselessly fatigue yourself with penance,\nto bring about a desired end, which will anyhow take place.\" But\nshe said to them, \"How could I live here with any comfort, now that\nthe husband recently appointed for me by the god has fallen into\nmisery owing to a curse? For to ladies of good family a husband is\na god. And no doubt, this calamity may soon be brought to an end by\nausterities, and Siva may be propitiated, and then I may be reunited\nwith my beloved, for there is nothing [706] that austerities cannot\naccomplish.\" When Padm\u00e1vat\u00ed had said this with firm resolution,\nher mother Kuvalay\u00e1val\u00ed said to her father the king, \"King, let her\nperform this severe asceticism! Why trouble her further on false\ngrounds? This is appointed for her by destiny: there is a reason for\nit; listen. Long ago, in the city of Siva, the daughter of the king of\nthe Siddhas, named Devaprabh\u00e1, was performing a very severe penance,\nin order to obtain the husband she desired. Now my daughter Padm\u00e1vat\u00ed\nhad gone there with me to visit the shrine of the god, and she went up\nto the Siddha maiden and laughed at her, saying, 'Are you not ashamed\nto practise austerities in order to obtain a husband?' Then the Siddha\nmaiden cursed her in her rage, saying, 'Fool! your laughter proceeds\nfrom childishness: you also shall perform painful austerities to your\nheart's content to obtain a husband.' Accordingly she must of necessity\nendure the misery which the curse of the Siddha maiden has entailed;\nwho can alter that? So let her do what she is doing?\" When the queen\nhad said this to the king of the Gandharvas, he took leave at last,\nthough reluctantly, of his daughter, who bowed at his feet, and went\nto his own city. And Padm\u00e1vat\u00ed remained in that hermitage of P\u00e1rvat\u00ed,\nintent on religious observances and prayers, and every day she went\nthrough the air and worshipped that Siddh\u00edsvara, that was worshipped\nby Brahm\u00e1 and the other gods, of which Siva had told her in a dream.\n\n\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER CXVIII.\n\n\nWhile Padm\u00e1vat\u00ed was engaged in asceticism, in order that she might be\nreunited to Mukt\u00e1phalaketu, the son of the emperor of the Vidy\u00e1dharas,\nthat prince, feeling that his descent into the world of men was nigh\nat hand owing to the curse of the Br\u00e1hman, in his fear, fled to Siva\nas a refuge.\n\nAnd while he was worshipping Siva, he heard a voice issue from the\ninner cell of his temple, \"Fear not, for thou shalt not have to\nendure misery while dwelling in the womb, and thou shalt not have\nto suffer during thy life as a mortal, nor shalt thou long remain\nin that condition. [707] Thou shalt be born as a strong and valorous\nprince. Thou shalt obtain from the hermit Tapodhana the control of all\nweapons, and my Gana named Kinkara shall be thy younger brother. With\nhis help thou shalt conquer thy enemies, and accomplish the required\nservice for the gods, and thou shalt be reunited with Padm\u00e1vat\u00ed and\nrule the Vidy\u00e1dharas.\" When that prince had heard this voice, he\nconceived hope, and remained waiting for the ripening, so to speak,\nof the fruit of the curse pronounced upon him.\n\nAt this point of my story there was a city in the eastern region\nnamed Devasabha, that surpassed in splendour the court of the\ngods. In it there lived a universal monarch named Merudhvaja, the\ncomrade of Indra when war arose between the gods and Asuras. That\ngreat-hearted prince was greedy of glory, not of the goods of others;\nhis sword was sharp, but not his punishments; he feared sin, but not\nhis enemy. His brows were sometimes curved in anger, but there was\nno crookedness in his heart. His arm was hard, where it was marked\nwith the horny thickening produced by the bowstring, but there was\nno hardness in his speech. He spared his helpless enemies in battle,\nbut he did not exhibit any mean parsimony with regard to his treasure;\n[708] and he took pleasure in virtuous deeds and not in women.\n\nThat king had always two anxieties in his heart, the first was that not\neven one son was as yet born to him, the second was that the Asuras,\nwho escaped from the slaughter in the great fight long ago between\nthe gods and Asuras, and fled to P\u00e1t\u00e1la, kept continually sallying\nout to a distance from it, and treacherously destroying holy places,\ntemples, and hermitages in his land, and then retiring into P\u00e1t\u00e1la\nagain; and the king could not catch them, as they could move through\nthe air as well as through P\u00e1t\u00e1la; that afflicted the brave monarch,\nthough he had no rivals upon earth.\n\nIt happened that once, when he was afflicted with these anxieties,\nhe went to the assembly of the gods, on the day of the full moon in\nthe month Chaitra, in Indra's splendid chariot, which he sent to fetch\nhim; for Indra always held a general assembly in the early part of\nthat day, and king Merudhvaja always went to it in his chariot. But\non that occasion the king kept sighing, though he was amused with\nthe dances and songs of the heavenly nymphs, and honoured by Indra.\n\nWhen the king of the gods saw that, knowing what was in his\nheart, he said to him, \"King, I know what thy grief is; dismiss it\nfrom thy mind. One son shall be born to thee, who shall be called\nMukt\u00e1phaladhvaja, and shall be a portion of Siva, and a second named\nMalayadhvaja, who shall be an incarnation of a Gana. Mukt\u00e1phaladhvaja\nand his younger brother shall obtain from the hermit Tapodhana\nthe sciences and all weapons and a creature to ride on, that shall\npossess the power of assuming any shape. And that invincible warrior\nshall again obtain the great weapon of Pasupati, and shall slay the\nAsuras, and get into his power the earth and P\u00e1t\u00e1la. And receive from\nme these two air-going elephants K\u00e1nchanagiri and K\u00e1nchanasekhara,\ntogether with mighty weapons.\" When Indra had said this to Merudhvaja,\nhe gave him the arms and the elephants, and dismissed him, and he went\ndelighted to his own city on the earth. But those Asuras, who had\nmanaged by their treachery to cast discredit upon the king, escaped\nbeing caught by him, even when mounted on the sky-going elephant,\nfor they took refuge in P\u00e1t\u00e1la.\n\nThen the king, desiring a son, went, on his heavenly elephant, to the\nhermitage of that hermit Tapodhana, of whom Indra had told him. There\nhe approached that hermit, and told him that command of Indra, and said\nto him, \"Reverend Sir, quickly tell me what course I ought to take to\ngain my end.\" And the hermit recommended that the king and his wife\nshould immediately take upon them a vow for the propitiation of Siva,\nin order that they might attain their end. The king then proceeded\nto propitiate Siva with that vow, and then that god, being pleased,\nsaid to the king in a dream, \"Rise up, king, thou shalt soon [709]\nobtain one after another two invincible sons for the destruction of\nthe Asuras.\" When the king had heard this, he told it to the hermit\nwhen he woke up in the morning, and after he and his wife had broken\ntheir fast, he returned to his own city.\n\nThen that august and beautiful lady, the queen of Merudhvaja, became\npregnant within a few days. And Mukt\u00e1phalaketu was in some mysterious\nway conceived in her, having been compelled by the curse to abandon\nhis Vidy\u00e1dhara body. And that body of his remained in his own city of\nChandrapura, guarded by his relations, kept by magic from corrupting.\n\nSo the queen of king Merudhvaja, in the city of Devasabha, delighted\nher husband by becoming pregnant. And the more the queen was oppressed\nby her condition, the more sprightly was her husband the king. And\nwhen the time came, she gave birth to a boy resembling the sun, who,\nthough an infant, was of great might, even as P\u00e1rvat\u00ed gave birth to\nthe god of war. And then not only did rejoicing take place over the\nwhole earth, but in the heaven also in which the gods struck their\ndrums. And the hermit Tapodhana, who possessed heavenly insight,\ncame there in person, to congratulate that king Merudhvaja. With\nthe help of that hermit, the rejoicing king gave his son the name\nMukt\u00e1phaladhvaja mentioned by Indra.\n\nThen the hermit departed; but after the lapse of a year a second\nson was born to the king by that queen, and the king, with the help\nof that hermit, who, in the same way, came there out of joy, named\nhim Malayadhvaja.\n\nThen Samyataka was born as the son of the king's minister in accordance\nwith the curse, and his father gave him the name of Mah\u00e1buddhi. Then\nthose two princes gradually grew up, like lions' whelps, with that\nminister's son, and as they grew, their might developed also.\n\nAnd after eight years only had passed, the hermit Tapodhana came\nand invested those princes with the sacred thread. And during\neight more years he instructed them [710] in knowledge, and in the\naccomplishments, and in the use of all the mighty weapons. Then king\nMerudhvaja, seeing that his sons were young men, able to fight with\nall weapons, considered that he had not lived in vain.\n\nThen the hermit was about to return to his hermitage, but the king\nsaid to him, \"Reverend Sir, now take whatever present you desire.\" The\ngreat sage answered, \"This is the present I desire from you, king,\nthat, with your sons, you would slay the Asuras that impede my\nsacrifices. The king said to him, \"Then, reverend sir, you must now\ntake your present; so begin a sacrifice; the Asuras will come to impede\nit, and then I will come with my sons. For formerly those Daityas,\nafter they had treacherously wrought you wrong, used to fly up into\nthe air, and dive into the sea, and go to P\u00e1t\u00e1la. But now I have two\nair-going elephants given me by Indra, by means of those two I and\nmy sons will catch them, even if they do fly through the air.\"\n\nWhen the hermit heard that, he was pleased and he said to the king,\n\"Then do you make in the mean time fit preparation for my sacrifice,\nin order that I may go and begin a long sacrificial session that\nwill be famous in every corner of the earth. And I will send you, as\na messenger, this my pupil Dridhavrata, who has acquired the shape\nof an unrestrained mighty bird going with a wish; and on him shall\nMukt\u00e1phaladhvaja ride.\"\n\nWhen the hermit had said this, he returned to his hermitage, and the\nking sent after him the preparations for the sacrifice. With those he\nbegan a sacrifice, at which the gods and rishis assembled in a body,\nand the D\u00e1navas, dwelling in P\u00e1t\u00e1la, were excited when they heard\nof it.\n\nWhen the hermit knew that, he sent his pupil Dridhavrata, who had\nbeen made by the curse to assume the form of a bird, to the city of\nDevasabha. When king Merudhvaja saw him arrive there, he remembered the\nwords of the hermit, and got ready those two heavenly elephants. And\nhe himself mounted the chief one, which was named K\u00e1nchanagiri,\nand the lesser one, which was named K\u00e1nchanasekhara, he gave to\nthe younger of his sons. But Mukt\u00e1phaladhvaja, taking with him the\nheavenly weapons, mounted the great bird Dridhavrata, and the bards\nhailed him with songs. Then those three heroes sent their armies on\nin front, and set forth, mounted on air-going steeds, and blessed\nby holy Br\u00e1hmans. And when they reached the hermitage, the hermit,\nbeing pleased with them, granted them this boon, that they should be\ninvulnerable by all weapons.\n\nIn the meanwhile the army of the Asuras came to impede the sacrifice,\nand the soldiers of Merudhvaja, when they saw the Asuras, charged\nthem with a shout. Then a battle took place between the Daityas\nand the men, but the Daityas, being in the air, pressed sore the\nmen who were on the ground. Then Mukt\u00e1phaladhvaja, mounted on his\nwinged steed, rushed forward, and cut and crushed the Daityas with a\nshower of arrows. And those Daityas who escaped his destroying hand,\nseeing him mounted on a bird, and resplendent with brightness, took\nto flight, supposing that he was N\u00e1r\u00e1yana. And all of them fled in\nfear to P\u00e1t\u00e1la, and told what had happened to Trailokyam\u00e1lin, who\nwas at that time king of the Daityas.\n\nWhen the king of the Asuras heard that, he quickly enquired into the\nmatter by means of his spies, and found out that Mukt\u00e1phaladhvaja was a\nmortal; and unable to endure the disgrace of having been defeated by a\nman, he collected all the D\u00e1navas in P\u00e1t\u00e1la, and though warned by omens\nto desist, he went to that hermitage to fight. But Mukt\u00e1phaladhvaja\nand his men, who were on the alert there, rushed to attack the king\nof the D\u00e1navas, as soon as they saw him arrive with his army. Then a\nsecond great battle took place between the Asuras and the men; and the\ngods, headed by Rudra and Indra, came in their chariots to witness it.\n\nAnd then Mukt\u00e1phaladhvaja saw instantly presenting itself before him\nthere a great weapon of Pasupati, of irresistible might, of huge size,\nwith a flame of fire streaming up from it, with three eyes, with four\nfaces, with one leg, and eight arms, looking like the fire which is\nto burn up the world at the end of the kalpa. The weapon said, \"Know\nthat I have come by the command of Siva, to ensure your victory.\" When\nthe weapon said this, the prince worshipped it and clutched it.\n\nIn the meanwhile those Asuras in the air, raining arrows, pressed\nhard the fainting army of Merudhvaja that was below them. Then\nMukt\u00e1phaladhvaja, who fought in various manners, came to deliver that\narmy and fought with the Asuras, placing a net of arrows between them\nand his own men.\n\nAnd when Trailokyam\u00e1lin, the king of the Asuras, saw him and his\nfather and brother, mounted on their air-going steeds, he sent forth\nthe snake-weapon. Innumerable terrible venomous snakes came out of it,\nand these Malayadhvaja slew with Garuda-birds, that came out of the\nGaruda-weapon. Then Mukt\u00e1phalaketu repelled with case every weapon\nthat the king of the Daityas and his son sent forth.\n\nThen that enemy of the gods, and his son, and the other D\u00e1navas\nwere enraged, and they all at one time launched at him their fiery\nweapons. But those weapons, seeing the weapon of Pasupati blazing in\nfront of him, were immediately terrified and fled.\n\nThen the Daityas were terrified and tried to escape, but the hero\nMukt\u00e1phaladhvaja perceived their intention, and immediately constructed\nabove them, and on all sides of them, an impenetrable net of arrows,\nlike a cage of adamant. And while the D\u00e1navas were circling within\nthis, like birds, Mukt\u00e1phaladhvaja with the help of his father and\nbrother, smote them with sharp arrows. And the severed hands, feet,\nbodies, and heads of those Daityas fell on the ground, and streams of\nblood [711] flowed. Then the gods exclaimed \"Bravo!\" and followed up\ntheir acclamation with a rain of flowers, and Mukt\u00e1phaladhvaja used\nthe bewildering weapon against those enemies. That made the Asuras\nand their king fall senseless on the earth, and then by means of the\nweapon of Varuna the prince bound them all with nooses.\n\nThen the hermit Tapodhana said to king Merudhvaja, \"You must by no\nmeans kill those Asura warriors that have escaped the slaughter: but\nyou must win them over and enter Ras\u00e1tala with them. As for this king\nof the Daityas, and his son, and his ministers, you must take them with\nthe great Asuras, and the malignant N\u00e1gas, and the principal R\u00e1kshasas,\nand imprison them in the cave of Svetasaila in Devasabha.\" [712] When\nthe hermit had said this to Merudhvaja, he said to the Daitya warriors,\n\"Do not be afraid, we must not slay you, but you must henceforth be\nsubject to the sway of this Mukt\u00e1phaladhvaja and his brother.\" When\nthe king said this to the D\u00e1navas, they joyfully consented to his\nproposal. Then the king had Trailokyam\u00e1lin, the sovereign of the\nDaityas, with his son and the others, conveyed to Svetasaila. And he\nplaced them in confinement in that cave, and had them guarded by his\nprincipal minister, who was backed by a force of many brave warriors.\n\nThen, the battle having come to an end, and the gods, who were\npresent in their chariots, having departed, after showering mand\u00e1ra\nflowers, an universal rejoicing took place over the whole world,\nand the victorious king Merudhvaja said to his two sons, \"I will\nremain here for the present to guard the sacrifice, and do you march\nto P\u00e1t\u00e1la with these soldiers of ours, who have possessed themselves\nof many chariots belonging to the Daityas, and with those soldiers of\nthe Asura army who have escaped destruction. And conciliate and win\nover to our allegiance the inhabitants of P\u00e1t\u00e1la, and appoint chief\ngovernors throughout the territory, and having thus taken possession\nof it you must return here.\"\n\nWhen the heroic Mukt\u00e1phaladhvaja, who was mounted on his heavenly\nsteed, that went with a wish, and Malayadhvaja heard this, the two\nbrothers, with their forces, entered Ras\u00e1tala, together with that\nportion of the army of the D\u00e1navas, that had made submission, which\nmarched in front of them. And they killed the guards that opposed them\nin various places, and proclaimed an amnesty to the others by beat\nof drum. And, as the people shewed confidence and were submissive,\nthey took possession of the seven Ras\u00e1talas, adorned with splendid\npalaces [713] built of various jewels, and they enjoyed those palaces\nwhich were rendered delightful by gardens that gratified every wish,\nand had in them lakes of heavenly wine with many ladders of precious\nstone. And there they beheld D\u00e1nava ladies of wonderful beauty,\nand their daughters, who by means of magic concealed their forms\nwithin trees.\n\nAnd then Svayamvaraprabh\u00e1, the wife of Trailokyam\u00e1lin, began\nausterities in order to bring about the welfare of her imprisoned\nhusband, and in the same way her daughters, Trailokyaprabh\u00e1 and\nTribhuvanaprabh\u00e1, began austerities for the welfare of their father.\n\nAnd those princes honoured with various favours all the inhabitants\nof P\u00e1t\u00e1la, who were happy now that they had obtained repose; and they\nappointed Sangr\u00e1masinha and others governors, and went to their father\nin the hermitage of Tapodhana.\n\nAnd in the meanwhile the sacrifice of the hermit there reached\ncompletion, and the gods and the rishis prepared to go to their own\nabodes. [714] And as Indra was exceedingly pleased, Merudhvaja said\nto him, \"Come with me to my city, king of heaven, if thou be pleased\nwith me.\" When Indra heard that, he went, in order to please him,\nwith the king and his son to the city of Devasabha, after taking leave\nof the hermit. And there the king, who was sovereign of two worlds,\nentertained Indra so sumptuously, that he forgot his happiness in\nheaven. Then Indra too, being gratified, took the king and his sons\nin his own heavenly chariot to his celestial abode, and in that place\nwhich was charming with the pleasures of a concert in which N\u00e1rada,\nRambh\u00e1 and others performed, he made Merudhvaja, with Mukt\u00e1phaladhvaja\nand Malayadhvaja, forget their toils, and gave them garlands from\nthe P\u00e1rij\u00e1ta-tree, and celestial diadems, and after honouring them,\nsent them home.\n\nAnd they, when they returned, kept going to and fro between the earth\nand P\u00e1t\u00e1la, and though kings of men, bare sway in two worlds. Then\nMerudhvaja said to Mukt\u00e1phaladhvaja, \"Our enemies are conquered;\nyou two brothers are young men, and I have various princesses who\nare subject to my sway, and I have sent for some of them: the fitting\ntime has come; so take to yourselves wives.\"\n\nWhen Mukt\u00e1phaladhvaja's father said this to him, he answered,\n\"Father, my mind is not inclined to marriage at present. I will now\nperform a course of austerities to propitiate [715] Siva; but let\nthis Malayadhvaja my dear younger brother, be married.\" When his\nyounger brother Malayadhvaja heard this, he said, \"Noble brother,\nis it fitting that I should be married, before you have taken a wife,\nor that I should hold sway while you are without a kingdom? I follow\nin your footsteps.\"\n\nWhen Malayadhvaja said this, king Merudhvaja said to his eldest son\nMukt\u00e1phaladhvaja, \"Your younger brother here has spoken rightly, but\nwhat you have just said is not right; it is no time for asceticism\nin this fresh youth of yours; the present should be to you a time of\nenjoyment; so abandon, my son, this perverse crotchet of yours, which\nis most inopportune.\" Though the king addressed these admonitions\nto his eldest son, that prince resolutely refused to take a wife:\nso the king remained silent, to wait for a more favourable time.\n\nIn the meanwhile, in P\u00e1t\u00e1la, the two daughters of Trailokyam\u00e1lin's\nwife, Svayamprabh\u00e1, who were engaged in austerities, said to their\nmother, \"Mother, when one of us was seven and the other eight years\nold, owing to our want of merits, [716] our father was imprisoned,\nand we were hurled from the royal rank. It is now the eighth year,\nthat we have been engaged in austerities, and yet Siva is not\npleased with us, and our father has not, as yet, been released from\nhis imprisonment. So let us even consume these unlucky bodies in the\nfire, before we also are imprisoned, or experience some other insult\nat the hands of our enemy.\"\n\nWhen Svayamprabh\u00e1's daughters said this to her, she answered them,\n\"Wait a while, my daughters, we shall regain our former glory. For\nI know that, while I was engaged in austerities, the god Siva said\nto me in a dream, 'My child, be of good courage; thy husband shall\nrecover his kingdom, and the princes Mukt\u00e1phaladhvaja and Malayadhvaja\nshall be the husbands of thy two daughters. And do not suppose that\nthey are men; for one of them is a noble Vidy\u00e1dhara, and the other\nis a Gana of mine.' When I had received this revelation from Siva, I\nwoke up at the close of night; and supported by this hope I have borne\ngreat suffering. So I will inform the king your father of this matter,\nand with his consent, I will endeavour to bring about your marriage.\"\n\nWhen the queen Svayamprabh\u00e1 had in these words comforted her daughters,\nshe said to Indumat\u00ed, an old woman of the harem, \"Go to my husband in\nthe cave of Svetasaila, and fall at his feet, and say to him from me,\n'My husband, the Creator has formed me of such strange wood, that,\nthough the fire of separation from you burns fiercely, I have not yet\nbeen consumed by it. But it is because I entertain a hope of seeing\nyou again that I have not abandoned life.' When you have said this,\ntell him the revelation that Siva made to me in a dream, then ask him\nabout the marriage of our daughters, and come back, and tell me what\nhe says; I will then act accordingly.\"\n\nWhen she had said this, she sent off Indumat\u00ed; and she left P\u00e1t\u00e1la and\nreached the well-guarded entrance of that mountain-cave. She entreated\nthe guards and entered, and seeing Trailokyam\u00e1lin there a prisoner,\nshe burst into tears, and embraced his feet; and when he asked her\nhow she was, she slowly told him all his wife's message; then that\nking said, \"As for what Siva says about my restoration to my kingdom,\nmay that turn out as the god announced, but the idea of my giving my\ndaughters to the sons of Merudhvaja is preposterous. I would rather\nperish here than give my daughters as a present to enemies and men too,\nwhile myself a prisoner.\"\n\nWhen Indumat\u00ed had been sent away by the king with this message,\nshe went and delivered it to his wife Svayamprabh\u00e1. And when\nTrailokyaprabh\u00e1 and Tribhuvanaprabh\u00e1 the daughters of the Daitya\nsovereign heard it, they said to their mother Svayamprabh\u00e1, \"Anxiety\nlest our youthful purity should be outraged makes the fire seem our\nonly place of safety, so we will enter it, mother, on the fourteenth\nday, that is now approaching.\" When they had thus resolved, their\nmother and her suite also made up their minds to die. And when the\nfourteenth day arrived, they all worshipped H\u00e1takesvara, and made\npyres in a holy bathing-place called P\u00e1paripu.\n\nNow it happened that on that very day king Merudhvaja, with his son,\nand his wife, was coming there to worship H\u00e1takesvara. And as he\nwas going to the holy water of P\u00e1paripu, with his suite, to bathe,\nhe saw smoke rising from the midst of a grove on its bank. And when\nthe king asked, \"How comes smoke to be rising here?\" those governors\nhe had set over P\u00e1t\u00e1la, Sangr\u00e1masinha and the others, said to him,\n\"Great king, Svayamprabh\u00e1, the wife of Trailokyam\u00e1lin, is engaged\nin austerities here with her daughters the princesses. Without doubt\nthey are now performing here some sacrificial rite in honour of the\nfire, or possibly they are wearied out with excessive asceticism,\nand are immolating themselves by entering it.\"\n\nWhen the king heard that, he went to see what was going on, with\nhis sons, and his wife, and those governors of P\u00e1t\u00e1la, ordering the\nrest of his suite to remain behind. And concealing himself there,\nhe beheld those Daitya maidens, with their mother, worshipping the\nfire of the pyres, which was burning brightly. [717] They seemed\nwith the effulgence of the great beauty of their faces which shone\nout in all directions, to be creating in the lower world a hundred\ndiscs of the moon: and to be installing the god of love as king after\nthe conquest of the three worlds, with their swiftly-moving necklaces\nthat looked like liquid streams poured down from the golden pitchers\nof their breasts. Their broad hips, surrounded with the girdles which\nthey wore, looked like the head of the elephant of love adorned with\na girdle of constellations. The long wavy masses of hair which they\nbore, seemed like snakes made by the Creator to guard the treasure of\ntheir beauty. When the king saw them, he was astonished, and he said,\n\"The creation of the Maker of All is surprising for the novelty that is\never being manifested in it: [718] for neither Rambh\u00e1, nor Urvas\u00ed, nor\nTilottam\u00e1 is equal in beauty to these two daughters of the Asura king.\"\n\nWhile the king was making these reflections to himself,\nTrailokyaprabh\u00e1, the elder of the two Daitya maidens, after worshipping\nthe god present in the Fire, addressed this prayer to him, \"Since, from\nthe time that my mother told me of the revelation of Siva received by\nher in a dream, my mind has been fixed upon prince Mukt\u00e1phaladhvaja,\nthat treasure-house of virtue, as my chosen husband, I pray, holy one,\nthat he may be my husband in a future birth, inasmuch as, though in\nthis birth my mother wishes to give me to him, my haughty father,\nbeing a captive, will not consent to it.\" When Tribhuvanaprabh\u00e1 heard\nthat, she, in the same way, prayed to the Fire-god that Malayadhvaja\nmight be her husband in a future life.\n\nThen king Merudhvaja, who was delighted at hearing that, and the\nqueen his wife said to one another, \"If our two sons could obtain\nthese two maidens for their wives, they would reap fruit from their\nconquest of the two worlds. So let us go to them and their mother,\nbefore they have cast themselves into the fire, as they intend to\ndo in a moment, and dissuade them from doing so.\" When the king, in\nconsultation with the queen, had made up his mind to this, he went up\nto them, and said, \"Do not act rashly: for I will put a stop to your\nsorrow.\" When all the Asura ladies heard this speech of the king's,\nthat seemed like a rain of nectar to their ears, and afterwards saw\nhim, they all bowed before him.\n\nAnd Svayamprabh\u00e1 said to him, \"Before we were concealed by magic, and\nyou did not see us, though we saw you, but now we have been seen here\nby you, the sovereign of the two worlds. And now that we have been seen\nby you, our sorrow will soon come to an end; much more since you have\nbestowed on us by your own mouth a boon we never craved; so take a seat\nand receive the arghya and water for the feet. [719] For you deserve\nto be honoured by the three worlds; and this is our hermitage.\" When\nshe said this, the king answered laughing, \"Give the arghya and water\nfor the feet to these your sons-in-law.\" Then Svayamprabh\u00e1 said, \"To\nthem the god Siva will give the arghya and soon, but do you receive\nit to-day.\" Then Merudhvaja said, \"I have already received it all;\nbut do you, ladies, immediately give up your intention of committing\nsuicide; and go and dwell in one of your cities where every wish can\nbe gratified; then I will take steps to ensure your welfare.\"\n\nWhen the king said this, Svayamprabh\u00e1 said to him, \"In accordance with\nyour Majesty's order we have given up our intention of abandoning the\nbody, but while our lord is in prison, how would it be becoming for us\nto live in our palace? So we will remain here, king, for the present,\nuntil your Highness shall perform the promise which you spontaneously\nmade to us, and shall cause our lord to be set free with his servants\nand ministers. And he will hold sway as your Majesty's zealous officer,\nand will make over his realm to you if you desire it; indeed he will\nmake a strict agreement [720] with you to this effect. And for this\nwe and all the inhabitants of P\u00e1t\u00e1la will be your sureties, so take\nour jewels from the regions of P\u00e1t\u00e1la, and make them your own.\"\n\nWhen she said this, king Merudhvaja said to her, \"I will see about\nthat, but you must remember your promise.\" When the king had said\nthis, he bathed and worshipped H\u00e1takesa. And those Daitya princesses,\nhaving now seen his sons with their own eyes, had their minds entirely\nfixed on them. Then all the inhabitants of Ras\u00e1tala [721] fell at the\nfeet of the virtuous king Merudhvaja, and asked that Trailokyam\u00e1lin\nshould be set at liberty; and then king Merudhvaja, with his wife,\nsons, and servants, left the world of the Asuras, and returned to\nhis own city, covering the regions with his umbrellas white as his\nown glory. There his son Malayadhvaja spent the night in thinking on\nthe younger daughter of the king of the D\u00e1navas, being tortured with\nthe fever of love, and though he closed his eyes, he never slept. But\nthat sea of self-control Mukt\u00e1phaladhvaja, though he thought upon\nthe elder daughter of the Asura monarch who was deeply in love with\nhim, and though he was young, and she was fair enough to shake with\nlove the saintly minds of anchorites, still in virtue of the boon\nhe had craved from the hermit, was no whit disturbed in mind. But\nMerudhvaja, finding that his elder son was determined not to take\na wife, while Malayadhvaja was desperately in love, and that on the\nother hand that great Asura was averse to giving him his daughters,\nremained with his mind bewildered as to how to devise an expedient.\n\n\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER CXIX.\n\n\nThen king Merudhvaja, seeing that Malayadhvaja was thus overpowered\nwith the fever of love, said to his queen, \"If those two daughters of\nTrailokyam\u00e1lin, whom I saw in P\u00e1t\u00e1la, do not become the wives of my two\nsons, what advantage shall I have gained? And my son Malayadhvaja is\nconsumed with smouldering flame, because he cannot obtain the younger\nof the two, though shame makes him conceal the fire of love. It is for\nthis very reason that, though I promised Trailokyam\u00e1lin's queen that I\nwould set him at liberty, I do not at once make my promise good. For,\nif he is set free from his imprisonment, his pride as an Asura will\nprevent his ever giving his daughters to my sons as being men. So it is\nnow advisable to propose this matter to him in a conciliatory manner.\"\n\nWhen he had gone through these reflections with the queen, he said\nto his warder, \"Go to the cave of Svetasaila, and say, as from me,\nin a kind manner to Trailokyam\u00e1lin, the king of the Daityas, who is\nimprisoned there, 'King of the Daityas, by the appointment of Destiny\nyou have been long afflicted here, so now do what I advise, and bring\nyour affliction to an end. Give to my two sons your two daughters,\nwho fell in love with them at first sight, and thus procure your\nrelease, and rule your kingdom, after you have given security for\nyour fidelity.'\"\n\nWith this message the king sent off his warder, and he went and\ndelivered it to the Daitya monarch in that cave. The monarch answered,\n\"I will not give my two daughters to two men;\" and the warder returned\nand reported his answer to the king.\n\nThen king Merudhvaja began to look about for some other means of\nattaining his end, and in the course of some days Svayamprabh\u00e1 heard\nhow he had sped, so she again sent Indumat\u00ed from P\u00e1t\u00e1la to his palace\nwith a message.\n\nAnd Indumat\u00ed arrived, and had herself announced by the female\nwarder, and went into the presence of the great queen, who received\nher graciously. And she bowed before her, and said to her, \"Queen,\nqueen Svayamprabh\u00e1 sends you this message, 'Have you forgotten your\nown promise? The seas and the principal mountains will suffer change\nat the day of doom, but the promises of people like you will not\nchange even then. Although my husband has not consented to bestow our\ndaughters as you wished, reflect, how could he have given them as a\npresent while himself a prisoner? If you release him in a proper way\nas an act of kindness, [722] he will certainly make you a return by\ngiving you his daughters. Otherwise Svayamprabh\u00e1 and her daughters\nwill abandon their lives, and in this way you will fail to obtain\ndaughters-in-law, and also to keep your promise? So manage, queen,\nto make the king set our lord free on the conditions of compact and\nsecurity and so on, in order that all may turn out well; and accept\nthis ornament sent by Svayamprabh\u00e1, studded with various gems, that\nconfer the power of becoming a Vidy\u00e1dhara, and other advantages.'\"\n\nWhen Indumat\u00ed said this, the queen answered her, \"How can I take\nthis from your mistress now that she is in trouble?\" But Indumat\u00ed\nurged her vehemently to take it, saying, \"We shall be quite unhappy\nif you refuse to accept it, but if you take it, we shall consider\nour affliction alleviated.\" Being thus strongly urged by Indumat\u00ed,\nthe queen took from her that jewelled ornament, to comfort her; and\nshe made her wait there, saying to her, \"Remain here, noble lady,\nuntil the king shall come this way.\"\n\nIn the meanwhile the king came there, and Indumat\u00ed rose up,\nand having been introduced by the queen, bowed before him, and he\nreceived her graciously. And she gave to that king a crest-jewel sent\nby Svayamprabh\u00e1, that was a talisman against poison, R\u00e1kshasas, old\nage, and disease. [723] The king said, \"I will accept this jewel when\nI have kept my promise; but the ready-witted Indumat\u00ed said to him,\n\"A promise made by the king is as good as kept. But, if your Majesty\nwill accept this, we shall be very much comforted.\" When she made this\nspeech, the queen observed, \"Well said,\" and took that crest-jewel,\nand fastened it on the king's head.\n\nThen Indumat\u00ed repeated to the king the message of Svayamprabh\u00e1, as\nshe had delivered it to the queen; then the king, being entreated\nto the same effect by the queen, went on to say to Indumat\u00ed, \"Remain\nhere for to-day; to-morrow morning I will give you an answer.\"\n\nHaving said this, king Merudhvaja allowed a night to pass, and\nthe next morning he summoned his ministers, and said to Indumat\u00ed,\n\"Noble lady, go with these ministers of mine, and after informing\nTrailokyam\u00e1lin, bring from P\u00e1t\u00e1la those Asura ladies, Svayamprabh\u00e1\nand the others, and all the principal inhabitants of P\u00e1t\u00e1la, and the\nwater of ordeal connected with H\u00e1takesvara, in a sealed vessel. And let\nSvayamprabh\u00e1 and the others touch the feet of Svayamprabh\u00e1's husband,\nin the presence of my ministers, and by solemn oaths make themselves\nsureties for this, namely, that Trailokyam\u00e1lin, with his friends and\nservants, shall ever remain firm in his allegiance to me, and that the\nN\u00e1gas shall not injure the crops. And let all the lords in P\u00e1t\u00e1la be\nsureties to the same effect, and let them all, with their king, give\ntheir children as hostages, [724] and let them all, with their king,\nput this in writing, and drink the water of ordeal in which the image\nof H\u00e1takesvara has been washed: then I will release Trailokyam\u00e1lin\nfrom prison.\"\n\nHaving said so much, the king sent off Indumat\u00ed with his ministers. She\nwent with them, and informed Trailokyam\u00e1lin of what was being done, and\nas he approved of her proceedings, she went in the same way to P\u00e1t\u00e1la,\nand she brought there Svayamprabh\u00e1 and the others, and the water of\nordeal, [725] and she made them all do in the presence of the king's\nministers all that he had prescribed. And when king Trailokyam\u00e1lin\nhad in this way given security, king Merudhvaja set him free from\nprison with his suite. And he had brought him to his own palace with\nhis family and his attendants, and courteously entertained him; and\nthen he took possession of all the jewels of the Asuras, and sent\nTrailokyam\u00e1lin back to his kingdom. And Trailokyam\u00e1lin returned to\nRas\u00e1tala his home, and having recovered his kingdom, rejoiced with his\nservants and relations. And Merudhvaja filled the earth with abundant\ntreasures that came from P\u00e1t\u00e1la, as a rain-cloud showers water.\n\nThen Trailokyam\u00e1lin, the king of the Daityas, took counsel with his\nwife, desiring to bestow his two beautiful daughters on Merudhvaja's\nsons, and he invited him to his palace, with his relations, and came\nhimself to escort him there, remembering the benefit conferred on\nhim. So he came to king Merudhvaja, who entertained him, and then he\nsaid to him, \"On a former occasion, your great joy prevented your\nseeing Ras\u00e1tala properly. But now come and see it, while we give\nourselves up to attending on you; and accept from me my two beautiful\ndaughters for your sons.\"\n\nWhen the Asura king had said this to Merudhvaja, the latter summoned\nhis wife and his two sons. And he told them the speech of the Asura\nking, and how he proposed to give his two daughters; then his eldest\nson Mukt\u00e1phaladhvaja said to him, \"I will not marry until I have\npropitiated Siva; I said this long ago; you must pardon this fault\nin me. When I have gone, let Malayadhvaja marry; for he will never\nbe happy without that P\u00e1t\u00e1la maiden.\" When the younger son heard\nthis, he said to his elder brother, \"Noble sir, while you are alive,\nI will never perform such a disgraceful and unrighteous act.\" Then\nking Merudhvaja earnestly exhorted Mukt\u00e1phaladhvaja to marry, but he\nwould not consent to do so; and therefore Trailokyam\u00e1lin took leave\nof the king, who was in a state of despondency, and went back with\nhis suite to P\u00e1t\u00e1la as he had come.\n\nThere he told what had taken place and said to his wife and son,\n\"Observe how exclusively bent on humiliating us Fortune is. Those very\nmen, to whom formerly I refused to give my daughters in marriage when\nthey asked for them, now refuse to accept them, though I ask them to\ndo so.\" When they heard it, they said, \"Who can tell how this matter\nis in the mind of Destiny? Can Siva's promise be falsified?\"\n\nWhile they were saying these things, those maidens, Trailokyaprabh\u00e1\nand Tribhuvanaprabh\u00e1, heard what had happened, and took upon them the\nfollowing vow, \"We will remain without food for twelve days, and if\nat the end of that time the god does not shew us favour by bringing\nabout our marriage, we will enter the fire together, and we will not\npreserve our bodies for insult, or merely for the sake of continuing in\nlife.\" When the daughters of the Daitya sovereign had made this vow,\nthey remained fasting in front of the god, engaged in meditation and\nmuttering prayers. And their mother and their father the sovereign of\nthe Daityas, hearing of it, and being very fond of their daughters,\nremained fasting in the same way.\n\nThen Svayamprabh\u00e1 their mother quickly sent off Indumat\u00ed once more to\nMerudhvaja's queen consort, to tell her how matters were going. She\nwent and told that queen the trouble in her master's house, and so\nMerudhvaja also came to hear of it. Then that couple abandoned food\nout of regard for the other royal couple, and their sons did so as\nwell, out of regard for their parents.\n\nThus in two worlds the royal families were in trouble. And\nMukt\u00e1phaladhvaja remained without eating, and meditated on Siva as\nhis refuge. And, after six nights had passed, in the morning the\nprince woke up, and said to his friend Mah\u00e1buddhi, who had formerly\nbeen Samyataka, \"My friend, I remember that last night in a dream\nI mounted my steed given me by the hermit Tapodhana, that changes\nits shape at will, and goes where the mind directs, and had become a\nflying chariot, and, in my despondency I went to a heavenly temple of\nSiva, very far from here, on the slope of Meru. There I saw a certain\ncelestial maiden emaciated with austerities; and a certain man with\nmatted hair, pointing to her, said to me laughing, 'You have come\nhere in this way to escape from one maiden, and lo! here is another\nwaiting for you.' When I heard this speech of his, I remained gazing\nat the beauty of that maiden, but found it impossible to gaze my fill,\nand so at the end of the night I suddenly woke up.\n\n\"So I will go there to obtain that heavenly maiden, and if I do not\nfind her there, I will enter the fire. What can Destiny mean, by\ncausing my mind to become attached to this maiden seen in a dream,\nafter rejecting, in the way I did, the Daitya maiden, offered to me\na short time ago? At any rate, I am persuaded that, if I go there,\ngood fortune will certainly befall me.\"\n\nHaving said this, he called to mind that vehicle given to him by the\nhermit, which would carry him to any place conceived in the mind,\nand assume any desired form. It turned into an air-going chariot, and\nhe mounted it, and set out for that heavenly temple of Siva, and when\nhe reached it, he saw that it was just as it had seemed in his dream,\nand he rejoiced. Then he proceeded to perform religious ablution with\nall the attendant rites, in the holy water there, named Siddhodaka,\nwith no one to wait on him but his friend.\n\nThen his father king Merudhvaja, who was in his own city, emaciated\nwith fasting, accompanied by his wife, son, and suite, heard that\nhe had gone off somewhere secretly, and became bewildered with\ngrief. And all this was at once known in P\u00e1t\u00e1la, exactly as it had\ntaken place. Then Trailokyam\u00e1lin took with him his two daughters, and\ncame fasting, with his wife and suite, to visit king Merudhvaja. And\nthey all resolved on the following course of action; \"Surely, as it\nis the fourteenth day, the prince has gone somewhere to worship Siva;\nso we will wait for him here this day. But to-morrow, if he has not\nreturned, we will go where he is: then, happen what will.\"\n\nIn the meanwhile Padm\u00e1vat\u00ed, who was in that hermitage of Siva, named\nMeghavana, said that very day to her ladies-in-waiting; \"My friends,\nI remember that last night I went in a dream to Siddh\u00edsvara, and a\ncertain man wearing matted hair came out of the temple of the god, and\nsaid to me, 'My daughter, thy sorrow is at an end, thy reunion with thy\nhusband is nigh at hand.' When he had said this, he departed, and night\nand sleep left me together. So come, let us go there.\" When Padm\u00e1vat\u00ed\nhad said this, she went to that temple of Gaur\u00ed on the slope of Meru.\n\nThere she saw with astonishment that Mukt\u00e1phaladhvaja at a distance\nbathing in Siddhodaka, and she said to her friends, \"This man is like\nmy beloved. Observe how very like he is. Wonderful! Can he be the very\nsame? It cannot be, for he is a mortal.\" When her ladies-in-waiting\nheard that, and saw him, they said to her, \"Princess, not only is this\nman very like your beloved, but observe, his companion also bears a\nresemblance to your lover's friend Samyataka. So we know for certain\nthat, in accordance with your last night's dream which you related to\nus, Siva has by his power brought those two here, after their becoming\nincarnate as men owing to a curse. Otherwise, how, being mortals,\ncould they have come to this region of the gods?\" When Padm\u00e1vat\u00ed had\nbeen thus addressed by her ladies-in-waiting, she worshipped Siva,\nand in a state of eager excitement, remained concealed near the god's\nsymbol to find out who the stranger was.\n\nIn the meanwhile Mukt\u00e1phaladhvaja, having bathed, came into the temple\nto worship the god, and after looking all round, said to Mah\u00e1buddhi,\n\"Strange to say, here is that very temple, which I saw in my dream,\nmade of precious stone, with the form of Siva visible within the\nlinga. And now I behold here those very localities, which I saw in my\ndream, full of jewel-gleaming trees, which are alive with heavenly\nbirds. But I do not see here that heavenly maiden, whom I then saw;\nand if I do not find her, I am determined to abandon the body in\nthis place.\"\n\nWhen he said this, Padm\u00e1vat\u00ed's ladies-in-waiting said to her in a\nwhisper, \"Listen! it is certain that he has come here, because he\nsaw you here in a dream, and if he does not find you, he intends to\nsurrender his life; so let us remain here concealed, and see what he\nmeans to do.\"\n\nAnd while they remained there in concealment, Mukt\u00e1phaladhvaja\nentered, and worshipped the god, and came out. And when he came out,\nhe devoutly walked round the temple three times, keeping his right\nhand towards it, and then he and his friend remembered their former\nbirth, and in their joy they were telling to one another the events\nof their life as Vidy\u00e1dharas, when Padm\u00e1vat\u00ed met their view. And\nMukt\u00e1phaladhvaja, remembering the occurrences of his former life,\nas soon as he saw her, was filled with joy, and said to his friend,\n\"Lo! this very princess Padm\u00e1vat\u00ed, the lady I saw in my dream! and\nshe has come here by good luck; so I will at once go and speak to her.\"\n\nWhen he had said this, he went up to her weeping and said,\n\"Princess, do not go away anywhere now; for I am your former lover\nMukt\u00e1phalaketu. I became a man by the curse of the hermit Dridhavrata,\nand I have now remembered my former birth.\" When he had said this,\nhe tried, in his eagerness, to embrace her. But she was alarmed and\nmade herself invisible, and remained there with her eyes full of tears:\nand the prince, not seeing her, fell on the ground in a swoon.\n\nThen his friend sorrowfully spoke these words into the air, \"How\nis it, princess Padm\u00e1vat\u00ed, that, now this lover has come, for whom\nyou suffered such severe austerities, you will not speak to him? I\ntoo am Samyataka the comrade of your beloved: why do you not say\nsomething kind to me, as I was cursed for you?\" After saying this,\nhe restored the prince, and said to him, \"This punishment has come\nupon you as the result of the crime you committed in not accepting\nthe Daitya princess, who offered herself to you out of love.\"\n\nWhen Padm\u00e1vat\u00ed, who was concealed, heard this, she said to her\nladies-in-waiting, \"Listen, he has no inclination for Asura\nmaidens.\" Then her ladies said to her, \"You see that all tallies\ntogether. Do you not remember that long ago, when your beloved was\ncursed, he craved as a boon from the hermit Tapodhana, that while\nhe was a man, his heart might never be inclined to any one but\nPadm\u00e1vat\u00ed. It is in virtue of that boon that he now feels no love\nfor other women.\" When the princess heard this, she was bewildered\nwith doubt.\n\nThen Mukt\u00e1phaladhvaja, who had no sooner seen his beloved, than she\ndisappeared from his eyes, cried out, \"Ah! my beloved Padm\u00e1vat\u00ed, do you\nnot see that when I was a Vidy\u00e1dhara, I incurred a curse in Meghavana\nfor your sake? And now be assured that I shall meet my death here.\"\n\nWhen Padm\u00e1vat\u00ed heard him utter this and other laments, she said\nto her ladies-in-waiting, \"Though all indications seem to tally,\nstill these two may possibly have heard these things at some time\nor other by communication from mouth to mouth, and therefore my\nmind is not convinced. But I cannot bear to listen to his sorrowful\nexclamations, so I will go to that temple of Gaur\u00ed; moreover it is\nthe hour of worship for me there.\" When Padm\u00e1vat\u00ed had said this,\nshe went with her ladies-in-waiting to that hermitage of Ambik\u00e1,\nand after worshipping the goddess she offered this prayer, \"If the\nman I have just seen in Siddh\u00edsvara is really my former lover, bring\nabout for me, goddess, my speedy reunion with him.\"\n\nAnd while Padm\u00e1vat\u00ed was there, longing for her beloved,\nMukt\u00e1phaladhvaja, who had remained behind in Siddh\u00edsvara, said to his\nfriend Mah\u00e1buddhi, who had been in a former life his friend Samyataka,\n\"I am convinced, my friend, that she has gone to her own haunt, that\ntemple of Gaur\u00ed; so come, let us go there.\" When he had said this,\nhe ascended that chariot of his, which went wherever the mind desired,\nand flew to that hermitage of Ambik\u00e1.\n\nWhen Padm\u00e1vat\u00ed's ladies-in-waiting saw him afar off, coming down in the\nchariot from the sky, they said to Padm\u00e1vat\u00ed, \"Princess, behold this\nmarvel. He has come here also, travelling in an air-going chariot;\nhow can he, a mere man, have such power?\" Then Padm\u00e1vat\u00ed said, \"My\nfriends, do you not remember that on Dridhavrata, who cursed him,\nI laid the following curse, 'When my beloved is incarnate as a man,\nyou shall be his vehicle, assuming any desired shape, and moving in\nobedience to a wish.' So, no doubt, this is that hermit's pupil,\nhis vehicle, wearing at present the form of an air-going chariot,\nand by means of it he roams everywhere at will.\"\n\nWhen she said this, her ladies-in-waiting said to her, \"If you know\nthis to be the case, princess, why do you not speak to him? What are\nyou waiting for?\" When Padm\u00e1vat\u00ed heard this speech of her ladies',\nshe went on to say, \"I think that this probably is the case, but I\nam not absolutely certain as yet. But, even supposing he really is my\nbeloved, how can I approach him, now that he is not in his own body,\nbut in another body? So, let us for a time watch his proceedings,\nbeing ourselves concealed.\" When the princess had said this, she\nremained there concealed, surrounded by her ladies-in-waiting.\n\nThen Mukt\u00e1phaladhvaja descended from the chariot in that hermitage\nof Ambik\u00e1, and being full of longing, said to his friend, \"Here I\nhad my first interview with my beloved, when she had been terrified\nby the R\u00e1kshas\u00eds; and I again saw her in the garden here, when she\ncame having chosen me for her own; and here I received the curse, and\nshe wished to follow me by dying; but was, though with difficulty,\nprevented by that great hermit: and now, see, that very same lady\nflies out of reach of my eyes.\"\n\nWhen Padm\u00e1vat\u00ed heard him speak thus, she said to her ladies-in-waiting,\n\"True, my friends, it is really my beloved, but how can I approach him,\nbefore he has entered his former body? In this matter Siddh\u00edsvara\nis my only hope. He sent me the dream, and he will provide for me\na way out of my difficulties.\" When she had formed this resolution,\nshe went back to Siddh\u00edsvara. And she worshipped that manifestation\nof Siva, and offered this prayer to him, \"Unite me with my beloved in\nhis former body, or bestow death on me. I see no third way of escape\nfrom my woe.\" And then she remained with her friends in the court of\nthe god's temple.\n\nIn the meanwhile Mukt\u00e1phaladhvaja searched for the princess in the\ntemple of Gaur\u00ed, and not finding her was despondent, and said to that\nfriend, \"I have not found her here; let us go back to that temple of\nSiva; if I cannot find her there, I will enter the fire.\"\n\nWhen that friend heard it, he said, \"Good luck will befall you! The\nword of the hermit and Siva's promise in your dream cannot be\nfalsified.\" With those words did Mukt\u00e1phaladhvaja's friend try to\ncomfort him; and then Mukt\u00e1phaladhvaja ascended the chariot, and went\nwith him to Siddh\u00edsvara.\n\nWhen Padm\u00e1vat\u00ed saw him arrive, she still remained there invisible,\nand she said to her ladies-in-waiting, \"Look! he has come to this very\nplace.\" He too entered, and seeing that offerings had been recently\nplaced in front of the god, prince Mukt\u00e1phaladhvaja said to that\ncompanion of his, \"Look, my friend, some one has been quite recently\nworshipping this symbol of the god; surely, that beloved of mine\nmust be somewhere here, and she must have done this worship.\" When\nhe had said this, he looked for her, but could not find her; and\nthen in the anguish of separation he cried out again and again,\n\"Ah! my beloved Padm\u00e1vat\u00ed!\"\n\nThen, thinking that the cry of the cuckoo was her voice, and that the\ntail of the peacock was her hair, and that the lotus was her face,\nthe prince ran wildly about, overpowered with an attack of the fever\nof love, and with difficulty did his friend console him; and coaxing\nhim, he said to him, \"What is this that you have taken up, being weak\nwith much fasting? Why do you disregard your own welfare, though you\nhave conquered the earth and P\u00e1t\u00e1la? Your father Merudhvaja, and king\nTrailokyam\u00e1lin, the king of the D\u00e1navas, your future father-in-law,\nand his daughter Trailokyaprabh\u00e1, who wishes to marry you, and your\nmother Vinayavat\u00ed, and your younger brother Malayadhvaja will, if\nyou do not go to them, suspect that some misfortune has happened,\nand fasting as they are, will give up their breath. So come along! Let\nus go and save their lives, for the day is at an end.\"\n\nWhen Mukt\u00e1phaladhvaja's friend said this to him, he answered him,\n\"Then go yourself in my chariot and comfort them.\" Then his friend\nsaid, \"How will that hermit's pupil, who has been made your vehicle by\na curse, submit to me?\" When the prince's friend said this, he replied,\n\"Then wait a little, my friend; let us see what will happen here.\"\n\nWhen Padm\u00e1vat\u00ed heard this conversation of theirs, she said to her\nladies-in-waiting, \"I know that this is my former lover by all the\nnotes tallying, but he is degraded by the curse, being enclosed in\na human body, and I too am thus afflicted with a curse, because I\nlaughed at the Siddha-maiden.\" While she was saying this, the moon\nrose, red in hue, the fire that devours the forest of separated\nlovers. And gradually the moonlight filled the world on every side,\nand the flame of love's fire filled the heart of Mukt\u00e1phaladhvaja.\n\nThen the prince began to lament like a chakrav\u00e1ka at the approach of\nnight; and Padm\u00e1vat\u00ed, who was concealed, being despondent, said to\nhim, \"Prince, though you are my former lover, still, as you are now\nin another body, you are to me a strange man, and I am to you as the\nwife of another; so why do you lament again and again? Surely some\nmeans will be provided, if that speech of the hermit's was true.\"\n\nWhen Mukt\u00e1phaladhvaja heard this speech of hers, and could not see her,\nhe fell into a state which was painful from the contending emotions of\njoy and despondency; and he said to her, \"Princess, my former birth\nhas returned to my recollection, and so I recognised you, as soon as\nI saw you, for you still wear your old body, but as you saw me when I\nwas dwelling in my Vidy\u00e1dhara [726] body, how can you recognise me,\nnow that I am in a mortal body? So I must certainly abandon this\naccursed frame.\" When he had said this, he remained silent, and his\nbeloved continued in concealment.\n\nThen, the night being almost gone, and his friend Mah\u00e1buddhi, who\nwas formerly Samyataka, having gone to sleep out of weariness, prince\nMukt\u00e1phaladhvaja, thinking that he could never obtain Padm\u00e1vat\u00ed, as\nlong as he continued in that body, collected wood, [727] and lighted a\nfire; and worshipped Siva embodied in the linga, uttering this prayer,\n\"Holy one, may I by thy favour return to my former body, and soon\nobtain my beloved Padm\u00e1vat\u00ed!\" And having said this, he consumed his\nbody in that blazing fire.\n\nAnd in the meanwhile Mah\u00e1buddhi woke up, and not being able, in spite\nof careful search, to find Mukt\u00e1phaladhvaja, and seeing the fire\nblazing up, he came to the conclusion that his friend, distracted\nwith separation, had burnt himself, and out of regret for his loss,\nhe flung himself into that same fire.\n\nWhen Padm\u00e1vat\u00ed saw that, she was tortured with grief, and she said to\nher ladies-in-waiting, \"Alas! Fie! the female heart is harder than\nthe thunderbolt, otherwise my breath must have left me beholding\nthis horror. So, how long am I to retain this wretched life? Even\nnow, owing to my demerits, there is no end to my woe; moreover, the\npromise of that hermit has been falsified; so it is better that I\nshould die. But it is not fitting that I should enter this fire and be\nmixed up with strange men, so in this difficult conjuncture hanging,\nwhich gives no trouble, is my best resource.\" When the princess had\nsaid this, she went in front of Siva, and proceeded to make a noose\nby means of a creeper, which she fastened to an asoka-tree.\n\nAnd while her ladies-in-waiting were trying to prevent her by\nencouraging speeches, that hermit Tapodhana came there. He said,\n\"My daughter, do not act rashly, that promise of mine will not be\nfalsified. Be of good courage, you shall see that husband of yours\ncome here in a moment. His curse has been just now cancelled by virtue\nof your penance; so why do you now distrust the power of your own\nausterities? And why do you shew this despondency when your marriage\nis at hand? I have come here because I learnt all this by my power of\nmeditation.\" When Padm\u00e1vat\u00ed saw the hermit approaching uttering these\nwords, she bowed before him, and was for a moment, as it were, swung\nto and fro by perplexity. Then her beloved Mukt\u00e1phalaketu, having by\nthe burning of his mortal body entered his own Vidy\u00e1dhara body, came\nthere with his friend. And Padm\u00e1vat\u00ed, seeing that son of the king of\nthe Vidy\u00e1dharas coming through the air, as a female ch\u00e1taka beholds\na fresh rain-cloud, or a kumudvat\u00ed the full moon newly risen, felt\nindescribable joy in her heart. And Mukt\u00e1phalaketu, when he saw her,\nrejoiced, and so to speak, drank her in with his eyes, as a traveller,\nwearied with long wandering in a desert, rejoices, when he beholds\na river. And those two, reunited like a couple of chakrav\u00e1kas by the\ntermination of the night of their curse, took their fill of falling at\nthe feet of that hermit of glowing brilliancy. [728] Then that great\nhermit welcomed them in the following words, \"My heart has been fully\ngratified to-day by seeing you reunited, happy at having come to the\nend of your curse.\"\n\nAnd when the night had passed, king Merudhvaja came there in search\nof them, mounted on the elephant of Indra, accompanied by his wife\nand his youngest son, and also Trailokyam\u00e1lin the sovereign of the\nDaityas, with his daughter Trailokyaprabh\u00e1, mounted on a chariot,\nattended by his harem and his suite. Then the hermit pointed out\nMukt\u00e1phalaketu to those two kings and described what had taken place,\nhow he had become a man by a curse, in order to do a service to the\ngods, and how he had been delivered from his human condition. And\nwhen Merudhvaja and the others heard that, though they were before\neager to throw themselves into the fire, they bathed in Siddhodaka and\nworshipped Siva, by the hermit's direction, and were at once delivered\nfrom their sorrow. Then that Trailokyaprabh\u00e1 suddenly called to mind\nher birth and said to herself \"Truly I am that same Devaprabh\u00e1, the\ndaughter of the king of the Siddhas, who, when undergoing austerities\n[729] in order that the emperor of all the Vidy\u00e1dharas might be my\nhusband, was ridiculed by Padm\u00e1vat\u00ed, and entered the fire to gain\nthe fulfilment of my desire. And now I have been born in this Daitya\nrace, and here is this very prince with whom I was in love, who has\nrecovered his Vidy\u00e1dhara body. But it is not fitting that, now that\nhis body is changed, he should be united to this body of mine, so I\nwill consume my Asura body also in the fire, in order to obtain him.\"\n\nHaving gone through these reflections in her mind, and having\ncommunicated her intention to her parents, she entered [730] the fire\nwhich had consumed Mukt\u00e1phaladhvaja; and then the god of fire himself\nappeared with her, on whom out of pity he had bestowed her former body,\nand said to Mukt\u00e1phaladhvaja, \"Mukt\u00e1phaladhvaja, this lady Devaprabh\u00e1,\nthe daughter of the king of the Siddhas, for thy sake abandoned her\nbody in me; so receive her as thy wife.\" When the god of fire had\nsaid this, he disappeared; and Brahm\u00e1 came there with Indra and the\nrest of the gods, and Padmasekhara the king of the Gandharvas, with\nChandraketu, the sovereign of the Vidy\u00e1dharas. Then that prosperous\nking of the Gandharvas [731] gave his daughter Padm\u00e1vat\u00ed, with due\nrites and much activity on the part of his followers, as wife to\nMukt\u00e1phalaketu, who bowed before him, congratulated by all. And then\nthat prince of the Vidy\u00e1dharas, having obtained that beloved, whom\nhe had so long desired, considered that he had gathered the fruit\nof the tree of his birth, and married also that Siddha-maiden. And\nprince Malayadhvaja was united to that Daitya princess, his beloved\nTribhuvanaprabh\u00e1, whom her father bestowed on him with due rites. Then\nMerudhvaja, having, on account of his son Malayadhvaja's complete\nsuccess, anointed him to be sole ruler of a kingdom extending over\nthe earth with all its islands, went with his wife to the forest to\nperform austerities. And Trailokyam\u00e1lin, the king of the Daityas, went\nwith his wife to his own region, and Indra gave to Mukt\u00e1phalaketu the\nsplendid kingdom of Vidyuddhvaja. And this voice came from heaven,\n\"Let this Mukt\u00e1phalaketu enjoy the sovereignty over the Vidy\u00e1dharas\nand Asuras, and let the gods go to their own abodes!\" When they heard\nthat voice, Brahm\u00e1 and Indra and the other gods went away delighted,\nand the hermit Tapodhana went with his pupil, who was released from\nhis curse, and Chandraketu went to his own Vidy\u00e1dhara home, with his\nson Mukt\u00e1phalaketu who was graced by two wives. And there the king,\ntogether with his son, long enjoyed the dignity of emperor over the\nVidy\u00e1dharas, but at last he threw on him the burden of his kingdom,\nand, disgusted with the world and its pleasures, went with the queen to\nan ascetic grove of hermits. And Mukt\u00e1phalaketu, having before obtained\nfrom Indra the rule over the Asuras, and again from his father the\nempire over the Vidy\u00e1dharas, enjoyed, in the society of Padm\u00e1vat\u00ed,\nwho seemed like an incarnation of happiness, for ten kalpas, the good\nfortune of all the pleasures which the sway of those two wealthy realms\ncould yield, and thus obtained the highest success. But he saw that\npassions are in their end distasteful, and at last he entered a wood\nof mighty hermits, and by the eminence of his asceticism obtained\nthe highest glory, and became a companion of the lord Siva.\n\nThus king Brahmadatta and his wife and his minister heard this\nromantic tale from the couple of swans, and gained knowledge from their\nteaching, and obtained the power of flying through the air like gods;\nand then they went accompanied by those two birds to Siddh\u00edsvara,\n[732] and there they all laid aside the bodies they had entered in\nconsequence of the curse, and were reinstated in their former position\nas attendants upon Siva. [733]\n\nHearing this story from Gomukha in the absence of Madanamanchuk\u00e1,\nfor a moment only, hermits, I cheered my heart with hope.\n\nWhen the emperor Narav\u00e1hanadatta had told this story, those hermits\nin the hermitage of Kasyapa, accompanied by Gop\u00e1laka, rejoiced\nexceedingly.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nBOOK XVIII.\n\n\nCHAPTER CXX.\n\n\nGlory be to that god, half of whose body is the moon-faced P\u00e1rvat\u00ed,\nwho is smeared with ashes white as the rays of the moon, whose eyes\ngleam with a fire like that of the sun and moon, who wears a half-moon\non his head!\n\nMay that elephant-faced god protect you, who, with his trunk bent at\nthe end, uplifted in sport, appears to be bestowing successes!\n\n\n\nThen Narav\u00e1hanadatta, in the hermitage of the hermit Kasyapa,\non that Black Mountain, said to the assembled hermits, \"Moreover,\nwhen, during my separation from the queen, Vegavat\u00ed, who was in love\nwith me, took me and made me over to the protection of a Science,\nI longed to abandon the body, being separated from my beloved and\nin a foreign land; but while, in this state of mind, I was roaming\nabout in a remote part of the forest, I beheld the great hermit Kanva.\n\n\"That compassionate hermit, seeing me bowing at his feet, and knowing\nby the insight of profound meditation that I was miserable, took me\nto his hermitage, and said to me, 'Why are you distracted, though you\nare a hero sprung from the race of the Moon? As the ordinance of the\ngod standeth sure, why should you despair of reunion with your wife?\n\n\"'The most unexpected meetings do take place for men in this world; I\nwill tell you, to illustrate this, the story of Vikram\u00e1ditya; listen.'\"\n\n\n\nThe story of Vikram\u00e1ditya.\n\nThere is in Avanti a famous city, named Ujjayin\u00ed, the dwelling-place\nof Siva, built by Visvakarman in the commencement or the Yuga; which,\nlike a virtuous woman, is invincible by strangers; like a lotus-plant\nis the resort of the goddess of prosperity; like the heart of the good,\nis rich in virtue; like the earth, is full of many wonderful sights.\n\nThere dwelt in that city a world-conquering king, named Mahendr\u00e1ditya,\nthe slayer of his enemies' armies, like Indra in Amar\u00e1vat\u00ed. In regard\nof prowess he was a wielder of many weapons; in regard of beauty he\nwas the flower-weaponed god [734] himself; his hand was ever open in\nbounty, but was firmly clenched on the hilt of his sword. That king had\na wife named Saumyadarsan\u00e1, who was to him as Sach\u00ed to Indra, as Gaur\u00ed\nto Siva, as Sr\u00ed to Vishnu. And that king had a great minister named\nSumati, and a warder named Vajr\u00e1yudha, in whose family the office was\nhereditary. With these the king remained ruling his realm, propitiating\nSiva, and ever bearing various vows in order to obtain a son.\n\nIn the meanwhile, as Siva was with P\u00e1rvat\u00ed on the mighty mountain\nKail\u00e1sa, the glens of which are visited by troops of gods, which is\nbeautiful with the smile that the Northern quarter smiles joyous at\nvanquishing all the others, all the gods with Indra at their head came\nto visit him, being afflicted by the oppression of the Mlechchhas;\nand the immortals bowed, and then sat down and praised Siva; and when\nhe asked them the reason of their coming, they addressed to him this\nprayer: \"O god, those Asuras, who were slain by thee and Vishnu, have\nbeen now again born on the earth in the form of Mlechchhas. They slay\nBr\u00e1hmans, they interfere with the sacrifices and other ceremonies,\nand they carry off the daughters of hermits: indeed, what crime do not\nthe villains commit? Now, thou knowest, lord, that the world of gods\nis ever nourished by the earth, for the oblation offered in the fire by\nBr\u00e1hmans nourishes the dwellers in heaven. But, as the Mlechchhas have\noverrun the earth, the auspicious words are nowhere pronounced over\nthe burnt-offering, and the world of gods is being exhausted by the\ncutting off of their share of the sacrifice and other supplies. [735]\nSo devise an expedient in this matter; cause some hero to become\nincarnate on the earth, mighty enough to destroy those Mlechchhas.\"\n\nWhen Siva had been thus entreated by the gods, he said to them,\n\"Depart; you need not be anxious about this matter; be at your\nease. Rest assured that I will soon devise an expedient which will\nmeet the difficulty.\" When Siva had said this, he dismissed the gods\nto their abodes. [736]\n\nAnd when they had gone, the Holy one, with P\u00e1rvat\u00ed at his side,\nsummoned a Gana, named M\u00e1lyavat, and gave him this order, \"My son,\ndescend into the condition of a man, and be born in the city of\nUjjayin\u00ed as the brave son of king Mahendr\u00e1ditya. That king is a\nportion of me, and his wife is sprung from a portion of Ambik\u00e1;\nbe born in their family, and do the heaven-dwellers the service they\nrequire. Slay all those Mlechchhas that obstruct the fulfilment of the\nlaw contained in the three Vedas. And by my favour thou shalt be a king\nruling over the seven divisions of the world; moreover the R\u00e1kshasas,\nthe Yakshas and the Vet\u00e1las shall own thy supremacy; [737] and after\nthou hast enjoyed human pleasures, thou shalt again return to me.\"\n\nWhen the Gana M\u00e1lyavat received this command from Siva, he said\n\"The command of you two divine beings cannot be disobeyed by me:\nbut what enjoyments are there in the life of a man, which involves\nseparations from relations, friends, and servants, very hard to bear,\nand the pain arising from loss of wealth, old age, disease, and the\nother ills of humanity?\" When the Gana said this to Siva, the god\nthus replied, \"Go, blameless one! These woes shall not fall to thy\nlot; by my favour thou shalt be happy throughout the whole of thy\nsojourn on earth.\" When Siva said this to M\u00e1lyavat, that virtuous Gana\nimmediately disappeared. And he went and was conceived in Ujjayin\u00ed,\nin the proper season, in the womb of the queen of king Mahendr\u00e1ditya.\n\nAnd at that time the god, whose diadem is fashioned of a digit of the\nmoon, said to that king in a dream, \"I am pleased with thee, king, so\na son shall be born to thee, who by his might shall conquer the earth\nwith all its divisions; and that hero shall reduce under his sway the\nYakshas, R\u00e1kshasas, Pis\u00e1chas and others, even those that move in the\nair, and dwell in P\u00e1t\u00e1la, and shall slay the hosts of the Mlechchhas;\nfor this reason he shall be named Vikram\u00e1ditya; and also Vishamas\u00edla\non account of his stern hostility [738] to his enemies.\"\n\nWhen the god had said this, he disappeared; and next morning the\nking woke up, and joyfully related his dream to his ministers. And\nthey also told the king, one after another, with great delight,\nthat Siva had made a revelation to each of them in a dream that he\nwas to have a son. And at that moment a handmaid of the harem came\nand shewed the king a fruit, saying, \"Siva gave this to the queen in\na dream.\" Then the king rejoiced, saying, again and again, \"Truly,\nSiva has given me a son,\" and his ministers congratulated him.\n\nThen his illustrious queen became pregnant, like the eastern quarter\nin the morning, when the orb of the sun is about to arise, and she\nwas conspicuous for the black tint of the nipples of her breasts,\nwhich appeared like a seal to secure the milk for the king with whom\nshe was pregnant. In her dreams at that time she crossed seven seas,\nbeing worshipped by all the Yakshas, Vet\u00e1las, and R\u00e1kshasas. And\nwhen the due time was come, she brought forth a glorious son, who\nlit up the chamber, as the rising sun does the heaven. And when he\nwas born, the sky became indeed glorious, laughing with the falling\nrain of flowers, and ringing with the noise of the gods' drums. And\non that occasion the city was altogether distracted with festive\njoy, and appeared as if intoxicated, as if possessed by a demon,\nas if generally wind-struck. And at that time the king rained wealth\nthere so unceasingly, that, except the Buddhists, no one was without\na god. [739] And king Mahendr\u00e1ditya gave him the name of Vikram\u00e1ditya,\nwhich Siva had mentioned, and also that of Vishamas\u00edla.\n\nWhen some more days had passed, there was born to that king's minister,\nnamed Sumati, a son of the name of Mah\u00e1mati, and the warder Vajr\u00e1yudha\nhad a son born to him, named Bhadhr\u00e1yudha, and the chaplain Mah\u00eddhara\nhad a son of the name of Sr\u00eddhara. And that prince Vikram\u00e1ditya\ngrew up with those three minister's sons, as with spirit, courage,\nand might. When he was invested with the sacred thread, and put\nunder teachers, they were merely the occasions of his learning the\nsciences, which revealed themselves to him without effort. And whatever\nscience or accomplishment he was seen to employ, was known by those,\nwho understood it, to be possessed by him to the highest degree of\nexcellence. And when people saw that prince fighting with heavenly\nweapons, they even began to pay less attention to the stories about\nthe great archer R\u00e1ma and other heroes of the kind. And his father\nbrought for him beautiful maidens, given by kings who had submitted\nafter defeat, like so many goddesses of Fortune.\n\nThen his father, king Mahendr\u00e1ditya, seeing that his son was in the\nbloom of early manhood, of great valour, and beloved by the subjects,\nduly anointed him heir to his realm, and being himself old, retired\nwith his wife and ministers to V\u00e1r\u00e1nas\u00ed, [740] and made the god Siva\nhis refuge.\n\nAnd king Vikram\u00e1ditya, having obtained that kingdom of his father,\nbegan in due course to blaze forth, as the sun, when it has occupied\nthe sky. Even haughty kings, when they saw the string fitted into\nthe notch of his bending bow, [741] learnt a lesson from that weapon,\nand bent likewise on every side. Of godlike dignity, having subdued\nto his sway even Vet\u00e1las, R\u00e1kshasas and other demons, he chastised\nrighteously those that followed evil courses. The armies of that\nVikram\u00e1ditya roamed over the earth like the rays of the sun, shedding\ninto every quarter the light of order. Though that king was a mighty\nhero, he dreaded the other world, though a brave warrior, he was\nnot hard-handed, [742] though not uxorious, he was beloved by his\nwives. He was the father of all the fatherless, the friend of all\nthe friendless, and the protector of all the unprotected among his\nsubjects. Surely his glory furnished the Disposer with the material\nout of which he built up the White Island, the Sea of Milk, Mount\nKail\u00e1sa, and the Him\u00e1layas. [743]\n\nAnd one day, as the king Vikram\u00e1ditya was in the hall of assembly, the\nwarder Bhadr\u00e1yudha came in and said to him, \"Your Majesty despatched\nVikramasakti with an army to conquer the southern region and other\nterritories, and then sent to him a messenger named Anangadeva;\nthat messenger has now returned, and is at the gate with another,\nand his delighted face announces good tidings, my lord.\" The king\nsaid, \"Let him enter,\" and then the warder respectfully introduced\nAnangadeva, with his companion. The messenger entered and bowed,\nand shouted \"Victory\" [744] and sat down in front of the king; and\nthen the king said to him, \"Is it well with king Vikramasakti, the\ngeneral of my forces, and with Vy\u00e1ghrabala and the other kings? And\ndoes good fortune attend on the other chief R\u00e1jp\u00fats in his army,\nand on the elephants, horses, chariots and footmen?\"\n\nWhen Anangadeva had been thus questioned by the king, he answered, \"It\nis well with Vikramasakti and the whole of the army. And Your Majesty\nhas conquered the Dekkan and the western border, and Madhyadesa and\nSaur\u00e1shtra and all the eastern region of the Ganges; and the northern\nregion and Kasm\u00edra have been made tributary, and various forts and\nislands have been conquered, and the hosts of the Mlechchhas have\nbeen slain, and the rest have been reduced to submission, and various\nkings have entered the camp of Vikramasakti, and he himself is coming\nhere with those kings, and is now, my lord, two or three marches off.\"\n\nWhen the messenger had thus told his tale, king Vikram\u00e1ditya\nwas pleased and loaded [745] him with garments, ornaments, and\nvillages. Then the king went on to say to that noble messenger,\n\"Anangadeva, when you went there, what regions did you see, and\nwhat object of interest did you meet with anywhere? Tell me, my\ngood fellow!\" When Anangadeva had been thus questioned by the king,\nhe began to recount his adventures, as follows:--\n\n\n\nThe adventures of Anangadeva.\n\nHaving set out hence by Your Majesty's orders, I reached in course\nof time that army of yours assembled under Vikramasakti, which\nwas like a broad sea resorted to by allied kings, adorned by many\nprinces of the N\u00e1gas that had come together with horses and royal\nmagnificence. [746] And when I arrived there, that Vikramasakti bowed\nbefore me, and treated me with great respect, because I had been\nsent by his sovereign; and while I was there considering the nature\nof the triumphs he had gained, a messenger from the king of Sinhala\n[747] came there.\n\nAnd that messenger, who had come from Sinhala, told to Vikramasakti\nin my presence his master's message as follows, \"I have been told\nby messengers, who have been sent by me to your sovereign and have\nreturned, that your sovereign's very heart Anangadeva is with you,\nso send him to me quickly, I will reveal to him a certain auspicious\naffair, that concerns your king.\" Then Vikramasakti said to me,\n\"Go quickly to the king of Sinhala; and see what he wishes to say to\nyou when he has you before him.\"\n\nThen I went through the sea in a ship to the island of Sinhala with\nthat king of Sinhala's ambassador. And in that island I saw a palace\nall made of gold, with terraces of various jewels, like the city of\nthe gods. And in it I saw that king of Sinhala, V\u00edrasena, surrounded\nby obedient ministers, as Indra is by the gods. When I approached him,\nhe received me politely, and asked me about Your Majesty's health,\nand then he refreshed me with most sumptuous hospitality.\n\nThe next day the king summoned me, when he was in his hall of audience;\nand showing his devotion to you, said to me in the presence of his\nministers, \"I have a maiden daughter, the peerless beauty of the world\nof mortals, Madanalekh\u00e1 by name, and I offer her to your king. She\nis a fitting wife for him, and he is a suitable husband for her;\nfor this reason I have invited you; so accept her in the name of your\nking. [748] And go on in front with my ambassador to tell your master;\nI will send my daughter here close after you.\"\n\nWhen the king had said this, he summoned into that hall his daughter\nwhose load of ornaments was adorned by her graceful shape, loveliness,\nand youth. And he made her sit on his lap, and shewing her, said to\nme, \"I offer this girl to your master, receive her.\" And when I saw\nthat princess, I was astonished at her beauty, and I said joyfully, \"I\naccept this maiden on behalf of my sovereign,\" and I thought to myself,\n\"Well, the Creator is never tired of producing marvels, since even\nafter creating Tilottam\u00e1, he has produced this far superior beauty.\"\n\nThen, having been honoured by that king, I set forth from that island,\nwith this ambassador of his, Dhavalasena. So we embarked on a ship,\nand as we were sailing along in it, through the sea, we suddenly\nsaw a great sandbank in the middle of the ocean. And on it we saw\ntwo maidens of singular beauty; one had a body as dark as priyangu,\nthe other gleamed white like the moon, and they both looked more\nsplendid from having put on dresses and ornaments suited to their\nrespective hues. They made a sound like the clashing of cymbals with\ntheir bracelets adorned with splendid gems, and they were making\na young toy-deer, which, though of gold and studded with jewels\nto represent spots, possessed life, dance in front of them. [749]\nWhen we saw this, we were astonished and we said to one another,\n\"What can this wonder mean? Is it a dream, magic, or delusion? Who\nwould ever expect to see a sandbank suddenly start up in the middle\nof the ocean, or such maidens upon it? And who would ever have thought\nof seeing such a thing as this living golden deer studded with jewels,\nwhich they possess? Such things are not usually found together.\"\n\nWhile we were saying this to one another, king, in the greatest\nastonishment, a wind suddenly began to blow, tossing up the sea. That\nwind broke up our ship, which was resting on the surging waves,\nand the people in it were whelmed in the sea, and the sea-monsters\nbegan to devour them. But those two maidens came and supported both\nof us in their arms, and lifted us up and carried us to the sandbank,\nso that we escaped the jaws of the sea-monsters. And then that bank\nbegan to be covered with waves, at which we were terrified, but those\ntwo ladies cheered us, and made us enter what seemed like the interior\nof a cave. There we began to look at a heavenly wood of various trees,\nand while we were looking at it, the sea disappeared, and the bank,\nand the young deer, and the maidens.\n\nWe wandered about there for a time, saying to ourselves, \"What is this\nstrange thing? It is assuredly some magic.\" And then we saw there\na great lake, transparent, deep, and broad, like the heart of great\nmen, looking like a material representation of Nirv\u00e1na that allays\nthe fire of desire. [750]\n\nAnd we saw a certain beautiful woman, coming to bathe in it,\naccompanied by her train, looking like an incarnation of the beauty\nof the wood. And that lady alighted from her covered chariot, [751]\nand gathered lotuses in that lake, and bathed in it, and meditated on\nSiva. And thereupon, to our astonishment, Siva arose from the lake,\na present god, in the form of a linga, composed of splendid jewels,\nand came near her; and that fair one worshipped him with various\nluxuries suited to her majesty, and then took her lyre. And she played\nupon it, singing skilfully to it with rapt devotion, following the\nsouthern style in respect of notes, time, and words. So splendid was\nher performance that even the Siddhas and other beings appeared there\nin the air, having their hearts attracted by hearing it, and remained\nmotionless as if painted. And after she had finished her music, [752]\nshe dismissed the god, and he immediately sank in the lake. Then the\ngazelle-eyed lady rose up, and mounted her chariot, and proceeded to\ngo away slowly with her train.\n\nWe followed her, and eagerly asked her train over and over again, who\nshe was, but none of them gave us any answer. Then, wishing to shew\nthat ambassador of the king of Sinhala your might, I said to her aloud,\n\"Auspicious one, I adjure thee by the touch of king Vikram\u00e1ditya's\nfeet, that thou depart not hence without revealing to me who thou\nart.\" When the lady heard this, she made her train retire, and alighted\nfrom her chariot, and coming up to me, she said with a gentle voice,\n\"Is my lord the noble king Vikram\u00e1ditya well? But why do I ask,\nAnangadeva, since I know all about him? For I exerted magic power,\nand brought you here for the sake of that king, for I must honour him,\nas he delivered me from a great danger. So come to my palace; there\nI will tell you all, who I am, and why I ought to honour that king,\nand what service he needs to have done him.\"\n\nWhen she had said this, having left her chariot out of courtesy, that\nfair one went along the path on foot and respectfully conducted me to\nher castle, which looked like heaven; it was built of various jewels\nand different kinds of gold; its gates were guarded on every side by\nbrave warriors wearing various forms, and bearing various weapons;\nand it was full of noble ladies of remarkable beauty, looking as if\nthey were charms that drew down endless heavenly enjoyments. There\nshe honoured us with baths, unguents, splendid dresses and ornaments,\nand made us rest for a time.\n\n\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER CXXI.\n\n\nWhen Anangadeva had told this to king Vikram\u00e1ditya in his hall of\naudience, he continued as follows:--\n\nThen, after I had taken food, that lady, sitting in the midst of her\nattendants, said to me, \"Listen, Anangadeva, I will now tell you all.\"\n\n\n\nStory of Madanamanjar\u00ed.\n\nI am Madanamanjar\u00ed, the daughter of Dundubhi the king of the Yakshas,\nand the wife of Manibhadra the brother of Kuvera. I used always to\nroam about happily with my husband on the banks of rivers, on hills,\nand in charming groves.\n\nAnd one day I went with my beloved to a garden in Ujjayin\u00ed called\nMakaranda to amuse myself. There it happened that in the dawn\na low hypocritical scoundrel of a k\u00e1p\u00e1lika [753] saw me, when I\nhad just woke up from a sleep brought on by the fatigue of roaming\nabout. That rascal, being overcome with love, went into a cemetery,\nand proceeded to try and procure me for his wife by means of a spell,\nand a burnt-offering. But I by my power found out what he was about,\nand informed my husband; and he told his elder brother Kuvera. And\nKuvera went and complained to Brahm\u00e1, and the holy Brahm\u00e1, after\nmeditating, said to him, \"It is true that k\u00e1p\u00e1lika intends to rob\nyour brother of his wife, for such is the power of those spells for\nmastering Yakshas, which he possesses. But when she feels herself\nbeing drawn along by the spell, she must invoke the protection of king\nVikram\u00e1ditya; he will save her from him.\" Then Kuvera came and told\nthis answer of Brahm\u00e1's to my husband, and my husband told it to me,\nwhose mind was troubled by that wicked spell.\n\nAnd in the meanwhile that hypocritical k\u00e1p\u00e1lika, offering a\nburnt-offering in the cemetery, began to draw me to him by means of\na spell, duly muttered in a circle. And I, being drawn by that spell,\nreached in an agony of terror that awful cemetery, full of bones and\nskulls, haunted by demons. And then I saw there that wicked k\u00e1p\u00e1lika:\nhe had made an offering to the fire, and he had in a circle a corpse\nlying on its back, which he had been worshipping. And that k\u00e1p\u00e1lika,\nwhen he saw that I had arrived, was beside himself with pride, and\nwith difficulty tore himself away to rinse his mouth in a river,\nwhich happened to be near.\n\nAt that moment I called to mind what Brahm\u00e1 had said, and I thought,\n\"Why should I not call to the king for aid? He may be roaming about\nin the darkness somewhere near.\" When I had said this to myself,\nI called aloud for his help in the following words, \"Deliver me,\nnoble king Vikram\u00e1ditya! See, protecting talisman of the world, this\nk\u00e1p\u00e1lika is bent on outraging by force, in your realm, me a chaste\nmatron, the Yaksh\u00ed Madanamanjar\u00ed by name, the daughter of Dundubhi,\nand the wife of Manibhadra the younger brother of Kuvera.\"\n\nNo sooner had I finished this plaintive appeal, than I saw that king\ncoming towards me, sword in hand; he seemed to be all resplendent with\nbrightness of valour, and he said to me, \"My good lady, do not fear;\nbe at ease; I will deliver you from that k\u00e1p\u00e1lika, fair one. For who\nis able to work such unrighteousness in my realm?\" When he had said\nthis, he summoned a Vet\u00e1la, named Agnisikha. And he, when summoned,\ncame, tall, with flaming eyes, with upstanding hair; and said to\nthe king, \"Tell me what I am to do.\" Then the king said, \"Kill and\neat this wicked k\u00e1p\u00e1lika, who is trying to carry off his neighbour's\nwife.\" Then that Vet\u00e1la Agnisikha entered the corpse that was in the\ncircle of adoration, and rose up, and rushed forward, stretching out\nhis arms and mouth. And when the k\u00e1p\u00e1lika, who had come back from\nrinsing his mouth, was preparing to fly, he seized him from behind\nby the legs; and he whirled him round in the air and then dashed him\ndown with great force on the earth, and so at one blow crushed his\nbody and his aspirations.\n\nWhen the demons saw the k\u00e1p\u00e1lika slain, they were all eager for flesh,\nand a fierce Vet\u00e1la, named Yamasikha, came there. As soon as he came,\nhe seized the body of the k\u00e1p\u00e1lika; then the first Vet\u00e1la Agnisikha\nsaid to him, \"Hear, villain! I have killed this k\u00e1p\u00e1lika by the\norder of king Vikram\u00e1ditya; pray what have you to do with him?\" When\nYamasikha heard that, he said to him, \"Then tell me, what kind of\npower has that king?\" Then Agnisikha said, \"If you do not know the\nnature of his power, listen, I will tell you.\"\n\n\n\nStory of the gambler D\u00e1gineya, who was too cunning for the Vet\u00e1la\nAgnisikha, and of Agnisikha's submission to king Vikram\u00e1ditya.\n\nThere once lived in this city a very resolute gambler of the name\nof D\u00e1gineya. Once on a time some gamblers, by fraudulent play, won\nfrom him all he possessed, and then bound him in order to obtain from\nhim the borrowed money which he had lost in addition. And as he had\nnothing, they beat him with sticks and other instruments of torture,\n[754] but he made himself like a stone, and seemed as rigid as a\ncorpse. Then all those wicked gamblers took him and threw him into a\nlarge dark well, fearing that, if he lived, he might take vengeance\non them.\n\nBut that gambler D\u00e1gineya, when flung down into that very deep well,\nsaw in front of him two great and terrible men. But they, when they\nsaw him fall down terrified, said to him kindly, \"Who are you, and\nhow have you managed to fall into this deep well? Tell us!\" Then the\ngambler recovered his spirits, and told them his story, and said to\nthem \"Do you also tell me who you are and whence you come.\" When\nthose men, who were in the pit, heard that, they said, \"Good Sir,\nwe were Br\u00e1hman demons [755] dwelling in the cemetery belonging\nto this city, and we possessed two maidens in this very city; one\nwas the daughter of the principal minister, the other of the chief\nmerchant. And no conjurer on the earth, however powerful his spells,\nwas able to deliver those maidens from us.\n\n\"Then king Vikram\u00e1ditya, who had an affection for their fathers, heard\nof it, and came to the place, where those maidens were with a friend\nof their fathers'. The moment we saw the king, we left the maidens,\nand tried to escape, but we were not able to do so, though we tried\nour utmost. We saw the whole horizon on fire with his splendour. Then\nthat king, seeing us, bound us by his power. And seeing us unhappy,\nas we were afraid of being put to death, he gave us this order,\n'Ye wicked ones, dwell for a year in a dark pit, and then ye shall\nbe set at liberty. But when freed, ye must never again commit such\na crime; if ye do, I will punish you with destruction.' After king\nVishamas\u00edla had given us this order, he had us flung into this dark\npit; but out of mercy he did not destroy us.\n\n\"And in eight more days the year will be completed, and with it\nthe period during which we were to dwell in this cave, and we shall\nthen be released from it. Now, friend, if you engage to supply us\nwith some food during those days, we will lift you out of this pit,\nand set you down outside it; but if you do not, when lifted out,\nsupply us with food according to your engagement, we will certainly,\nwhen we come out, devour you.\"\n\nWhen the Br\u00e1hman demons made this proposal to the gambler, he consented\nto it, and they put him out of the pit. When he got out of it, he went\nto the cemetery at night to deal in human flesh, as he saw no other\nchance of getting what he wanted. And I, happening to be there at that\ntime, saw that gambler, who was crying out, \"I have human flesh for\nsale; buy it somebody.\" Then I said, \"I will take it off your hands;\nwhat price do you want for it?\" And he answered, \"Give me your shape\nand power.\" Then I said again to him, \"My fine fellow, what will you do\nwith them?\" The gambler then told me his whole story, and said to me,\n\"By means of your shape and power I will get hold of those enemies of\nmine, the gamblers, together with the keeper of the gambling-house,\nand will give them to the Br\u00e1hman demons to eat.\" When I heard that,\nI was pleased with the resolute spirit of that gambler, and gave him\nmy shape and my power for a specified period of seven days. And by\nmeans of them he drew those men that had injured him into his power,\none after another, and flung them into the pit, and fed the Br\u00e1hman\ndemons on them during seven days.\n\nThen I took back from him my shape and power, and that gambler\nD\u00e1gineya, beside himself with fear, said to me, \"I have not given\nthose Br\u00e1hman demons any food this day, which is the eighth, so they\nwill now come out and devour me. Tell me what I must do in this case,\nfor you are my friend.\" When he said this, I, having got to like him\nfrom being thrown with him, said to him, \"If this is the case, since\nyou have made those two demons devour the gamblers, I for your sake\nwill in turn eat the demons. So shew them to me, my friend.\" When I\nmade the gambler this offer, he at once jumped at it, and took me to\nthe pit where the demons were.\n\nI, suspecting nothing, bent my head down to look into the pit,\nand while I was thus engaged, the gambler put his hand on the back\nof my neck, and pushed me into it. When I fell into it, the demons\ntook me for some one sent for them to eat, and laid hold of me, and\nI had a wrestling-match with them. When they found that they could\nnot overcome the might of my arms, they desisted from the struggle,\nand asked me who I was.\n\nThen I told them my own story from the point where my fortunes became\ninvolved with those of D\u00e1gineya, [756] and they made friends with me,\nand said to me, \"Alas! What a trick that evil-minded gambler has played\nyou, and us two, and those other gamblers! But what confidence can be\nplaced in gamblers, who profess exclusively the science of cheating,\nwhose minds are proof against friendship, pity, and gratitude for a\nbenefit received? Recklessness and disregard of all ties are ingrained\nin the nature of gamblers; hear in illustration of this the story\nof Thinth\u00e1kar\u00e1la.\"\n\n\n\nStory of Thinth\u00e1kar\u00e1la the bold gambler.\n\nLong ago there lived in this very city of Ujjayin\u00ed a ruffianly gambler,\nwho was rightly named Thinth\u00e1kar\u00e1la. [757] He lost perpetually,\nand the others, who won in the game, used to give him every day a\nhundred cowries. With those he bought wheat-flour from the market,\nand in the evening made cakes by kneading them somewhere or other in\na pot with water, and then he went and cooked them in the flame of\na funeral pyre in the cemetery, and ate them in front of Mah\u00e1k\u00e1la,\nsmearing them with the grease from the lamp burning before him: and\nhe always slept at night on the ground in the court of the same god's\ntemple, pillowing his head on his arm.\n\nNow, one night, he saw the images of all the Mothers and of the Yakshas\nand other divine beings in the temple of Mah\u00e1k\u00e1la trembling from the\nproximity of spells, and this thought arose in his bosom, \"Why should\nI not employ an artful device here to obtain wealth? If it succeeds,\nwell and good; if it does not succeed, wherein am I the worse?\" When\nhe had gone through these reflections, he challenged those deities\nto play, saying to them, \"Come now, I will have a game with you, and\nI will act as keeper of the gaming-table, and will fling the dice;\nand mind, you must always pay up what you lose.\" When he said this\nto the deities they remained silent; so Thinth\u00e1kar\u00e1la staked some\nspotted cowries, and flung the dice. For this is the universally\naccepted rule among gamblers, that, if a gambler does not object to\nthe dice being thrown, he agrees to play.\n\nThen, having won much gold, he said to the deities, \"Pay me the money\nI have won, as you agreed to do.\" But though the gambler said this to\nthe deities over and over again, they made no answer. Then he flew in\na passion and said to them, \"If you remain silent, I will adopt with\nyou the same course as is usually adopted with a gambler, who will not\npay the money he has lost, but makes himself as stiff as a stone. [758]\nI will simply saw through your limbs with a saw as sharp as the points\nof Yama's teeth, for I have no respect for anything.\" When he had said\nthis, he ran towards them, saw in hand; and the deities immediately\npaid him the gold he had won. Next morning he lost it all at play,\nand in the evening he came back again, and extorted more money from\nthe Mothers in the same way by making them play with him.\n\nHe went on doing this every day, and those deities, the Mothers, were\nin very low spirits about it; then the goddess Ch\u00e1mund\u00e1 said to them,\n\"Whoever, when invited to gamble, says 'I sit out of this game' cannot\nbe forced to play; this is the universal convention among gamblers,\nye Mother deities. So when he invites you, say this to him, and so\nbaffle him.\" When Ch\u00e1mund\u00e1 had said this to the Mothers, they laid\nher advice up in their minds. And when the gambler came at night and\ninvited them to play with him, all the goddesses said with one accord\n\"We sit out of this game.\"\n\nWhen Thinth\u00e1kar\u00e1la had been thus repulsed by those goddesses, he\ninvited their sovereign Mah\u00e1k\u00e1la himself to play. But that god,\nthinking that the fellow had taken this opportunity of trying to\nforce him to gamble, said, \"I sit out of this game.\" Even gods, you\nsee, like feeble persons, are afraid of a thoroughly self-indulgent,\nruffianly scoundrel, flushed with impunity.\n\nThen that Thinth\u00e1kar\u00e1la, being depressed at finding his gambler's\nartifice baffled by a knowledge of the etiquette of play, was\ndisgusted, and said to himself, \"Alas! I am baffled by these deities\nthrough their learning the conventions of gamblers; so I must now\nflee for refuge to this very sovereign of the gods.\" Having formed\nthis resolution in his heart, Thinth\u00e1kar\u00e1la embraced the feet of\nMah\u00e1k\u00e1la, and praising him, addressed to him the following petition;\n\"I adore thee that sittest naked [759] with thy head resting on thy\nknee; thy moon, thy bull, and thy elephant-skin having been won at\nplay by Dev\u00ed. When the gods give all powers at thy mere desire, and\nwhen thou art free from longings, having for thy only possessions the\nmatted lock, the ashes and the skull, how canst thou suddenly have\nbecome avaricious with regard to hapless me, in that thou desirest\nto disappoint me for so small a gain? Of a truth the wishing-tree\nno longer gratifies the hope of the poor, as thou dost not support\nme, lord Bhairava, though thou supportest the world. So, as I have\nfled to thee as a suppliant, holy Sth\u00e1nu, with my mind pierced with\ngrievous woe, thou oughtest even to pardon presumption in me. Thou\nhast three eyes, I have three dice, [760] so I am like thee in one\nrespect; thou hast ashes on thy body, so have I; thou eatest from a\nskull, so do I; shew me mercy. When I have conversed with you gods,\nhow can I afterwards bear to converse with gamblers? So deliver me\nfrom my calamity.\"\n\nWith this and similar utterances the gambler praised that\nBhairava, until at last the god was pleased, and manifesting\nhimself, said to him, \"Thinth\u00e1kar\u00e1la, I am pleased with thee; do\nnot be despondent. Remain here with me; I will provide thee with\nenjoyments.\" In accordance with this command of the god's that gambler\nremained there, enjoying all kinds of luxuries provided by the favour\nof the deity.\n\nNow, one night, the god saw certain Apsarases, that had come to\nbathe in that holy pool of Mah\u00e1k\u00e1la, and he gave this command to\nThinth\u00e1kar\u00e1la, \"While all these nymphs of heaven are engaged in\nbathing, quickly snatch up the clothes, which they have laid on the\nbank, and bring them here; and do not give them back their garments,\nuntil they surrender to you this young nymph, named Kal\u00e1vat\u00ed.\" [761]\n\n\"When Thinth\u00e1kar\u00e1la had received this command from Bhairava, he went\nand carried off the garments of those heavenly beauties, while they\nwere bathing; and they said to him, \"Give us back our garments, please;\ndo not leave us naked.\" But he answered them, confident in the power\nwhich Siva gave, \"If you will give me the young nymph Kal\u00e1vat\u00ed, I will\ngive you back these garments, but not otherwise.\" When they heard that,\nseeing that he was a stubborn fellow to deal with, and remembering\nthat Indra had pronounced a curse of this kind upon Kal\u00e1vat\u00ed, they\nagreed to his demand. And on his giving back the garments, they\nbestowed on him, in due form, Kal\u00e1vat\u00ed the daughter of Alambush\u00e1.\n\nThen the Apsarases departed, and Thinth\u00e1kar\u00e1la remained there with\nthat Kal\u00e1vat\u00ed in a house built by the wish of Siva. And Kal\u00e1vat\u00ed\nwent in the day to heaven to attend upon the king of the gods, but at\nnight she always returned [762] to her husband. And one day she said\nto him in the ardour of her affection, \"My dear, the curse of Siva,\nwhich enabled me to obtain you for a husband, has really proved a\nblessing.\" Thereupon her husband Thinth\u00e1kar\u00e1la asked her the cause\nof the curse, and the nymph Kal\u00e1vat\u00ed thus answered him:\n\n\"One day, when I had seen the gods in a garden, I praised the\nenjoyments of mortals, depreciating the pleasures of the dwellers in\nheaven, as giving joys that consist only in seeing. [763] When the\nking of the gods heard that, he cursed me, saying, 'Thou shalt go and\nbe married by a mortal, and enjoy those human pleasures.' In this way\nhas come about our union that is mutually agreeable. And to-morrow I\nshall return to heaven after a long absence; do not be unhappy about\nit; for Rambh\u00e1 is going to dance a new piece before Vishnu, and I\nmust remain there, my beloved, until the exhibition is at an end.\"\n\nThen Thinth\u00e1kar\u00e1la, whom love had made like a spoiled child, said to\nher, \"I will go there and look at that dance unperceived, take me\nthere.\" When Kal\u00e1vat\u00ed heard that, she said, \"How is it fitting for\nme to do this? The king of the gods might be angry, if he found it\nout.\" Though she said this to him, he continued to press her; then\nout of love she agreed to take him there.\n\nSo the next morning Kal\u00e1vat\u00ed by her power concealed Thinth\u00e1kar\u00e1la\nin a lotus, which she placed as an ornament in her ear, and took\nhim to the palace of Indra. When Thinth\u00e1kar\u00e1la saw that palace,\nthe doors of which were adorned by the elephant of the gods, which\nwas set off by the garden of Nandana, he thought himself a god, and\nwas highly delighted. And in the court of Indra, frequented by gods,\nhe beheld the strange and delightful spectacle of Rambh\u00e1's dance,\naccompanied by the singing of all the nymphs of heaven. And he heard\nall the musical instruments played by N\u00e1rada and the other minstrels;\nfor what is hard to obtain in this world if the supreme god [764]\nis favourable to one?\n\nThen, at the end of the exhibition a mime, in the shape of a divine\ngoat, rose up, and began to dance with heavenly [765] movements. And\nThinth\u00e1kar\u00e1la, when he saw him, recognized him, and said to himself,\n\"Why, I see this goat in Ujjayin\u00ed, figuring as a mere animal, and here\nhe is dancing as a mime before Indra. Of a truth this must be some\nstrange incomprehensible heavenly delusion.\" While Thinth\u00e1kar\u00e1la was\ngoing through these reflections in his mind, the dance of the goat-mime\ncame to an end, and then Indra returned to his own place. And then\nKal\u00e1vat\u00ed, in high spirits, also took back Thinth\u00e1kar\u00e1la to his own\nhome, concealed in the lotus-ornament of her ear.\n\nAnd the next day Thinth\u00e1kar\u00e1la beheld in Ujjayin\u00ed that goat-formed mime\nof the gods, who had returned there, and he insolently said to him,\n\"Come, dance before me, as you dance before Indra. If you do not, I\nshall be angry with you; show off your dancing powers, you mime.\" When\nthe goat heard this, he was astonished, and remained silent, saying\nto himself, \"How can this mere mortal know so much about me?\" But\nwhen, in spite of persistent entreaties, the goat refused to dance,\nThinth\u00e1kar\u00e1la beat him on the head with sticks.\n\nThen the goat went with bleeding head to Indra, and told him all that\nhad taken place. And Indra by his supernatural powers of contemplation\ndiscovered the whole secret, how Kal\u00e1vat\u00ed had brought Thinth\u00e1kar\u00e1la to\nheaven when Rambh\u00e1 was dancing, and how that profane fellow had there\nseen the goat dancing. Then Indra summoned Kal\u00e1vat\u00ed, and pronounced\non her the following curse, \"Since, out of love, thou didst secretly\nbring here the man who has reduced the goat to this state, to make\nhim dance, depart and become an image on a pillar in the temple built\nby king Narasinha in the city of N\u00e1gapura.\"\n\nWhen Indra had said this, Alambush\u00e1, the mother of Kal\u00e1vat\u00ed, tried\nto appease him, and at last he was with difficulty appeased, and he\nthus fixed an end to the curse, \"When that temple, which it has taken\nmany years to complete, shall perish and be levelled with the ground,\nthen shall her curse come to an end.\" So Kal\u00e1vat\u00ed came weeping and\ntold to Thinth\u00e1kar\u00e1la the curse Indra had pronounced, together with\nthe end he had appointed to it, and how he himself was to blame,\nand then, after giving him her ornaments, she entered into an image\non the front of a pillar in the temple in N\u00e1gapura.\n\nThinth\u00e1kar\u00e1la for his part, smitten with the poison of separation\nfrom her, could neither hear nor see, but rolled swooning on the\nground. And when that gambler came to his senses, he uttered this\nlament, \"Alas! fool that I was, I revealed the secret, though I knew\nbetter all the time; for how can people like myself, who are by nature\nthoughtless, shew self-restraint? So now this intolerable separation\nhas fallen to my lot.\" However in a moment he said to himself, \"This\nis no time for me to despond; why should I not recover firmness and\nstrive to put an end to her curse?\"\n\nAfter going through these reflections, the cunning fellow thought\ncarefully over the matter, and assuming the dress of a mendicant\ndevotee, went with rosary, antelope-skin, and matted hair, to\nN\u00e1gapura. There he secretly buried in a forest outside the city,\nfour pitchers containing his wife's ornaments, one towards each of\nthe cardinal points; and one full of sets of the five precious things\n[766] he deliberately buried within the city, in the earth of the\nmarket-place, in front of the god himself.\n\nWhen he had done this, he built a hut on the bank of the river, and\nremained there, affecting a hypocritical asceticism, pretending to\nbe meditating and muttering. And by bathing three times in the day,\nand eating only the food given him as alms, after washing it with\nwater on a stone, he acquired the character of a very holy man.\n\nIn course of time his fame reached the ears of the king, and the king\noften invited him, but he never went near him: so the king came to\nsee him, and remained a long time in conversation with him. And in\nthe evening, when the king was preparing to depart, a female jackal\nsuddenly uttered a yell at a distance. When the cunning gambler, who\nwas passing himself off as an ascetic, heard that, he laughed. And\nwhen the king asked him the meaning of the laugh, he said, \"Oh! never\nmind.\" But when the king went on persistently questioning him,\nthe deceitful fellow said, \"In the forest to the east of this city,\nunder a ratan, there is a pitcher full of jewelled ornaments; so take\nit. This, king, is what that female jackal told me, for I understand\nthe language of animals.\"\n\nThen the king was full of curiosity: so the ascetic took him to\nthe spot, and dug up the earth, and took out that pitcher, and gave\nit to him. Then the king, having obtained the ornaments, began to\nhave faith in the ascetic, and considered that he not only possessed\nsupernatural knowledge but was a truthful and unselfish devotee. So he\nconducted him to his cell, and prostrated himself at his feet again\nand again, and returned to his palace at night with his ministers,\npraising his virtues.\n\nIn the same way, when the king again came to him, the ascetic pretended\nto understand the cry of an animal, and in this way made over to the\nking the other three pitchers, buried towards the other three cardinal\npoints. Then the king, and the citizens, and the king's wives became\nexclusively devoted to the ascetic, and were, so to speak, quite\nabsorbed in him.\n\nNow, one day, the king took that wicked ascetic to the temple for\na moment; so he contrived to hear in the market-place the cry of a\ncrow. Then he said to the king, \"Did you hear what the crow said? 'In\nthis very market-place there is a pitcher full of valuable jewels\nburied in front of the god: why do you not take it up also?' This was\nthe meaning of his cry; so come, and take possession of it.\" When\nthe deceitful ascetic had said this, he conducted him there, and\ntook up out of the earth the pitcher full of valuable jewels, and\ngave it to the king. Then the king, in his excessive satisfaction,\nentered the temple holding that pretended seer by the hand.\n\nThere the mendicant brushed against that image on the pillar,\nwhich his beloved Kal\u00e1vat\u00ed had entered, and saw her. And Kal\u00e1vat\u00ed,\nwearing the form of the image on the pillar, was afflicted when she\nsaw her husband, and began to weep then and there. When the king and\nhis attendants saw this, they were amazed, and cast down, and said to\nthat pretended seer, \"Reverend Sir, what is the meaning of this?\" Then\nthe cunning rascal, pretending to be despondent and bewildered, said\nto the king, \"Come to your palace: there I will tell you this secret,\nthough it is almost too terrible to be revealed.\"\n\nWhen he had said this, he led the king to the palace, and said to him,\n\"Since you built this temple on an unlucky spot and in an inauspicious\nmoment, on the third day from now a misfortune will befall you. It\nwas for this reason that the image on the pillar wept when she saw\nyou. So, if you care for your body's weal, my sovereign, take this\ninto consideration, and this very day quickly level this temple with\nthe earth; and build another temple somewhere else, on a lucky spot,\nand in an auspicious moment. Let the evil omen be averted, and ensure\nthe prosperity of yourself and your kingdom.\" When he had said this\nto the king, he, in his terror, gave command to his subjects, and in\none day levelled that temple with the earth, and he began to build\nanother temple in another place. So true is it that rogues with their\ntricks gain the confidence of princes, and impose upon them.\n\nAccordingly, the gambler Thinth\u00e1kar\u00e1la, having gained his object,\nabandoned the disguise of a mendicant, and fled, and went to\nUjjayin\u00ed. And Kal\u00e1vat\u00ed, finding it out, went to meet him on the road,\nfreed from her curse and happy, and she comforted him, and then went to\nheaven to visit Indra. And Indra was astonished, but when he heard from\nher mouth the artifice of her husband the gambler, he laughed and was\nhighly delighted. Then Vrihaspati, who was at his side, said to Indra,\n\"Gamblers are always like this, abounding in every kind of trickery.\"\n\n\n\nStory of the gambler who cheated Yama. [767]\n\nFor instance, in a previous kalpa there was in a certain city a\ngambler, of the name of Kuttan\u00edkapata, accomplished in dishonest\nplay. When he went to the other world, Indra said to him, \"Gambler,\nyou will have to live a kalpa in hell on account of your crimes, but\nowing to your charity you are to be Indra for one day, for once on a\ntime you gave a gold coin to a knower of the Supreme Soul. So say,\nwhether you will take out first your period in hell or your period\nas Indra.\" When the gambler heard that, be said, \"I will take out\nfirst my period as Indra.\"\n\nThen Yama sent the gambler to heaven, and the gods deposed Indra for\na day, and crowned him sovereign in his stead. He, having obtained\nsovereign sway, summoned to heaven the gamblers his friends and his\nfemale favourites, and in virtue of his regal authority gave this order\nto the gods, \"Carry us all in a moment to all the holy bathing-places,\n[768] those in heaven, and those on earth, and those in the seven\ndv\u00edpas: and enter this very day into all the kings on the earth,\nand bestow without ceasing, great, gifts for our benefit.\"\n\nWhen he gave this order to the gods, they did everything as he had\ndesired, and by means of those holy observances his sins were washed\n[769] away, and he obtained the rank of Indra permanently. And by his\nfavour his friends and his female favourites, that he had summoned to\nheaven, had their sins destroyed and obtained immortality. The next\nday Chitragupta informed Yama that the gambler had by his discretion\nobtained the rank of Indra permanently. Then Yama, hearing of his\nmeritorious actions, was astonished, and said, \"Dear me! this gambler\nhas cheated us.\"\n\nWhen Vrihaspati had told this story, he said, \"Such, O wielder of\nthe thunderbolt, are gamblers,\" and then held his peace. And then\nIndra sent Kal\u00e1vat\u00ed to summon Thinth\u00e1kar\u00e1la to heaven. There the king\nof the gods, pleased with his cleverness and resolution, honoured\nhim, and gave him Kal\u00e1vat\u00ed to wife, and made him an attendant on\nhimself. Then the brave Thinth\u00e1kar\u00e1la lived happily, like a god,\nin heaven, with Kal\u00e1vat\u00ed, by the favour of Siva.\n\n\"So, you see, such is the style in which gamblers exhibit their\ntreachery and audacity; accordingly Agnisikha the Vampire, what is\nthere to be surprised at in your having been treacherously thrown\ninto this well by D\u00e1gineya the gambler? So come out of this pit,\nfriend, and we will come out also.\"\n\nWhen the Br\u00e1hman demons said this to me, I came up out of that pit,\nand being hungry, I came across a Br\u00e1hman traveller that night in the\ncity. So I rushed forward and seized that Br\u00e1hman to eat him, but he\ninvoked the protection of king Vikram\u00e1ditya. And the moment the king\nheard his cry, he rushed out like flame, and while still at a distance,\nchecked me by exclaiming \"Ah villain! do not kill the Br\u00e1hman:\"\nand then he proceeded to cut off the head of a figure of a man he\nhad drawn; that did not sever my neck, but made it stream with blood.\n\nThen I left the Br\u00e1hman and clung to the king's feet, and he spared\nmy life.\n\n\"Such is the power of that god, king Vikram\u00e1ditya. And it is by his\norders that I have slain this hypocritical k\u00e1p\u00e1lika. So he is my proper\nprey, to be devoured by me as being a Vet\u00e1la; let him go, Yamasikha!\"\n\nThough Agnisikha made this appeal to Yamasikha, the latter proceeded\ncontumaciously to drag with his hand the corpse of that hypocritical\nk\u00e1p\u00e1lika. Then king Vikram\u00e1ditya appeared there, and drew the figure\nof a man on the earth and then cut off its hand with his sword. That\nmade the hand of Yamasikha fall severed; so he left the corpse, and\nfled in fear. And Agnisikha immediately devoured the corpse of that\nk\u00e1p\u00e1lika. And I witnessed all this, securely protected by the might\nof the king. [770]\n\n\"In these words did that wife of the Yaksha, Madanamanjar\u00ed by name,\ndescribe your power, O king, and then she went on to say to me.\"\n\nThen, Anangadeva, the king said to me in a gentle voice, \"Yaksh\u00ed, being\ndelivered from the k\u00e1p\u00e1lika, go to the house of your husband.\" Then\nI bowed before him, and returned to this my own home, thinking how I\nmight repay to that king the benefit he had conferred on me. In this\nway your master gave me life, family and husband; and when you tell\nhim this story of mine, it will agree with his own recollections.\n\nMoreover, I have to-day found out that the king of Sinhala has sent\nto that king his daughter, the greatest beauty in the three worlds,\nwho has of her own accord elected to marry him. And all the kings,\nbeing jealous, have gathered themselves together and formed the\nintention of killing Vikramasakti, and the dependent kings, [771]\nand of carrying off that maiden. So, do you go, and make known that\ntheir intention to Vikramasakti, in order that he may be on his guard\nand ready to repel their attack. And I will exert myself to enable\nking Vikram\u00e1ditya to conquer those enemies and gain the victory.\n\n\"For this reason I brought you here by my own deluding power, in order\nthat you might tell all this to king Vikramasakti and the dependent\nmonarchs; and I will send to your sovereign such a present as shall to\na certain small extent be a requital for the benefit that he conferred\non me.\"\n\nWhile she was saying this, the two maidens, that we had seen in the\nsea, came there with the deer; one had a body white as the moon, the\nother was dark as a priyangu; so they seemed like Gang\u00e1 and Yamun\u00e1\nreturned from worshipping the ocean, the monarch of rivers. When they\nhad sat down, I put this question to the Yaksh\u00ed, \"Goddess, who are\nthese maidens, and what is the meaning of this golden deer?\" When\nthe Yakshin\u00ed heard this, king, she said to me, \"Anangadeva, if you\nfeel any curiosity about the matter, listen, I will tell you.\"\n\n\n\nStory of Ghanta and Nighanta and the two maidens.\n\nLong ago there came to impede Praj\u00e1pati, in his creation of creatures,\ntwo terrible D\u00e1navas, named Ghanta and Nighanta, invincible even by\ngods. And the Creator, being desirous of destroying them, created\nthese two maidens, the splendour of whose measureless beauty seemed\ncapable of maddening the world. And those two mighty Asuras, when they\nsaw these two exceedingly wonderful maidens, tried to carry them off;\nand fighting with one another, they both of them met their death. [772]\n\nThen Brahm\u00e1 bestowed these maidens on Kuvera, saying, \"You must give\nthese girls to some suitable husband;\" and Kuvera made them over to my\nhusband, who is his younger brother; and in the same way my husband\npassed these fair ones [773] on to me; and I have thought of king\nVikram\u00e1ditya as a husband for them, for, as he is an incarnation of\na god, he is a fit person for them to marry.\n\n\"Such are the facts with regard to these maidens, now hear the history\nof the deer.\"\n\n\n\nStory of the golden deer.\n\nIndra has a beloved son, named Jayanta. Once on a time, when he,\nstill an infant, was being carried about in the air by the celestial\nnymphs, he saw some princes in a wood on earth playing with some young\ndeer. Then Jayanta [774] went to heaven, and cried in the presence of\nhis father because he had not got a deer to play with, as a child would\nnaturally do. Accordingly Indra had a deer made for him by Visvakarman\nof gold and jewels, and life was given to the animal by sprinkling it\nwith nectar. Then Jayanta played with it, and was delighted with it,\nand the young deer was continually roaming about in heaven.\n\nIn course of time that son of R\u00e1vana, who was rightly named Indrajit,\n[775] carried off the young deer from heaven and took it to his\nown city Lank\u00e1. And after a further period had elapsed, R\u00e1vana\nand Indrajit having been slain by the heroes R\u00e1ma and Lakshmana,\nto avenge the carrying off of S\u00edt\u00e1, and Vibh\u00edshana having been set\nupon the throne of Lank\u00e1, as king of the R\u00e1kshasas, that wonderful\ndeer of gold and jewels remained in his palace. And once on a time,\nwhen I was taken by my husband's relations to Vibh\u00edshana's palace on\nthe occasion of a festival, he gave me the deer as a complimentary\npresent. And that young heaven-born deer is now in my house, and I\nmust bestow it on your master.\n\nAnd while the Yakshin\u00ed was telling me this string of tales, the sun,\nthe friend of the kamalin\u00ed, went to rest. Then I and the ambassador\nof the king of Sinhala went to sleep, both of us, after the evening\nceremonies, in a palace which the Yakshin\u00ed assigned to us.\n\nIn the morning we woke up and saw, my sovereign, that the army of\nVikramasakti, your vassal, had arrived. We reflected that that must\nbe a display of the Yakshin\u00ed's power, and quickly went wondering\ninto the presence of Vikramasakti. And he, as soon as he saw us,\nshowed us great honour, and asked after our welfare; and was on\nthe point of asking us what message the king of Sinhala had sent,\nwhen the two heavenly maidens, whose history the Yakshin\u00ed had\nrelated to us, and the young deer arrived there, escorted by the\narmy of the Yakshas. When king Vikramasakti saw this, he suspected\nsome glamour of malignant demons, and he said to me apprehensively\n\"What is the meaning of this?\" Then I told him in due course the\ncommission of the king of Sinhala, and the circumstances connected\nwith the Yakshin\u00ed, the two maidens, and the deer. Moreover I informed\nhim of the hostile scheme of your majesty's enemies, which was to be\ncarried out by all the kings in combination, and which I had heard\nof from the Yaksh\u00ed. Then Vikramasakti honoured us two ambassadors,\nand those two heavenly maidens; and being delighted made his army\nready for battle with the assistance of the other vassal kings.\n\nAnd immediately, king, there was heard in the army the loud beating of\ndrums, and immediately there was seen the mighty host of hostile kings,\naccompanied by the Mlechchhas. Then our army and the hostile army,\nfurious at beholding one another, closed with a rush, and the battle\nbegan. Thereupon some of the Yakshas sent by the Yaksh\u00ed entered our\nsoldiers, and so smote the army of the enemies, and others smote them\nin open fight. [776] And there arose a terrible tempest of battle,\noverspread with a cloud formed of the dust raised by the army, in\nwhich sword-blades fell thick as rain, and the shouts of heroes\nthundered. And the heads of our enemies flying up, as they were\ncut off, and falling again, made it seem as if the Fortune of our\nvictory were playing at ball. And in a moment those kings that had\nescaped the slaughter, their troops having been routed, submitted\nand repaired for protection to the camp of your vassal.\n\nThen, lord of earth, as you had conquered the four cardinal points\nand the dv\u00edpas, and had destroyed all the Mlechchhas, that Yakshin\u00ed\nappeared, accompanied by her husband, and said to king Vikramasakti\nand to me, \"You must tell your master that what I have done has been\ndone merely by way of service to him, and you must also request him,\nas from me, to marry these two god-framed maidens, and to look upon\nthem with favour, and to cherish this deer also, for it is a present\nfrom me.\" When the Yaksh\u00ed had said this, she bestowed a heap of jewels,\nand disappeared with her husband, and her attendants. The next day,\nMadanalekh\u00e1, the daughter of the king of Sinhala, came with a great\nretinue and much magnificence. And then Vikramasakti went to meet\nher, and bending low, joyfully conducted her into his camp. And\non the second day Vikramasakti, having accomplished his object,\nset out with the other kings from that place, in order to come here\nand behold your Majesty's feet, bringing with him that princess and\nthe two heavenly maidens, and that deer composed of gold and jewels,\na marvel for the eyes of the three worlds. And now, sovereign, that\nvassal prince has arrived near this city, and has sent us two on in\nfront to inform Your Highness. So let the king, out of regard for\nthe lord of Sinhala and the Yaksh\u00ed, go forth to meet those maidens\nand the deer, and also the subject kings.\n\nWhen Anangadeva had said this to king Vikram\u00e1ditya, though the king\nrecollected accomplishing that difficult rescue of the Yakshin\u00ed, he\ndid not consider it worth a straw, when he heard of the return she had\nmade for it; great-souled men, even when they have done much, think it\nworth very little. And, being much pleased, he loaded [777] Anangadeva\nfor the second time, with elephants, horses, villages, and jewels,\nand bestowed similar gifts on the ambassador of the king of Sinhala.\n\nAnd after he had spent that day, the king set out from Ujjayin\u00ed, with\nhis warriors mounted on elephants and horses, to meet that daughter\nof the king of Sinhala, and those two maidens created by Brahm\u00e1. And\nthe following speeches of the military officers, assigning elephants\nand horses, were heard in the neighbourhood of the city when the\nkings started, and within the city itself when the sovereign started;\n\"Jayavardhana must take the good elephant Anangagiri, and Ranabhata\nthe furious elephant K\u00e1lamegha, and Sinhapar\u00e1krama Sangr\u00e1masiddhi,\nand the hero Vikramanidhi Ripur\u00e1kshasa, and Jayaketu Pavanajava,\nand Vallabhasakti Samudrakallola, and B\u00e1hu and Sub\u00e1hu the two horses\nSaravega and Garudavega, and K\u00edrtivarman the black Konkan mare\nKuvalayam\u00e1l\u00e1, and Samarasinha the white mare Gang\u00e1lahar\u00ed of pure\nSindh breed.\"\n\nWhen that king, the supreme sovereign of all the dv\u00edpas, had started\non his journey, the earth was covered with soldiers, the quarters\nwere full of nothing but the shouts that they raised, even the heaven\nwas obscured with the dust that was diffused by the trampling of his\nadvancing army, and all men's voices were telling of the wonderful\ngreatness of his might.\n\n\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER CXXII.\n\n\nThen king Vikram\u00e1ditya reached that victorious army commanded by that\nVikramasakti his general, and he entered it at the head of his forces,\naccompanied by that general, who came to meet him, eager and with\nloyal mind, together with the vassal kings.\n\nThe kings were thus announced by the warders in the tent of assembly,\n\"Your Majesty, here is Saktikum\u00e1ra the king of Gauda come to pay\nyou his respects, here is Jayadhvaja the king of Karn\u00e1ta, here is\nVijayavarman of L\u00e1ta, here is Sunandana of Kasm\u00edra, here is Gop\u00e1la\nking of Sindh, here is Vindhyabala the Bhilla, and here is Nirm\u00faka the\nking of the Persians.\" And when they had been thus announced, the king\nhonoured them, and the feudal chiefs, and also the soldiers. And he\nwelcomed in appropriate fashion the daughter of the king of Sinhala,\nand the heavenly maidens, and the golden deer, and Vikramasakti. And\nthe next day the successful monarch Vikram\u00e1ditya set out with them\nand his forces, and reached the city of Ujjayin\u00ed.\n\nThen, the kings having been dismissed with marks of honour [778]\nto their own territories, and the world-gladdening festival of the\nspring season having arrived, when the creepers began, so to speak, to\nadorn themselves with flowers for jewels, and the female bees to keep\nup a concert with their humming, and the ranges of the wood to dance\nembraced by the wind, and the cuckoos with melodious notes to utter\nauspicious prayers, king Vikram\u00e1ditya married on a fortunate day that\ndaughter of the king of Sinhala, and those two heavenly maidens. And\nSinhavarman, the eldest brother of the princess of Sinhala, who had\ncome with her, bestowed at the marriage-altar a great heap of jewels.\n\nAnd at that moment the Yakshin\u00ed Madanamanjar\u00ed appeared, and gave\nthose two heavenly maidens countless heaps of jewels. The Yaksh\u00ed said,\n\"How can I ever, king, recompense you for your benefits? But I have\ndone this unimportant service to testify my devotion to you. So you\nmust shew favour to these maidens, and to the deer.\" When the Yaksh\u00ed\nhad said this, she departed honoured by the king.\n\nThen the successful king Vikram\u00e1ditya, having obtained those wives\nand the earth with all its dv\u00edpas, ruled a realm void of opponents;\nand he enjoyed himself roaming in all the garden grounds; during\nthe hot season living in the water of tanks and in artificial\nfountain-chambers, during the rains in inner apartments charming on\naccount of the noise of cymbals that arose in them, during the autumn\non the tops of palaces, joyous with banquets under the rising moon,\nduring the winter in chambers where comfortable couches were spread,\nand which were fragrant with black aloes, being ever surrounded by\nhis wives.\n\n\n\nStory of Malayavat\u00ed the man-hating maiden.\n\nNow this king, being such as I have described, had a painter named\nNagarasv\u00e1min, who enjoyed the revenues of a hundred villages, and\nsurpassed Visvakarman. That painter used every two or three days\nto paint a picture of a girl, and give it as a present to the king,\ntaking care to exemplify different types of beauty.\n\nNow, once on a time, it happened that that painter had, because a\nfeast was going on, forgotten to paint the required girl for the\nking. And when the day for giving the present arrived, the painter\nremembered and was bewildered, saying to himself, \"Alas! what can\nI give to the king?\" And at that moment a traveller come from afar\nsuddenly approached him and placed a book in his hand, and went off\nsomewhere quickly. The painter out of curiosity opened the book,\nand saw within a picture of a girl on canvas. Inasmuch as the girl\nwas of wonderful beauty, no sooner did he see her picture then he\ntook it and gave it to the king, rejoicing that, so far from having\nno picture to present that day, he had obtained such an exceedingly\nbeautiful one. But the king, as soon as he saw it, was astonished,\nand said to him, \"My good fellow, this is not your painting, this is\nthe painting of Visvakarman: for how could a mere mortal be skilful\nenough to paint such beauty?\" When the painter heard this, he told\nthe king exactly what had taken place.\n\nThen the king kept ever looking at the picture of the girl, and\nnever took his eyes off it, and one night he saw in a dream a girl\nexactly like her, but in another dv\u00edpa. But as he eagerly rushed to\nembrace her, who was eager to meet him, the night came to an end,\nand he was woke up by the watchman. [779] When the king awoke, he was\nso angry at the interruption of his delightful interview with that\nmaiden, that he banished that watchman from the city. And he said to\nhimself, \"To think that a traveller should bring a book, and that in\nit there should be the painted figure of a girl, and that I should\nin a dream behold this same girl apparently alive! All this elaborate\ndispensation of destiny makes me think that she must be a real maiden,\nbut I do not know in what dv\u00edpa she lives; how am I to obtain her?\"\n\nFull of such reflections, the king took pleasure in nothing, [780]\nand burnt with the fever of love so that his attendants were full\nof anxiety. And the warder Bhadr\u00e1yudha asked the afflicted king in\nprivate the cause of his grief, whereupon he spake as follows:\n\n\"Listen, I will tell you, my friend. So much at any rate you know,\nthat that painter gave me the picture of a girl. And I fell asleep\nthinking on her, and I remember that in my dream I crossed the sea,\nand reached and entered a very beautiful city. There I saw many\narmed maidens in front of me, and they, as soon as they saw me,\nraised a tumultuous cry of 'Kill, kill.' [781] Then a certain female\nascetic came and with great precipitation made me enter her house,\nand briefly said to me this, 'My son, here is the man-hating princess\nMalayavat\u00ed come this way, diverting herself as she pleases. And the\nmoment she sees a man, she makes these maidens of hers kill him:\nso I brought you in here to save your life.' [782]\n\n\"When the female ascetic had said this, she immediately made me put\non female attire; and I submitted to that, knowing that it was not\nlawful to slay those maidens. But, when the princess entered into\nthe house with her maidens, I looked at her, and lo! she was the\nvery lady that had been shewn me in a picture. And I said to myself,\n'Fortunate am I in that, after first seeing this lady in a picture,\nI now behold her again in flesh and blood, dear as my life.'\n\n\"In the meanwhile the princess, at the head of her maidens, said to\nthat female ascetic, 'We saw some male enter here.' The ascetic shewed\nme, and answered, 'I know of no male; here is my sister's daughter,\nwho is with me as a guest.' Then the princess seeing me, although\nI was disguised as a woman, forgot her dislike of men, and was at\nonce overcome by love. She remained for a moment, with every hair\non her body erect, motionless as if in thought, being, so to speak,\nnailed to the spot at once with arrows by Love, who had spied his\nopportunity. And in a moment the princess said to the ascetic, 'Then,\nnoble lady, why should not your sister's daughter be my guest also? Let\nher come to my palace; I will send her back duly honoured.' Saying\nthis, she took me by the hand, and led me away to her palace. And I\nremember, I discerned her intention, and consented, and went there,\nand that sly old female ascetic gave me leave to depart.\n\n\"Then I remained there with that princess, who was diverting herself\nwith the amusement of marrying her maidens to one another, and so\nforth. Her eyes were fixed on me, and she would not let me out of her\nsight for an instant, and no occupation pleased her in which I did not\ntake part. Then those maidens, I remember, made the princess a bride,\nand me her husband, and married us in sport. And when we had been\nmarried, we entered at night the bridal chamber, and the princess\nfearlessly threw her arms round my neck. And then I told her who I\nwas, and embraced her, and delighted at having attained her object,\nshe looked at me and then remained a long time with her eyes bashfully\nfixed on the ground. And at that moment that villain of a watchman\nwoke me up. So, Bhadr\u00e1yudha, the upshot of the whole matter is that\nI can no longer live without that Malayavat\u00ed, whom I have seen in a\npicture and in a dream.\"\n\nWhen the king said this, the warder Bhadr\u00e1yudha perceived that it\nwas a true dream, and he consoled the monarch, and said to him,\n\"If the king remembers it all exactly, let him draw that city on a\npiece of canvas in order that some expedient may be devised in this\nmatter.\" The moment the king heard this suggestion of Bhadr\u00e1yudha's,\nhe proceeded to draw that splendid city on a piece of canvas, and\nall the scene that took place there. Then the warder at once took\nthe drawing, and had a new monastery [783] made, and hung it up\nthere on the wall. And he directed that in relief-houses attached to\nthe monastery, a quantity of food, with pairs of garments and gold,\nshould be given to bards coming from distant countries. And he gave\nthis order to the dwellers in the monastery, \"If any one comes here,\nwho knows the city represented here in a picture, let me be informed\nof it.\"\n\nIn the meanwhile the fierce elephant of the rainy season with\nirresistible loud deep thunder-roar and long ketaka tusks came down\nupon the forest of the heats, a forest the breezes of which were\nscented with the perfume of the jasmine, in which travellers sat\ndown on the ground in the shade, and trumpet-flowers bloomed. At\nthat time the forest-fire of separation of that king Vikram\u00e1ditya\nbegan to burn more fiercely, fanned by the eastern breeze. [784]\nThen the following cries were heard among the ladies of his court,\n\"H\u00e1ralat\u00e1, bring ice! Chitr\u00e1ng\u00ed, sprinkle him with sandal-wood\njuice! Patralekh\u00e1, make a bed cool with lotus-leaves! Kandarpasen\u00e1,\nfan him with plantain-leaves!\" And in course of time the cloudy season\nterrible with lightning passed away for that king, but the fever of\nlove burning [785] with the sorrow of separation did not pass away.\n\nThen the autumn with her open lotus-face, and smile of unclosed\nflowers, came, vocal with the cries of swans, [786] seeming to\nutter this command, \"Let travellers advance on their journey; let\npleasant tidings be brought about absent dear ones; happy may their\nmerry meetings be!\" On a certain day in that season a bard, who had\ncome from a distance, of the name of Sanvarasiddhi, having heard\nthe fame of that monastery, built by the warder, entered it to get\nfood. After he had been fed, and presented with a pair of garments,\nhe saw that painting on the wall of the monastery. When the bard\nhad carefully scanned the city delineated there, he was astonished,\nand said, \"I wonder who can have drawn this city? For I alone have\nseen it, I am certain, and no other; and here it is drawn by some\nsecond person.\" When the inhabitants of the monastery heard that,\nthey told Bhadr\u00e1yudha; then he came in person, and took that bard to\nthe king. The king said to Sanvarasiddhi, \"Have you really seen that\ncity?\" Then Sanvarasiddhi gave him the following answer.\n\n\"When I was wandering about the world, I crossed the sea that separates\nthe dv\u00edpas, and beheld that great city Malayapura. In that city there\ndwells a king of the name of Malayasinha, and he has a matchless\ndaughter, named Malayavat\u00ed, who used to abhor males. But one night\nshe somehow or other saw in a dream a great hero in a convent. [787]\nThe moment she saw him, that evil spirit of detestation of the male\nsex fled from her mind, as if terrified. Then she took him to her\npalace, and in her dream married him, and entered with him the bridal\nchamber. And at that moment the night came to an end, and an attendant\nin her room woke her up. Then she banished that servant in her anger,\nand thinking upon that dear one, whom she had seen in her dream,\nseeing no way of escape owing to the blazing fire of separation,\nutterly overpowered by love, she never rose from her couch except\nto fall back upon it again with relaxed limbs. She was dumb, as if\npossessed by a demon, as if stunned by a blow, [788] for when her\nattendants questioned her, she gave them no answer.\n\n\"Then her father and mother came to hear of it, and questioned her;\nand at last she was, with exceeding difficulty, persuaded to tell them\nwhat happened to her in the dream, by the mouth of a confidential\nfemale friend. Then her father comforted her, but she made a solemn\nvow that, if she did not obtain her beloved in six months, she would\nenter the fire. And already five months are past; who knows what will\nbecome of her? This is the story that I heard about her in that city.\"\n\nWhen Sanvarasiddhi had told this story, which tallied so well with\nthe king's own dream, the king was pleased at knowing the certainty\nof the matter, and Bhadr\u00e1yudha said to him, \"The business is as\ngood as effected, for that king and his country own your paramount\nsupremacy. So let us go there before the sixth month has passed\naway.\" When the warder had said this, king Vikram\u00e1ditya made him inform\nSanvarasiddhi of all the circumstances connected with the matter, and\nhonoured him with a present of much wealth, and bade him shew him the\nway, and then he seemed to bequeath his own burning heat to the rays\nof the sun, his paleness to the clouds, and his thinness to the waters\nof the rivers, [789] and having become free from sorrow, set out at\nonce, escorted by a small force, for the dwelling-place of his beloved.\n\nIn course of time, as he advanced, he crossed the sea, and reached\nthat city, and there he saw the people in front of it engaged in loud\nlamentation, and when he questioned them, he received this answer,\n\"The princess Malayavat\u00ed here, as the period of six months is at\nan end, and she has not obtained her beloved, is preparing to enter\nthe fire.\" Then the king went to the place where the pyre had been\nmade ready.\n\n\"When the people saw him, they made way for him, and then the princess\nbeheld that unexpected nectar-rain to her eyes. And she said to her\nladies-in-waiting, \"Here is that beloved come who married me in a\ndream, so tell my father quickly.\" They went and told this to her\nfather, and then that king, delivered from his grief, and filled\nwith joy, submissively approached the sovereign. At that moment the\nbard Sanvarasiddhi, who knew his time, lifted up his arm, and chanted\naloud this strain, \"Hail thou that with the flame of thy valour hast\nconsumed the forest of the army of demons and Mlechchhas! Hail king,\nlord of the seven-sea-girt earth-bride! Hail thou that hast imposed\nthy exceedingly heavy yoke on the bowed heads of all kings, conquered\nby thee! Hail, Vishamas\u00edla, hail Vikram\u00e1ditya, ocean of valour!\"\n\nWhen the bard said this, king Malayasinha knew that it was Vikram\u00e1ditya\nhimself that had come, and embraced his feet. [790] And after he\nhad welcomed him, he entered his palace with him, and his daughter\nMalayavat\u00ed, thus delivered from death. And that king gave that daughter\nof his to king Vikram\u00e1ditya, thinking himself fortunate in having\nobtained such a son-in-law. And king Vikram\u00e1ditya, when he saw in his\narms, in flesh and blood, that Malayavat\u00ed, whom he had previously seen\nin a picture and in a dream, considered it a wonderful fruit of the\nwishing-tree of Siva's favour. Then Vikram\u00e1ditya took with him his\nwife Malayavat\u00ed, like an incarnation of bliss, and crossed the sea\nresembling his long regretful [791] separation, and being submissively\nwaited upon at every step by kings, with various presents in their\nhands, returned to his own city Ujjayin\u00ed. And on beholding there that\nmight of his, that satisfied [792] freely every kind of curiosity,\nwhat people were not astonished, what people did not rejoice, what\npeople did not make high festival?\n\n\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER CXXIII.\n\n\nThen, once on a time, in the course of conversation, one of\nVikram\u00e1ditya's queens, called Kalingasen\u00e1, said to her rival queens,\n\"What the king did for the sake of Malayavat\u00ed was not wonderful, for\nthis king Vishamas\u00edla has ever been famous on the earth for such like\nacts. Was not I swooped down on by him and married by force, after he\nhad seen a carved likeness of me and been overcome by love? On this\naccount the k\u00e1rpatika [793] Devasena told me a story: that story I\nwill proceed to tell you; listen.\"\n\n\"I was very much vexed, and exclaimed 'How can the king be said to\nhave married me lawfully?' Then the k\u00e1rpatika said to me, 'Do not\nbe angry, queen, for the king married you in eager haste out of a\nviolent passion for you; hear the whole story from the beginning.'\"\n\n\n\nStory of Kalingasen\u00e1's marriage\n\nOnce on a time, when I was serving your husband as a k\u00e1rpatika, I saw a\ngreat boar far away in the wood. Its mouth was formidable with tusks,\nits colour was black as a Tam\u00e1la tree, it looked like an incarnation\nof the black fortnight devouring the digits of the moon. And I came,\nqueen, and informed the king of it, describing it to him as I have\ndone to you. And the king went out to hunt, attracted by his love for\nthe sport. And when he reached the wood, and was dealing death among\nthe tigers and deer, he saw in the distance that boar of which I had\ninformed him. And when he saw that wonderful boar, he came to the\nconclusion that some being had assumed that form with an object, and\nhe ascended his horse called Ratn\u00e1kara, the progeny of Ucchaihsravas.\n\nFor every day at noon, the sun waits a brief space in the sky, and\nthen his charioteer the dawn lets the horses loose, that they may\nbathe and feed: and one day Uchchhaihsravas, having been unyoked from\nthe chariot of the sun, approached a mare of the king's, that he saw\nin the forest, and begot that horse. [794]\n\nSo the king mounted that swift horse, and quickly pursued that boar,\nthat fled to a very remote [795] part of the forest. Then that boar\nescaped somewhere from his view, being swifter even than that horse\nthat had Uchchhaihsravas for a sire. Then the king, not having caught\nhim, and seeing that I alone had followed him, while he had left\nthe rest of his suite far behind, asked me this question, \"Do you\nknow how much ground we have traversed to get to this place?\" When\nI heard that, queen, I made the king this answer, \"My lord, we have\ncome three hundred yojanas.\" Then the king being astonished said,\n\"Then how have you managed to come so far on foot?\" When he asked me\nthis question, I answered, \"King, I have an ointment for the feet;\nhear the way in which I acquired it.\"\n\n\n\nHow Devasena obtained the magic ointment.\n\nLong ago, on account of the loss of my wife, I went forth to make\na pilgrimage to all the holy bathing places, and in the course of\nmy journey I came one evening to a temple with a garden. And I went\nin there to pass the night, and I saw inside a woman, and I remained\nthere hospitably welcomed by her. And during the course of the night\nshe elevated one lip to heaven, resting the other on the earth, and\nwith expanded jaws said to me, \"Have you seen before anywhere such a\nmouth as this?\" Then I fearlessly drew my dagger with a frown, and said\nto her, \"Have you seen such a man as this?\" Then she assumed a gentle\nappearance without any horrible distortion of shape, and said to me,\n\"I am a Yaksh\u00ed, Vandhy\u00e1 by name, and I am pleased with your courage;\nso now tell me what I can do to gratify you.\"\n\nWhen the Yakshin\u00ed said this, I answered her, \"If you are really\npleased with me, then enable me to go round to all the holy waters\nwithout any suffering.\" When the Yaksh\u00ed heard this, she gave me an\nointment for my feet; [796] by means of it I travelled to all the\nholy bathing-places, and I have been able to run behind you now so\nfar as this place. And by its aid I come to this wood here every day,\nand eat fruits, and then return to Ujjayin\u00ed and attend upon you.\n\nWhen I told that tale to the king, I saw by his pleased face that\nhe thought in his heart that I was a follower well-suited to him. I\nagain said to him, \"King, I will bring you here some very sweet\nfruits, if you will be pleased to eat them.\" The king said to me,\n\"I will not eat; I do not require anything; but do you eat something,\nas you are exhausted.\" Then I got hold of a gourd and ate it, and no\nsooner had I eaten it, than it turned me into a python.\n\nBut king Vishamas\u00edla, when he saw me suddenly turn into a python,\nwas astonished and despondent. So, being there alone, he called to\nmind the Vet\u00e1la Bh\u00fataketu, whom he had long ago made his servant, by\ndelivering him with a look from a disease of the eyes. That Vet\u00e1la\ncame, as soon as the king called him to mind, and bowing before\nhim said, \"Why did you call me to mind, great king? Give me your\norders.\" Then the king said, \"Good sir, this my k\u00e1rpatika has been\nsuddenly turned into a python by eating a gourd; restore him to his\nformer condition.\" But the Vet\u00e1la said, \"King, I have not the power\nto do this. Powers are strictly limited: can water quench the flame\nof lightning?\" Then the king said, \"Then let us go to this village, my\nfriend. We may eventually hear of some remedy from the Bhillas there.\"\n\nWhen the king had come to this conclusion, he went to that village\nwith the Vet\u00e1la. There the bandits surrounded him, seeing that he wore\nornaments. But when they began to rain arrows upon him, the Vet\u00e1la,\nby the order of the king, devoured five hundred of them. The rest\nfled and told their chief what had occurred, and he, whose name was\nEk\u00e1kikesarin, came there in wrath, with his host. But one of his\nservants recognised the monarch, and the chief hearing from him\nwho it was, came and clung to Vikram\u00e1ditya's feet, and announced\nhimself. Then the king welcomed kindly the submissive chief, and\nasked after his health, and said to him, \"My k\u00e1rpatika has become a\npython by eating the fruit of a gourd in the forest; so devise some\nplan for releasing him from his transformation.\"\n\nWhen that chief heard this speech of the king's, he said to him,\n\"King, let this follower of yours shew him to my son here.\" Then that\nson of his came with the Vet\u00e1la, and made me a man as before by means\nof a sternutatory made of the extract of a plant. And then we went\njoyful into tho presence of the king; and when I bent at the feet of\nthe king, the king informed the delighted chief who I was.\n\nThen the Bhilla chief Ek\u00e1kikesarin, after obtaining the king's consent,\nconducted him and us to his palace. And we beheld that dwelling of\nhis, crowded with Savaras, having its high walls covered with the\ntusks of elephants, adorned with tiger-skins; in which the women\nhad for garments the tails of peacocks, for necklaces strings of\ngunj\u00e1-fruit, and for perfume the ichor that flows from the foreheads of\nelephants. There the wife of the chief, having her garments perfumed\nwith musk, adorned with pearls and such like ornaments, herself waited\non the king.\n\nThen the king, having bathed and taken a meal, observed that the\nchief's sons were old, while he was a young man, and put this question\nto him, \"Chief, explain, I pray you, this that puzzles me. How comes\nit, that you are a young man, whereas these children of yours are\nold?\" When the king had said this to the Savara chief, he answered him,\n\"This, king, is a strange story; listen if you feel any curiosity\nabout it.\"\n\n\n\nStory of the grateful Monkey. [797]\n\nI was long ago a Br\u00e1hman named Chandrasv\u00e1min, and I lived in the city\nof M\u00e1y\u00e1pur. One day I went by order of my father to the forest to fetch\nwood. There a monkey stood barring my way, but without hurting me,\nlooking at me with an eye of grief, pointing out to me another path. I\nsaid to myself, \"This monkey does not bite me, so I had better go along\nthe path which he points out, and see what his object is.\" Thereupon\nI set out with him along that path, and the monkey kept going along\nin front of me, and turning round to look at me. And after he had\ngone some distance, he climbed up jambu-tree, and I looked at the\nupper part of the tree, which was covered with a dense network of\ncreepers: and I saw a female monkey there with her body fettered by\na mass of creepers twisted round her, and I understood that it was\non this account that the monkey had brought me there. Then I climbed\nup the tree, and cut with my axe the creepers [798] that had twisted\nround and entangled her, and set that female monkey at liberty.\n\nAnd when I got down from the tree, the male and female monkey came\ndown also and embraced my feet. And the male monkey left that female\nclinging to my feet for a moment, and went and fetched a heavenly\nfruit, and gave it to me. I took it and returned home after I had got\nmy fuel, and there I and my wife ate that splendid fruit together,\nand as soon as we had eaten it, we ceased to be liable to old age\nand disease. [799]\n\nThen there arose in that country of ours the scourge of famine. And\nafflicted by that calamity the people of that land fled in all\ndirections. And I happened in course of time to reach this country\nwith my wife. And at that time there was a king of the Savaras here\nnamed K\u00e1nchanadanshtra: I entered his service with my sword. And as\nK\u00e1nchanadanshtra saw that I came to the front in several engagements,\nhe appointed me general. And as I had won the affections of that\nmaster of mine by my exclusive devotion to him, when he died, having\nno son, he bestowed on me his kingdom. And twenty-seven hundred years\nhave passed over my head, since I have been in this place, and yet,\nowing to eating that fruit, I do not suffer from old age.\n\nWhen Ek\u00e1kikesarin, the king of the Bhillas, had told in these\nwords his own history, he went on to ask a favour of the astonished\nmonarch, saying, \"By the fruit given by the monkey I gained a long\nlife, and by that long life I have again obtained a perfect fruit,\nnamely, the sight of your august self. So I entreat, king, that the\ncondescension towards me, which you have shown by coming to my house,\nmay be developed into gracious approval. I have, king, a daughter\nof matchless beauty, born to me by a Kshatriy\u00e1 wife, and her name is\nMadanasundar\u00ed. That pearl of maidens ought not to fall to the lot of\nany one but your Highness. Therefore I bestow her on you; marry her\nwith due ceremonies. And I, my sovereign, will follow you as your\nslave with twenty thousand archers.\"\n\nWhen the Bhilla chief addressed this petition to the king, he granted\nit. And in an auspicious hour he married the daughter of that chief,\nwho gave him a hundred camels laden with pearls and musk. And after\nthe king had remained there seven days, he set out thence with\nMadanasundar\u00ed and the army of the Bhillas.\n\nIn the meanwhile, after the king had been carried away by his horse,\nour army remained despondent in the forest, where the hunting\ntook place; but the warder Bhadr\u00e1yudha said to them, \"Away with\ndespondency! Even though our king has been away for a long time,\nhe is of divine power, and no serious misfortune will happen to\nhim. Do you not remember how he went to P\u00e1t\u00e1la and married there the\ndaughter of a N\u00e1ga, whose name was Sur\u00fap\u00e1, and came back here alone,\nand how the hero went to the world of the Gandharvas, and returned\nhere with T\u00e1r\u00e1val\u00ed the daughter of the king of the Gandharvas?\" With\nthese words Bhadr\u00e1yudha consoled them all, and they remained at the\nentrance of the forest waiting for the king.\n\nAnd while that Madanasundar\u00ed was advancing leisurely by an open path,\naccompanied by the Savara hosts, the king entered that forest on\nhorseback, with myself and the Vet\u00e1la, in order to get a sight of the\nboar he had before seen: and when he entered it, the boar rushed out\nin front of him, and the moment the king saw it, he killed it with five\narrows. When it was slain, the Vet\u00e1la rushed to it, and tore its belly\nopen, and suddenly there issued from it a man of pleasing appearance.\n\nThe king, astonished, asked him who he was, and then there came there\na wild elephant, resembling a moving mountain. When the king saw that\nwild elephant charging down on him, he smote it in a vital place and\nslew it with a single arrow. The Vet\u00e1la tore open its belly also,\nand there issued from it a man of heavenly appearance, and a woman\nbeautiful in all her limbs. And when the king was about to question\nthe man, who issued from the boar, he said to him, \"Listen, king;\nI am going to tell you my history.\n\n\"We two, king, are two sons of gods: [800] this one's name is Bhadra,\nand I am Subha. As we were roaming about we observed the hermit Kanva\nengaged in meditation. We assumed in sport the forms of an elephant\nand a boar, and having done so, we terrified the great sage in our\nreckless folly, and he pronounced on us this curse, 'Become in this\nforest an elephant and boar such as you are now; but when you shall be\nkilled by king Vikram\u00e1ditya, you shall be released from the curse.' So\nwe became an elephant and a boar by the curse of the hermit, and we\nhave to-day been set free by you; as for this woman, let her tell\nher own story. But touch this boar on the neck and this elephant on\nthe back; and they will become for you celestial sword and shield.\"\n\nWhen he had said this, he disappeared with his companion, and the boar\nand elephant, touched by the hand of the king, became for him a sword\nand a shield. Then the woman, being questioned about her history,\nspoke as follows:\n\n\"I am the wife of a great merchant in Ujjayin\u00ed named Dhanadatta. One\nnight, as I was sleeping on the top of a palace, this elephant came and\nswallowed me and brought me here; however this man was not inside the\nelephant, but when its belly was torn open, he came out of it with me.\"\n\nWhen the woman said this in grief, the king said to her, \"Be of good\ncourage: I will take you to your husband's house: go and journey\nalong in security with my harem.\" When he had said this, he made\nthe Vet\u00e1la take her and hand her over to the queen Madanasundar\u00ed,\nwho was travelling by a different path.\n\nThen, the Vet\u00e1la having returned, we suddenly saw there in the wood\ntwo princesses, with a numerous and splendid retinue. And the king\nsent me and summoned their chamberlains, and they, when asked whence\nthe two maidens came, told the following story;\n\n\n\nStory of the two princesses.\n\nThere is a dv\u00edpa named Kat\u00e1ha, the home of all felicities. In it\nthere is a king rightly named Gunas\u00e1gara. [801] He had born to him\nby his principal queen a daughter named Gunavat\u00ed, who by her beauty\nproduced astonishment even in the Creator who made her. And holy\nseers announced that she should have for a husband the lord of the\nseven dv\u00edpas; whereupon her father the king deliberated with his\ncounsellors; and came to this conclusion, \"King Vikram\u00e1ditya is a\nsuitable husband for my daughter; so I will send her to marry him.\"\n\nAccordingly, the king made his daughter embark in a ship on the sea,\nwith her retinue and wealth, and sent her off. But it so happened\nthat when the ship came near Suvarnadv\u00edpa, it was swallowed, with\nthe princess and the people on board, by a large fish. But that\nmonstrous fish was carried by the current of the sea as if by the\ncourse of Destiny, and thrown up on a coast near that dv\u00edpa, and there\nstranded. And the people of the neighbourhood, the moment they saw it,\nran with many weapons in their hands, and killed that marvellous fish,\nand cut open its belly. [802] And then there came out of it that\ngreat ship full of people; and when the king of that dv\u00edpa heard of\nit, he came there greatly wondering. And that king, whose name was\nChandrasekhara, and who was the brother-in-law of king Gunas\u00e1gara,\nheard the whole story from the people in the ship. Then the king,\nfinding that Gunavat\u00ed was the daughter of his sister, took her into his\npalace, and out of joy celebrated a feast. And the next day that king\nput on board a ship in a lucky moment his daughter Chandravat\u00ed, whom\nhe had long intended to give to king Vikram\u00e1ditya, with that Gunavat\u00ed,\nand sent her off with much magnificence as a gift to that sovereign.\n\nThese two princesses, having crossed the sea, by advancing gradually,\nhave at length arrived here; and we are their attendants. And when\nwe reached this place, a very large boar and a very large elephant\nrushed upon us; then, king, we uttered this cry, \"These maidens have\ncome to offer themselves for wives to king Vikram\u00e1ditya: so preserve\nthem for him, ye Guardians of the World, as is meet.\" When the boar\nand the elephant heard this, they said to us with articulate speech,\n\"Be of good courage! the mere mention of that king's name ensures your\nsafety. And you shall see him arrive here in a moment.\" When the boar\nand the elephant, who were, no doubt, some heavenly beings or other,\nhad said this, they went away.\n\n\"This is our story,\" said the chamberlain, and then, queen, I said to\nthem, \"And this is the king you seek.\" Then they fell at the king's\nfeet rejoicing, and made over to him those two princesses Gunavat\u00ed\nand Chandravat\u00ed. And the king gave orders to the Vet\u00e1la and had those\ntwo fair ones also taken to his queen, saying, \"Let all three travel\nwith Madanasundar\u00ed.\"\n\nThe Vet\u00e1la returned immediately, and then, queen, the king went with\nhim and myself by an out-of-the-way path. And as we were going along in\nthe forest, the sun set; and just at that time we heard there the sound\nof a drum. The king asked, \"Whence comes this sound of a drum?\" The\nVet\u00e1la answered him, \"King, there is a temple here. It is a marvel\nof heavenly skill, having been built by Visvakarman; and this beating\nof the drum is to announce the commencement of the evening spectacle.\"\n\nWhen the Vet\u00e1la had said this, he and the king and I went there out\nof curiosity, and after we had tied up the horse, we entered. And\nwe saw worshipped there a great linga of t\u00e1rkshyaratna [803] and in\nfront of it a spectacle with blazing lights. And there danced there\nfor a long time three nymphs of celestial beauty, in four kinds of\nmeasures, accompanied with music and singing. And at the end of the\nspectacle we beheld a wonder, for the dancing nymphs disappeared in\nthe figures carved on the pillars of the temple: and in the same way\nthe singers and players went into the figures of men painted on the\nwalls. When the king saw this, he was astonished, but the Vet\u00e1la said\nto him, \"Such is this heavenly enchantment produced by Visvakarman,\nlasting for ever, for this will always take place at both twilights.\"\n\nWhen he had said this, we wandered about in the temple, and saw in\none place a female figure on a pillar, of extraordinary beauty. When\nthe king saw her, he was bewildered by her beauty, and remained for\na moment absent-minded and motionless, so that he himself was like a\nfigure cut on a pillar. And he exclaimed, \"If I do not see a living\nwoman like this figure, of what profit to me is my kingdom or my\nlife?\" When the Vet\u00e1la heard this, he said, \"Your wish is not hard to\ngratify, for the king of Kalinga has a daughter named Kalingasen\u00e1, and\na sculptor of Vardham\u00e1na seeing her, and being desirous of representing\nher beauty, carved this figure in imitation of her. [804] So return\nto Ujjayin\u00ed, king, and ask that king of Kalinga for his daughter,\nor carry her off by force.\" This speech of the Vet\u00e1la's the king laid\nup in his heart.\n\nThen we spent that night there, and the next morning we set out, and\nwe saw two handsome men under an asoka-tree, and then they rose up\nand bowed before the king. Then the king said to them, \"Who are you,\nand why are you in the forest?\" One of them answered, \"Listen, king,\nI will tell you the whole story.\"\n\n\n\nStory of Dhanadatta.\n\nI am the son of a merchant in Ujjayin\u00ed, and my name is Dhanadatta. Once\non a time I went to sleep with my wife on the top of my palace. In\nthe morning I woke up and looked about me, and lo! my wife was not\nin the palace, nor in the garden attached to it, nor anywhere about\nit. I said to myself, \"She has not lost her heart to another man; of\nthat I am convinced by the fact that the garland which she gave me,\ntelling me that as long as she remained chaste, it would certainly not\nfade, is still as fresh as ever. [805] So I cannot think where she\nhas gone, whether she has been carried off by a demon or some other\nevil being, or what has happened to her.\" With these thoughts in my\nmind, I remained looking for her, crying out, lamenting, and weeping;\nconsumed by the fire of separation from her; taking no food. Then\nmy relations succeeded at last in consoling me to a certain extent,\nand I took food, and I made my abode in a temple, and remained there\nplunged in grief, feasting Br\u00e1hmans.\n\nOnce when I was quite broken down, this Br\u00e1hman came to me there,\nand I refreshed him with a bath and food, and after he had eaten,\nI asked him whence he came, and he said, \"I am from a village\nnear V\u00e1r\u00e1nas\u00ed.\" My servants told him my cause of woe, and he said,\n\"Why have you, like an unenterprising man, allowed your spirits to\nsink? The energetic man obtains even that which it is hard to attain;\nso rise up my friend, and let us look for your wife; I will help you.\"\n\nI said, \"How are we to look for her, when we do not even know in what\ndirection she has gone?\" When I said this, he answered me kindly,\n\"Do not say this; did not Kesata long ago recover his wife, when it\nseemed hopeless that he should ever be reunited with her? Hear his\nstory in proof of it.\"\n\n\n\nStory of Kesata and Kandarpa.\n\nThere lived in the city of P\u00e1taliputra a wealthy young Br\u00e1hman, the son\nof a Br\u00e1hman; his name was Kesata, and he was in beauty like a second\ngod of love. He wished to obtain a wife like himself, and so he went\nforth secretly [806] from his parents' house, and wandered through\nvarious lands on the pretext of visiting holy bathing-places. And in\nthe course of his wanderings he came once on a time to the bank of\nthe Narmad\u00e1, and he saw a numerous procession of bridegroom's friends\ncoming that way. And a distinguished old Br\u00e1hman, belonging to that\ncompany, when he saw Kesata in the distance, left his companions,\nand coming up to him accosted him, and respectfully said to him in\nprivate, \"I have a certain favour to ask of you, and it is one which\nyou can easily do for me, but the benefit conferred on me will be a\nvery great one; so, if you will do it, I will proceed to say what it\nis.\" When Kesata heard this, he said, \"Noble sir, if what you say is\npossible, I must certainly do it: let the benefit be conferred on you.\"\n\nWhen the Br\u00e1hman heard that, he said, \"Listen, my good young\nman; I have a son, who is the prince of ugly, as you are of\ngood-looking, men. He has projecting teeth, a flat nose, a black\ncolour, squinting eyes, a big belly, crooked feet, and ears like\nwinnowing baskets. Though he is such, I, out of my love for him,\ndescribed him as handsome, and asked a Br\u00e1hman, named Ratnadatta,\nto give him his daughter, named R\u00fapavat\u00ed, and he has agreed to do\nit. The girl is as beautiful as her name expresses, and to-day they\nare to be married. For this reason we have come, but I know that,\nwhen that purposed connexion of mine sees my son, he will refuse to\ngive him his daughter, and this attempt will be fruitless. And while\nthinking how I could find some way out of the difficulty, I have met\nyou here, courteous sir; so quickly perform for me my desire, as you\nhave pledged your word to do. Come with us, and marry that maiden,\nand hand her over to my son to-day, for you are as good-looking as\nthe bride.\"\n\nWhen Kesata heard this, he said, \"Agreed,\" and so the old Br\u00e1hman\ntook Kesata with him, and they crossed the Narmad\u00e1 in boats and landed\non the opposite bank. And so he reached the city, and rested outside\nit with his followers, and at that time the sun also, the traveller\nof the sky, went to his rest on the mountain of setting. Then the\ndarkness began to diffuse itself abroad, and Kesata, having gone\nto rinse his mouth, saw a terrible R\u00e1kshasa rise up near the water;\nand the R\u00e1kshasa said, \"Where will you go from me, [807] Kesata? I\nam about to devour you.\" Thereupon Kesata said to the R\u00e1kshasa,\n\"Do not devour me now; I will certainly come back to you presently,\nwhen I have done the Br\u00e1hman the service I promised.\" When the R\u00e1kshasa\nheard this, he made Kesata take an oath to this effect, and then let\nhim go; and he returned to the company of the bridegroom's friends.\n\nThen the old Br\u00e1hman brought Kesata adorned with the ornaments\nof a bridegroom, and entered that city with all the bridegroom's\nparty. And then he made him enter the house of Ratnadatta, in which an\naltar-platform was ready prepared, and which was made to resound with\nthe music of various instruments. And Kesata married there with all\ndue ceremonies that fair-faced maiden R\u00fapavat\u00ed, to whom her father\ngave great wealth. And the women there rejoiced, seeing that the\nbride and bridegroom were well-matched; and not only R\u00fapavat\u00ed, when\nshe saw that such a bridegroom had arrived, but her friends also,\nfell in love with him. But Kesata at that time was overpowered with\ndespondency and astonishment.\n\nAnd at night R\u00fapavat\u00ed seeing that her husband, as he lay on the bed,\nwas plunged in thought, and kept his head turned away, pretended to be\nasleep. And in the dead of night Kesata, thinking that she was asleep,\nwent out to that R\u00e1kshasa to keep his promise. And that faithful wife\nR\u00fapavat\u00ed also gently rose up unobserved, and followed her husband,\nfull of curiosity. And when Kesata arrived where the R\u00e1kshasa was,\nthe latter said to him, \"Bravo! you have kept your promise faithfully,\nKesata; you are a man of noble character. You sanctify your city\nof P\u00e1taliputra and your father Desata by your virtue, so approach,\nthat I may devour you.\" When R\u00fapavat\u00ed heard that, she came up quickly\nand said, \"Eat me, for, if my husband is eaten, what will become of\nme?\" The R\u00e1kshasa said, \"You can live on alms.\" She replied, \"Who,\nnoble sir, will give alms to me who am a woman?\" The R\u00e1kshasa said,\n\"If any one refuses to give you alms, when asked to do so, his head\nshall split in a hundred pieces.\" [808] Then she said, \"This being so,\ngive me my husband by way of alms.\" And, as the R\u00e1kshasa would not\ngive him, his head at once split asunder, and he died. Then R\u00fapavat\u00ed\nreturned to her bridal-chamber, with her husband, who was exceedingly\nastonished at her virtue, and at that moment the night came to an end.\n\nAnd the next morning the bridegroom's friends took food and set out\nfrom that city, and reached the bank of the Narmad\u00e1 with the newly\nmarried pair. Then the old Br\u00e1hman, who was their leader, put the wife\nR\u00fapavat\u00ed with her attendants on board one boat, and went on board a\nsecond himself, and cunningly made Kesata embark on a third, having\npreviously made an agreement with the boatmen; and before he went\non board took from him all the ornaments he had lent him. Then the\nBr\u00e1hman was ferried across with the wife and the bridegroom's party,\nbut Kesata was kept out in the middle of the stream by the boatmen,\nand carried to a great distance. Then those boatmen pushed the boat\nand Kesata into a place where the current ran full and strong, and\nswam ashore themselves, having been bribed by the old Br\u00e1hman.\n\nBut Kesata was carried with the boat, by the river which was lashed\ninto waves by the wind, into the sea, and at last a wave flung him up\non the coast. There he recovered strength and spirits, as he was not\ndoomed to die just yet, and he said to himself, \"Well, that Br\u00e1hman\nhas made me a fine recompense. But was not the fact that he married\nhis son by means of a substitute, in itself sufficient proof that he\nwas a fool and a scoundrel?\"\n\nWhile he remained there, buried in such thoughts, the night came on\nhim, when the companies of air-flying witches begin to roam about. He\nremained sleepless through it, and in the fourth watch he heard a\nnoise in the sky, and saw a handsome [809] man fall from heaven in\nfront of him. Kesata was terrified at first, but after some time\nhe saw that he had nothing uncanny about him, so he said to him,\n\"Who are you, Sir?\" Then the man said, \"First tell me who you are;\nand then I will tell you who I am.\" Hearing that, Kesata told him\nhis history. Then the man said, \"My friend, you are exactly in the\nsame predicament as myself, so I will now tell you my history, listen.\n\n\"There is on the bank of the river Ven\u00e1 a city named Ratnapura;\nI am a Br\u00e1hman householder in that city, the son of a rich man,\nand my name is Kandarpa. One evening I went down to the river Ven\u00e1\nto draw water, and I slipped and fell into it, and was carried away\nby the current. The current carried me a long way during that night,\nand when the morning came, as I was not doomed to die yet, it brought\nme to the foot of a tree that grew on the bank. I climbed up the bank\nby the help of the tree, and when I had recovered breath, I saw in\nfront of me a great empty temple dedicated to the Mothers. I entered\nit, and when I saw before me the Mothers flashing, as it were, with\nbrightness and power, my fear was allayed, and I bowed before them,\nand praised them and addressed this prayer to them, 'Venerable ones,\ndeliver me a miserable man; for I have to-day come here as a suppliant\nfor your protection.' When I had uttered this prayer, being exhausted\nwith my struggles in the current of the river, I rested, my friend,\ntill my fatigue gradually disappeared, and the day disappeared\nalso. And then there appeared the horrible female ascetic called\nnight, furnished with many stars by way of a bone-necklace, white with\nmoonlight instead of ashes, and carrying the moon for a gleaming seull.\n\n\"And then, I remember, a band of witches came out from the company\nof the Mothers, and they said to one another, 'To night we must go\nto the general assembly of the witches in Chakrapura, [810] and how\ncan this Br\u00e1hman be kept safe in this place which is full of wild\nbeasts? So let us take him to some place where he will be happy:\nand afterwards we will bring him back again; he has fled to us for\nprotection.' When they had said this, they adorned me, and carrying\nme through the air, placed me in the house of a rich Br\u00e1hman in a\ncertain city, and went away.\n\n\"And when I looked about me there, lo! the altar was prepared for\na marriage, and the auspicious hour had arrived, but the procession\nof bridegroom's friends was nowhere to be seen. And all the people,\nseeing me in front of the door arrayed in bridegroom's garments\nof heavenly splendour, said, 'Here is the bridegroom at any rate\narrived.' Then the Br\u00e1hman of the house took me to the altar, and\nled his daughter there adorned, and gave her to me with the usual\nceremonies. And the women said to one another, 'Fortunate is it that\nthe beauty of Sumanas has borne fruit by winning her a bridegroom like\nherself!' Then, having married Sumanas, I slept with her in a palace,\ngratified by having every want supplied in the most magnificent style.\n\n\"Then those witches came back from their assembly in this last watch\nof the night, and by their supernatural power carried me off, and flew\nup into the air with me. And while they were flying through the air,\nthey had a fight with another set of witches, who came, wishing to\ncarry me off, and they let me go and I fell down here. And I do not\nknow the city where I married that Sumanas; and I cannot tell what will\nbecome of her now. This succession of misfortunes, which Destiny has\nbrought upon me, has now ended in happiness by my meeting with you.\"\n\nWhen Kandarpa had given this account of his adventure, Kesata said\nto him, \"Do not be afraid, my friend; the witches will have no power\nover you henceforth; since I possess a certain irresistible charm,\nwhich will keep them at a distance: now let us roam about together:\nDestiny will bestow on us good fortune.\" And while they were engaged\nin this conversation, the night came to an end.\n\nIn the morning Kesata and Kandarpa set out from that place together,\nand crossing the sea, reached in due course a city named Bh\u00edmapura\nnear the river called Ratnanad\u00ed. There they heard a great noise on the\nbank of that river, and when they went to the place whence it came,\nthey saw a fish that filled the channel of the stream from bank to\nbank. It had been thrown up by the tide of the sea, and got fast in the\nriver owing to the vastness of its bulk, and men with various weapons\nin their hands were cutting it up to procure flesh. And while they\nwere cutting it open, there came out of its belly a woman, and being\nbeheld by the people with astonishment, she came terrified to the bank.\n\nThen Kandarpa looked at her, and said exultingly to Kesata, \"My friend,\nhere is that very Sumanas, whom I married. But I do not know how\nshe came to be living in the belly of a fish. So let us remain here\nin silence, until the whole matter is cleared up.\" Kesata consented,\nand they remained there. And the people said to Sumanas, \"Who are you,\nand what is the meaning of this?\" Then she said very reluctantly,\n\n\"I am the daughter of a crest-jewel of Br\u00e1hmans, named Jayadatta,\nwho lived in the city of Ratn\u00e1kara. My name is Sumanas, and one night\nI was married to a certain handsome young Br\u00e1hman, who was a suitable\nmatch for me. That very night, my husband went away somewhere, while\nI was asleep; and though my father made diligent search for him, he\ncould not find him anywhere. Then I threw myself into the river to\ncool the fire of grief at separation from him, and I was swallowed\nby this fish; and now Destiny has brought me here.\"\n\nWhile she was saying this, a Br\u00e1hman named Yajnasv\u00e1min rushed out of\nthe crowd, and embraced her and said this to her, \"Come, come with\nme, niece; you are the daughter of my sister; for I am Yajnasv\u00e1min,\nyour mother's own brother.\" When Sumanas heard that, she uncovered her\nface and looked at him, and recognising her uncle, she embraced his\nfeet weeping. But after a moment she ceased weeping, and said to him,\n\"Do you give me fuel, for, as I am separated from my husband, I have\nno other refuge but the fire.\"\n\nHer uncle did all he could to dissuade her, but she would not abandon\nher intention; and then Kandarpa, having thus seen her real feelings\ntested, came up to her. When the wise Sumanas saw him near her, she\nrecognised him, and fell weeping at his feet. And when the discreet\nwoman was questioned by the people, and by that uncle of hers, she\nanswered, \"He is my husband.\" Then all were delighted, and Yajnasv\u00e1min\ntook her husband Kandarpa to his house, together with Kesata. There\nthey told their adventures, and Yajnasv\u00e1min and his family lovingly\nwaited on them with many hospitable attentions.\n\nAfter some days had passed, Kesata said to Kandarpa, \"You have gained\nall you want by recovering your longed-for wife; so now go with her\nto Ratnapura your own city; but, as I have not attained the object of\nmy desire, I will not return to my own country: I, my friend, will\nmake a pilgrimage to all the holy bathing-places and so destroy my\nbody.\" When Yajnasv\u00e1min, in Bh\u00edmapura, heard this, he said to Kesata,\n\"Why do you utter this despondent speech? As long as people are alive,\nthere is nothing they cannot get: in proof of this hear the story of\nKusum\u00e1yudha, which I am about to tell you.\"\n\n\n\nStory of Kusum\u00e1yudha and Kamalalochan\u00e1.\n\nThere was in a town named Chandrapura a Br\u00e1hman named Devasv\u00e1min:\nhe had a very beautiful daughter named Kamalalochan\u00e1. And he had a\nyoung Br\u00e1hman pupil named Kusum\u00e1yudha; and that pupil and his daughter\nloved one another well.\n\nOne day her father made up his mind to give her to another suitor,\nand at once that maiden sent by her confidante the following message\nto Kusum\u00e1yudha, \"Though I have long ago fixed my heart on you for a\nhusband, my father has promised to give me to another, so devise a\nscheme for carrying me off hence.\" So Kusum\u00e1yudha made an arrangement\nto carry her off, and he placed outside her house at night a servant\nwith a mule for that purpose. So she quietly went out and mounted\nthe mule, but that servant did not take her to his master; he took\nher somewhere else, to make her his own.\n\nAnd during the night he took Kamalalochan\u00e1 a long distance, and they\nreached a certain city by the morning, when that chaste woman said to\nthe servant, \"Where is my husband your master? Why do you not take me\nto him?\" When the cunning rogue heard this, he said to her who was\nalone in a foreign country, \"I am going to marry you myself: never\nmind about him; how can you get to him now?\" When the discreet woman\nheard this, she said, \"Indeed I love you very much.\" [811] Then the\nrascal left her in the garden of the city, and went to the market to\nbuy the things required for a wedding. In the meanwhile that maiden\nfled, with the mule, and entered the house of a certain old man who\nmade garlands. She told him her history, and he made her welcome, so\nshe remained there. And the wicked servant, not finding her in the\ngarden, went away from it disappointed, and returned to his master\nKusum\u00e1yudha. And when his master questioned him, he said, \"The fact is,\nyou are an upright man yourself, and you do not understand the ways\nof deceitful women. No sooner did she come out and was seen, than\nI was seized there by those other men, and the mule was taken away\nfrom me. By good luck I managed to escape and have come here.\" When\nKusum\u00e1yudha heard this, he remained silent, and plunged in thought.\n\nOne day his father sent him to be married, and as he was going\nalong, he reached the city, where Kamalalochan\u00e1 was. There he\nmade the bridegroom's followers encamp in a neighbouring garden,\nand while he was roaming about alone, Kamalalochan\u00e1 saw him, and\ntold the garland-maker in whose house she was living. He went and\ntold her intended husband what had taken place, and brought him to\nher. Then the garland-maker collected the necessary things, and the\nlong-desired marriage between the youth and the maiden was immediately\ncelebrated. Then Kusum\u00e1yudha punished that wicked servant, and married\nin addition that second maiden, who was the cause of his finding\nKamalalochan\u00e1, and in order to marry whom he had started from home,\nand he returned rejoicing to his own country with those two wives.\n\n\"Thus the fortunate are reunited in the most unexpected manner, and so\nyou may be certain, Kesata, of regaining your beloved soon in the same\nway.\" When Yajnasv\u00e1min had said this, Kandarpa, Sumanas and Kesata,\nremained for some days in his house, and then they set out for their\nown country. But on the way they reached a great forest, and they\nwere separated from one another in the confusion produced by a charge\nof wild elephants. Of the party Kesata went on alone and grieved,\nand in course of time reached the city of K\u00e1s\u00ed and found his friend\nKandarpa there. And he went with him to his own city P\u00e1taliputra,\nand he remained there some time welcomed by his father. And there\nhe told his parents all his adventures, beginning with his marrying\nR\u00fapavat\u00ed, and ending with the story of Kandarpa.\n\nIn the meanwhile Sumanas fled, terrified at the elephants, and entered\na thicket, and while she was there, the sun set for her. And when\nnight came on, she cried out in her woe, \"Alas, my husband! Alas,\nmy father! Alas, my mother!\" and resolved to fling herself into a\nforest fire. And in the meanwhile that company of witches, that were\nso full of pity for Kandarpa, having conquered the other witches,\nreached their own temple. There they remembered Kandarpa, and finding\nout by their supernatural knowledge that his wife had lost her way in\na wood, they deliberated as follows, \"Kandarpa, being a resolute man,\nwill unaided obtain his desire; but his wife, being a young girl,\nand having lost her way in the forest, will assuredly die. So let us\ntake her and put her down in Ratnapura, in order that she may live\nthere in the house of Kandarpa's father with his other wife.\" When\nthe witches had come to this conclusion, they went to that forest\nand comforted Sumanas there, and took her and left her in Ratnapura.\n\nWhen the night had passed, Sumanas, wandering about in that city,\nheard the following cry in the mouths of the people who were running\nhither and thither, \"Lo! the virtuous Anangavat\u00ed, the wife of the\nBr\u00e1hman Kandarpa, who, after her husband had gone somewhere or other,\nlived a long time in hope of reunion with him, not having recovered\nhim, has now gone out in despair to enter the fire, followed by her\nweeping father-in-law and mother-in-law.\" When Sumanas heard that, she\nwent quickly to the place where the pyre had been made, and going up to\nAnangavat\u00ed, said to her, in order to dissuade her, \"Noble lady, do not\nact rashly, for that husband of yours is alive.\" Having said this, she\ntold the whole story from the beginning. And she shewed the jewelled\nring that Kandarpa gave her. Then all welcomed her, perceiving that her\naccount was true. Then Kandarpa's father honoured that bride Sumanas\nand gladly lodged her in his house with the delighted Anangavat\u00ed.\n\nThen Kandarpa left P\u00e1taliputra [812] without telling Kesata, as\nhe knew he would not like it, in order to roam about in search of\nSumanas. And after he had gone, Kesata, feeling unhappy without\nR\u00fapavat\u00ed, left his house without his parents' knowledge, and went\nto roam about hither and thither. And Kandarpa, in the course of his\nwanderings, happened to visit that very city, where Kesata, married\nR\u00fapavat\u00ed. And hearing a great noise of people, he asked what it meant,\nand a certain man said to him, \"Here is R\u00fapavat\u00ed preparing to die, as\nshe cannot find her husband Kesata,; the tumult is on that account;\nlisten to the story connected with her.\" Then that man related the\nstrange story of R\u00fapavat\u00ed's marriage with Kesata and of her adventure\nwith the R\u00e1kshasa, and then continued as follows:\n\n\"Then that old Br\u00e1hman, having tricked Kesata, went on his way,\ntaking with him R\u00fapavat\u00ed for his son: but nobody knew where Kesata\nhad gone after marrying her. And R\u00fapavat\u00ed, not seeing Kesata on the\njourney, said, 'Why do I not see my husband here, though all the rest\nof the party are travelling along with me?' When the old Br\u00e1hman heard\nthat, he shewed her that son of his, and said to her, 'My daughter,\nthis son of mine is your husband; behold him.' Then R\u00fapavat\u00ed said\nin a rage to the old man there, 'I will not have this ugly fellow\nfor a husband; I will certainly die, if I cannot get that husband,\nwho married me yesterday.'\n\n\"Saying this, she at once stopped eating and drinking; and the old\nBr\u00e1hman, through fear of the king, had her taken back to her father's\nhouse. There she told the trick that the old Br\u00e1hman had played her,\nand her father, in great grief, said to her, 'How are we to discover,\nmy daughter, who the man that married you, is?' Then R\u00fapavat\u00ed said,\n'My husband's name is Kesata, and he is the son of a Br\u00e1hman named\nDesata in P\u00e1taliputra; for so much I heard from the mouth of a\nR\u00e1kshasa.' When she had said this, she told her father the whole\nstory of her husband and the R\u00e1kshasa. Then her father went and saw\nthe R\u00e1kshasa lying dead, and so he believed his daughter's story,\nand was pleased with the virtue of that couple.\n\n\"He consoled his daughter with hopes of reunion with her husband, and\nsent his son to Kesata's father in P\u00e1taliputra, to search for him. And\nafter some time they came back and said, 'We saw the householder\nDesata in P\u00e1taliputra. But when we asked him where his son Kesata was,\nhe answered us with tears, \"My son Kesata is not here; he did return\nhere, and a friend of his named Kandarpa came with him; but he went\naway from here without telling me, pining for R\u00fapavat\u00ed\"--When we\nheard this speech of his, we came back here in due course.'\n\n\"When those sent to search had brought back this report, R\u00fapavat\u00ed said\nto her father, 'I shall never recover my husband, so I will enter the\nfire; how long, father, can I live here without my husband?' She went\non saying this, and as her father has not been able to dissuade her,\nshe has come out to-day to perish in the fire. And two maidens,\nfriends of hers, have come out to die in the same way; one is\ncalled Sring\u00e1ravat\u00ed and the other Anur\u00e1gavat\u00ed. For long ago, at the\nmarriage of R\u00fapavat\u00ed, they saw Kesata and made up their minds that\nthey would have him for a husband, as their hearts were captivated\nby his beauty. This is the meaning of the noise which the people here\nare making.\"\n\nWhen Kandarpa heard this from that man, he went to the pyre which had\nbeen heaped up for those ladies. He made a sign to the people from\na distance to cease their tumult, and going up quickly, he said to\nR\u00fapavat\u00ed, who was worshipping the fire; \"Noble lady; desist from this\nrashness; that husband of yours Kesata is alive; he is my friend; know\nthat I am Kandarpa.\" When he had said this, he told her all Kesata's\nadventures, beginning with the circumstance of the old Br\u00e1hman's\ntreacherously making him embark on the boat. Then R\u00fapavat\u00ed believed\nhim, as his story tallied so completely with what she knew, and she\njoyfully entered her father's house with those two friends. And her\nfather kindly welcomed Kandarpa and took good care of him; and so he\nremained there, to please him.\n\nIn the meanwhile it happened that, as Kesata was roaming about, he\nreached Ratnapura and found there the house of Kandarpa, in which\nhis two wives were. And as he was wandering about near the house,\nSumanas, the wife of Kandarpa, saw him from the top of the house\nand said delighted to her father-in-law and mother-in-law, and the\nother people in the house, \"Here now is Kesata my husband's friend\narrived; we may hear news of my husband from him; quickly invite\nhim in.\" Then they went and on some pretext or other brought in\nKesata as she advised, and when he saw Sumanas come towards him,\nhe was delighted. And after he had rested she questioned him, and\nhe immediately told her his own and Kandarpa's adventures, after the\nscare produced by the wild elephants.\n\nHe remained there some days, hospitably entertained, and then a\nmessenger came from Kandarpa with a letter. The messenger said,\n\"Kandarpa and R\u00fapavat\u00ed are in the town where Kandarpa's friend Kesata\nmarried R\u00fapavat\u00ed;\" and the contents of the letter were to the same\neffect; and Kesata communicated the tidings with tears to the father\nof Kandarpa.\n\nAnd the next day Kandarpa's father sent in high glee a messenger\nto bring his son, and dismissed Kesata, that he might join his\nbeloved. And Kesata went with that messenger, who brought the letter,\nto that country where R\u00fapavat\u00ed was living in her father's house. There,\nafter a long absence, he greeted and refreshed the delighted R\u00fapavat\u00ed,\nas the cloud does the ch\u00e1tak\u00ed. He met Kandarpa once more, and he\nmarried at the instance of R\u00fapavat\u00ed her two before-mentioned friends,\nAnur\u00e1gavat\u00ed and Sring\u00e1ravat\u00ed. And then Kesata went with R\u00fapavat\u00ed and\nthem to his own land, after taking leave of Kandarpa. And Kandarpa\nreturned to Ratnapura with the messenger, and was once more united\nto Sumanas and Anangavat\u00ed and his relations. So Kandarpa regained\nhis beloved Sumanas, and Kesata his beloved R\u00fapavat\u00ed, and they lived\nenjoying the good things of this life, each in his own country.\n\nThus men of firm resolution, though separated by adverse destiny, are\nreunited with their dear ones, despising even terrible sufferings,\nand taking no account of their interminable duration. So rise up\nquickly my friend, let us go; you also will find your wife, if you\nsearch for her; who knows the way of Destiny? I myself regained my\nwife alive after she had died.\n\n\"Telling me this tale my friend encouraged me; and himself accompanied\nme; and so roaming about with him, I reached this land, and here I\nsaw a mighty elephant and a wild boar. And, (wonderful to say!) I saw\nthat elephant bring my helpless wife out of his mouth, and swallow her\nagain; and I followed that elephant, which appeared for a moment and\nthen disappeared for a long time, and in my search for it I have now,\nthanks to my merits, beheld your Majesty here.\"\n\nWhen the young merchant had said this, Vikram\u00e1ditya sent for his wife,\nwhom he had rescued by killing the elephant, and handed her over\nto him. And then the couple, delighted at their marvellous reunion,\nrecounted their adventures to one another, and their mouths were loud\nin praise of the glorious king Vishamas\u00edla.\n\n\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER CXXIV.\n\n\nThen King Vikram\u00e1ditya put this question to the friend of the young\nmerchant, who came with him, \"You said that you recovered your wife\nalive after she was dead; how could that be? Tell us, good sir, the\nwhole story at length.\" When the king said this to the friend of the\nyoung merchant, the latter answered, \"Listen, king, if you have any\ncuriosity about it; I proceed to tell the story.\"\n\n\n\nStory of Chandrasv\u00e1min who recovered his wife alive after her death.\n\nI am a young Br\u00e1hman of the name of Chandrasv\u00e1min, living on that\nmagnificent grant to Br\u00e1hmans, called Brahmasthala, and I have a\nbeautiful wife in my house. One day I had gone to the village for some\nobject, by my father's orders, and a k\u00e1p\u00e1lika, who had come to beg,\ncast eyes on that wife of mine. She caught a fever from the moment\nhe looked at her, and in the evening she died. Then my relations took\nher, and put her on the pyre during the night. And when the pyre was\nin full blaze, I returned there from the village; and I heard what\nhad happened from my family who wept before me.\n\nThen I went near the pyre, and the k\u00e1p\u00e1lika came there with the\nmagic staff dancing [813] on his shoulder, and the booming drum in his\nhand. He quenched the flume of the pyre, king, by throwing ashes on it,\n[814] and then my wife rose up from the midst of it uninjured. The\nk\u00e1p\u00e1lika took with him my wife who followed him, drawn by his magic\npower, and ran off quickly, and I followed him with my bow and arrows.\n\nAnd when he reached a cave on the bank of the Ganges, he put the\nmagic staff down on the ground, and said exultingly to two maidens\nwho were in it, \"She, without whom I could not marry you, though I\nhad obtained you, has come into my possession; and so my vow has been\nsuccessfully accomplished,\" [815] Saying this he shewed them my wife,\nand at that moment I flung his magic staff into the Ganges; and when he\nhad lost his magic power by the loss of the staff, I reproached him,\nexclaiming, \"K\u00e1p\u00e1lika, as you wish to rob me of my wife, you shall\nlive no longer.\" Then the scoundrel, not seeing his magic staff,\ntried to run away; but I drew my bow and killed him with a poisoned\narrow. Thus do heretics, who feign the vows of Siva only for the\npleasure of accomplishing nefarious ends, fall, though their sin has\nalready sunk them deep enough.\n\nThen I took my wife, and those other two maidens, and I returned\nhome, exciting the astonishment of my relations. Then I asked those\ntwo maidens to tell me their history, and they gave me this answer,\n\"We are the daughters respectively of a king and a chief merchant in\nBenares, and the k\u00e1p\u00e1lika carried us off by the same magic process\nby which he carried off your wife, and thanks to you we have been\ndelivered from the villain without suffering insult.\" This was their\ntale; and the next day I took them to Benares, and handed them over\nto their relations, after telling what had befallen them. [816]\n\nAnd as I was returning thence, I saw this young merchant, who had lost\nhis wife, and I came here with him. Moreover, I anointed my body with\nan ointment that I found in the cave of the k\u00e1p\u00e1lika; and, observe,\nperfume still exhales from it, even though it has been washed.\n\n\"In this sense did I recover my wife arisen from the dead.\" When\nthe Br\u00e1hman had told this story, the king honoured him and the young\nmerchant, and sent them on their way. And then that king Vikram\u00e1ditya,\ntaking with him Gunavat\u00ed, Chandravat\u00ed, and Madanasundar\u00ed, and having\nmet his own forces, returned to the city of Ujjayin\u00ed, and there he\nmarried Gunavat\u00ed and Chandravat\u00ed.\n\nThen the king called to mind the figure carved on a pillar that he\nhad seen in the temple built by Visvakarman, and he gave this order to\nthe warder, \"Let an ambassador be sent to Kalingasena to demand from\nhim that maiden whose likeness I saw carved on the pillar.\" When the\nwarder received this command from the king, he brought before him an\nambassador named Suvigraha, and sent him off with a message.\n\nSo the ambassador went to the country of Kalinga, and when he had seen\nthe king Kalingasena, he delivered to him the message with which he had\nbeen entrusted, which was as follows, \"King, the glorious sovereign\nVikram\u00e1ditya sends you this command, 'You know that every jewel on\nthe earth comes to me as my due; and you have a pearl of a daughter,\nso hand her over to me, and then by my favour you shall enjoy in your\nown realm an unopposed sway.'\" When the king of Kalinga heard this,\nhe was very angry, and he said, \"Who is this king Vikram\u00e1ditya? Does he\npresume to give me orders and ask for my daughter as a tribute? Blinded\nwith pride he shall be cast down.\" When the ambassador heard this\nfrom Kalingasena, he said to him, \"How can you, being a servant,\ndare to set yourself up against your master? You do not know your\nplace. What, madman, do you wish to be shrivelled like a moth in the\nfire of his wrath?\"\n\nWhen the ambassador had said this, he returned and communicated to king\nVikram\u00e1ditya that speech of Kalingasena's. Then king Vikram\u00e1ditya,\nbeing angry, marched out with his forces to attack the king of\nKalinga, and the Vet\u00e1la Bh\u00fataketu went with him. As he marched along,\nthe quarters, re-echoing the roar of his army, seemed to say to the\nking of Kalinga, \"Surrender the maiden quickly,\" and so he reached\nthat country. When king Vikram\u00e1ditya saw the king of Kalinga ready\nfor battle, he surrounded him with his forces; but then he thought\nin his mind, \"I shall never be happy without this king's daughter;\nand yet how can I kill my own father-in-law? Suppose I have recourse\nto some stratagem.\"\n\nWhen the king had gone through these reflections, he went with\nthe Vet\u00e1la, and by his supernatural power entered the bedchamber\nof the king of Kalinga at night, when he was asleep, without being\nseen. Then the Vet\u00e1la woke up the king, and when he was terrified,\nsaid to him laughing, \"What! do you dare to sleep, when you are at\nwar with king Vikram\u00e1ditya?\" Then the king of Kalinga rose up, and\nseeing the monarch, who had thus shown his daring, standing with a\nterrible Vet\u00e1la at his side, and recognising him, bowed trembling at\nhis feet, and said, \"King, I now acknowledge your supremacy; tell me\nwhat I am to do.\" And the king answered him, \"If you wish to have me\nas your overlord, give me your daughter Kalingasen\u00e1.\" Then the king\nof Kalinga agreed, and promised to give him his daughter, and so the\nmonarch returned successful to his camp.\n\nAnd the next day, queen, your father the king of Kalinga bestowed\nyou on king Vishamas\u00edla with appropriate ceremonies, and a splendid\nmarriage-gift. Thus, queen, you were lawfully married by the king\nout of his deep love for you, and at the risk of his own life, and\nnot out of any desire to triumph over an enemy.\n\n\"When I heard this story, my friends, from the mouth of the k\u00e1rpatika\nDevasena, I dismissed my anger, which was caused by the contempt with\nwhich I supposed myself to have been treated. So, you see, this king\nwas induced to marry me by seeing a likeness of me carved on a pillar,\nand to marry Malayavat\u00ed by seeing a painted portrait of her.\" In these\nwords Kalingasen\u00e1, the beloved wife of king Vikram\u00e1ditya, described\nher husband's might, and delighted his other wives. Then Vikram\u00e1ditya,\naccompanied by all of them, and by Malayavat\u00ed, remained delighting\nin his empire.\n\nThen, one day, a R\u00e1jp\u00fat named Krishnasakti, who had been oppressed by\nthe members of his clan, came there from the Dakkan. He went to the\npalace-gate surrounded by five hundred R\u00e1jp\u00fats, and took on himself the\nvow of k\u00e1rpatika to the king. And though the king tried to dissuade\nhim, he made this declaration, \"I will serve king Vikram\u00e1ditya for\ntwelve years.\" And he remained at the gate of the palace, with his\nfollowers, determined to carry out this vow, and while he was thus\nengaged, eleven years passed over his head.\n\nAnd when the twelfth year came, his wife, who was in another land,\ngrieved at her long separation from him, sent him a letter; and he\nhappened to be reading this \u00c1ry\u00e1 verse which she had written in the\nletter, at night, by the light of a candle, when the king, who had\ngone out in search of adventures, was listening concealed, \"Hot, long,\nand tremulous, do these sighs issue forth from me, during thy absence,\nmy lord, but not the breath of life, hard-hearted woman that I am!\"\n\nWhen the king had heard this read over and over again by the k\u00e1rpatika,\nhe went to his palace and said to himself, \"This k\u00e1rpatika, whose\nwife is in such despondency, has long endured affliction, and if his\nobjects are not gained, he will, when this twelfth year is at an end,\nyield his breath. So I must not let him wait any longer.\" After going\nthrough these reflections, the king at once sent a female slave,\nand summoned that k\u00e1rpatika. And after he had caused a grant to be\nwritten, he gave him this order, \"My good fellow, go towards the\nnorthern quarter through Omk\u00e1rap\u00edtha; there live on the proceeds of a\nvillage of the name of Khandavataka, which I give you by this grant;\nyou will find it by asking your way as you go along.\"\n\nWhen the king had said this, he gave the grant into his hands; and\nthe k\u00e1rpatika went off by night without telling his followers. He\nwas dissatisfied, saying to himself, \"How shall I be helped to\nconquer my enemies by a single village that will rather disgrace\nme? Nevertheless my sovereign's orders must be obeyed.\" So he slowly\nwent on, and having passed Omk\u00e1rap\u00edtha, he saw in a distant forest\nmany maidens playing, and then he asked them this question, \"Do you\nknow where Khandavataka is?\" When they heard that, they answered,\n\"We do not know; go on further; our father lives only ten yojanas\nfrom here; ask him; he may perhaps know of that village.\"\n\nWhen the maidens had said this to him, the k\u00e1rpatika went on, and\nbeheld their father, a R\u00e1kshasa of terrific appearance. He said to him,\n\"Whereabouts here is Khandavataka? Tell me, my good fellow.\" And the\nR\u00e1kshasa, quite taken aback by his courage, said to him, \"What have you\ngot to do there? The city has been long deserted; but if you must go,\nlisten; this road in front of you divides into two: take the one on the\nleft hand, and go on until you reach the main entrance of Khandavataka,\nthe lofty ramparts on each side of which make it attract the eye.\"\n\nWhen the R\u00e1kshasa had told him this, he went on, and reached that\nmain street, and entered that city, which, though of heavenly beauty,\nwas deserted and awe-inspiring. And in it he entered the palace, which\nwas surrounded with seven zones, and ascended the upper storey of it,\nwhich was made of jewels and gold. There he saw a gem-bestudded throne,\nand he sat down on it. Thereupon a R\u00e1kshasa came with a wand in his\nhand, and said to him, \"Mortal, why have you sat down here on the\nking's throne?\" When the resolute k\u00e1rpatika Krishnasakti heard this,\nhe said, \"I am lord here; and you are tribute-paying house-holders\nwhom king Vikram\u00e1ditya has made over to me by his grant.\"\n\nWhen the R\u00e1kshasa heard that, he looked at the grant, and bowing before\nhim, said, \"You are king here, and I am your warder; for the decrees\nof king Vikram\u00e1ditya are binding everywhere.\" When the R\u00e1kshasa had\nsaid this, he summoned all the subjects, and the ministers and the\nking's retinue presented themselves there; and that city was filled\nwith an army of four kinds of troops. And every one paid his respects\nto the k\u00e1rpatika; and he was delighted, and performed his bathing\nand his other ceremonies with royal luxury.\n\nThen, having become a king, he said to himself with amazement;\n\"Astonishing truly is the power of king Vikram\u00e1ditya; and strangely\nunexampled is the depth of his dignified reserve, in that he bestows a\nkingdom like this and calls it a village!\" Full of amazement at this,\nhe remained there ruling as a king: and Vikram\u00e1ditya supported his\nfollowers in Ujjayin\u00ed.\n\nAnd after some days this k\u00e1rpatika become a king went eagerly to pay\nhis respects to king Vikram\u00e1ditya, shaking the earth with his army. And\nwhen he arrived and threw himself at the feet of Vikram\u00e1ditya,\nthat king said to him, \"Go and put a stop to the sighs of your wife\nwho sent you the letter.\" When the king despatched him with these\nwords, Krishnasakti, full of wonder, went with his friends to his\nown land. There he drove out his kinsmen, and delighted his wife,\nwho had been long pining for him; and having gained more even than\nhe had ever wished for, enjoyed the most glorious royal fortune.\n\nSo wonderful were the deeds of king Vikram\u00e1ditya.\n\nNow one day he saw a Br\u00e1hman with every hair on his head and body\nstanding on end; and he said to him, \"What has reduced you, Br\u00e1hman,\nto this state?\" Then the Br\u00e1hman told him his story in the following\nwords:\n\n\n\nStory of Devasv\u00e1min the permanently horripilant Br\u00e1hman.\n\nThere lived in P\u00e1taliputra a Br\u00e1hman of the name of Agnisv\u00e1min,\na great maintainer of the sacrificial fire; and I am his son,\nDevasv\u00e1min by name. And I married the daughter of a Br\u00e1hman who lived\nin a distant land, and because she was a child, I left her in her\nfather's house. One day I mounted a mare, and went with one servant\nto my father-in-law's house to fetch her. There my father-in-law\nwelcomed me; and I set out from his house with my wife, who was\nmounted on the mare, and had one maid with her.\n\nAnd when we had got half way, my wife got off the mare, and went to\nthe bank of the river, pretending that she wanted to drink water. And\nas she remained a long time without coming back, I sent the servant,\nwho was with me, to the bank of the river to look for her. And as he\nalso remained a long time without coming back, I went there myself,\nleaving the maid to take care of the mare. And when I went and looked,\nI found that my wife's mouth was stained with blood, and that she had\ndevoured my servant, and left nothing of him but the bones. [817] In\nmy terror I left her, and went back to find the mare, and lo! her maid\nhad in the same way eaten that. Then I fled from the place, and the\nfright I got on that occasion still remains in me, so that even now I\ncannot prevent the hair on my head and body from standing on end. [818]\n\n\"So you, king, are my only hope.\" When the Br\u00e1hman said this,\nVikram\u00e1ditya by his sovereign fiat relieved him of all fear. Then the\nking said, \"Out on it! One cannot repose any confidence in women,\nfor they are full of daring wickedness.\" When the king said this,\na minister remarked, \"Yes, king! women are fully as wicked as you\nsay. By the bye, have you not heard what happened to the Br\u00e1hman\nAgnisarman here?\"\n\n\n\nStory of Agnisarman. [819]\n\nThere lives in this very city a Br\u00e1hman named Agnisarman, the son of\nSomasarman; whom his parents loved as their life, but who was a fool\nand ignorant of every branch of knowledge. He married the daughter of a\nBr\u00e1hman in the city of Vardham\u00e1na; but her father, who was rich, would\nnot let her leave his house, on the ground that she was a mere child.\n\nAnd when she grew up, Agnisarman's parents said to him, \"Son, why do\nyou not now go and fetch your wife?\" When Agnisarman heard that, the\nstupid fellow went off alone to fetch her, without taking leave of his\nparents. When he left his house a partridge appeared on his right hand,\nand a jackal howled on his left hand, a sure prophet of evil. [820]\nAnd the fool welcomed the omen saying, \"Hail! Hail!\" and when the\ndeity presiding over the omen heard it, she laughed at him unseen. And\nwhen he reached his father-in-law's place, and was about to enter it,\na partridge appeared on his right, and a jackal on his left, boding\nevil. And again he welcomed the omen, exclaiming \"Hail! Hail!\" and\nagain the goddess of the omen, hearing it, laughed at him unseen. And\nthat goddess presiding over the omen said to herself, \"Why, this\nfool welcomes bad luck as if it were good! So I must give him the\nluck which he welcomes, I must contrive to save his life.\" While the\ngoddess was going through these reflections, Agnisarman entered his\nfather-in-law's house, and was joyfully welcomed. And his father-in-law\nand his family asked him, why he had come alone, and he answered them,\n\"I came without telling any one at home.\"\n\nThen he bathed and dined in the appropriate manner, and when night\ncame on, his wife came to his sleeping apartment adorned. But he fell\nasleep fatigued with the journey; and then she went out to visit a\nparamour of hers, a thief, who had been impaled. But, while she was\nembracing his body, the demon that had entered it, bit off her nose;\nand she fled thence in fear. And she went and placed an unsheathed\n[821] dagger at her sleeping husband's side; and cried out loud\nenough for all her relations to hear, \"Alas! Alas! I am murdered;\nthis wicked husband of mine has got up and without any cause actually\ncut off my nose.\" When her relations heard that, they came, and seeing\nthat her nose was cut off, they beat Agnisarman with sticks and other\nweapons. And the next day they reported the matter to the king, and\nby his orders they made him over to the executioners, to be put to\ndeath, as having injured his innocent wife.\n\nBut when he was being taken to the place of execution, the goddess\npresiding over that omen, who had seen the proceedings of his wife\nduring the night, said to herself, \"This man has reaped the fruit of\nthe evil omens, but as he said, 'Hail! Hail!' I must save him from\nexecution.\" Having thus reflected, the goddess exclaimed unseen from\nthe air, \"Executioners, this young Br\u00e1hman is innocent; you must not\nput him to death: go and see the nose between the teeth of the impaled\nthief.\" When she had said this, she related the proceedings of his\nwife during the night. Then the executioners, believing the story,\nrepresented it to the king by the mouth of the warder, and the king,\nseeing the nose between the teeth of the thief, remitted the capital\nsentence passed on Agnisarman, and sent him home; and punished that\nwicked wife, and imposed a penalty on her relations [822] also.\n\n\"Such, king, is the character of women.\" When that minister had\nsaid this, King Vikram\u00e1ditya approved his saying, exclaiming,\n\"So it is.\" Then the cunning M\u00faladeva, who was near the king, said,\n\"King, are there no good women, though some are bad? Are there no\nmango-creepers, as well as poisonous creepers? In proof that there\nare good women, hear what happened to me.\"\n\n\n\nStory of M\u00faladeva. [823]\n\nI went once to P\u00e1taliputra with Sasin, thinking that it was the home\nof polished wits, and longing to make trial of their cleverness. In a\ntank outside that city I saw a woman washing clothes, and I put this\nquestion to her, \"Where do travellers stay here?\" The old woman gave\nme an evasive answer, saying, \"Here the Brahmany ducks stay on the\nbanks, the fish in the water, the bees in the lotuses, but I have\nnever seen any part where travellers stay.\" When I got this answer,\nI was quite nonplussed, and I entered the city with Sasin.\n\nThere Sasin saw a boy crying at the door of a house, with a warm [824]\nrice-pudding on a plate in front of him, and he said, \"Dear me! this\nis a foolish child not to eat the pudding in front of him, but to vex\nhimself with useless weeping.\" When the child heard this, he wiped his\neyes, and said laughing, \"You fools do not know the advantages I get by\ncrying. The pudding gradually cools and so becomes nice, and another\ngood comes out of it; my phlegm is diminished thereby. These are the\nadvantages I derive from crying; I do not cry out of folly; but you\ncountry bumpkins are fools because you do not see what I do it for.\"\n\nWhen the boy said this, Sasin and I were quite abashed at our\nstupidity, and we went away astonished to another part of the\ntown. There we saw a beautiful young lady on the trunk of a mango-tree,\ngathering mangoes, while her attendants stood at its foot. We said\nto the young lady, \"Give us also some mangoes, fair one.\" And she\nanswered, \"Would you like to eat your mangoes cold or hot?\" When\nI heard that, I said to her, wishing to penetrate the mystery, \"We\nshould like, lovely one, to eat some warm ones first, and to have\nthe others afterwards.\" When she heard this, she flung down some\nmango-fruits into the dust on the ground. We blew the dust off them\nand then ate them. Then the young lady and her attendants laughed, and\nshe said to us, \"I first gave you these warm mangoes, and you cooled\nthem by blowing on them, and then ate them; catch these cool ones,\nwhich will not require blowing on, in your clothes.\" When she had\nsaid this, she threw some more fruits into the flaps of our garments.\n\nWe took them, and left that place thoroughly ashamed of ourselves. Then\nI said to Sasin and my other companions, \"Upon my word I must\nmarry this clever girl, and pay her out for the way in which she\nhas made a fool of me; otherwise what becomes of my reputation for\nsharpness?\" When I said this to them, they found out her father's\nhouse, and on a subsequent day we went there disguised so that we\ncould not be recognised.\n\nAnd while we were reading the Veda there, her father the Br\u00e1hman\nYajnasv\u00e1min came up to us, and said, \"Where do you come from?\" We\nsaid to that rich and noble Br\u00e1hman, \"We have come here from the\ncity of M\u00e1y\u00e1pur\u00ed to study;\" thereupon he said to us, \"Then stay the\nnext four months in my house; shew me this favour, as you have come\nfrom a distant country.\" When we heard this, we said, \"We will do\nwhat you say, Br\u00e1hman, if you will give us, at the end of the four\nmonths, whatever we may ask for.\" When we said this to Yajnasv\u00e1min,\nhe answered, \"If you ask for anything that it is in my power to give,\nI will certainly give it.\" When he made this promise, we remained\nin his house. And when the four months were at an end, we said to\nthat Br\u00e1hman, \"We are going away, so give us what we ask for, as\nyou long ago promised to do.\" He said, \"What is that?\" Then Sasin\npointed to me and said, \"Give your daughter to this man, who is our\nchief.\" Then the Br\u00e1hman Yajnasv\u00e1min, being bound by his promise,\nthought, \"These fellows have tricked me; never mind; there can be no\nharm in it; he is a deserving youth.\" So he gave me his daughter with\nthe usual ceremonies.\n\nAnd when night came, I said laughing to the bride in the bridal\nchamber, \"Do you remember those warm and those cool mangoes?\" When she\nheard this, she recognised me, and said with a smile, \"Yes, country\nbumpkins are tricked in this way by city wits.\" Then I said to her,\n\"Rest you fair, city wit; I vow that I the country bumpkin will desert\nyou and go far away.\" When she heard this, she also made a vow, saying,\n\"I too am resolved, for my part, that a son of mine by you shall bring\nyou back again.\" When we had made one another these promises, she went\nto sleep with her face turned away, and I put my ring on her finger,\nwhile she was asleep. Then I went out, and joining my companions,\nstarted for my native city of Ujjayin\u00ed, wishing to make trial of\nher cleverness.\n\nThe Br\u00e1hman's daughter, not seeing me next morning, when she woke up,\nbut seeing a ring on her finger marked with my name, said to herself,\n\"So he has deserted me, and gone off; well, he has been as good as\nhis word; and I must keep mine too, dismissing all regrets. And I\nsee by this ring that his name is M\u00faladeva; so no doubt he is that\nvery M\u00faladeva, who is so renowned for cunning. And people say that\nhis permanent home is Ujjayin\u00ed; so I must go there, and accomplish\nmy object by an artifice.\" When she had made up her mind to this,\nshe went and made this false statement to her father, \"My father,\nmy husband has deserted me immediately after marriage; and how can I\nlive here happily without him; so I will go on a pilgrimage to holy\nwaters, and will so mortify this accursed body.\"\n\nHaving said this, and having wrung a permission from her unwilling\nfather, she started off from her house with her wealth and her\nattendants. She procured a splendid dress suitable to a het\u00e6ra, and\ntravelling along she reached Ujjayin\u00ed, and entered it as the chief\nbeauty of the world. And having arranged with her attendants every\ndetail of her scheme, that young Br\u00e1hman lady assumed the name of\nSumangal\u00e1. And her servants proclaimed everywhere, \"A het\u00e6ra named\nSumangal\u00e1 has come from K\u00e1mar\u00fapa, and her goodwill is only to be\nprocured by the most lavish expenditure.\"\n\nThen a distinguished het\u00e6ra of Ujjayin\u00ed, named Devadatt\u00e1, came to\nher, and gave her her own palace worthy of a king, to dwell in by\nherself. And when she was established there, my friend Sasin first\nsent a message to her by a servant, saying, \"Accept a present from me\nwhich is won by your great reputation.\" But Sumangal\u00e1 sent back this\nmessage by the servant, \"The lover who obeys my commands may enter\nhere: I do not care for a present, nor for other beast-like men.\" Sasin\naccepted the terms, and repaired at night-fall to her palace.\n\nAnd when he came to the first door of the palace, and had himself\nannounced, the door-keeper said to him, \"Obey our lady's commands. Even\nthough you may have bathed, you must bathe again here; otherwise\nyou cannot be admitted.\" When Sasin heard this, he agreed to bathe\nagain as he was bid. Then he was bathed and anointed all over by her\nfemale slaves, in private, and while this was going on, the first\nwatch of the night passed away. When he arrived, having bathed,\nat the second door, the door-keeper said to him, \"You have bathed;\nnow adorn yourself appropriately.\" He consented, and thereupon the\nlady's female slaves adorned him, and meanwhile the second watch of the\nnight came to an end. Then he reached the door of the third zone, and\nthere the guards said to him, \"Take a meal, and then enter.\" He said\n\"Very well,\" and then the female slaves managed to delay him with\nvarious dishes until the third watch passed away. Then he reached\nat last the fourth door, that of the lady's private apartments,\nbut there the door-keeper reproached him in the following words,\n\"Away, boorish suitor, lest you draw upon yourself misfortune. Is the\nlast watch of the night a proper time for paying the first visit to\na lady?\" When Sasin had been turned away in this contemptuous style\nby the warder, who seemed like an incarnation of untimeliness, he\nwent away home with countenance sadly fallen.\n\nIn the same way that Br\u00e1hman's daughter, who had assumed the name\nof Sumangal\u00e1, disappointed many other visitors. When I heard of\nit, I was moved with curiosity, and after sending a messenger to\nand fro I went at night splendidly adorned to her house. There I\npropitiated the warders at every door with magnificent presents,\nand I reached without delay the private apartments of that lady. And\nas I had arrived in time I was allowed by the door-keepers to pass\nthe door, and I entered and saw my wife, whom I did not recognise,\nowing to her being disguised as a het\u00e6ra. But she knew me again,\nand she advanced towards me, and paid me all the usual civilities,\nmade me sit down on a couch, and treated me with the attentions of a\ncunning het\u00e6ra. Then I passed the night with that wife of mine, who\nwas the most beautiful woman of the world, and I became so attached\nto her, that I could not leave the house in which she was staying.\n\nShe too was devoted to me, and never left my side, until, after some\ndays, the blackness of the tips of her breasts shewed that she was\npregnant. Then the clever woman forged a letter, and shewed it to me,\nsaying, \"The king my sovereign has sent me a letter: read it.\" Then\nI opened the letter and read as follows, \"The august sovereign of the\nfortunate K\u00e1mar\u00fapa, M\u00e1nasinha, sends thence this order to Sumangal\u00e1,\n'Why do you remain so long absent? Return quickly, dismissing your\ndesire of seeing foreign countries.'\"\n\nWhen I had read this letter, she said to me with affected grief,\n\"I must depart; do not be angry with me; I am subject to the will of\nothers.\" Having made this false excuse, she returned to her own city\nP\u00e1taliputra: but I did not follow her, though deeply in love with her,\nas I supposed that she was not her own mistress.\n\nAnd when she was in P\u00e1taliputra, she gave birth in due time to a\nson. And that boy grew up and learned all the accomplishments. And\nwhen he was twelve years old, that boy in a childish freak happened\nto strike with a creeper a fisherman's son of the same age. When the\nfisherman's son was beaten, he flew in a passion and said, \"You beat\nme, though nobody knows who your father is; for your mother roamed\nabout in foreign lands, and you were born to her by some husband or\nother.\" [825]\n\nWhen this was said to the boy, he was put to shame; so he went and\nsaid to his mother, \"Mother, who and where is my father? Tell me!\" Then\nhis mother, the daughter of the Br\u00e1hman, reflected a moment, and said\nto him, \"Your father's name is M\u00faladeva: he deserted me, and went to\nUjjayin\u00ed.\" After she had said this, she told him her whole story from\nthe beginning. Then the boy said to her, \"Mother, then I will go and\nbring my father back a captive; I will make your promise good.\"\n\nHaving said this to his mother, and having been told by her how\nto recognise me, the boy set out thence, and reached this city of\nUjjayin\u00ed. And he came and saw me playing dice in the gambling-hall,\nmaking certain of my identity from the description his mother had given\nhim, and he conquered in play all who were there. And he astonished\nevery one there by shewing such remarkable cunning, though he was\na mere child. Then he gave away to the needy all the money he had\nwon at play. And at night he artfully came and stole my bedstead\nfrom under me, letting me gently down on a heap of cotton, while I\nwas asleep. So when I woke up, and saw myself on a heap of cotton,\nwithout a bedstead, I was at once filled with mixed feelings of shame,\namusement and astonishment.\n\nThen, king, I went at my leisure to the market-place, and roaming\nabout, I saw that boy there selling the bedstead. So I went up to him\nand said, \"For what price will you give me this bedstead?\" Then the\nboy said to me, \"You cannot get the bedstead for money, crest-jewel\nof cunning ones; but you may get it by telling some strange and\nwonderful story.\" When I heard that, I said to him, \"Then I will tell\nyou a marvellous tale. And if you understand it and admit that it is\nreally true, you may keep the bedstead; but if you say that it is not\ntrue and that you do not believe it, [826] you will be illegitimate,\nand I shall get back the bedstead. On this condition I agree to tell\nyou a marvel; and now listen!--Formerly there was a famine in the\nkingdom of a certain king; that king himself cultivated the back of\nthe beloved of the boar with great loads of spray from the chariots\nof the snakes. Enriched with the grain thus produced the king put a\nstop to the famine among his subjects, and gained the esteem of men.\"\n\nWhen I said this, the boy laughed and said, \"The chariots of the\nsnakes are clouds; the beloved of the boar is the earth, for she\nis said to have been most dear to Vishnu in his Boar incarnation;\nand what is there to be astonished at in the fact that rain from the\nclouds made grain to spring on the earth?\"\n\nWhen the cunning boy had said this, he went on to say to me, who was\nastonished at his cleverness, \"Now I will tell you a strange tale. If\nyou understand it, and admit that it is really true, I will give you\nback this bedstead, otherwise you shall be my slave.\"\n\nI answered \"Agreed;\" and then the cunning boy said this, \"Prince of\nknowing ones, there was born long ago on this earth a wonderful boy,\nwho, as soon as he was born, made the earth tremble with the weight\nof his feet, and when he grew bigger, stepped into another world.\"\n\nWhen the boy said this, I, not knowing what he meant, answered him,\n\"It is false; there is not a word of truth in it.\" Then the boy said\nto me, \"Did not Vishnu, as soon as he was born, stride across the\nearth, in the form of a dwarf, and make it tremble? And did he not,\non that same occasion, grow bigger, and step into heaven? So you\nhave been conquered by me, and reduced to slavery. And these people\npresent in the market are witnesses to our agreement. So, wherever\nI go, you must come along with me.\" When the resolute boy had said\nthis, he laid hold of my arm with his hand; and all the people there\ntestified to the justice of his claim.\n\nThen, having made me his prisoner, bound by my own agreement, he,\naccompanied by his attendants, took me to his mother in the city\nof P\u00e1taliputra. And then his mother looked at him, and said to me,\n\"My husband, my promise has to-day been made good, I have had you\nbrought here by a son of mine begotten by you.\" When she had said this,\nshe related the whole story in the presence of all.\n\nThen all her relations respectfully congratulated her on having\naccomplished her object by her wisdom, and on having had her disgrace\nwiped out by her son. And I, having been thus fortunate, lived there\nfor a long time with that wife, and that son, and then returned to\nthis city of Ujjayin\u00ed.\n\n\"So you see, king, honourable matrons are devoted to their husbands,\nand it is not the case that all women are always bad.\" When king\nVikram\u00e1ditya had heard this speech from the mouth of M\u00faladeva, he\nrejoiced with his ministers. Thus hearing, and seeing, and doing\nwonders, that king Vikram\u00e1ditya [827] conquered and enjoyed all the\ndivisions of the earth.\n\n\"When the hermit Kanva had told during the night this story of\nVishamas\u00edla, dealing with separations and reunions, he went on to\nsay to me who was cut off from the society of Madanamanchuk\u00e1; 'Thus\ndo unexpected separations and reunions of beings take place, and so\nyou, Narav\u00e1hanadatta, shall soon be reunited to your beloved. Have\nrecourse to patience, and you shall enjoy for a long time, son of the\nking of Vatsa, surrounded by your wives and ministers, the position of\na beloved emperor of the Vidy\u00e1dharas.' This admonition of the hermit\nKanva enabled me to recover patience; and so I got through my time of\nseparation, and I gradually obtained wives, magic, science, and the\nsovereignty over the Vidy\u00e1dharas. And I told you before, great hermits,\nhow I obtained all these by the favour of Siva, the giver of boons.\"\n\nBy telling this his tale, in the hermitage of Kasyapa, Narav\u00e1hanadatta\ndelighted his mother's brother Gop\u00e1laka and all the hermits. And after\nhe had passed there the days of the rainy season, he took leave of his\nuncle and the hermits in the grove of asceticism, and mounting his\nchariot, departed thence with his wives and his ministers, filling\nthe air with the hosts of his Vidy\u00e1dharas. And in course of time he\nreached the mountain of Rishabha his dwelling-place; and he remained\nthere delighting in the enjoyments of empire, in the midst of the\nkings of the Vidy\u00e1dharas, with queen Madanamanchuk\u00e1, and Ratnaprabh\u00e1\nand his other wives; and his life lasted for a kalpa.\n\nThis is the story called Vrihatkath\u00e1, told long ago, on the summit\nof mount Kail\u00e1sa, by the undaunted [828] Siva, at the request of\nthe daughter of the Him\u00e1laya, and then widely diffused in the world\nby Pushpadanta and his fellows, who were born on the earth wearing\nthe forms of K\u00e1ty\u00e1yana and others, in consequence of a curse. And on\nthat occasion that god her husband attached the following blessing\nto this tale, \"Whoever reads this tale that issued from my mouth,\nand whoever listens to it with attention, and whoever possesses it,\nshall soon be released from his sins, and triumphantly attain the\ncondition of a splendid Vidy\u00e1dhara, and enter my everlasting world.\"\n\n\n\n END OF THE COLLECTION OF TALES CALLED THE KATH\u00c1 SARIT S\u00c1GARA.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nNOTES TO VOLUME I\n\n\n[1] Dr. Brockhaus explains this of Ganesa, he is probably associated\nwith Siva in the dance. So the poet invokes two gods, Siva and Ganesa,\nand one goddess Sarasvat\u00ed, the goddess of speech and learning.\n\n[2] S\u00edtk\u00e1ra a sound made by drawing in the breath, expressive of\npleasure.\n\n[3] There is a double meaning: pad\u00e1rtha also means words and their\nmeanings.\n\n[4] Possibly the meaning is that the mountain covers many thousand\nyojanas.\n\n[5] This mountain served the gods and Asuras as a churning stick at\nthe churning of the ocean for the recovery of the Amrita and fourteen\nother precious things lost during the deluge.\n\n[6] Siva himself wears a moon's crescent.\n\n[7] The Sanskrit word Asti meaning \"thus it is\" is a common\nintroduction to a tale.\n\n[8] The linga or phallus is a favourite emblem of Siva. Flame is one\nof his eight tanus or forms.\n\n[9] He was burnt up by the fire of Siva's eye.\n\n[10] Compare Kum\u00e1ra Sambhava Sarga V, line 86.\n\n[11] Reading tatsanchay\u00e1ya as one word. Dr. Brockhaus omits the\nline. Professor E. B. Cowell would read priyam for priye.\n\n[12] One of Siva's favourite attendants.\n\n[13] Attendants of Siva, presided over by Ganesa.\n\n[14] For the ativin\u00edta of Dr. Brockhaus's text I read avin\u00edta.\n\n[15] Pramatha, an attendant on Siva.\n\n[16] Kaus\u00e1mb\u00ed succeeded Hastin\u00e1pur as the capital of the emperors of\nIndia. Its precise site has not been ascertained, but it was probably\nsomewhere in the Doab\u00e1, or at any rate not far from the west bank\nof the Yamun\u00e1, as it bordered upon Magadha and was not far from the\nVindhya hills. It is said that there are ruins at Kar\u00e1li or Kar\u00e1ri\nabout 14 miles from Allah\u00e1b\u00e1d on the western road, which may indicate\nthe site of Kaus\u00e1mb\u00ed. It is possible also that the mounds of rubbish\nabout Karrah may conceal some vestiges of the ancient capital--a\ncircumstance rendered more probable by the inscription found there,\nwhich specifies Kata as comprised within Kaus\u00e1mba mandala or the\ndistrict of Kaus\u00e1mb\u00ed. [Note in Wilson's Essays, p. 163.] See note on\npage 281.\n\n[17] A tree of Indra's Paradise that grants all desires.\n\n[18] More literally, the goddess that dwells in the Vindhya hills. Her\nshrine is near Mirz\u00e1p\u00far.\n\n[19] Dr. Brockhaus makes parusha a proper name.\n\n[20] Ficus Indica.\n\n[21] Pum\u00e1n = Purusha, the spirit.\n\n[22] Prakriti, the original source or rather passive power of creating\nthe material world.\n\n[23] Praj\u00e1pati.\n\n[24] The spirit was of course Brahm\u00e1 whose head Siva cut off.\n\n[25] It appears from an article in M\u00e9lusine by A Bart, entitled An\nAncient Manual of Sorcery, and consisting mainly of passages translated\nfrom Burnell's S\u00e1mavidh\u00e1na Br\u00e1hmana, that this power can be acquired\nin the following way, \"After a fast of three nights, take a plant of\nsoma (Asclepias acida;) recite a certain formula and eat of the plant\na thousand times, you will be able to repeat anything after hearing\nit once. Or bruise the flowers in water, and drink the mixture for a\nyear. Or drink soma, that is to say the fermented juice of the plant\nfor a month. Or do it always.\" (M\u00e9lusine, 1878, p. 107; II, 7, 4-7.)\n\nIn the Milinda Pa\u00f1ho, (Pali Miscellany by V. Trenckner, Part. I,\np. 14,) the child N\u00e1gasena learns the whole of the three Vedas by\nhearing them repeated once.\n\n[26] A grammatical treatise on the rules regulating the euphonic\ncombination of letters and their pronunciation peculiar to one of\nthe different S\u00e1kh\u00e1s or branches of the Vedas.--M. W. s. v.\n\n[27] i. e., died.\n\n[28] Here we have a pun which it is impossible to render in\nEnglish. An\u00e1tha means without natural protectors and also poor.\n\n[29] Taking chh\u00e1y\u00e1 in the sense of sobh\u00e1. It might mean \"affording\nno shelter to the inmates.\"\n\n[30] Dr. Brockhaus translates the line--Von diesem wurde ich meinem\nManne verm\u00e4hlt, um seinem Hauswesen vorzustehen.\n\n[31] Like the Roman fascinum. guhya = phallus.\n\n[32] I read tat for t\u00e1h according to a conjecture of Professor\nE. B. Cowell's. He informs me on the authority of Dr. Rost that the\nonly variants are s\u00e1 for t\u00e1h and yoshit\u00e1 for yoshitah. Dr. Rost would\ntake evamkrite as the dative of evamkrit. If t\u00e1h be retained it may\nbe taken as a repetition \"having thus prepared it, I say, the women\ngive it.\" Professor Cowell would translate (if t\u00e1h be retained)\n\"the women then do not need to receive anything to relieve their\nfatigue during the cold and hot weather.\"\n\nProfessor E. B. Cowell has referred me to an article by Dr. Liebrecht\nin the Zeitschrift der Morgenl\u00e4ndischen Gesellschaft.\n\nHe connects the custom with that of the Jewish women mentioned in\nJeremiah VII. 18, \"The women knead their dough to make cakes to\nthe queen of heaven,\" and he quotes a curious custom practised on\nPalm Sunday in the town of Saintes. Dulaure states that in his time\nthe festival was called there La f\u00eate des Pinnes; the women and\nchildren carried in the procession a phallus made of bread, which\nthey called a pinne, at the end of their palm branches; those pinnes\nwere subsequently blessed by the priest, and carefully preserved by\nthe women during the year. This article has been republished by the\nlearned author in his \"Zur Volkskunde\" (Heilbronn, 1879) p. 436 and\nf f. under the title of \"der aufgegessene Gott.\" It contains many\ninteresting parallels to the custom described in the text.\n\n[33] Literally bodiless--she heard the voice, but saw no man.\n\n[34] Vara = excellent ruch = to please.\n\n[35] I. e. Palibothra.\n\n[36] Wilson remarks (Essays on Sanskrit Literature, Vol. I,\np. 165). \"The contemporary existence of Nanda with Vararuchi and Vy\u00e1di\nis a circumstance of considerable interest in the literary history\nof the Hindus, as the two latter are writers of note on philological\ntopics. Vararuchi is also called in this work K\u00e1ty\u00e1yana, who is one of\nthe earliest commentators on P\u00e1nini. Nanda is the predecessor or one\nof the predecessors of Chandragupta or Sandrakottos; and consequently\nthe chief institutes of Sanskrit grammar are thus dated from the\nfourth century before the Christian era. We need not suppose that\nSomadeva took the pains to be exact here; but it is satisfactory\nto be made acquainted with the general impressions of a writer who\nhas not been biassed in any of his views by Paur\u00e1nik legends and\npreposterous chronology.\"\n\n[37] I. e., of learning and material prosperity.\n\n[38] Literally the gate of the Ganges: it is now well known under\nthe name of Haridv\u00e1r (Hurdwar).\n\n[39] Dr. Brockhaus renders the passage \"wo Siva die Jahnav\u00ed im goldenen\nFalle von den Gipfeln des Berges Us\u00ednara herabsandte.\"\n\n[40] Skanda is K\u00e1rtikeya and his mother is of course Durg\u00e1 or P\u00e1rvat\u00ed\nthe consort of Siva.\n\n[41] This may be compared with Grimm's No. 60, \"Die zwei Br\u00fcder.\" Each\nof the brothers finds every day a gold piece under his pillow. In one\nof Waldau's B\u00f6hmische M\u00e4rchen, Vogelkopf und Vogelherz (p. 90) a boy\nnamed Fortunat eats the heart of the Gl\u00fccksvogel and under his pillow\nevery day are found three ducats. See also Der Vogel Goldschweif,\nin Gaal's M\u00e4rchen der Magyaren, p. 195.\n\n[42] In this case the austerities which he had performed in a former\nbirth to propitiate Siva.\n\n[43] This story is, according to Dr. Rajendra L\u00e1l Mitra, found in a\nMS. called the Bodhisattva Avad\u00e1na. (Account of the Buddhist Literature\nof Nepal, p. 53).\n\n[44] I. e., bali, a portion of the daily meal offered to creatures of\nevery description, especially the household spirits. Practically the\nbali generally falls to some crow, hence that bird is called balibhuj.\n\n[45] A similar incident is found in Grimm's Fairy Tales translated by\nMrs. Paull, p. 370. The hero of the tale called the Crystal Ball finds\ntwo giants fighting for a little hat. On his expressing his wonder,\n\"Ah\", they replied, \"you call it old, you do not know its value. It\nis what is called a wishing-hat, and whoever puts it on can wish\nhimself where he will, and immediately he is there.\" \"Give me the hat,\"\nreplied the young man, \"I will go on a little way and when I call you\nmust both run a race to overtake me, and whoever reaches me first,\nto him the hat shall belong.\" The giants agreed and the youth taking\nthe hat put it on and went away; but he was thinking so much of the\nprincess that he forgot the giants and the hat, and continued to go\nfurther and further without calling them. Presently he sighed deeply\nand said, \"Ah, if I were only at the Castle of the golden sun.\"\n\nWilson (Collected Works, Vol. III, p. 169, note,) observes that\n\"the story is told almost in the same words in the Bah\u00e1r D\u00e1nish,\na purse being substituted for the rod; Jah\u00e1nd\u00e1r obtains possession\nof it, as well as the cup, and slippers in a similar manner. Weber\n[Eastern Romances, Introduction, p. 39] has noticed the analogy which\nthe slippers bear to the cap of Fortunatus. The inexhaustible purse,\nalthough not mentioned here, is of Hindu origin also, and a fraudulent\nrepresentative of it makes a great figure in one of the stories of\nthe Dasa Kum\u00e1ra Charita\" [ch. 2, see also L. Deslongchamps Essai sur\nles Fables Indiennes, Paris, 1838, p. 35 f. and Gr\u00e4sse, Sagen des\nMittelalters, Leipzig, 1842, p. 19 f.] The additions between brackets\nare due to Dr. Reinholdt Rost the editor of Wilson's Essays.\n\nThe Mongolian form of the story may be found in Sagas from the Far\nEast, p. 24. A similar incident is also found in the Swedish story\nin Thorpe's Scandinavian Tales, entitled \"the Beautiful Palace East\nof the Sun and North of the Earth.\" A youth acquires boots by means\nof which he can go a hundred miles at every step, and a cloak, that\nrenders him invisible, in a very similar way.\n\nI find that in the notes in Grimm's 3rd Volume, page 168, (edition\nof 1856) the passage in Somadeva is referred to, and other parallels\ngiven. The author of these notes compares a Swedish story in Cavallius,\np. 182, and Pr\u00f6hle, Kinderm\u00e4rchen, No. 22. He also quotes from the\nSidi K\u00fcr, the story to which I have referred in Sagas from the Far\nEast, and compares a Norwegian story in Ashbj\u00f6rnsen, pp. 53, 171,\na Hungarian story in Mailath and Gaal, N. 7, and an Arabian tale in\nthe continuation of the 1001 Nights. See also Sicilianische M\u00e4rchen\nby Laura Gonzenbach, Part I, Story 31. Here we have a table-cloth,\na purse, and a pipe. When the table-cloth is spread out one has\nonly to say--Dear little table-cloth, give macaroni or roast-meat\nor whatever may be required, and it is immediately present. The\npurse will supply as much money as one asks it for, and the pipe is\nsomething like that of the pied piper of Hamelin,--every one who\nhears it must dance. Dr. K\u00f6hler in his notes, at the end of Laura\nGonzenbach's collection, compares (besides the story of Fortunatus,\nand Grimm III. 202,) Zingerle, Kinder- und Hausm\u00e4rchen, II. 73 and\n193. Curze, Popular Traditions from Waldock, p. 34. Gesta Romanorum,\nChap. 120. Campbell's Highland Tales, No. 10, and many others. The\nshoes in our present story may also be compared with the bed in the\nIXth Novel of the Xth day of the Decameron.\n\nSee also Ralston's Russian Folk-Tales, p. 230 and Veckenstedt's\nWendische Sagen, p. 152.\n\nSee also the story of \"Die Kaiserin Trebisonda\" in a collection\nof South Italian tales by Woldemar Kaden, entitled \"Unter den\nOlivenb\u00e4umen\" and published in 1880. The hero of this story plays\nthe same trick as Putraka, and gains thereby an inexhaustible purse,\na pair of boots which enable the wearer to run like the wind, and a\nmantle of invisibility. See also \"Beutel, M\u00e4ntelchen und Wunderhorn\"\nin the same collection, and No. XXII in Miss Stokes's Indian Fairy\nTales. The story is found in the Avad\u00e1nas translated by Stanislas\nJulien: (L\u00e9v\u00eaque, Mythes et L\u00e9gendes de L'Inde et de la Perse, p. 570,\nLiebrecht, Zur Volkskunde, p. 117.) M. L\u00e9v\u00eaque thinks that La Fontaine\nwas indebted to it for his Fable of L' Hu\u00eetre et les Plaideurs. See\nalso De Gubernatis, Zoological Mythology, Vol. I, pp. 126-127, and 162.\n\nWe find a magic ring, brooch and cloth in No. XLIV of the English\nGesta. See also Syrische Sagen und M\u00e4rchen, von Eugen Prym und\nAlbert Socin, p. 79, where there is a flying carpet. There is a magic\ntable-cloth in the Bohemian Story of B\u00fcsmanda, (Waldau, p. 44) and a\nmagic pot on p. 436 of the same collection; and a food-providing mesa\nin the Portuguese story of A Cacheirinha (Coelho, Contos Portuguezes,\np. 58). In the Pentamerone No. 42 there is a magic chest. Kuhn has\nsome remarks on the \"Tischchen deck dich\" of German tales in his\nWestf\u00e4lische M\u00e4rchen, Vol. I, p. 369.\n\nFor a similar artifice to Putraka's, see the story entitled\nFischer-M\u00e4rchen in Gaal, M\u00e4rchen der Magyaren, p. 168, Waldau,\nB\u00f6hmische M\u00e4rchen, pp. 260 and 564, and Dasent's Norse Tales, pp. 213\nand 214.\n\n[46] Compare the way in which Zauberer Vergilius carries off the\ndaughter of the Sult\u00e1n of Babylon, and founds the town of Naples,\nwhich he makes over to her and her children: (Simrock's Deutsche\nVolksb\u00fccher, Vol. VI, pp. 354, 355.) Dunlop is of opinion that the\nmedi\u00e6val traditions about Vergil are largely derived from Oriental\nsources.\n\n[47] I. e., infantry, cavalry, elephants, and archers.\n\n[48] Literally she was splendid with a full bosom, ... glorious with\ncoral lips. For uttama in the 1st half of sloka 6 I read upama.\n\n[49] Considered to be indicative of exalted fortune.--Monier Williams.\n\n[50] The bimba being an Indian fruit, this expression may he paralleled\nby \"currant lip\" in the Two Noble Kinsmen I. I. 216 or \"cherry lip\"\nRich. III. I. I. 94.\n\n[51] Goddess of eloquence and learning.\n\n[52] See Dr. Burnett's \"Aindra grammar\" for the bearing of this\npassage on the history of Sanskrit literature.\n\n[53] And will not observe you.\n\n[54] Instead of the walls of a seraglio.\n\n[55] This story occurs in Scott's Additional Arabian Nights as the\nLady of Cairo and her four Gallants, [and in his Tales and Anecdotes,\nShrewsbury, 1800, p. 136, as the story of the Merchant's wife and\nher suitors]. It is also one of the Persian tales of Arouya [day 146\nff.]. It is a story of ancient celebrity in Europe as Constant du Hamel\nor la Dame qui attrapa un Pr\u00eatre, un Pr\u00e9v\u00f4t et un Forestier [Le Grand\nd'Aussy, Fabliaux et Contes. Paris, 1829, Vol. IV, pp. 246-56]. It\nis curious that the Fabliau alone agrees with the Hindu original in\nputting the lovers out of the way and disrobing them by the plea of\nthe bath. (Note in Wilson's Essays on Sanskrit Literature, edited by\nDr. Rost, Vol. I, p. 173.) See also a story contributed by the late\nMr. Damant to the Indian Antiquary, Vol. IX, pp. 2 and 3, and the\nXXVIIIth story in Indian Fairy Tales collected and translated by Miss\nStokes, with the note at the end of the volume. General Cunningham is\nof opinion that the d\u00e9nouement of this story is represented in one of\nthe Bharhut Sculptures; see his St\u00fapa of Bharhut, p. 53. A faint echo\nof this story is found in Gonzenbach's Sicilianische M\u00e4rchen, No. 55,\npp. 359-362. Cp. also No. 72(b) in the Novell\u00e6 Morlini. (Liebrecht's\nDunlop, p. 497.)\n\nCp. the 67th Story in Coelho's Contos Populares Portuguezes, and\nthe 29th in the Pentamerone of Basile. There is a somewhat similar\nstory in the English Gesta (Herrtage, No. XXV) in which three knights\nare killed.\n\nA very similar story is quoted in M\u00e9lusine, p. 178, from Thorburn's\nBannu or our Afghan Frontier.\n\n[56] Dr. Brockhaus translates \"alle drei mit unsern Sch\u00fclern.\"\n\n[57] This forms the leading event of the story of Fadlallah in the\nPersian tales. The dervish there avows his having acquired the faculty\nof animating a dead body from an aged Br\u00e1hman in the Indies. (Wilson.)\n\n[58] Compare the story in the Panchatantra, Benfey's Translation,\np. 124, of the king who lost his body but eventually recovered\nit. Benfey in Vol. I, page 128, refers to some European\nparallels. Liebrecht in his Zur Volkskunde, p. 206, mentions a story\nfound in Apollonius (Historia Mirabilium) which forms a striking\nparallel to this. According to Apollonius, the soul of Hermotimos\nof Klazomen\u00e6 left his body frequently, resided in different places,\nand uttered all kinds of predictions, returning to his body which\nremained in his house. At last some spiteful persons burnt his\nbody in the absence of his soul. There is a slight resemblance to\nthis story in Sagas from the Far East, p. 222. By this it may be\nconnected with a cycle of European tales about princes with ferine\nskin &c. Apparently a treatise has been written on this story by Herr\nVarnhagen. It is mentioned in the Saturday Review of 22nd July, 1882\nas, \"Ein Indisches M\u00e4rchen auf seiner Wanderung durch die Asiatischen\nund Europ\u00e4ischen Litteraturen.\"\n\n[59] Or Yogananda. So called as being Nanda by yoga or magic.\n\n[60] I read \u00e1sv\u00e1sya.\n\n[61] Compare this with the story of Ugolino in Dante's Inferno.\n\n[62] Dr. Liebrecht in Orient und Occident, Vol. I, p. 341 compares\nwith this story one in the old French romance of Merlin. There\nMerlin laughs because the wife of the emperor Julius C\u00e6sar had\ntwelve young men disguised as ladies-in-waiting. Benfey, in a note\non Dr. Liebrecht's article, compares with the story of Merlin one\nby the Countess D'Aulnoy, No. 36 of the Pentamerone of Basile,\nStraparola IV. I, and a story in the Suka Saptati. This he quotes\nfrom the translation of Demetrios Galanos. In this some cooked fish\nlaugh so that the whole town hears them. The reason is the same as\nin the story of Merlin and in our text.\n\n[63] Cp. the following passage in a Danish story called Svend's\nexploits, in Thorpe's Yuletide Stories, page 341. Just as he was going\nto sleep, twelve crows came flying and perched in the elder trees\nover Svend's head. They began to converse together, and the one told\nthe other what had happened to him that day. When they were about to\nfly away, one crow said, \"I am so hungry; where shall I get something\nto eat?\" \"We shall have food enough to-morrow when father has killed\nSvend,\" answered the crow's brother. \"Dost thou think then that such\na miserable fellow dares fight with our father?\" said another. \"Yes,\nit is probable enough that he will, but it will not profit him much as\nour father cannot be overcome but with the Man of the Mount's sword,\nand that hangs in the mound, within seven locked doors, before each of\nwhich are two fierce dogs that never sleep.\" Svend thus learned that\nhe should only be sacrificing his strength and life in attempting a\ncombat with the dragon, before he had made himself master of the Man of\nthe Mount's sword. So Sigfrid hears two birds talking above his head\nin Hagen's Helden-Sagen, Vol. I, p. 345. In the story of Lalit\u00e1nga\nextracted by Professor Nilmani Mukerjea from a collection of Jaina\ntales called the Kath\u00e1 Kosha, and printed in his S\u00e1hitya Parichaya,\nPart II, we have a similar incident.\n\n[64] Compare the \"mole cinque-spotted\" in Cymbeline.\n\n[65] Compare Measure for Measure.\n\n[66] Cp. the story of OEdipus and the Mah\u00e1bh\u00e1rata, Vanaparvan,\nC. 312. where Yudhishthira is questioned by a Yaksha. Benfey compares\nMah\u00e1bh\u00e1rata XIII (IV, 206) 5883-5918 where a Br\u00e1hman seized by a\nR\u00e1kshasa escaped in the same way. The reader will find similar\nquestioning demons described in Veckenstedt's Wendische Sagen,\npp. 54-56, and 109.\n\n[67] Reading chuddhis for the chudis of Dr. Brockhaus' text.\n\n[68] S\u00e2manta seems to mean a feudatory or dependent prince.\n\n[69] Benfey considers that this story was originally Buddhistic. A very\nsimilar story is quoted by him from the Karmasataka. (Panchatantra I,\np. 209) cp. also c. 65 of this work.\n\n[70] Probably his foot bled, and so he contracted defilement.\n\n[71] The preceptor of the gods.\n\n[72] See the Mudr\u00e1 R\u00e1kshasa for another version of this story. (Wilson,\nHindu Theatre, Vol. II.) Wilson remarks that the story is also told\ndifferently in the Pur\u00e1nas.\n\n[73] Sanskrit, Pr\u00e1krit and his own native dialect.\n\n[74] I change Dr. Brockhaus's S\u00e1k\u00e1sana into S\u00e1k\u00e1sana.\n\n[75] As, according to my reading, he ate vegetables, his blood was\nturned into the juice of vegetables. Dr. Brockhaus translates machte\ndass das herausstr\u00f6mende Blut zu Krystallen sich bildete.\n\n[76] A celebrated place of pilgrimage near the source of the Ganges,\nthe Bhadrinath of modern travellers. (Monier Williams, s. v.)\n\n[77] Pratishth\u00e1na according to Wilson is celebrated as the capital\nof Saliv\u00e1hana. It is identifiable with Peytan on the God\u00e1var\u00ed, the\nBathana or Paithana of Ptolemy,--the capital of Siripolemaios. Wilson\nidentifies this name with Saliv\u00e1hana, but Dr. Rost remarks that Lassen\nmore correctly identifies it with that of Sr\u00ed Pulim\u00e1n of the Andhra\ndynasty who reigned at Pratishth\u00e1na after the overthrow of the house\nof Saliv\u00e1hana about 130 A. D.\n\n[78] Fabulous serpent-demons having the head of a man with the tail\nof a serpent.--(Monier Williams, s. v.)\n\n[79] It seems to me that tvam in Dr. Brockhaus' text must be a misprint\nfor tam.\n\n[80] I. e., rich in virtues, and good qualities.\n\n[81] From the Greek d\u00eanarion = denarius. (Monier Williams s. v.) Dramma\n= Gr. drachm\u00ea is used in the Panchatantra; see Dr. B\u00fchler's Notes to\nPanchatantra, IV and V, Note on p. 40, l. 3.\n\n[82] Literally wood-carriers.\n\n[83] He had made money without capital, so his achievements are\ncompared to pictures suspended in the air?\n\n[84] hetaira.\n\n[85] The vita or rou\u00e9 meant \"conciliation\" but the chanter of the\nS\u00e1ma Veda took it to mean \"hymn.\"\n\n[86] I. e., seize him with curved hand, and fling him out neck and\ncrop. The Precentor supposed them to mean a crescent-headed arrow.\n\n[87] I.e., rich in accomplishments.\n\n[88] Indra's pleasure-ground or Elysium. For a similar Zaubergarten see\nLiebrecht's translation of Dunlop's History of Fiction, p. 251, and\nnote 325; and Gonzenbach's Sicilianische M\u00e4rchen, Vol. I, p. 224. To\nthis latter story there is a very close parallel in J\u00e1taka No. 220,\n(Fausb\u00f6ll, Vol. II, p. 188) where Sakko makes a garden for the\nBodhisattva, who is threatened with death by the king, if it is\nnot done.\n\n[89] Guhyaka here synonymous with Yaksha. The Guhyakas like the\nYakshas are attendants upon Kuvera the god of wealth.\n\n[90] The tilaka a mark made upon the forehead or between the eyebrows\nwith coloured earths, sandal-wood, &c., serving as an ornament or a\nsectarial distinction. Monier Williams s. v.\n\n[91] The negative particle m\u00e1 coalesces with udakaih (the plural\ninstrumental case of udaka) into modakaih, and modakaih (the single\nword) means \"with sweetmeats.\" The incident is related in T\u00e1r\u00e1n\u00e1tha's\nGeschichte des Buddhismus in Indien, uebersetzt von Schiefner, p. 74.\n\n[92] So explained by B\u00f6htlingk and Roth s. v. cp. Taranga 72 sl. 103.\n\n[93] He afterwards learns to speak in the language of the Pis\u00e1chas,\ngoblins, or ogres.\n\n[94] Called also Kum\u00e1ra. This was no doubt indicated by the Kum\u00e1ra\nor boy, who opened the lotus.\n\n[95] The ch\u00e1taka lives on rain-drops, but the poor swan has to take\na long journey to the M\u00e1nasa lake beyond the snowy hills, at the\napproach of the rainy season.\n\n[96] K\u00e1rtikeya.\n\n[97] More literally sprinkling her with water. See also the 60th Tale\nin Gonzenbach's Sicilianische M\u00e4rchen, Vol. II, p. 17.\n\n[98] Skanda is another name of K\u00e1rtikeya.\n\n[99] This grammar is extensively in use in the eastern parts of\nBengal. The rules are attributed to Sarvavarman, by the inspiration of\nK\u00e1rtikeya, as narrated in the text. The vritti or gloss is the work\nof Durg\u00e1 Singh and that again is commented on by Trilochana D\u00e1sa and\nKavir\u00e1ja. Vararuchi is the supposed author of an illustration of the\nConjugations and Sr\u00edpati Varm\u00e1 of a Supplement. Other Commentaries\nare attributed to Gop\u00ed N\u00e1tha, Kula Chandra and Visvesvara. (Note in\nWilson's Essays, Vol. I. p. 183.)\n\n[100] Rishis.\n\n[101] Sansk\u00e1ra means tendency produced by some past influence, often\nworks in a former birth. This belief seems to be very general in Wales,\nsee Wirt Sikes, British Goblins, p. 113. See also Kuhn's Herabkunft des\nFeuers, p. 93, De Gubernatis, Zoological Mythology, Vol. II, p. 285.\n\n[102] For the idea cp. Shakespeare, Hamlet, Act I. Sc. 1. (towards\nthe end) and numerous other passages in the same author.\n\n[103] Brockhaus renders it Fromme, Helden und Weise.\n\n[104] Vaisv\u00e1nara is an epithet of Agni or Fire.\n\n[105] Siva.\n\n[106] Cp. the 1st story in the Vet\u00e1la Panchavinsati, Chapter 75 of\nthis work. See also Ralston's Russian Folk-Tales, p. 241, where Prince\nIvan by the help of his tutor Katoma propounds to the Princess Anna\nthe fair, a riddle which enables him to win her as his wife.\n\n[107] The god of justice.\n\n[108] Benfey considers this story as Buddhistic in its origin. In the\n\"Memoires Sur les Contr\u00e9es Occidentales traduits du Sanscrit par Hiouen\nThsang et du Chinois par Stanislas Julien\" we are expressly told\nthat Gautama Buddha gave his flesh to the hawk as Sivi in a former\nstate of existence. It is told of many other persons, see Benfey's\nPanchatantra, Vol. I, p. 388, cp. also Campbell's West Highland Tales,\np. 239, Vol. I, Tale XVI. M. L\u00e9v\u00eaque (Les Mythes et L\u00e9gendes de L'Inde\np. 327) connects this story with that of Philemon and Baucis. He lays\nparticular stress upon the following lines of Ovid:\n\n\n Unicus anser erat, minim\u00e6 custodia vill\u00e6\n Quem D\u00ees hospitibus domini mactare parabant:\n Ille celer penna tardos \u00e6tate fatigat,\n Eluditque diu, tandemquo est visus ad ipsos\n Confugisse deos. Superi vetuere necari.\n\n\nSee also Gubernatis, Zoological Mythology, Vol. II, pp. 187, 297\nand 414.\n\n[109] I. e., Siva.\n\n[110] Vrihat Kath\u00e1.\n\n[111] Compare the story of Orpheus.\n\n[112] It is unnecessary to remind the reader of the story of the Sibyl.\n\n[113] I. e., Durg\u00e1.\n\n[114] I believe this refers to Arjuna's combat with the god when he\nhad assumed the form of a Kir\u00e1ta or mountaineer. Siva is here called\nTripur\u00e1ri, the enemy or destroyer of Tripura. Dr. Brockhaus renders\nit quite differently.\n\n[115] Composed of rice, milk, sugar and spices.\n\n[116] Certain female divinities who reside in the sky and are the\nwives of the Gandharvas. Monier Williams, s. v.\n\n[117] Brahm\u00e1. He emerges from a lotus growing from the navel of Vishnu.\n\n[118] In the word sasnehe there is probably a pun; sneha meaning love,\nand also oil.\n\n[119] The charioteer of Indra.\n\n[120] For illustrations of this bath of blood see Dunlop's Liebrecht,\npage 135, and the note at the end of the book. The story of Der arme\nHeinrich, to which Liebrecht refers, is to be found in the VIth Volume\nof Simrock's Deutsche Volksb\u00fccher. Cp. the story of Amys and Amylion,\nEllis's Early English Romances, pp. 597 and 598, the Pentamerone of\nBasile, Vol. I, p. 367; Prym and Socin's Syrische M\u00e4rchen, p. 73;\nGrohmann's Sagen aus B\u00f6hmen, p. 268; Gonzenbach's Sicilianische\nM\u00e4rchen, p. 354, with Dr. K\u00f6hler's notes.\n\n[121] This is the Roc or Rokh of Arabian romance, agreeing in the\nmultiplicity of individuals as well as their propensity for raw flesh.\n\n(See Sindbad's Voyages ed. Langl\u00e8s, p. 149.) The latter characteristic,\nto the subversion of all poetical fancies, has acquired, it may be\nsupposed, for the Adjutant (Ardea Argila) the name of Garuda. A\nwundervogel is the property of all people, and the Garuda of the\nHindoos is represented by the Eorosh of the Zend, Simoorgh of the\nPersians, the Anka of the Arabs, the Kerkes of the Turks, the Kirni\nof the Japanese, the sacred dragon of the Chinese, the Griffin of\nChivalry, the Phoenix of classical fable, the wise and ancient bird\nthat sits upon the ash Yggdrasil of the Edda, and according to Faber\nwith all the rest is a misrepresentation of the holy cherubim that\nguarded the gate of Paradise. Some writers have even traced the\ntwelve knights of the round table to the twelve Rocs of Persian\nstory. (Wilson's Essays, Vol. I, pp. 192, 193, note.)\n\nGigantic birds that feed on raw flesh are mentioned by the\nPseudo-Callisthenes, Book II, ch. 41. Alexander gets on the back of\none of them, and is carried into the air, guiding his bird by holding\na piece of liver in front of it. He is warned by a winged creature in\nhuman shape to proceed no further, and descends again to earth. See\nalso Liebrecht's Dunlop, p. 143 and note. See also Birlinger, Aus\nSchwaben, pp. 5, 6, 7. He compares Pacolet's horse in the story of\nValentine and Orson.\n\n[122] A wild mountaineer. Dr. B\u00fchler observes that the names of these\ntribes are used very vaguely in Sanskrit story-books.\n\n[123] Sovereign of the snakes.\n\n[124] I. e., given by Fortune.\n\n[125] Cp. the story of Sattvas\u00edla, which is the seventh tale in\nthe Vet\u00e1la Panchavinsati, and will be found in Chapter 81 of this\nwork. Cp. also the story of Saktideva in Book V. ch. 26, and Ralston's\nremarks on it in his Russian Folk-Tales, p. 99.\n\n[126] Vishnu assumed the form of a dwarf and appeared before Bali,\nand asked for as much land as he could step over. On Bali's granting\nit, Vishnu dilating himself, in two steps deprived him of heaven and\nearth, but left the lower regions still in his dominion.\n\n[127] This incident may be compared with one described in Veckenstedt's\nWendische Sagen, p. 82.\n\n[128] Ananta, endless, or infinite, is a name of the thousand-headed\nserpent Sesha.\n\n[129] Reading khadgam for the khadge of Dr. Brockhaus's text.\n\n[130] Female demon. The R\u00e1kshasas are often called \"night-wanderers.\"\n\n[131] Or more literally of the month Chaitra, i. e., March-April.\n\n[132] At nine o'clock in the morning.\n\n[133] Anas Casarca, commonly called the Brahmany duck. The male has\nto pass the night separated from its female: if we are to trust the\nunanimous testimony of Hindu poets.\n\n[134] A name of Durg\u00e1. Cp. Prescott's account of the human sacrifices\nin Mexico, Vol. I pp. 62, 63.\n\n[135] This incident reminds us of the fifth rule in Wright's Gesta\nRomanorum.\n\n[136] Or it may mean \"from a distance,\" as Dr. Brockhaus takes it.\n\n[137] Pulinda, name of a savage tribe.\n\n[138] Mr. Growse remarks: \"In Hindi the word N\u00e1gasthala would assume\nthe form N\u00e1gal; and there is a village of that name to this day in\nthe Mah\u00e1ban Pargana of the Mathur\u00e1 District.\"\n\n[139] A common way of carrying money in India at the present day.\n\n[140] Compare the last Scene of the Toy Cart in the 1st volume of\nWilson's Hindu Theatre.\n\n[141] The esculent white lotus (Sanskrit kumuda) expands its petals\nat night, and closes them in the daytime.\n\n[142] In Sanskrit poetry horripilation is often said to be produced\nby joy. I have here inserted the words \"from joy\" in order to make\nthe meaning clear.\n\n[143] Literally drunk in.\n\n[144] Alluding to his grey hairs. In all eastern stories the appearance\nof the first grey hair is a momentous epoch. The point of the whole\npassage consists in the fact that jar\u00e1, old age, is feminine in\nform. Cp. the perturbation of King Samson in Hagen's Helden-Sagen,\nVol. I, p. 26, and Spence Hardy's Manual of Buddhism (1860) pp. 129\nand 130.\n\n[145] There is a pun between the name of the king Udayana and\nprosperity (udaya).\n\n[146] Not V\u00e1suki, but his eldest brother.\n\n[147] Chh\u00e1y\u00e1 means \"colour;\" he drank their colour, i. e., made them\npale. It also means \"reflection in the wine.\"\n\n[148] i. e., given by Buddha.\n\n[149] The four Up\u00e1yas or means of success are s\u00e1man, negotiation,\nwhich his pride would render futile, d\u00e1na, giving, which appeals to\navarice, bheda, sowing dissension, which would be useless where a\nking is beloved by his subjects, and danda, open force, of no use in\nthe case of a powerful king like Udayana.\n\n[150] The chief vices of kings denounced by Hindu writers on statecraft\nare: Hunting, gambling, sleeping in the day, calumny, addiction to\nwomen, drinking spirits, dancing, singing, and instrumental music,\nidle roaming, these proceed from the love of pleasure, others proceed\nfrom anger, viz., tale-bearing, violence, insidious injury, envy,\ndetraction, unjust seizure of property, abuse, assault. See Monier\nWilliams s. v. vyasana.\n\n[151] Sudh\u00e1dhauta may mean \"white as plaster,\" but more probably here\n\"whitened with plaster\" like the houses in the European quarter of the\n\"City of palaces.\"\n\n[152] A linga of Siva in Ujjayin\u00ed. Siva is here compared to an earthly\nmonarch subject to the vyasana of roaming. I take it, the poet means,\nUjjayin\u00ed is a better place than Kail\u00e1sa.\n\n[153] Cp. the way in which Kandar goes in search of a sword in Prym\nand Socin's Syrische M\u00e4rchen, p. 205.\n\n[154] Dr. Brockhaus translates it--St\u00fcrzte den Wagen des K\u00f6nigs\num. Can Syandana mean horses, like magni currus Achilli? If so,\n\u00e1hatya would mean, having killed.\n\n[155] Rasa means nectar, and indeed any liquid, and also emotion,\npassion. The pun is of course most intentional in the original.\n\n[156] Cp. the story of Ohim\u00e9 in the \"Sicilianische M\u00e4rchen\" collected\nby Laura von Gonzenbach where Maruzza asks Ohim\u00e9 how it would be\npossible to kill him. So in Indian Fairy Tales, collected by Miss\nStokes, Hiral\u00e1l B\u00e1s\u00e1 persuades Sonahr\u00ed R\u00e1n\u00ed to ask his father where\nhe kept his soul. Some interesting remarks on this subject will be\nfound in the notes to this tale (Indian Fairy Tales, p. 260.) See\nalso No. I, in Campbell's Tales of the Western Highlands, and\nDr. Reinhold K\u00f6hler's remarks in Orient and Occident, Vol. II,\np. 100. Cp. also Ralston's Russian Folk-Tales, pp. 80, 81 and\n136. Cp. also Veckenstedt's Wendische Sagen, p. 72. In the Geh\u00f6rnte\nSiegfried (Simrock's Deutsche Volksb\u00fccher, Vol. III, pp. 368 and 416),\nthe hero is made invulnerable everywhere but between the shoulders,\nby being smeared with the melted fat of a dragon. Cp. also the story\nof Achilles. For the transformation of Chandamah\u00e1sena into a boar\nsee Bartsch's Sagen, M\u00e4rchen und Gebr\u00e4uche aus Meklenburg, Vol. II,\npp. 144, 145, and Gubernatis, Zoological Mythology, Vol. II, p. 14. See\nalso Sch\u00f6ppner's Geschichte der Bayerischen Lande, Vol. I, p. 258.\n\n[157] They would not go near for fear of disturbing it. Wild elephants\nare timid, so there is more probability in this story, than in that\nof the Trojan horse. Even now scouts who mark down a wild beast in\nIndia, almost lose their heads with excitement.\n\n[158] I. e., they sat in Dharna outside the door of the palace.\n\n[159] Perhaps we should read samantatah one word.\n\n[160] Sattva, when applied to the forest, means animal, when applied\nto wisdom, it means excellence.\n\n[161] Vet\u00e1la is especially used of a goblin that tenants dead\nbodies. See Colonel R. Burton's Tales of Vikram\u00e1ditya and the\nVampire. They will be found in the 12th book of this work. In the\nVth Chapter of Ralston's Russian Folk-Tales will be found much\ninteresting information with regard to the Slavonic superstitions\nabout Vampires. They resemble very closely those of the Hindus. See\nespecially p. 311. \"At cross-roads, or in the neighbourhood of\ncemeteries, an animated corpse of this description often lurks,\nwatching for some unwary traveller whom it may be able to slay\nand eat.\"\n\n[162] Cp. the way in which the Ritter Malegis transmutes Reinold in the\nstory of Die Heimonskinder (Simrock's Deutsche Volksb\u00fccher, Vol. II,\np. 86). \"He changed him into an old man, a hundred years of age, with\na decrepit and misshapen body, and long hair.\" See also p. 114. So\nMerlin assumes the form of an old man and disguises Uther and Ulfin,\nDunlop's History of Fiction, translated by Liebrecht, p. 66.\n\n[163] Such people dance in temples I believe.\n\n[164] Mr. Growse writes to me with reference to the name\nLohajangha--\"This name still exists on the spot, though probably\nnot to be found elsewhere. The original bearer of the title is said\nto have been one of the demons whom Krishna slew, and a village is\ncalled Lohaban after him, where an ancient red sandstone image is\nsupposed to represent him, and has offerings of iron made to it at\nthe annual festival.\n\n[165] R\u00e1gin\u00ed means affectionate and also red.\n\n[166] Atav\u00ed is generally translated \"forest.\" I believe the English\nword \"forest\" does not necessarily imply trees, but it is perhaps\nbetter to avoid it here.\n\n[167] For the vritam of the text I read kritam. Cp. this incident with\nJoseph's adventure in the 6th story of the Sicilianische M\u00e4rchen. He\nis sewn up in a horse's skin, and carried by ravens to the top of a\nhigh mountain. There he stamps and finds a wooden trap-door under his\nfeet. In the notes Dr. K\u00f6hler refers to this passage, Campbell No. 44,\nthe Story of Sindbad and other parallels. Cp. also Veckenstedt's\nWendische Sagen, p. 124. See also the story of Heinrich der L\u00f6we,\nSimrock's Deutsche Volksb\u00fccher, Vol. I, p. 8. Dr. K\u00f6hler refers to\nthe story of Herzog Ernst. The incident will be found in Simrock's\nversion of the story, at page 308 of the IIIrd Volume of his Deutsche\nVolksb\u00fccher.\n\n[168] Names of Vishnu, who became incarnate in the hero Krishna.\n\n[169] See Chapter 22 sl. 181 and ff. Kasyapa's two wives disputed\nabout the colour of the sun's horses. They agreed that whichever was\nin the wrong should become a slave to the other. Kadr\u00fa, the mother\nof the snakes, won by getting her children to darken the horses. So\nGaruda's mother Vinat\u00e1 became a slave.\n\n[170] Divine personages of the size of a thumb; sixty thousand were\nproduced from Brahm\u00e1's body and surrounded the chariot of the sun. The\nlegend of Garuda and the B\u00e1lakhilyas is found in the Mah\u00e1bh\u00e1rata,\nsee De Gubernatis, Zoological Mythology, p. 95.\n\n[171] A yojana is probably 9 miles, some say 2-1/2, some 4 or 5. See\nMonier Williams s. v.\n\n[172] Compare the 5th story in the first book of the Panchatantra,\nin Benfey's translation.\n\nBenfey shows that this story found its way into Mahometan collections,\nsuch as the Thousand and one Nights, and the Thousand and one Days, as\nalso into the Decamerone of Boccaccio, and other European story-books,\nVol. I, p. 159, and ff.\n\nThe story, as given in the Panchatantra, reminds us of the Squire's\nTale in Chaucer, but Josephus in Ant. Jud. XVIII, 3, tells it of a\nRoman knight named Mundus, who fell in love with Paulina the wife of\nSaturninus, and by corrupting the priestess of Isis was enabled to pass\nhimself off as Anubis. On the matter coming to the ears of Tiberius, he\nhad the temple of Isis destroyed, and the priests crucified. (Dunlop's\nHistory of Fiction, Vol. II, p. 27. Liebrecht's German translation,\np. 232). A similar story is told by the Pseudo-Callisthenes of\nNectanebos and Olympias. Cp. Coelho's Contos Populares Portuguezes,\nNo. LXXI, p. 155.\n\n[173] Thus she represented the Arddhan\u00e1r\u00edsvara, or Siva half male,\nand half female, which compound figure is to be painted in this manner.\n\n[174] She held on to it by her hands.\n\n[175] Wilson remarks that this presents some analogy to the story\nin the Decamerone (Nov. 7 Gior. 8) of the scholar and the widow\n\"la quale egli poi, con un suo consiglio, di mezzo Luglio, ignuda,\ntutto un d\u00ec fa stare in su una torre.\" It also bears some resemblance\nto the story of the Master Thief in Thorpe's Yule-tide Stories, page\n272. The Master thief persuades the priest that he will take him to\nheaven. He thus induces him to get into a sack, and then he throws\nhim into the goose-house, and when the geese peck him, tells him that\nhe is in purgatory. The story is Norwegian. See also Sir G. W. Cox's\nMythology of the Aryan Nations, Vol. 1. p. 127.\n\n[176] Cp. the way in which R\u00fcdiger carries off the daughter of king\nOsantrix, Hagen's Helden-Sagen, Vol. I, p. 227.\n\n[177] t\u00ear\u00easantes nykta cheimerion hydati kai anem\u00f4 kai ham' asel\u00eanon\nex\u00easan. Thucyd. III. 22.\n\n[178] The word dasyu here means savage, barbarian. These wild mountain\ntribes called indiscriminately Savaras, Pulindas, Bhillas &c., seem\nto have been addicted to cattle-lifting and brigandage. So the word\ndasyu comes to mean robber. Even the virtuous Savara prince described\nin the story of J\u00edm\u00fatav\u00e1hana plunders a caravan.\n\n[179] Cathay?\n\n[180] Compare the rose garland in the story of the Wright's Chaste\nWife; edited for the early English Text Society by Frederick\nJ. Furnivall, especially lines 58 and ff.\n\n\n \"Wete thou wele withowtyn fable\n \"Alle the whyle thy wife is stable\n \"The chaplett wolle holde hewe;\n \"And yf thy wyfe use putry\n \"Or telle eny man to lye her by\n Then welle yt change hewe,\n And by the garland thou may see,\n Fekylle or fals yf that sche be,\n Or elles yf she be true.\n\n\nSee also note in Wilson's Essays on Sanskrit Literature, Vol. I,\np. 218. He tells us that in Perce Forest the lily of the Kath\u00e1 Sarit\nS\u00e1gara is represented by a rose. In Amadis de Gaul it is a garland\nwhich blooms on the head of her that is faithful, and fades on the\nbrow of the inconstant. In Les Contes \u00e0 rire, it is also a flower. In\nAriosto, the test applied to both male and female is a cup, the wine\nof which is spilled by the unfaithful lover. This fiction also occurs\nin the romances of Tristan, Perceval and La Morte d'Arthur, and is\nwell known by La Fontaine's version, La Coupe Enchant\u00e9e. In La Lai\ndu Corn, it is a drinking-horn. Spenser has derived his girdle of\nFlorimel from these sources or more immediately from the Fabliau, Le\nManteau mal taill\u00e9 or Le Court Mantel, an English version of which is\npublished in Percy's Reliques, the Boy and the Mantel (Vol. III.) In\nthe Gesta Romanorum (c. 69) the test is the whimsical one of a shirt,\nwhich will neither require washing nor mending as long as the wearer is\nconstant. (Not the wearer only but the wearer and his wife). Davenant\nhas substituted an emerald for a flower.\n\n\n The bridal stone,\n And much renowned, because it chasteness loves,\n And will, when worn by the neglected wife,\n Shew when her absent lord disloyal proves\n By faintness and a pale decay of life.\n\n\nI may remark that there is a certain resemblance in this story to\nthat of Shakespeare's Cymbeline, which is founded on the 9th Story of\nthe 2nd day in the Decamerone, and to the 7th Story in Gonzenbach's\nSicilianische M\u00e4rchen.\n\nSee also \"The king of Spain and his queen\" in Thorpe's Yule-tide\nStories, pp. 452-455. Thorpe remarks that the tale agrees in substance\nwith the ballad of the \"Graf Von Rom\" in Uhland, II, 784; and with\nthe Flemish story of \"Ritter Alexander aus Metz und Seine Frau\nFlorentina.\" In the 21st of Bandello's novels the test is a mirror\n(Liebrecht's Dunlop, p. 287). See also pp. 85 and 86 of Liebrecht's\nDunlop, with the notes at the end of the volume.\n\n[181] A man of low caste now called Dom. They officiate as\nexecutioners.\n\n[182] Compare the way in which the widow's son, the shifty lad,\ntreats Black Rogue in Campbell's Tales of the Western Highlands\n(Tale XVII d. Orient und Occident, Vol. II, p. 303.)\n\n[183] Datura is still employed, I believe, to stupefy people whom it\nis thought desirable to rob.\n\n[184] I read iva for the eva of Dr. Brockhaus's text.\n\n[185] A precisely similar story occurs in the Bah\u00e1r D\u00e1nish. The turn\nof the chief incident, although not the same, is similar to that of\nNov VII, Part 4 of Bandello's Novelle, or the Accorto Avvedimento\ndi una Fantesca \u00e0 liberare la padrona e l' innamorato di quella de\nla morte. (Wilson's Essays, Vol. I, p. 224.) Cp. also the Mongolian\nversion of the story in Sagas from the Far East, p. 320. The story\nof Saktimat\u00ed is the 19th in the Suka Saptati. I have been presented\nby Professor N\u00edlmani Mukhop\u00e1dhy\u00e1ya with a copy of a MS. of this work\nmade by Babu Umesa Chandra Gupta.\n\n[186] Cp. the story of the Chest in Campbell's Stories from the Western\nHighlands. It is the first story in the 2nd volume and contains one\nor two incidents which remind us of this story.\n\n[187] I read mah\u00e2kulodgat\u00e1h.\n\n[188] Alluding to Indra's having cut the wings of the mountains.\n\n[189] The peafowl are delighted at the approach of the rainy season,\nwhen \"their sorrow\" comes to an end.\n\n[190] It is often the duty of these minstrels to wake the king with\ntheir songs.\n\n[191] Weapons well known in Hindu mythology. See the 6th act of the\nUttara R\u00e1ma Charita.\n\n[192] S\u00fatrap\u00e1tam akarot she tested, so to speak. Cp. Taranga 21,\nsl. 93. The fact is, the smoke made her eyes as red as if she had\nbeen drinking.\n\n[193] Or \"like Kuvera.\" There is a pun here.\n\n[194] Young Deformed.\n\n[195] Cp. the distribution of presents on the occasion of King Etzel's\nmarriage in the Nibelungen Lied.\n\n[196] It must be remembered that a king among the Hindus was\ninaugurated with water, not oil.\n\n[197] The word \"adders\" must here do duty for all venomous kinds\nof serpents.\n\n[198] A similar story is found in the IVth book of the Panchatantra,\nFable 5, where Benfey compares the story of Yay\u00e1ti and his son\nPuru. Benfey Panchatantra I. 436. Bernhard Schmidt in his Griechische\nM\u00e4rchen, page 37, mentions a very similar story, which he connects\nwith that of Admetos and Alkestis. In a popular ballad of Trebisond,\na young man named Jannis, the only son of his parents, is about to be\nmarried, when Charon comes to fetch him. He supplicates St. George,\nwho obtains for him the concession, that his life may be spared, in\ncase his father will give him half the period of life still remaining\nto him. His father refuses, and in the same way his mother. At last\nhis betrothed gives him half her allotted period of life, and the\nmarriage takes place. The story of Ruru is found in the \u00c1diparva of\nthe Mah\u00e1bh\u00e1rata, see L\u00e9v\u00eaque, Mythes et L\u00e9gendes de l'Inde, pp. 278,\nand 374.\n\n[199] I read dh\u00e1t\u00e1 for dh\u00e1tr\u00e1.\n\n[200] i. e. Hastin\u00e1pura.\n\n[201] Here Wilson observes: The circumstances here related are not\nwithout analogies in fact. It is not marvellous therefore that we\nmay trace them in fiction. The point of the story is the same as\nthat of the \"Deux Anglais \u00e0 Paris,\" a Fabliau, and of \"Une femme\n\u00e0 l'extremit\u00e9 qui se mit en si grosse col\u00e8re voyant son mari qui\nbaisait sa servante qu'elle recouvra la sant\u00e9\" of Margaret of Navarre,\n(Heptameron. Nouvelle 71). Cp. Henderson's Folk-lore of the Northern\nCounties, p. 131.\n\nWebster, Duchess of Malfi, Act IV, Sc. 2, tells a similar story,\n\n\n \"A great physician, when the Pope was sick\n Of a deep melancholy, presented him\n With several sorts of madmen, which wild object,\n Being full of change and sport, freed him to laugh,\n And so the imposthume broke.\"\n\n\n[202] Cp. Sagas from the far East, Tale XI, pp. 123, 124. Here\nthe crime contemplated is murder, and the ape is represented by a\ntiger. This story bears a certain resemblance to the termination of\nAlles aus einer Erbse, Kaden's Unter den Olivenb\u00e4umen, p. 22. See\nalso page 220 of the same collection. In the Pentamerone of Basile,\nTale 22, a princess is set afloat in a box, and found by a king,\nwhose wife she eventually becomes. There is a similar incident in\nKaden's Unter den Olivenb\u00e4umen, p. 220.\n\n[203] Literally a handful of water, such as is offered to the Manes, is\noffered to Fortune. It is all over with his chance of attaining glory.\n\n[204] Cp. Sicilianische M\u00e4rchen, Vol. I, p. 220. Liebrecht, in note\n485 to page 413 of his translation of Dunlop's History of Fiction,\ncompares this story with one in The Thousand and One Days of a princess\nof Kashm\u00edr, who was so beautiful that every one who saw her went mad,\nor pined away. He also mentions an Arabian tradition with respect to\nthe Thracian sorceress Rhodope. \"The Arabs believe that one of the\npyramids is haunted by a guardian spirit in the shape of a beautiful\nwoman, the mere sight of whom drives men mad.\" He refers also to\nThomas Moore, the Epicurean, Note 6 to Chapter VI, and the Adventures\nof Hatim Tai, translated by Duncan Forbes, p. 18.\n\n[205] In the original it is intended to compare the locks to the\nspots in the moon.\n\n[206] Reading yad hi.\n\n[207] The moon was the progenitor of the P\u00e1ndava race.\n\n[208] One of the five trees of Paradise.\n\n[209] K\u00e1ma the Hindu Cupid.\n\n[210] There is a certain resemblance in the story of Sunda and Upasunda\nto that of Otus and Ephialtes; see Preller's Griechische Mythologie,\nVol. I p. 81. Cp. also Grohmann's Sagen aus B\u00f6hmen, p. 35.\n\n[211] The architect or artist of the gods.\n\n[212] This is literally true. The king was addicted to the vyasana\nor vice of hunting.\n\n[213] I read hastagrah\u00e1yogy\u00e1m for the \u00e1hastagrah\u00e1yogy\u00e1m of\nDr. Brockhaus.\n\n[214] The flower closes when the sun sets.\n\n[215] To keep up his character as a Br\u00e1hman boy.\n\n[216] I read d\u00e1haishin\u00e1.\n\n[217] This applies also to the god of love who bewilders the mind.\n\n[218] Kara means hand, and also tribute.\n\n[219] I read iva for eva.\n\n[220] Reading taddv\u00e1rasthitamahattaram as one word.\n\n[221] For parallels to the story of Urvas\u00ed, see Kuhn's Herabkunft\ndes Feuer's, p. 88.\n\n[222] This, with the water weapon, and that of whirlwind, is mentioned\nin the R\u00e1m\u00e1yana and the Uttara R\u00e1ma Charita.\n\n[223] Or Devarshi, belonging to the highest class of Rishis or\npatriarchal saints.\n\n[224] This dance is mentioned in the 1st Act of the M\u00e1lavik\u00e1gnimitra.\n\n[225] Literally broke. The vy\u00e1dhi or disease must have been of the\nnature of an abscess.\n\n[226] Amare et sapere vix deo conceditur. (Publius Syrus.)\n\n[227] Liebrecht in an essay on some modern Greek songs (Zur\nVolkskunde, p. 211) gives numerous stories of children who spoke\nshortly after birth. It appears to have been generally considered an\nevil omen. Cp. the Romance of Merlin. (Dunlop's History of Fiction,\np. 146.) See Baring Gould's Curious Myths of the Middle Ages (New\nEdition, 1869) p. 170. In a startling announcement of the birth of\nAntichrist which appeared in 1623, purporting to come from the brothers\nof the Order of St. John, the following passage occurs,--\"The child\nis dusky, has pleasant mouth and eyes, teeth pointed like those of a\ncat, ears large, stature by no means exceeding that of other children;\nthe said child, incontinent on his birth, walked and talked perfectly\nwell.\"\n\n[228] More literally; blockaded his house with policemen, and his\nthroat with tears.\n\n[229] So in the XXIst of Miss Stokes's Indian Fairy Tales the fakir\nchanges the king's son into a fly. Cp. also Veckenstedt's Wendische\nSagen, p. 127.\n\n[230] Ficus Indica. Such a tree is said to have sheltered an army. Its\nbranches take root and form a natural cloister. Cp. Milton's Paradise\nLost, Book IX, lines 1000 and ff.\n\n[231] Grimm in his Teutonic Mythology (translation by Stallybrass,\np. 121, note,) connects the description of wonderful maidens sitting\ninside hollow trees or perched on the boughs, with tree-worship. See\nalso Grohmann's Sagen aus B\u00f6hmen, p. 41.\n\n[232] For the illuminating power of female beauty, see Note 3 to the\n1st Tale in Miss Stokes's Collection, where parallels are cited from\nthe folk-lore of Europe and Asia.\n\n[233] K\u00e1madhenu means a cow granting all desires; such a cow is said\nto have belonged to the sage Vasishta.\n\n[234] Conciliation, bribery, sowing dissension, and war.\n\n[235] The Pr\u00e1krit word majj\u00e1o means \"a cat\" and also \"my lover.\"\n\n[236] Cp. Schiller's \"Der Graf von Habsburg,\" lines 9-12.\n\n[237] The word pati here means king and husband.\n\n[238] A smile is always white according to the Hindu poetic canons.\n\n[239] The countenance of the fair ones were like moons.\n\n[240] There should be a mark of elision before nimishekshan\u00e1h.\n\n[241] The eyes of Hindu ladies are said to reach to their ears. I\nread tad\u00e1khy\u00e1tum for tad\u00e1khy\u00e1tim with a MS. in the Sanskrit college,\nkindly lent me by the Librarian with the consent of the Principal.\n\n[242] Love and affection, the wives of K\u00e1madeva the Hindu Cupid.\n\n[243] So the mouse in the Panchatantra possesses power by means of a\ntreasure (Benfey's Panchatantra, Vol. I, p. 320. Vol. II, p. 178.) The\nstory is found also in the 61st Chapter of this work. Cp. also Sagas\nfrom the Far East, pp. 257 and 263. The same idea is found in the 39th\nJ\u00e1taka, p. 322 of Rhys Davids' translation, and in the 257th J\u00e1taka,\nVol. II, p. 297 of Fausb\u00f6ll's edition.\n\n[244] Cp. Sagas from the Far East, p. 263.\n\n[245] I read darsayat.\n\n[246] Sati is a misprint for mati, B\u00f6htlingk and Roth sv.\n\n[247] i. e. the Ganges.\n\n[248] In Sanskrit prat\u00e1pa the word translated \"valour,\" also means\nheat, and chakra may refer to the wheels of the chariot and the orb\nof the sun, so that there is a pun all through.\n\n[249] More literally, a torrent of pride and kicking.\n\n[250] Grimm in his Teutonic Mythology (translation by Stallybrass,\np. 392) remarks--\"One principal mark to know heroes by is their\npossessing intelligent horses, and conversing with them. The touching\nconversation of Achilles with his Xanthos and Balios finds a complete\nparallel in the beautiful Karling legend of Bayard. (This is most\npathetically told in Simrock's Deutsche Volksb\u00fccher, Vol. II, Die\nHeimonskinder, see especially page 54). Grimm proceeds to cite many\nother instances from European literature. See also Note 3 to the\nXXth story in Miss Stokes's collection. See also De Gubernatis,\nZoological Mythology, Vol. I, p. 336 and ff. See the remarks in\nBernhard Schmidt's Griechische M\u00e4rchen, p. 237.\n\n[251] The keeper of a burning or burial-ground would be impure.\n\n[252] Probably the people sprinkled one another with red powder as\nat the Holi festival.\n\n[253] So in Grimm's M\u00e4rchen von einem der auszog das F\u00fcrchten zu\nlernen the youth is recommended to sit under the gallows where\nseven men have been executed. Cp. also the story of \"The Shroud\"\nin Ralston's Russian Folk-Tales, p. 307.\n\nThe belief that the dead rose from the tomb in the form of Vampires\nappears to have existed in Chald\u00e6a and Babylon. Lenormant observes\nin his Chald\u00e6an Magic and Sorcery, (English Translation, p. 37) \"In\na fragment of the Mythological epop\u00e9e which is traced upon a tablet\nin the British Museum, and relates the descent of Ishtar into Hades,\nwe are told that the goddess, when she arrived at the doors of the\ninfernal regions, called to the porter whose duty it was to open\nthem, saying,\n\n\n \"Porter, open thy door;\n Open thy door that I may enter.\n If thou dost not open the door, and if I cannot enter,\n I will attack the door, I will break down its bars,\n I will attack the enclosure, I will leap over its fences by force;\n I will cause the dead to rise and devour the living;\n I will give to the dead power over the living.\"\n\n\nThe same belief appears also to have existed in Egypt. The same author\nobserves (p. 92). \"These formul\u00e6 also kept the body from becoming,\nduring its separation from the soul, the prey of some wicked spirit\nwhich would enter, re-animate, and cause it to rise again in the form\nof a vampire. For, according to the Egyptian belief, the possessing\nspirits, and the spectres which frightened or tormented the living\nwere but the souls of the condemned returning to the earth, before\nundergoing the annihilation of the 'second death.'\"\n\n[254] Cp. Ralston's account of the Vampire as represented in\nthe Skazkas. \"It is as a vitalized corpse that the visitor from\nthe other world comes to trouble mankind, often subject to human\nappetites, constantly endowed with more than human strength and\nmalignity.\"--Ralston's Russian Folk-Tales, p. 306.\n\n[255] Cp. the way in which the witch treats the corpse of her son\nin the VIth book of the \u00c6thiopica of Heliodorus, ch. 14, and Lucan's\nPharsalia, Book VI, 754-757.\n\n[256] I. e., the corpse tenanted by the Vet\u00e1la or demon.\n\n[257] Cp. Simrock's Deutsche Volksb\u00fccher, Vol. III, p. 399.\n\n[258] Lakshm\u00ed or Sr\u00ed the goddess of Prosperity appeared after the\nchurning of the ocean with a lotus in her hand. According to another\nstory she is said to have appeared at the creation floating on the\nexpanded leaves of a lotus-flower. The hand of a lady is often compared\nto a lotus.\n\n[259] I. e., rising; the eastern mountain behind which the sun is\nsupposed to rise.\n\n[260] I. e., semi-divine beings supposed to be of great purity and\nholiness.\n\n[261] General Cunningham identifies Paundravardhana with the modern\nPubna.\n\n[262] There is a curious parallel to this story in T\u00e1r\u00e1n\u00e1tha's History\nof Buddhism, translated into German by Schiefner, p. 203. Here a\nR\u00e1kshas\u00ed assumes the form of a former king's wife, and kills all\nthe subjects, one after another, as fast as they are elected to the\nroyal dignity.\n\n[263] Compare the Apocryphal book of Tobit. See also the 30th page\nof Lenormant's Chald\u00e6an Magic and Sorcery, English translation.\n\n[264] Ralston in his Russian Folk-Tales, p. 270, compares this incident\nwith one in a Polish story, and in the Russian story of the Witch\nGirl. In both the arm of the destroyer is cut off.\n\n[265] I read iva; the arm was the long bar, and the whole passage is\nan instance of the rhetorical figure called utpreksh\u00e1.\n\n[266] Cp. the freeing of Argo by Hercules cutting off Pallair's arm\nin the Togail Troi, ed. Stokes, p. 67.\n\n[267] There is probably a pun here. R\u00e1m\u00e1rtham may mean \"for the sake\nof a fair one.\"\n\n[268] I read na tad for tatra with a MS. in the Sanskrit College.\n\n[269] Here there is a pun on Ananga, a name of the Hindu Cupid.\n\n[270] Here there is a pun. The word guna also means rope.\n\n[271] For stories of transportation through the air, see Wirt Sikes,\nBritish Goblins, p. 157 and ff.\n\n[272] Cp. the way in which Torello informs his wife of his presence\nin Boccacio's Decameron Xth day Nov. IX. The novels of the Xth day\nmust be derived from Indian, and probably Buddhistic sources. There\nis a Buddhistic vein in all of them. A striking parallel to the 5th\nNovel of the Xth day will be found further on in this work.\n\nCp. also, for the incident of the ring, Thorpe's Yuletide Stories,\np. 167. See also the story of Heinrich der L\u00f6we, Simrock's Deutsche\nVolksb\u00fccher, Vol. I, pp. 21 and 22. Cp. also Waldau's B\u00f6hmische\nM\u00e4rchen, pp. 365 and 432, Coelho's Contos Populares Portuguezes,\np. 76; and Prym und Socin's Syrische M\u00e4rchen, p. 72. See also Ralston's\nTibetan Tales, Introduction pp. xlix and 1.\n\n[273] An oblation to gods, or venerable men of, rice, d\u00farva grass,\nflowers, &c., with water, or of water only in a small boat-shaped\nvessel.\n\n[274] Sneha means oil, and also affection.\n\n[275] Sattva when applied to the ocean probably means \"monsters.\" So\nthe whole compound would mean \"in which was conspicuous the fury of\ngambling monsters.\" The pun defies translation.\n\n[276] I read aushadeh. The R\u00e1kshasa is compared to the mountain,\nVid\u00fashaka to the moon, his wives to the gleaming herbs.\n\n[277] Thorpe in his Yule-tide Stories remarks that the story of\nVid\u00fashaka somewhat resembles in its ground-plot the tale of the\nBeautiful Palace East of the Sun and North of the Earth. With the\nlatter he also compares the story of Saktivega in the 5th book of the\nKath\u00e1 Sarit S\u00e1gara. (See the table of contents of Thorpe's Yule-tide\nStories, p. xi.) Cp. also Sicilianische M\u00e4rchen, Vol. II, p. 1,\nand for the cutting off of the giant's arm, p. 50.\n\n[278] Perhaps we should read sv\u00e1dvaushadha = sweet medicine.\n\n[279] I. q., Bheels.\n\n[280] I read \u00e1r\u00fadhah.\n\n[281] A MS. in the Sanskrit College reads sambhavah for the sampadah\nof Dr. Brockhaus's text.\n\n[282] Lustratio exercitus; waving lights formed part of the ceremony.\n\n[283] It also means \"drawing cords.\"\n\n[284] He is sometimes represented as bearing the entire world on one\nof his heads.\n\n[285] One of these poison-damsels is represented as having been\nemployed against Chandragupta in the Mudr\u00e1 R\u00e1kshasa. Compare the\nXIth tale in the Gesta Romanorum, where an Indian queen sends one to\nAlexander the Great. Aristotle frustrates the stratagem.\n\n[286] Jayastambha. Wilson remarks that the erection of these columns is\noften alluded to by Hindu writers, and explains the character of the\nsolitary columns which are sometimes met with, as the L\u00e1t at Delhi,\nthe pillars at Allah\u00e1b\u00e1d, Buddal, &c.\n\n[287] Kalinga is usually described as extending from Orissa to Dr\u00e1vida\nor below Madras, the coast of the Northern Circars. It appears,\nhowever, to be sometimes the Delta of the Ganges. It was known to\nthe ancients as Regio Calingarum, and is familiar to the natives of\nthe Eastern Archipelago by the name of Kling. Wilson.\n\n[288] The clouds are nihs\u00e1ra void of substance, as being no longer\nheavy with rain. The thunder ceases in the autumn.\n\n[289] Chola was the sovereignty of the western part of the Peninsula\non the Carnatic, extending southwards to Tanjore where it was bounded\nby the P\u00e1ndyan kingdom. It appears to have been the Regio Soretanum\nof Ptolemy and the Chola mandala or district furnishes the modern\nappellation of the Coromandel Coast.--Wilson, Essays, p. 241 note.\n\n[290] Murala is another name for Kerala, now Malabar (Hall.) Wilson\nidentifies it with the Curula of Ptolemy.\n\n[291] Or perhaps more literally \"creeper-like sword.\" Probably the\nexpression means \"flexible, well-tempered sword,\" as Professor N\u00edlmani\nMukhop\u00e1dhy\u00e1ya has suggested to me.\n\n[292] It had been employed for this purpose by the gods and\nAsuras. L\u00e1ta = the Larice of Ptolemy. (Wilson.)\n\n[293] Turks, the Indo-scyth\u00e6 of the ancients. (Wilson.)\n\n[294] Persians.\n\n[295] A Daitya or demon. His head swallows the sun and moon.\n\n[296] Perhaps the Huns.\n\n[297] The western portion of Assam. (Wilson.)\n\n[298] For the worship of trees and tree-spirits, see Grimm's Teutonic\nMythology, p. 75 and ff., and Tylor's Primitive Culture, Vol. II,\np. 196 and ff.\n\n[299] I here read durdas\u00e1h for the durdars\u00e1h of Dr. Brockhaus' text. It\nmust be a misprint. A MS. in the Sanskrit College reads durdas\u00e1h.\n\n[300] The Guhyakas are demi-gods, attendants upon Kuvera and guardians\nof his wealth.\n\n[301] Literally--having the cardinal points as her only garment.\n\n[302] For the circle cp. Henry VI. Part II, Act I, Sc. IV, line\n25 and Henry V. Act V, Sc. 2, line 420. \"If you would conjure,\nyou must make a circle.\" See also Ralston's Russian Folk-Tales,\np. 272. Veckenstedt's Wendische Sagen, pp. 292, 302, 303. See also\nWirt Sikes, British Goblins, pp. 200, and 201; Henderson's Northern\nFolk-lore, p. 19, Bartsch's Sagen, M\u00e4rchen, und Gebr\u00e4uche aus\nMeklenburg, Vol. I, pp. 128, 213. Professor Jebb, in his notes on\nTheophrastus' Superstitious man, observes \"The object of all those\nceremonies, in which the offerings were carried round the person or\nplace to be purified, was to trace a charmed circle within which the\npowers of evil should not come.\" Cp. also Gr\u00f6ssler's Sagen aus der\nGrafschaft Mansfeld, p. 217, Brand's Popular Antiquities, Vol. III,\np. 56; Grohmann's Sagen aus B\u00f6hmen, p. 226.\n\n[303] i. e. by the fire of Siva's eye.\n\n[304] Perhaps we ought to read sadehasya. I find this rending in a\nMS. lent to me by the librarian of the Sanskrit College with the kind\npermission of the Principal.\n\n[305] i. e. Siva.\n\n[306] In this wild legend, resembling one in the first book of the\nR\u00e1m\u00e1yana, I have omitted some details for reasons which will be\nobvious to those who read it in the original.\n\n[307] i. e. the six Pleiades.\n\n[308] Mr. Tylor (in his Primitive Culture, Vol. II, p. 176) speaking\nof Slavonian superstitions, says, \"A man whose eyebrows meet as if\nhis soul were taking flight to enter some other body, may be marked\nby this sign either as a were-wolf or a vampire.\" In Icelandic Sagas\na man with meeting eyebrows is said to be a werewolf. The same idea\nholds in Denmark, also in Germany, whilst in Greece it is a sign that\na man is a Brukolak or Vampire. (Note by Baring-Gould in Henderson's\nFolk-lore of the Northern Counties). The same idea is found in Bohemia,\nsee Grohmann's Sagen aus B\u00f6hmen, p. 210. Cp. Grimm's Irische M\u00e4rchen,\np. cviii.\n\n[309] I read \u00e1sta for \u00e1su.\n\n[310] rajas in Sanskrit means dust and also passion.\n\n[311] i. e. immunity from future births.\n\n[312] i. e. desire, wrath, covetousness, bewilderment, pride and envy.\n\n[313] Cp. the \u00c6thiopica of Heliodorus, Book VII, ch. 15, where the\nwitch is armed with a sword during her incantations; and Homer's\nOdyssey, XI, 48. See also for the magic virtues of steel Liebrecht,\nZur Volkskunde, pp. 312, 313.\n\n[314] See Veckenstedt's Wendische Sagen, p. 289, where a young man\noverhears a spell with similar results. See also Bartsch's Sagen,\nM\u00e4rchen und Gebr\u00e4uche aus Meklenburg, Vol. I, p. 115.\n\n[315] I read tan tad.\n\n[316] Called more usually by English people Allahabad.\n\n[317] This incident reminds one of Schiller's ballad--Der Gang nach\ndem Eisenhammer. (Benfey Panchatantra, Vol. I, p. 320.)\n\nThe story of Fridolin in Schiller's ballad is identical with the\nstory of Fulgentius which is found in the English Gesta Romanorum,\nsee Bohn's Gesta Romanorum, Introduction, page 1. Douce says that the\nstory is found in Scott's Tales from the Arabic and Persian, p. 53 and\nin the Contes devots or Miracles of the Virgin. (Le Grand, Fabliaux,\nv. 74.) Mr. Collier states upon the authority of M. Boettiger that\nSchiller founded his ballad upon an Alsatian tradition which he heard\nat Mannheim. Cp. also the 80th of the Sicilianische M\u00e4rchen which\nends with these words, \"Wer gutes thut, wird gutes erhalten.\" There\nis a certain resemblance in this story to that of Equitan in Murie's\nlays. See Ellis's Early English Metrical Romances, pp. 46 and 47. It\nalso resembles the story of Lalit\u00e1nga extracted from the Kath\u00e1 Kosha\nby Professor Nilmani Mukerjea in his S\u00e1hitya Parichaya, Part II, and\nthe conclusion of the story of Damannaka from the same source found\nin his Part I. The story of Fridolin is also found in Sch\u00f6ppner's\nSagenbuch der Bayerischen Lande, Vol. I, p. 204.\n\n[318] Literally creeper-like.\n\n[319] There is a double meaning here; kshetra means fit recipients\nas well as field. The king no doubt distributed corn.\n\n[320] i. e. the god Ganesa, who has an elephant's head.\n\n[321] Seven principal mountains are supposed to exist in each Varsha\nor division of a continent.\n\n[322] There is a reference here to the mada or ichor which exudes\nfrom an elephant's temples when in rut.\n\n[323] r\u00e1ga also means passion.\n\n[324] The quarters are often conceived of as women.\n\n[325] In the XVIIIth tale of the Gesta Romanorum Julian is led into\ntrouble by pursuing a deer. The animal turns round and says to him,\n\"Thou who pursuest me so fiercely shalt be the destruction of thy\nparents.\" See also Bernhard Schmidt's Griechische M\u00e4rchen, p. 38. \"A\npopular ballad referring to the story of Digenis gives him a life\nof 300 years, and represents his death as due to his killing a hind\nthat had on its shoulder the image of the Virgin Mary, a legend the\nfoundation of which is possibly a recollection of the old mythological\nstory of the hind of Artemis killed by Agamemnon.\" [Sophoclis Electra,\n568.] In the Romance of Doolin of Mayence Guyon kills a hermit by\nmistake for a deer. (Liebrecht's translation of Dunlop's History\nof Fiction, p. 138) See also De Gubernatis, Zoological Mythology,\npp. 84-86.\n\n[326] I. g. Um\u00e1 and P\u00e1rvat\u00ed. K\u00e1ma = the god of love.\n\n[327] Cp. Lane's Arabian Nights, Vol. I, p. 96; also an incident in\nG\u00fcl and Sanaubar, (Liebrecht, Zur Volkskunde, p. 144).\n\n[328] Here there is a pun, suvritta meaning also well-rounded.\n\n[329] i. e. burnt herself with his body.\n\n[330] Purogaih means \"done in a previous life,\" and also \"going\nbefore.\"\n\n[331] Cp. Gaal, M\u00e4rchen der Magyaren, p. 364; Gonzenbach's\nSicilianische M\u00e4rchen, Vol. I, pp. 285 and 294.\n\n[332] I read with a MS. in the Sanskrit College patisneh\u00e1d for\npratisneh\u00e1d. The two wives of the god of Love came out of lovo to\ntheir husband, who was conceived in V\u00e1savadatt\u00e1.\n\n[333] Vidy\u00e1dhara--means literally \"magical-knowledge-holder.\"\n\n[334] The ceremony of coronation.\n\n[335] Ambik\u00e1, i. q., P\u00e1rvat\u00ed the wife of Siva.\n\n[336] Liebrecht, speaking of the novel of Guerino Meschino, compares\nthis tree with the sun and moon-trees mentioned in the work of the\nPseudo-Callisthenes, Book III. c. 17. They inform Alexander that\nthe years of his life are accomplished, and that he will die in\nBabylon. See also Ralston's Songs of the Russian people, p. 111.\n\n[337] A period of 432 million years of mortals.\n\n[338] More literally the cardinal and intermediate points.\n\n[339] Reading manomrigi, the deer of the mind.\n\n[340] Member of a savage tribe.\n\n[341] I. e. of the pearls in the heads of the elephants.\n\n[342] I. e. the sun.\n\n[343] Throbbing of the right eye in men portends union with the\nbeloved.\n\n[344] No doubt by offering the flowers which she had gathered.\n\n[345] Like the two physicians in Gesta Romanorum, LXXVI.\n\n[346] A peculiarly sacred kind of Darbha grass.\n\n[347] M. L\u00e9v\u00eaque considers that the above story, as told in the\nMah\u00e1bh\u00e1rata, forms the basis of the Birds of Aristophanes. He\nidentifies Garuda with the hoopoe. (Les Mythes et L\u00e9gendes de l'Inde\net de la Perse, p. 14).\n\n[348] R\u00e1jila is a striped snake, said to be the same as the dundubha\na non-venomous species.\n\n[349] The remarks which Ralston makes (Russian Folk-tales, page 65)\nwith regard to the snake as represented in Russian stories, are\napplicable to the N\u00e1ga of Hindu superstition; \"Sometimes he retains\nthroughout the story an exclusively reptilian character, sometimes\nhe is of a mixed nature, partly serpent and partly man.\" The snakes\ndescribed in Veckenstedt's Wendische Sagen, (pp. 402-409,) resemble\nin some points the snakes which we hear so much of in the present\nwork. See also Bartsch's Sagen, M\u00e4rchen, und Gebr\u00e4uche aus Meklenburg,\nVol. I, p. 277 and ff.\n\n[350] The word n\u00e1ga, which means snake, may also mean, as Dr. Brockhaus\nexplains it, a mountaineer from naga a mountain.\n\n[351] I conjecture kram\u00e1d for krandat. If we retain krandat we must\nsuppose that the king of the Vidy\u00e1dharas wept because his scheme of\nself-sacrifice was frustrated.\n\n[352] I read adhah for adah.\n\n[353] In the Sicilian stories of the Signora von Gonzenbach an ointment\ndoes duty for the amrita, cp. for one instance out of many, page 145\nof that work. Ralston remarks that in European stories the raven is\nconnected with the Water of Life. See his exhaustive account of this\ncycle of stories on pages 231 and 232 of his Russian Folk-tales. See\nalso Veckenstedt's Wendische Sagen, p. 245, and the story which begins\non page 227. In the 33rd of the Syrian stories collected by Prym and\nSocin we have a king of snakes and water of life.\n\n[354] The home of the serpent race below the earth.\n\n[355] Here equivalent to P\u00e1t\u00e1la.\n\n[356] Here there is a pun: \u00e1kula may also mean \"by descent.\"\n\n[357] Kul\u00edn\u00e1 may mean falling on the earth, referring to the shade of\nthe tree. M\u00e1rgasth\u00e1 means \"in the right path\" when applied to the wife.\n\n[358] I. e. Madam Contentious. Her husband's name means \"of lion-like\nmight.\"\n\n[359] I read (after B\u00f6htlingk and Roth) Ityak\u00e1para. See Chapter\n34. sl. 115.\n\n[360] Tejas = also means might, courage. For the idea see note on\npage 305.\n\n[361] Sneha which means love, also means oil. This is a fruitful\nsource of puns in Sanskrit.\n\n[362] The Hindu Cupid.\n\n[363] Infinitely longer than a mortal kalpa. A mortal kalpa lasts\n432 million years.\n\n[364] He is often called Ananga, the bodiless, as his body was consumed\nby the fire of Siva's eye.\n\n[365] Or virtuous and generous.\n\n[366] It is still the custom to give presents of vessels filled with\nrice and coins. Empty vessels are inauspicious, and even now if a\nBengali on going out of his house meets a person carrying an empty\npitcher, he turns back, and waits a minute or two.\n\n[367] A: Peace, war, march, halt, stratagem and recourse to the\nprotection of a mightier king.\n\n[368] The elephant-headed god has his trunk painted with red lead\nlike a tame elephant, and is also liable to become mast.\n\n[369] Followers and attendants upon Siva.\n\n[370] The modern Burdwan.\n\n[371] I. e. Gold-gleam.\n\n[372] For an account of the wanderjahre of young Br\u00e1hman students,\nsee Dr. B\u00fchler's introduction to the Vikram\u00e1nkadevacharita.\n\n[373] More literally--Those whose eyes do not wink. The epithet also\nmeans \"worthy of being regarded with unwinking eyes.\" No doubt this\nambiguity is intended.\n\n[374] I. e. the city of jewels.\n\n[375] \u00c1skandin is translated \"granting\" by Monier Williams and the\nPetersburg lexicographers.\n\n[376] These are worn on the fingers when offerings are made.\n\n[377] A particular posture in religious meditation, sitting with the\nthighs crossed, with one hand resting on the left thigh, the other\nheld up with the thumb upon the heart, and the eyes directed to the\ntip of the nose.\n\n[378] K\u00e1rpatika may mean a pilgrim, but it seems to be used in the\nK. S. S. to mean a kind of dependant on a king or great man, usually\na foreigner. See chapters 38, 53, and 81 of this work.\n\n[379] First he should be a Brahmach\u00e1rin or unmarried religious student,\nnext a Grihastha or householder, than a V\u00e1naprastha or anchoret,\nlastly a Bhikshu or beggar.\n\n[380] i. e. virtue, wealth, pleasure; dharma, artha, k\u00e1ma.\n\n[381] Graha, also means planet, i. e. inauspicious planet. Siva tells\nthe truth here.\n\n[382] i. e. the auspicious or friendly one.\n\n[383] There is probably a double meaning in the word\n\"incomprehensible.\"\n\n[384] Perhaps we ought to read dattv\u00e1 for tatra.\n\n[385] A report similar to that spread against Harasv\u00e1min was in\ncirculation during the French Revolution. Taine in his history of\nthe Revolution, Vol. I, p. 418 tells the following anecdote: \"M. de\nMontlosier found himself the object of many unpleasant attentions\nwhen he went to the National Assembly. In particular a woman of about\nthirty used to sharpen a large knife when he passed and look at him in\na threatening manner. On enquiry he discovered the cause--Deux enfants\ndu quartier ont disparu enlev\u00e9s par de boh\u00e9miens, et c'est maintenant\nun bruit r\u00e9pandu que M. de Montlosier, le marquis de Mirabeau, et\nd'autres d\u00e9put\u00e9s du c\u00f4t\u00e9 droit se rassemblent pour faire des orgies\ndans lesquelles ils mangent de petits enfants.\"\n\n[386] The city of flowers, i. g. P\u00e1taliputra.\n\n[387] Perhaps we ought to read yayau for dadau. This I find is the\nreading of an excellent MS. in the Sanskrit college, for the loan of\nwhich I am deeply indebted to the Principal and the Librarian.\n\n[388] Probably a poor pun.\n\n[389] Cf. Uttara R\u00e1ma Charita (Vidy\u00e1s\u00e1gara's edition) Act III,\np. 82, the speech of the river-goddess Tamas\u00e1. Lenormant in his\nChald\u00e6an Magic and Sorcery, p. 41, (English Translation), observes:\n\"We must add to the number of those mysterious rites the use of certain\nenchanted drinks, which doubtless really contained medicinal drugs,\nas a cure for diseases, and also of magic knots, the efficacy of\nwhich was firmly believed in, even up to the middle ages.\" See also\nRalston's Songs of the Russian people, p. 288.\n\n[390] In the story of the Beautiful Palace East of the Sun and North\nof the Earth, (Thorpe, Yule-tide Stories, p. 158) an old woman sends\nthe youth, who is in quest of the palace, to her old sister, who again\nrefers him to an older sister dwelling in a small ruinous cottage on\na mountain. In Signora von Gonzenbach's Sicilianische M\u00e4rchen, p. 86,\nthe prince is sent by one \"Einsiedler\" to his brother, and this brother\nsends him to an older brother and he again to an older still, who is\ndescribed as \"Steinalt\" see also p. 162. Compare also the story of\nHasan of El Basra in Lane's Arabian Nights. Cp. also Kaden's Unter den\nOlivenb\u00e4umen, p. 56. We have a similar incident in Melusine, p. 447,\nThe story is entitled La Montagne Noire on Les Filles du Diable. See\nalso the Pentamerone of Basile, Tale 49, Ralston's Russian Folk-Tales,\np. 76; Waldau's B\u00f6hmische M\u00e4rchen, pp. 37 and 255 and ff; and Dasent's\nNorse Tales, pp. 31-32, 212-213, and 330-331.\n\n[391] Wild aboriginal tribes not belonging to the Aryan race.\n\n[392] Destiny often elevates the worthless, and hurls down men\nof worth.\n\n[393] The usual story is that Indra cut off the wings of all except\nMain\u00e1ka the son of Himavat by Men\u00e1. He took refuge in the sea. Here\nit is represented that more escaped. So in Bhartrihari N\u00edti Sataka\nst. 76 (Bombay edition).\n\n[394] For Saktideva's imprisonment in the belly of the fish cp. Chapter\n74 of this work, Indian Fairy Tales by Miss Stokes, No. XIV, and\nLucian's Vera Historia, Book I. In this tale the fish swallows a\nship. The crew discover countries in the monster's inside, establish\na \"scientific frontier,\" and pursue a policy of Annexation. See also\nLane's Arabian Nights, Vol. III, p. 104.\n\n[395] Cf. Grimm's M\u00e4rchen, No. 60, Sicilianische M\u00e4rchen, Nos. 39\nand 40, with Dr. K\u00f6hler's notes.\n\n[396] If such a word can be applied to a place where bodies are burnt.\n\n[397] Sam\u00e1svasya, the reading of a MS. in the Sanskrit College,\nwould perhaps give a better sense.\n\n[398] I. e. skull-cleaver.\n\n[399] Perhaps we ought to read smritv\u00e1 for srutv\u00e1, \"Remembering,\ncalling to mind.\"\n\n[400] So in Signora von Gonzenbach's Sicilian Stories, p. 66, a lovely\nwoman opens with a knife the veins of the sleeping prince and drinks\nhis blood. See also Veckenstedt's Wendische Sagen, p. 354. Ralston in\nhis Russian Folk-Tales, p. 17, compares this part of the story with a\nRussian story and that of Sidi Noman in the \"Thousand and One Nights,\"\nhe refers also to Lane's Translation, Vol. I, p. 32.\n\n[401] One is tempted to read vikrit\u00e1m for vikritim, but\nvikriti is translated by the Petersburg lexicographers as\nGespensterscheinung. Vikrit\u00e1m would mean transformed into a R\u00e1kshas\u00ed.\n\n[402] Skandha when applied to the R\u00e1kshasas means shoulder.\n\n[403] Literally great flesh. \"Great\" seems to give the idea of\nunlawfulness, as in the Greek mega ergon.\n\n[404] Cp. the golden rose in Gaal, M\u00e4rchen der Magyaren, p. 44.\n\n[405] Reading tasy\u00e1n for tasm\u00e1n.\n\n[406] Somadeva no doubt means that the hairs on the king's body stood\non end with joy.\n\n[407] According to the canons of Hindu rhetoric glory is always white.\n\n[408] Night is compared to a female goblin, (R\u00e1kshas\u00ed). Those creatures\nhave fiery mouths.\n\n[409] Cp. Sicilianische M\u00e4rchen collected by Laura von Gonzenbach,\nVol. I, p. 160.\n\n[410] Magical sciences, in virtue of which they were Vidy\u00e1dharas\nor science-holders.\n\n[411] A son or pupil of Visv\u00e1mitra.\n\n[412] I.e. the Ocean.\n\n[413] Compare the erineos megas phylloisi teth\u00eal\u00f4s in the Odyssey,\nBook XII., 103.\n\n[414] The metre of this line is incorrect. There is a superfluous\nsyllable. Perhaps we ought to read ambuvegatah, by the current.\n\n[415] I think we ought to read adhah, downwards.\n\n[416] Cp. Odyssey XII., 432\n\n\n autar eg\u00f4 poti makron erineon hypsos' aertheis\n t\u00f4 prosphys echom\u00ean h\u00f4s nykteris.\n\n\nSee also Lane's Arabian Nights, Vol. III, p. 7.\n\n[417] all' ara h\u00ea ge kat' andr\u00f4n kraata bainei. Iliad XIX, v. 93.\n\n[418] Pakshap\u00e1ta also means flapping of wings. So there is probably\na pun here.\n\n[419] So in the Swedish tale \"The Beautiful Palace East of the Sun and\nNorth of the Earth,\" the Phoenix carries the youth on his back to the\nPalace. Dr. Rost compares Arabian Nights, Night 77. See Lane, Vol. III,\np. 17 and compare the Halcyon in Lucian's Vera Historia, Book II. 40,\n(Tauchnitz edition,) whose nest is seven miles in circumference,\nand whose egg is probably the prototype of that in the Arabian\nNights. Cp. the Gl\u00fccksvogel in Prym and Socin, Syrische M\u00e4rchen,\np. 269, and the eagle which carries Chaucer in the House of Fame. In\nthe story of Lalit\u00e1nga, extracted by Professor Nilmani Mukerjea from\nthe Kath\u00e1 Kosha, a collection of Jaina stories, a Bh\u00e1runda carries the\nhero to the city of Champ\u00e1. There he cures the princess by a remedy,\nthe knowledge of which he had acquired by overhearing a conversation\namong the birds.\n\n[420] We should read sauvarnabhitti.\n\n[421] Or Chandraprabh\u00e1, whose name means \"light of the moon.\" The\nforbidden chamber will at once remind the reader of Perrault's La Barbe\nBleue. The lake incident is exactly similar to one in Chapter 81 of\nthis work and to that of Kandarpaketu in the Hitopadesa. See Ralston's\nRussian Folk-tales page 99. He refers to this story and compares it\nwith that of the Third Royal Mendicant, Lane I, 160-173, and gives\nmany European equivalents. See also Veckenstedt's Wendische Sagen,\np. 214. Many parallels will be found in the notes to Grimm's M\u00e4rchen,\nNos. 3 and 46; to which Ralston refers in his exhaustive note. In\nWirt Sikes's British Goblins, p. 84, a draught from a forbidden well\nhas the same effect.\n\n[422] The D\u00e1navas are a class of demons or giants. Ruru was a D\u00e1nava\nslain by Durg\u00e1.\n\n[423] In Sloka 172 b. I conjecture Saktihasto for Saktidevo, as we\nread in sl. 181 b. that the boar was wounded with a sakti.\n\n[424] Literally, having auspicious marks.\n\n[425] A spirit that enters dead bodies.\n\n[426] I read Vidyutprabh\u00e1m for Vidy\u00e1dhar\u00edm. But perhaps it is\nunnecessary.\n\n[427] The Chakora is said to subsist upon moonbeams.\n\n[428] So making him a Vidy\u00e1dhara or \"magic-knowledge-holder.\"\n\n[429] I. e. Ganesa who is invoked to remove obstacles.\n\n[430] This is an elaborate pun in the original. Guna=string and virtue;\nvansa=race and bamboo.\n\n[431] The Taxila of the Greek writers. The Vitast\u00e1 is the Hydaspes\nof the Greeks, now called Jhelum.\n\n[432] Monier Williams says that T\u00e1r\u00e1 was the wife of the Buddha\nAmoghasiddha. Benfey (Orient und Occident, Vol. I, p. 373) says\nshe was a well known Buddhist saint. The passage might perhaps mean\n\"The Buddha adorned with most brilliant stars.\"\n\nIt has been suggested to me that T\u00e1r\u00e1vara may mean Siva, and that\nthe passage means that the Saiva and Bauddha religions were both\nprofessed in the city of Takshasil\u00e1.\n\n[433] I. e. Buddhist ascetics.\n\n[434] A MS. in the Sanskrit College reads suk\u00e1la for svak\u00e1la: the\nmeaning is much the same.\n\n[435] A MS. in the Sanskrit College reads nigrahah=blaming one's\nrelations without cause.\n\n[436] Cp. Ralston's Russian Folk-Tales, p. 122. See also Bartsch's\nSagen, M\u00e4rchen, und Gebr\u00e4uche aus Meklenburg, Vol. I, p. 90.\n\n[437] Moksha is the soul's final release from further transmigrations.\n\n[438] Cp. Gesta Romanorum CXLIII (Bohn's Edition). This idea is found\nin the Telapattaj\u00e1taka, Fausb\u00f6ll, Vol. I, p. 393.\n\n[439] A kind of Pandora.\n\n[440] Compare the argument in the Eunuchus of Terence (III. 5.36 &\nff) which shocked St. Augustine so much (Confessions I. 16).\n\n[441] Et tonantem Jovem et adulterantem.\n\n[442] I separate balavad from bhogad\u00e1yi.\n\n[443] This appears to be found in a slightly different form in the\nHarivansa. (L\u00e9v\u00eaque, Mythes et L\u00e9gendes de l'Inde, p. 220).\n\n[444] The name of certain aboriginal tribes described as hunters,\nfishermen, robbers &c.\n\n[445] In the original Mah\u00e1k\u00e1la, an epithet of Siva in his character\nas the destroying deity.\n\n[446] Generally only one mountain named Main\u00e1ka is said to have fled\ninto the sea, and retained its wings when Indra clipped those of the\nothers. The passage is of course an elaborate pun.\n\n[447] i. e. lion of valour.\n\n[448] i. e. animals, horizontal goers. The pun defies translation,\nthe word I have translated arrow is literally \"the not-sideways-goer.\"\n\n[449] i. e. by burning herself upon the funeral pyre.\n\n[450] The word t\u00e1rak\u00e1 means also a star. So here we have one of those\npuns in which our author delights.\n\n[451] Also full of affection. This is a common pun.\n\n[452] Beasts of prey, or possibly R\u00e1kshasas.\n\n[453] Compare the translation of the life of St. Brigit by Whitley\nStokes, (Three Middle Irish Homilies, p. 65.)\n\n\"Shortly after that came a certain nobleman unto Dubthach to ask for\nhis daughter in marriage. Dubthach and his sons were willing, but\nBrigit refused. Said a brother of her brethren named Becc\u00e1n unto her:\n'Idle is the fair eye that is in thy head not to be on a pillow near\na husband.' 'The son of the Virgin knoweth' said Brigit, 'it is not\nlively for us if it brings harm upon us.' Then Brigit put her finger\nunder her eye and drew it out of her head till it was on her cheek;\nand she said: 'Lo, here is thy delightful eye, O Becc\u00e1n.' Then his\neye burst forthwith. When Dubthach and his brethren saw that, they\npromised that she should never be told to go to a husband. Then she\nput her palm to her eye and it was whole at once. But Becc\u00e1n's eye\nwas not whole till his death.\"\n\nThat the biographers of Christian saints were largely indebted to\nBuddhist hagiology, has been shewn by Liebrecht in his Essay on\nthe sources of Barlaam and Josaphat, (Zur Volkskunde, p. 441.) In\nMr. Stokes's book, p. 34, will also be found a reference to the\npractice of shewing reverence by walking round persons or things\nkeeping the right hand towards them. This is pointed out by Mr. Stokes\nin his Preface as an interesting link between Ireland and India.\n\nMr. Whitley Stokes has sent me the following quotation in the Revue\nCeltique V, 130 from P. Cahier, Caracteristiques des Saints I, 105;\n\n\"A certain virgin Lucia (doubtful whether of Bologna or of Alexandria)\nse voyant fr\u00e9quemment suivie par un jeune homme qui affectait de\nl'accompagner partout d\u00e8s q'elle quittait sa maison, lui demanda enfin\nce qui l'attachait si fort \u00e0 ses pas. Celui-ci ayant r\u00e9pondu que c'\netait la beaut\u00e9 de ses yeux, la jeune fille se servit de son fuseau\npour faire sortir ses yeux de leur orbite, et dit \u00e0 son poursuivant\nqu'il pouvait les prendre et la laisser d\u00e8sormais en repos. On ajoute\nque cette generosit\u00e9 effrayante changea si fort le coeur du jeune\nhomme qu'il embrassa la profession religieuse. The story of the\nascetic who conquered anger, resembles closely the Khantiv\u00e1dij\u00e1taka\nNo. 313 in Fausb\u00f6ll's edition, Vol. III, p. 39. It is also found\nin the Bodhisattva Avad\u00e1na, under the title Ksh\u00e1nti J\u00e1taka, and in\nthe Mah\u00e1vastu Avad\u00e1na in a form closely resembling that of the P\u00e1li\nJ\u00e1taka book. See Dr. Rajendra L\u00e1l Mitra's Nepalese Buddhist Literature,\npp. 55, 159, and 160.\n\n[454] They are compared to the five sacred fires.\n\n[455] Literally the worthless straw-heap of &c.\n\n[456] Here there is a pun on the two meanings of Sr\u00ed.\n\n[457] In the Svayamvara the maiden threw a garland over the neck of\nthe favoured suitor.\n\n[458] Rasa also means water.\n\n[459] This story is compared by Benfey (Orient und Occident,\nVol. I, p. 374) with the story of the faithful servant V\u00edravara\nin the Hitopadesa, which is also found in the Vet\u00e1lapanchavinsati,\n(see chapter 78 of this work.) V\u00edravara, according to the account in\nthe Vet\u00e1lapanchavinsati, hears the weeping of a woman. He finds it is\nthe king's fortune deserting him. He accordingly offers up his son,\nand finally slays himself. The king is about to do the same when\nthe goddess Durg\u00e1 restores the dead to life. The story of \"Der Treue\nJohannes\" will at once occur to readers of Grimm's tales. According\nto Benfey, it is also found in the Pentamerone of Basile. The form\nof the tale in our text is very similar to that in Grimm. (See\nBenfey's Panchatantra, Vol. I, p. 416.) The story of the faithful\nV\u00edravara occurs twice in this collection, in chapter 53, and also\nin chapter 78. Sir G. Cox (in his Aryan Mythology, Vol. I p. 148),\ncompares the German story with one in Miss Frere's Old Deccan Days,\nthe 5th in that collection. Other parallels will be found in the notes\nin Grimm's third volume. A very striking parallel will be found in\nBernhard Schmidt's Griechische M\u00e4rchen, Story No. 3, p. 68. In this\nstory the three Moirai predict evil. The young prince is saved by his\nsister, from being burnt, and from falling over a precipice when a\nchild, and from a snake on his wedding-day. See also De Gubernatis,\nZoological Mythology, Vol. II, pp. 301-302. Cp. also Coelho's Contos\nPortuguezes, No. 51, Pedro e Pedrito, p. 118, and Grimm's Irische\nM\u00e4rchen, pp. 106, 107. In the Gagga J\u00e1taka, No. 135, Fausb\u00f6ll,\nVol. II, p. 15, the Buddha tells how the custom of saying \"J\u00edva\" or\n\"God bless you\" originated. A Yakka was allowed to eat all who did\nnot say \"J\u00edva\" and \"Patij\u00edva.\" Zimmer in his Alt-Indisches Leben,\np. 60, quotes from the Atharva Veda, \"vor Ungl\u00fcck-bedeutendem Niesen.\"\n\n[460] The same idea is found in Midsummer Night's Dream, Act III,\nSc. 2, beginning, \"We, Hermia, like two artificial gods &c.\"\n\n[461] Cp. Ralston's Russian Folk-Tales, pp. 69 and 71, for the three\ndangers. The custom of saying \"God bless you,\" or equivalent words,\nwhen a man sneezes, is shewn by Tylor (Primitive Culture, Vol. I,\npp. 88-94) to exist in many parts of the world. He quotes many passages\nfrom classical literature relating to it. \"Even the emperor Tiberius,\nthat saddest of men, exacted this observance.\" See also Sir Thomas\nBrowne's Vulgar Errors, Book IV ch. 9, \"Of saluting upon sneezing.\"\n\n[462] There is a story illustrating the \"pertinacity\" of goblins in\nWirt Sikes's British Goblins, p. 191.\n\n[463] I have been obliged to omit some portion of this story. \"It was,\"\nWilson remarks, \"acceptable to the couteurs of Europe, and is precisely\nthe same as that of 'Le petit diable de Papefigue' of Fontaine.\"\n\n[464] Suvrittay\u00e1 means virtuous, and beautifully-rounded.\n\n[465] Cp. Chaucer's Squire's Tale, line 316, \"Ye moten trille a pin,\nstant in his ere.\"\n\n[466] This may remind the reader of the story of the pestle in Lucian's\nPhilopseudes, that was sent to fetch water. When the \u00c6gyptian sorcerer\nwas away, his pupil tried to perform the trick. But he did not know\nthe charm for stopping the water-carrying process. Accordingly the\nhouse was flooded. In despair he chopped the pestle in two with an\naxe. That made matters worse, for both halves set to work to bring\nwater. The story has been versified by Goethe, and the author of the\nIngoldsby Legends.\n\n[467] Here Dr. Brockhaus supposes a line to be omitted. The transition\nis somewhat abrupt.\n\n[468] Cp. with the story of K\u00edrtisen\u00e1 the substance of two modern\nGreek songs given in Liebrecht, Zur Volkskunde, p. 187.\n\n[469] i. e. Wealth-preserved.\n\n[470] B\u00f6htlingk and Roth in their Dictionary explain the passage as\nfollows: imam, (i. e., patim) vyutth\u00e1pya y\u00e1t\u00e1 iti, she was unfaithful\nto her husband.\n\n[471] Gotraja nearly equivalent to the Gentile of Roman law,\nand applied to kindred of the same general family connected by\nofferings of food and water; hence opposed to the Bandhu or cognate\nkindred. She represented that she was a prince whose clansmen were\ntrying to disinherit him.\n\n[472] Cp. Thorpe's Yuletide Stories, p. 341, cited before on p. 25,\nalso Sagas from the Far East, p. 162. The Mongolian version supplies\nthe connecting link between India and Europe. In the Sagas from the\nFar East, the R\u00e1kshasas are replaced by crows. Compare also the way\nin which the gardener in \"Das Rosmarinstr\u00e4uchlein,\" Kaden's Unter den\nOlivenb\u00e4umen, p. 12, acquires some useful information. The story of\nK\u00edrtisen\u00e1 from this point to the cure of the king closely resembles\nthe latter half of Die Zauberkugeln in the same collection. A striking\nparallel will be found in Basile's Pentamerone, Vol. I, p. 166. See\nalso Waldau's B\u00f6hmische M\u00e4rchen, p. 272; Gaal, Die M\u00e4rchen der\nMagyaren, p. 178; Coelho, Contos Populares Portuguezes, p. 47. In\nWaldau's Story there is a strange similarity in the behaviour of the\nking, on first seeing the young physician, to that of Vasudatta. See\nalso the Sixth Tale in Ralston's Tibetan Tales and the remarks in\nthe Introduction, p. li.\n\n[473] Names of R\u00e1kshasas mentioned in the R\u00e1m\u00e1yana.\n\n[474] Water is the principal ingredient of the offering called argha\nor arghya.\n\n[475] This gem is formed from the congelation of the rays of the moon,\nand dissolves under the influence of its light. There is of course\nan elaborate pun in Chandrak\u00e1nta.\n\n[476] This is well known in India now. A crow alighted on a palm-tree\nwhen just about to fall, and so it appeared that his weight made\nit fall. For this and many other hints I am indebted to Pandit\nS. C. Mookerjea, of the Hindu School.\n\n[477] Benfey considers that this, as well as \"Haripriya,\" means\n\"blockhead,\" Orient und Occident, Vol. I, p. 374.\n\n[478] A MS. in the Sanskrit College reads jn\u00e1navijna, i. e., the\nknowing one, the astrologer.\n\n[479] This word means tongue.\n\n[480] Cp. Ralston's Russian Folk-Tales, p. 240. So Arthur in the\nRomance of Artus de la Bretagne (Liebrecht's Dunlop, p. 107) falls\nin love with a lady he sees in a dream. Liebrecht in his note at the\nend of the book tells us that this is a common occurrence in Romances,\nbeing found in Amadis of Greece, Palmerin of Oliva, the Romans de Sept\nSages, the Fabliau of the Chevalier \u00e0 la Trappe, the Nibelungen Lied,\n&c., and ridiculed by Chaucer in his Rime of Sir Topas. He also refers\nto Athen\u00e6us, p. 575, and the Hermotimus of Lucian.\n\n[481] The mountain Mandara which served as a churning-stick at the\nchurning of the ocean of milk.\n\n[482] Vel\u00e1t\u00e1 is evidently corrupt.\n\n[483] This is to be understood literally of Siva and P\u00e1rvat\u00ed, but\nmetaphorically of Ush\u00e1 and Aniruddha.\n\n[484] I read evam for eva.\n\n[485] The wife of Indra.\n\n[486] i. e. Brihaspati.\n\n[487] For san I should prefer sa which is read in a MS. lent me by\nthe Principal of the Sanskrit College.\n\n[488] Takshasil\u00e1 has been identified by General Cunningham with the\nruins of an ancient city near Shah-deri one mile to the north-east\nof K\u00e1la-ka-serai. Mr. Growse has pointed out to me that I made\na mistake in stating (after Wilson) in a note on p. 5 of this\ntranslation, that the precise site of Kaus\u00e1mb\u00ed, the capital of the\nking of Vatsa, which Kalingasen\u00e1 reached in one day in the magic\nchariot, has not been ascertained. He says: \"It has been discovered\nby General Cunningham. The place is still called Kosam, and is on\nthe Yamun\u00e1, about 30 miles above Allahabad. The ruins consist of\nan immense fortress, with earthen ramparts from 30 to 35 feet high,\nand bastions considerably higher, forming a circuit of 23,100 feet,\nor exactly four miles and 3 furlongs. The parapets were of brick\nand stone, some of the bricks measuring 19 in. \u00d7 12 1/2 \u00d7 2 1/2,\nwhich is a proof of their great antiquity. In the midst of these\nruins is a large stone monolith, similar to those at Allahabad and\nDelhi, but without any inscription. The portion of the shaft above\nground is 14 feet in length, and an excavation made at the base for\na depth of 20 feet did not come to the end of it. Its total length\nprobably exceeds 40 feet. There was, I believe, some talk of removing\nit to Allahabad and setting it up there, but it was found to be too\nexpensive an undertaking.\" Sr\u00e1vast\u00ed, which Kalingasen\u00e1 passed on the\nway from Takshasil\u00e1, has been identified by General Cunningham with\nS\u00e1het-Mahet on the south bank of the Rapti in Oudh.\n\n[489] Here there is a slight omission in my translation. Cp. the\nstory of St. Macarius.\n\n[490] The country lying between the Him\u00e1layas on the north, the Vindhya\nmountains on the south, Vinasana on the west and Pray\u00e1ga (Allahabad)\non the east.\n\n[491] A respectful offering to gods or venerable men of rice,\nd\u00farva-grass, flowers &c. with water.\n\n[492] Cp. for the artifice used to ruin Kadal\u00edgarbh\u00e1, Dusent's Norse\nTales, pp. 65 and 66.\n\n[493] Cp. the 40th story in Grimm's Kinder- und Hausm\u00e4rchen, where the\ngirl finds her way by the peas and lentiles which had sprung up. See\nalso the 2nd story in Gonzenbach's Sicilianische M\u00e4rchen, where the\ngirl scatters bran. The author of the notes to Grimm's M\u00e4rchen mentions\na story from Hesse in which the heroine scatters ashes. See also the\n49th of the Sicilianische M\u00e4rchen. See also Bartsch's Sagen, M\u00e4rchen,\nund Gebr\u00e4uche aus Meklenburg, Vol. I, pp. 265, 313, 441-444, and 447,\nwhere peas are used for the same purpose. See also De Gubernatis,\nZoological Mythology, p. 165. See also Perrault's Le petit Poucet;\nBasile's Pentamerone, No. 48.\n\n[494] This is a reproduction of the story of Devasena and Unm\u00e1din\u00ed\nin the 3rd book.\n\n[495] Compare the \"death-darting eye of cockatrice\" in Romeo and\nJuliet. See also Schmidt's Shakespeare Dictionary under the word\n\"basilisk.\"\n\n[496] Benfey found this story in the Arabic Version of the Panchatantra\nand in all the translations and reproductions of it. He finds it also\nin the Mah\u00e1bh\u00e1rata, XII (III, 589) sl. 4930 and ff. He expresses his\nopinion that it formed a portion of the original Panchatantra. See\nBenfey's Panchatantra, pp. 544-560, Orient und Occident,\nVol. I. p. 383. The account in the Mah\u00e1bh\u00e1rata is very prolix.\n\n[497] For nihatya I conjecture nikhanya.\n\n[498] The plant Uraria Lagopodioides (Monier Williams).\n\n[499] For similar instances of forgetting in European stories, see\nNos. 13, 14, 54, 55 in the Sicilianische M\u00e4rchen with K\u00f6hler's notes,\nand his article in Orient und Occident, Vol. II, p. 103.\n\n[500] i. e. K\u00e1ma the Hindu Cupid.\n\n[501] This probably means in plain English that she wore glittering\nanklets.\n\n[502] Cp. the conduct of the Meerweib in Hagen's Helden-Sagen, Vol. I,\np. 55.\n\n[503] i. e. Siva.\n\n[504] Praj\u00e1pati.\n\n[505] Literally--placing it upon his head.Cp. also the following\npassage from Brand's Popular Antiquities, Vol. II, p. 78. \"Borlase\nquotes from Martin's Western Islands. 'The same lustration by\ncarrying of fire is performed round about women after child-bearing,\nand round about children before they are christened, as an effectual\nmeans to preserve both the mother and the infant from the power\nof evil spirits.'\" Brand compares the Amphidromia at Athens. See\nKuhn's Westf\u00e4lische M\u00e4rchen, Vol. I, pp. 125, and 289: Vol. II,\npp. 17 and 33-34.\n\n[506] The superstitious custom of lighting fires, lamps &c., to protect\nchildren against evil spirits is found in many countries. Liebrecht\n(Zur Volkskunde, p. 31,) refers us to Brand's Popular Antiquities,\nedited by Hazlitt, Vol. II, p. 144, for the prevalence of the\npractice in England. \"Gregory mentions 'an ordinary superstition of\nthe old wives who dare not trust a child in a cradle by itself alone\nwithout a candle.' This he attributes to their fear of the night-hag;\"\n(cp. Milton, P. L. II, 662-665). He cites authorities to prove that\nit exists in Germany, Scotland, and Sweden. In the latter country,\nit is considered dangerous to let the fire go out until the child is\nbaptized, for fear that the Trolls may substitute a changeling in its\nplace. The custom exists also in the Malay Peninsula, and among the\nT\u00e1jiks in Bokhara. The Roman custom of lighting a candle in the room\nof a lying-in woman, from which the goddess Candelifera derived her\nname (Tertullian Adv. nation, 2, 11) is to be accounted for in the\nsame way. See also Veckenstedt, Wendische Sagen, p. 446. The same\nnotion will be found in Bartsch's Sagen, M\u00e4rchen, und Gebr\u00e4uche aus\nMeklenburg, Vol. I, pp. 17, 64, 89, 91; Vol. II, p. 43.\n\n[507] For treasures and their guardians see Veckenstedt's Wendische\nSagen, pp. 356-374 and p. 394. For the candle of human fat see Benfey\nin Orient und Occident, Vol. I, p. 383. For treasures and their\nguardians see Bartsch's Sagen, M\u00e4rchen, und Gebr\u00e4uche aus Meklenburg,\nVol. I, p. 243 and ff., and for the candle of human fat, Vol. II,\npp. 333 and 335 of the same work. Cp. also Birlinger, Aus Schwaben,\npp. 251 and 262-270.\n\nIt appears from Henderson's Folk-lore of the Northern Counties, that in\nEurope a candle of human fat is used with the Hand of Glory by robbers\nfor the purpose of preventing the inmates of a house from awaking. He\ngives several instances of its use. The following will serve as a\nspecimen: \"On the night of the 3rd of January 1831, some Irish thieves\nattempted to commit a robbery on the estate of Mr. Napier of Loughcrew,\ncounty Meath. They entered the house armed with a dead man's hand\nwith a lighted candle in it, believing in the superstitious notion\nthat a candle placed in a dead man's hand will not be seen by any but\nthose by whom it is used, and also that if a candle in a dead hand\nbe introduced into a house, it will prevent those who may be asleep\nfrom awaking. The inmates however, were alarmed, and the robbers fled,\nleaving the hand behind them.\" The composition of the candle is evident\nfrom the following extract from the Dictionnaire Infernal of Colin de\nPlaney. \"The Hand of Glory is the hand of a man who has been hanged,\nand is prepared in the following manner. Wrap the hand in a piece of\nwinding-sheet, drawing it tight to squeeze out the little blood which\nmay remain; then place it in an earthen-ware vessel with saltpetre,\nsalt and long pepper all carefully and thoroughly powdered. Let\nit remain a fortnight in this pickle till it is well dried, then\nexpose it to the sun in the dog-days till it is completely parched,\nor if the sun be not powerful enough, dry it in an oven heated with\nvervain and fern. Next make a candle with the fat of a hanged man,\nvirgin wax, and Lapland sesame. The Hand of Glory is used to hold this\ncandle when it is lighted. Wherever one goes with this contrivance,\nthose it approaches are rendered as incapable of motion as though they\nwere dead.\" Southey in Book V of his Thalaba the Destroyer represents\na hand and taper of this kind as used to lull to sleep Zohak, the\ngiant keeper of the caves of Babylon. (See the extracts from Grose\nand Torquemada in the notes to Southey's poem.) Dousterswivel in\nSir Walter Scott's Antiquary tells us that the monks used the Hand\nof Glory to conceal their treasures. (Henderson's Folk-lore of the\nNorthern Counties of England and the Borders, p. 200 and ff.)\n\nPreller, in his R\u00f6mische Mythologie, p. 488, has a note on incubones\nor treasure-guarding spirits. Treasures can often be acquired\nby stealing the caps worn by these incubones as a symbol of their\nsecret and mysterious character. See also the Pentamerone of Basile,\np. 96; Grohmann, Sagen aus B\u00f6hmen, p. 29 and ff; Bernhard Schmidt's\nGriechische M\u00e4rchen, p. 28. The bug-bears were no doubt much of the\nkind found in Sch\u00f6ppner's Sagenbuch der Bayerischen Lande, Vol. I,\np. 87. For the \"hand of glory\" see Baring Gould's Curious Myths of the\nMiddle Ages, pp. 405-409. Brand in his Popular Antiquities Vol. I,\np. 312, quotes from Bergerac's Satirical Characters and Handsome\ndescriptions in his Letters translated out of the French by a Person\nof Honour, 1658, p. 45, \"I cause the thieves to burn candles of dead\nmen's grease to lay the hosts asleep while they rob their houses.\" A\nlight has this property in Waldau's B\u00f6hmische M\u00e4rchen, p. 360; and\nin Kuhn's Westf\u00e4lische M\u00e4rchen, Vol. I, p. 146.\n\n[508] There is probably a pun too on varti, the wick of a lamp.\n\n[509] Literally \"made by the gods.\"\n\n[510] i. e. prabhutva, the majesty or pre-eminence of the king himself;\nmantra, the power of good counsel; uts\u00e1ha energy.\n\n[511] Cp. Odyssey, VII. 116; Spenser's Faery Queene, III, 6, 42.\n\n[512] The pun here lies in the word kal\u00e1, which means \"accomplishment,\"\nand also a sixteenth of the moon's diameter.\n\n[513] This lotus is a friend of the moon's and bewails its absence.\n\n[514] Or perhaps books.\n\n[515] I read vir\u00e1ga-vishabhrid.\n\n[516] i. e. N\u00e1gavana. For serpent-worship see Tylor's Primitive\nCulture, Vol. II, pp. 217-220. The author of Sagas from the Far\nEast remarks; \"Serpent-Cultus was of very ancient observance, and is\npractised by both followers of Br\u00e1hmanism and Buddhism. The Br\u00e1hmans\nseem to have desired to show their disapproval of it by placing\nthe serpent-gods in the lower ranks of their mythology, (Lassen. I,\n707 and 544, n. 2). This cultus, however, seems to have received a\nfresh development about the time of Asoka circa 250 B. C. (Vol. II,\np. 467). When Madhyantika went into Cashmere and Gandh\u00e1ra to teach\nBuddhism after the holding of the third synod, it is mentioned\nthat he found sacrifices to serpents practised there (II. 234,\n235). There is a passage in Plutarch from which it appears to have\nbeen the custom to sacrifice an old woman (previously condemned to\ndeath for some crime) to the serpent-gods by burying her alive on the\nbanks of the Indus (II. 467, note 4) Ktesias also mentions the serpent\nworship (II. 642). In Buddhist legends serpents are often mentioned\nas protecting patrons of certain towns. (Sagas from the Far East,\np. 355). See also Mr. F. S. Growse's Mathur\u00e1 memoir, p. 71.\n\n[517] Literally thorns.\n\n[518] The up\u00e1yas which are usually enumerated are four, viz. sowing\ndissension, negotiation, bribery and open attack.\n\n[519] The six gunas--peace, war, march, halt, stratagem and recourse\nto the protection of a mightier king.\n\n[520] I read abhyag\u00e1t with a MS. in the Sanskrit College.\n\n[521] I read vismit\u00e1 with a MS. in the Sanskrit College.\n\n[522] i. e. mount Sumeru. The moon being masculine in Sanskrit, the\nwords \"form of the moon\" are used in the original, to satisfy the\nrequirements of classical Hindu Rhetoric, according to which feminine\nthings cannot be compared to masculine.\n\n[523] The sea is always spoken of as full of \"inestimable stones,\nunvalued jewels.\" There is a double meaning throughout. Sadv\u00e1hin\u00ed,\nwhen applied to the sea, may mean \"beautiful rivers.\"\n\n[524] J\u00e1tar\u00fap\u00e1 also means \"having assumed a form,\" so that there is\nanother pun here. I read abhavan for abhavad, in accordance with a\nMS. lent me from the Sanskrit College.\n\n[525] The cedille under the c of candra should be erased in\nDr. Brockhaus's text.\n\n[526] Ganesa, who bestows success or the reverse, and is invoked in\nall undertakings. I read karan d\u00e1n\u00e1mbhas\u00e1.\n\n[527] The word also means \"shade.\"\n\n[528] I have no idea what this word l\u00edl\u00e1vajra means. It is translated\nby B\u00f6htlingk and Roth--ein wie ein Donnerkeil aussehendes Werkzeug.\n\n[529] Possibly there is a pun here: d\u00e1na, giving, also means cutting.\n\n[530] The fruit of the Bel, well-known to Anglo-Indians.\n\n[531] P\u00e1rvat\u00ed or Durg\u00e1, the wife of Siva.\n\n[532] The others are the Sun, Fire, Water, Earth, Air, the Moon and\nthe officiating Br\u00e1hman. For the latter is sometimes substituted\npasupati or lord of animals.\n\n[533] Possibly it also means \"the swan of the temple of the mind.\"\n\n[534] An allusion to the Arddhan\u00e1r\u00edsa form of Siva.\n\n[535] Kal\u00e1 = digit of the moon and also accomplishment.\n\n[536] The vidy\u00e1 of the Vidy\u00e1haras. I read prat\u00edkshyate.\n\n[537] Here Professor Brockhaus supposes a hiatus.\n\n[538] Cp. this with the \"jewel-lamps\" on pp. 189 and 305, and the\nluminous carbuncle in Gesta Romanorum, CVII. Sir Thomas Browne, in\nhis Vulgar Errors, Book II, chapter 5, says, \"Whether a carbuncle\ndoth flame in the dark, or shine like a coal in the night, though\ngenerally agreed on by common believers, is very much questioned\nby many.\" See also Simrock's Deutsche Volksb\u00fccher, Vol. I, p. 301;\nVol. III, p. 12; Vol. VI, p. 289. Lucian in his De De\u00e2 Syri\u00e2 ch. 32,\nspeaks of a precious stone of the name of lychnis which was bright\nenough to light up a whole temple at night. We read in the history\nof the Pseudo-Callisthenes, Book II, ch. 42, that Alexander found\nin the belly of a fish a precious stone which he had set in gold and\nused at night as a lamp. See also Baring Gould's Curious Myths of the\nMiddle Ages, p. 42. See Gaal, M\u00e4rchen der Magyaren, p. 155; Ariosto,\nOrlando Furioso, III, 14.\n\n[539] i. e. supreme lord of jewels.\n\n[540] i. e. as Indra mounts Air\u00e1vata.\n\n[541] The modern Tamluk. The district probably comprised the small but\nfertile tract of country lying to the westward of the H\u00faghli river,\nfrom Bardw\u00e1n and Kalna on the north, to the banks of the Kosai river\non the south. (Cunningham's Ancient Geography of India, p. 504.)\n\n[542] In the 115th tale of the Gesta Romanorum we read that two chaste\nvirgins were able to lull to sleep and kill an elephant, that no one\nelse could approach.\n\n[543] Both were produced at the churning of the ocean.\n\n[544] A famous linga of Siva in Ujjayin\u00ed.\n\n[545] Perhaps the Pushkal\u00e1vat\u00ed described by General Cunningham in\nhis Ancient Geography of India, p. 49.\n\n[546] There is a studied ambiguity in all these words, the usual\nplay on affection and oil being kept up. A marginal correction in a\nSanskrit College MS. lent to me, gives hridayam. The text has r\u00e1njitam\nsth\u00e1thav\u00e1n. The latter is a vox nihili. Brockhaus's text may be\nexplained--My hand full of my heart was steeped in affection for you.\n\n[547] For \"funeral human sacrifice for the service of the dead,\"\nsee Tylor's Primitive Culture, pp. 413-422. Cp. Hagen's Helden-Sagen,\nVol. III, pp. 165 and 166.\n\n[548] i. e. Producer of horns.\n\n[549] Cp. the 31st tale in Signora von Gonzenbach's Sicilianische\nM\u00e4rchen, (p. 209) where the black figs produce horns. There is also\nin the same story a pipe that compels all that hear its sound to\ndance. See Dr. Reinhold K\u00f6hler's notes on the tale: also Grimm's\nNo. 110 and his notes in his third volume. Cp. also Veckenstedt's\nWendische Sagen, p. 65. See also Ralston's Russian Folk-Tales, p. 283:\nBernhard Schmidt's Griechische M\u00e4rchen, No. 20, and Liebrecht, Zur\nVolkskunde, p. 484. The incident in Sicilianische M\u00e4rchen closely\nresembles one in the story of Fortunatus as told in Simrock's Deutsche\nVolksb\u00fccher, Vol. III, p. 175. There is a pipe that compels all the\nhearers to dance in Hug of Bordeaux, Vol. X, p. 263, and a very similar\nfairy harp in Wirt Sikes's British Goblins, p. 97; and a magic fiddle\nin Das Goldene Schachspiel, a story in Kaden's Unter den Olivenb\u00e4umen,\np. 160. A fiddler in Bartsch's Sagen aus Meklenburg, (Vol. I, p. 130)\nmakes a girl spin round like a top. From that day she was lame. See\nalso De Gubernatis, Zoological Mythology, Vol. I, pp. 182 and 288,\nand Baring Gould, IInd Series, p. 152. Kuhn, in his Westf\u00e4lische\nM\u00e4rchen, Vol. I, p. 183, mentions a belief that horns grew on the\nhead of one who looked at the Wild Huntsman. It is just possible that\nthis notion may be derived from the story of Act\u00e6on. A statue found\nin the ruins of the villa of Antoninus Pius near Lavinium represents\nhim with his human form and with the horns just sprouting. (Engravings\nfrom Ancient Marbles in the British Museum, Plate XLV.) Cp. also the\nstory of Cipus in Ovid's Metamorphoses XV, 552-621. For the magic\npipe see Grimm's Irische M\u00e4rchen, Einleitung, p. lxxxiii; Rohde,\nDer Griechische Roman, p. 264. Remarks on the pipe and horns will be\nfound in Ralston's Tibetan Tales, Introduction pp. liv-lvi.\n\n[550] Cp. Grimm's M\u00e4rchen, No. 193. The parallel between Grimm's\nstory and that of Vid\u00fashaka in Chapter 18 is still more striking.\n\n[551] This idea, which is met with so frequently in this work, is found\nin China also. See Giles's Strange Stories from a Chinese Studio,\nVol. I, p. 177, where Miss Li, who is a devil, hears the cock crow\nand vanishes.\n\n[552] Cp. Veckenstedt's Wendische Sagen, pp. 256 and 394. See also\nNo. CXXIX in Giles's Strange Stories from a Chinese Studio, Vol. II,\np. 265, the title of which is \"Making of Animals.\" Cp. with the string\nthe gold rings in the Volsunga Saga, Hagen's Helden-Sagen, Vol. III,\np. 30. In Ovid's Metamorphoses VIII, 850, and ff. there is an account\nof Mestra's transformations. Neptune gave her the power of transforming\nherself whenever she was sold by her father. See also the story of\nAchelous and Hercules in book IX of the Metamorphoses; Prym and Socin's\nSyrische M\u00e4rchen, p. 229, where we have the incident of the selling;\nWaldau, B\u00f6hmische M\u00e4rchen, p. 125; Coelho Contos Portuguezes, p. 32.\n\n[553] Pandit Sy\u00e1m\u00e1 Charan Mukhop\u00e1dhy\u00e1ya conjectures \u00e1soshyam\u00e1ne. This\nI adopt unhesitatingly.\n\n[554] Cp. Sagas from the Far East, p. 35. This story very closely\nresembles that of Sidi Noman in the Arabian Nights, and the Golden\nAss of Apuleius.\n\n[555] Compare Lane's Arabian Nights, Vol. I, pp. 156, 157, also\nCampbell's Tales from the Western Highlands, Vol. II, p. 422,\nand Sagas from the Far East, p. 4. This part of the story comes\nunder Mr. Baring-Gould's Magical Conflict root. (See his Story\nRadicals in the appendix to Henderson's Folklore of the Northern\nCounties.) Cp. also Miss Keary's Heroes of Asgard, p. 223, where Loki\nand Id\u00fana in the forms of a falcon and a sparrow are pursued by the\ngiant Thiassi in the shape of an eagle.\n\n[556] The word samvara, which I have translated \"congregation,\"\nprobably means \"sorcery;\" see B\u00f6htlingk and Roth s. v.\n\n[557] I adopt kritam the reading of a MS. lent me from the Sanskrit\nCollege. I should put a comma after \u00e1l\u00e1pam, as that word is used in\nthe masculine.\n\n[558] I. e. lord of horses.\n\n[559] I. e. lord of elephants.\n\n[560] I. e. Man-lion.\n\n[561] K\u00e1rpatika; for the use of this word see chapters 24, 63 and 81\nof this work.\n\n[562] I follow s\u00e1k\u00fatam the reading of the MS in the Sanskrit\nCollege. So the wounds of Sir Urro of Hungary were healed, as soon\nas they were handled by the valiant Sir Launcelot (La Mort d'Arthure,\nVol. III, p. 270).\n\n[563] Here the word Sramana is used, which generally means--\"Buddhist\nascetic.\"\n\n[564] I. e. deceitful-minded.\n\n[565] Cp. the story of Phalabh\u00fati in the 20th Taranga. I may here\nmention that Liebrecht points out a striking parallel to the story\nof Fulgentius, (with which I have compared that of Phalabh\u00fati,)\nin the Nug\u00e6 Curialium of Gualterus Mapes: (Zur Volkskunde, p. 38).\n\n[566] Cp. Sicilianische M\u00e4rchen, Vol. II, p. 46, where the giant\ntreacherously lets fall his gauntlet, and asks his adversary to pick\nit up. His adversary, the hero of the story, tells him to pick it up\nhimself, and when the giant bends down for the purpose, cuts off his\nhead with one blow of his sword.\n\n[567] Here there is an elaborate pun--kara means hand and also\nproboscis--d\u00e1na giving and the ichor that exudes from the temples\nof a mast elephant. \"Surrounded with clustering bees\" may also mean,\n\"surrounded with handmaids whose consolations worried her.\"\n\n[568] The word vibudha also means gods--and the gods feed on the moon.\n\n[569] Compare the lichi in the XVth of Miss Stokes's Indian Fairy\nTales, and the p\u00e1yasa in the XVIth Sarga of the R\u00e1m\u00e1yana. See also\nSicilianische M\u00e4rchen, page 269, and Bernhard Schmidt's Griechische\nM\u00e4rchen, pp. 104, 117 and 120. The beginning of this tale belongs to\nMr. Baring-Gould's Gold-child root. Another parallel is to be found\nin Kaden's Unter den Olivenb\u00e4umen, p. 168. See also Sagas from the\nFar East, p. 268; Birlinger, Aus Schwaben, p. 105. See Volsunga Saga\nin Hagen's Helden-Sagen, Vol. III, pp. 8 and 9.\n\n[570] Kshetra here means \"a holy field\" or sacred spot.\n\n[571] This part of the story reminds one of the Clerk's Tale in\nChaucer's Canterbury Tales.\n\n[572] See Ralston's Russian Folk-Tales, p. 80 where numerous parallels\nare adduced. Cp. also Gonzenbach's Sicilianische M\u00e4rchen, Vol. I,\np. 199.\n\n[573] Compare the story of \"The Golden Lion\" in Laura von Gonzenbach's\nSicilianische M\u00e4rchen, Vol. II, p. 76, where the lady places a white\ncloth round her waist. See Dr. K\u00f6hler's note on the passage. Compare\nalso the hint which Messeria gives to her lover in the Mermaid,\nThorpe's Yule Tide Stories, p. 198, and the behaviour of Singorra on\npage 214. See also \"The Hasty Word,\" Ralston's Russian Folk-Tales,\np. 368, and The \"Water King and Vasilissa the Wise\", p. 128;\nVeckenstedt's Wendische M\u00e4rchen, pp. 256 and 258, and Liebrecht,\nZur Volkskunde, p. 408 and Wirt Sikes's British Goblins, p. 39. The\nwashing of the hero by a chet\u00ed is quite Homeric, (Odyssey XIX, 386.) In\na Welsh story (Professor Rhys, Welsh Tales, p. 8) a young man discovers\nhis lady-love by the way in which her sandals are tied. There are\nonly two to choose from, and he seems to have depended solely upon\nhis own observation.\n\n[574] A kh\u00e1r\u00ed = about 3 bushels.\n\n[575] Compare the way in which Psyche separated the seeds in the Golden\nAss of Apuleius, Lib. VI. cap X, and the tasks in Grimm's M\u00e4rchen,\nNos. 62, 186, and 193. A similar incident is found in a Danish Tale,\nSwend's Exploits, p. 353 of Thorpe's Yule-Tide Stories. Before the king\nwill allow Swend to marry the princess, he gives him a task exactly\nresembling the one in our text. He is told to separate seven barrels\nof wheat and seven barrels of rye, which are lying in one heap. The\nants do it for him, because he had on a former occasion crumbled\nhis bread for them. See also the story of the beautiful Cardia,\nGonzenbach's Sicilianische M\u00e4rchen, p. 188. The hero has first to eat\na cellar full of beans; this he accomplishes by means of the king\nof the ravens, his brother-in-law. He next disposes of a multitude\nof corpses by means of another brother-in-law, the king of the wild\nbeasts; he then stuffs a large number of mattresses with feathers by\nthe help of a third brother-in-law, the king of the birds. See also\nMiss Stokes's Indian Fairy Tales, Tale XXII, and the note at the end\nof this chapter. So in No. 83 of the Sicilianische M\u00e4rchen the ants\nhelp Carnfedda because he once crumbled his bread for them.\n\n[576] i. e. Siva.\n\n[577] A forest in Kurukshetra sacred to Indra and burnt by Agni the\ngod of fire with the help of Arjuna and Krishna.\n\n[578] Hektor, atar sy moi essi pat\u00ear kai potnia m\u00eat\u00ear\n \u00eade kasign\u00eatos, sy de moi thaleros parakoit\u00eas.\n\n[579] I. e., like an arrow in speed.\n\n[580] For this part of the story see Sicilianische M\u00e4rchen, No 14,\nwith Dr. K\u00f6hler's note.\n\n[581] In Ovid's Metamorphoses VIII, 855, the dominus asks Mestra,\nwho has been transformed into a fisherman, if she has seen herself\npass that way.\n\n[582] Compare the story of \"die kluge Else,\" the 34th in Grimm's\nKinder- und Hausm\u00e4rchen, where the heroine has a doubt about her\nown identity and goes home to ask her husband, and No. 59 in the same\ncollection. Cp. also Campbell's Tales from the West Highlands, Vol. II,\np. 375, where one man is persuaded that he is dead, another that he\nis not himself, another that he is dressed when he is naked. See also\nthe numerous parallels given in Ralston's Russian Folk-Tales, p. 54.,\nLiebrecht (Zur Volkskunde, p. 128) mentions a story in which a woman\npersuades her husband, that he is dead. See also Bartsch's Sagen,\nM\u00e4rchen, und Gebr\u00e4uche aus Meklenburg, Vol. I, p. 508. In Prym and\nSocin's Syrische M\u00e4rchen, No. LXII, page 250, the flea believes\nhimself to be dead, and tells every one so.\n\n[583] Cp. Hagen's Helden-Sagen, Vol. II, p. 167, where Ake makes his\nwife Wolfriana intoxicated with the object of discovering her secret.\n\n[584] Reading avadishy\u00e1ma. I find that this is the reading of a MS. in\nthe Sanskrit College.\n\n[585] I. e. a great or distinguished minister. \"Bull\" is more literal\nthan \"ox,\" but does not suit the English idiom so well. Gomukha\nmeans Ox-face.\n\n[586] Guna means virtue and also a thread.\n\n[587] This incident is found in the story of Yavakr\u00edta in the 135th\nchapter of the Mah\u00e1bh\u00e1rata.\n\n[588] I read r\u00fapam for r\u00fapyam.\n\n[589] I. e. Indra.\n\n[590] Literally \"having no auspicious marks.\"\n\n[591] I. e. Fond of enjoyment.\n\n[592] I. e. \"New moon.\"\n\n[593] In the Mah\u00e1vastu Avad\u00e1na (in Dr. R. L. Mitra's Sanskrit Buddhist\nLiterature of Nepal, p. 123) a girl named Amit\u00e1 is cured of leprosy\nby being shut up in an underground chamber.\n\n[594] I suppose this must mean \"prepared of the flesh of wild goats.\" A\nMS. in the Sanskrit College reads ramy\u00e1ni \"pleasant.\"\n\n[595] Plushta is a mistake for pushta, see B\u00f6htlingk and Roth s. v.\n\n[596] I. e. free from old age.\n\n[597] This reminds one of Story XII in the Gesta Romanorum.\n\n[598] I. e. long-lived.\n\n[599] See the IVth chapter of Ralston's Russian Folk-Tales,\nVeckenstedt's Wendische M\u00e4rchen, page 221, Bernhard Schmidt's\nGriechische M\u00e4rchen, p. 125.\n\n[600] Water, rice, d\u00farva grass, &c. offered to guests.\n\n[601] Fabulous animals with eight feet.\n\n[602] Cp. Sicilianische M\u00e4rchen, Vol. I, p. 74.\n\n[603] I. e. Camphor-produced. In the Arabian Nights the Camphor\nislands are mentioned. See Lane's Translation, Vol. I, page 544.\n\n[604] I find that a MS. in the Sanskrit College reads\navatit\u00edrshum. This is obviously the right reading.\n\n[605] The city of Kuvera the god of wealth.\n\n[606] The mother, i. e., Durg\u00e1.\n\n[607] See Ralston's remarks on this story in his Russian Folk-Tales,\np. 71. In Hagen's Helden-Sagen, Vol. I, p. 44, Hilda reunites, as\nfast as she is cut in two, but at last Dietrich, by the advice of\nHildebrand, steps between the two pieces, and interferes with the vis\nmedicatrix. Baring Gould seems to identify this story of Ind\u00edvarasena\nwith that of St. George. In his essay on that hero-saint, (p. 305,\nNew Edition,) he observes, \"In the Kath\u00e1 Sarit S\u00e1gara a hero fights a\ndemon monster, and releases a beautiful woman from his thraldom. The\nstory, as told by Soma Deva, has already progressed, and assumed a\nform similar to that of Perseus and Andromeda.\n\n[608] The word literally means chariot of the mind. There is a\npun here.\n\n[609] This resembles the German story of the two brothers as given\nin Cox's Aryan Mythology, Vol. I, p. 162. See also Gonzenbach's\nSicilianische M\u00e4rchen, Nos. 39 and 40, with Dr. K\u00f6hler's note. He\nthere refers us to his own remarks on the 4th of Campbell's West\nHighland Tales in Orient und Occident, Vol. II, p. 118, and to Grimm,\nNos. 60 and 85, Hahn No. 22, Widter-Wolf, No. 8, Vernaleken, No. 35,\n&c. In Grimm's No. 60, we have a magic sword, and the temporary\ndeath of one of the brothers is indicated by the dimming of one side\nof a knife. This story resembles Grimm's more closely, than that of\nAsokadatta and Vijayadatta in ch. 25. See also Bartsch's Sagen, M\u00e4rchen\nund Gebr\u00e4uche aus Meklenburg, Vol. I, p. 474. See also De Gubernatis,\nZoological Mythology, Vol. I, p. 328, Vol. II, p. 317. The story of\nAmys and Amylion, in Ellis's Metrical Romances, resembles closely\nthe tale, as given by Grimm and Gonzenbach. So too do the 7th and\n9th stories of the 1st day in the Pentamerone of Basile, and the\n52nd in Coelho's Contos Populares Portuguezes, p. 120. Perhaps the\noldest mythological pair of brothers are the Asvins, who have their\ncounterpart in the Dioscuri and in Heracles and Iphiclus.\n\n[610] I. e., brightness of the sun. Chandravat\u00ed means moonlike.\n\n[611] I. e. Siva the beloved of P\u00e1rvat\u00ed.\n\n[612] I read sarast\u00edr\u00e1t for saritt\u00edr\u00e1t.\n\n[613] Here there is a pun, as the words may also be construed \"woven\nof excellent threads.\"\n\n[614] Maya was the architect of the Daityas. According to some Maya\n= Ptolemaios.\n\n[615] I. e. holding life.\n\n[616] Cp. the Metamorphoses (Golden Ass) of Apuleius, Lib. V,\ncap. III. Visoquestatim semirotundo suggestu propter instrumentum\ncoenatorum, rata refectui suo commodum, libens accumbit. Et illico\nvini nectarei eduliumque variorum fercula copiosa, nullo serviento,\nsed tantum spiritu quodam impulsa, subministrantur. See also the\nromance of Parthenopex of Blois in Dunlop's History of Fiction,\n(Liebrecht's translation, p. 175). See Liebrecht's translation of\nthe Pentamerone of Basile, Vol. I, p. 55.\n\n[617] I. e., holding or possessing a kingdom.\n\n[618] I. e., greed of wealth.\n\n[619] Cp. Die Sieben Weisen Meister c. 18, (Simrock's Deutsche\nVolksb\u00fccher, Vol. XII, p. 185).\n\n[620] See note on page 305.\n\n[621] Cp. Herodotus III. 119; Antigone, vv. 909-912. See also the\nPentamerone of Basile, Vol. II, p. 131, and the Ucchanga J\u00e1taka,\nNo. 67 in Dr. Fausb\u00f6ll's edition.\n\n[622] A mere pun.\n\n[623] I read with a MS. in the Sanskrit College--bhayade h\u00e1 m\u00farta\niva s\u00e1hase.\n\n[624] \"Wish\" is literally \"chariot of the mind,\" so here there is\na pun.\n\n[625] Both Sr\u00ed and the Amrita came out of the sea when it was\nchurned. Sudas\u00e1rha k\u00falena seems to be corrupt.\n\n[626] i. e., Ganesa.\n\n[627] i. e., Diamond-peak.\n\n[628] For ubhayavedyeka the Petersburg lexicographers read\nubhayavedyardha. I have followed this reading.\n\n[629] Identified by General Cunningham with the Sangala of\nAlexander. (Ancient Geography of India, p. 179 & ff.)\n\n[630] i. e., Siva.\n\n[631] I read bodhitah.\n\n[632] K\u00e1nch\u00ed means girdle, guna excellence and thread. The last clause\nmight be translated--made of threads.\n\n[633] I read S\u00faryaprabha for S\u00faryachandra.\n\n[634] Vidyunm\u00e1l\u00e1 means \"garland of lightning.\"\n\n[635] Alluding to Indra's slaying the demon Vritra, who was regarded\nas a Br\u00e1hman, and to his conduct with Ahaly\u00e1.\n\n[636] I. q. Siva.\n\n[637] i. e., Siva.\n\n[638] One of the seven under-worlds.\n\n[639] I. q. Acesines and Hydraotes.\n\n[640] I. e., a day of Brahm\u00e1 consisting of 1000 yugas.\n\n[641] Cp. the halo or aureole round the heads of Christian saints,\nthe circle of rays and nimbus round the head of Greek divinities,\nand the beam that came out of Charles the Great's mouth and illumined\nhis head. (Grimm's Teutonic Mythology, translated by Stallybrass,\np. 323.) Cp. Livy I, 39; and Le Lotus de la Bonne Loi (Burnouf) p. 4.\n\n[642] K\u00e1la means Time, Fate, Death.\n\n[643] I divide sa siv\u00e1khy\u00e1n\u00e1m and take sa to be the demonstrative\npronoun.\n\n[644] I. e. the Yoga system.\n\n[645] This superstition appears to be prevalent in China. See\nGiles's Strange Stories from a Chinese Studio, Vol. I, p. 23, and\nother passages. It was no doubt carried there by the same wave of\nBuddhism that carried there many similar notions connected with the\ntransmigration of souls, for instance the belief that children are\nborn able to speak, and that this is very inauspicious. (Cp. Giles's\nStrange Stories from a Chinese Studio, Vol. I, p. 184 with the story of\nDharmagupta and Chandraprabh\u00e1 in the 17th chapter of this work.) The\nexistence of this latter belief in Europe is probably to be ascribed\nto the influence of Buddhism.\n\n[646] Here I read Srutasarma-sapakshatvam.\n\n[647] Usanas here means Sukra, the spiritual guide of the Asuras.\n\n[648] I read pasy\u00e1sya r\u00fapam. This gives a better sense. It is partly\nsupported by a MS. in the Sanskrit College. The same MS. in the\nnext line reads tv\u00e1m tu pasyati chaiko'pi--I read tv\u00e1m tu pasyatu\nchaisho'pi.\n\n[649] Lit. \"the shape of the moon\"; put for the moon, because the\nauthor is speaking of a woman. See B\u00f6htlingk and Roth s. v.\n\n[650] I. e. \u00e1ryaputra, used by a wife in addressing a husband.\n\n[651] A MS. in the Sanskrit College reads asau where Brockhaus\nreads am\u00far.\n\n[652] The Petersburg lexicographers remark that sampad\u00e1d is \"wohl\nfehlerhaft.\" A MS. in the Sanskrit College has s\u00e1dar\u00e1d. But this\nseems improbable with s\u00e1dare in the line above. Babu Sy\u00e1m\u00e1 Charan\nMukhop\u00e1dhy\u00e1ya conjectures sammad\u00e1d which I have adopted.\n\n[653] The eight Lokap\u00e1las or guardians of the world.\n\n[654] I. e. the Vidy\u00e1dharas.\n\n[655] His charioteer.\n\n[656] I read sam\u00e1r\u00fadha-Bh\u00fat\u00e1sana-vim\u00e1nak\u00e1h.\n\n[657] Reading rabhasokti for nabhasokti. Perhaps siddhimitam in sl. 78,\na, should be siddhamidam.\n\n[658] In the MS. lent me from the Sanskrit College I find\nsodh\u00e1hidansasya and visodhavahnes.\n\n[659] Reading aneko dhany\u00e1rtho.\n\n[660] Cp. Odyssey 4. 841 h\u00f4s hoi enarges oneiron epessyto nyktos\namolg\u00f4, where some suppose amolgos to mean the four hours before\ndaybreak.\n\n[661] I read cha ranad\u00edksh\u00e1y\u00e1m.\n\n[662] The MS. in the Sanskrit College reads tatr\u00e1sy\u00e1stu sivam t\u00e1vat;\nlet him succeed in the battle.\n\n[663] I. e. attendants of Siva.\n\n[664] The word, which I have translated \"human sacrifice,\" is\npurushamedha. For the prevalence of human sacrifices among all nations\nof antiquity see Grimm's Teutonic Mythology, translated by Stallybrass,\nVol. I, p. 44 and ff; see also Tylor's Primitive Culture, Vol. II,\np. 246, 353, 361, 365. Dr. Rajendral\u00e1la Mitra. Rai Bahad\u00far, in an\nessay in the Journal of the Asiatic Society for 1876, entitled \"Human\nSacrifices in India,\" traces the history of the practice in India, and\nincidentally among the principal nations of antiquity. The following\nis his own summary of his conclusions with respect to the practice\nin India. (1) That, looking to the history of human civilization,\nand the rituals of the Hindus, there is nothing to justify the belief\nthat in ancient times the Hindus were incapable of sacrificing human\nbeings to their gods. (2) That the Sunahsepha hymns of the Rig Veda\nSanhit\u00e1 most probably refer to a human sacrifice. (3) That the Aitareya\nBr\u00e1hmana refers to an actual, and not a typical human sacrifice. (4)\nThat the Purushamedha originally required the actual sacrifice of\nmen. (5) That the Satapatha Br\u00e1hmana sanctions human sacrifice in some\ncases, but makes the Purushamedha emblematic. (6) That the Taittir\u00edya\nBr\u00e1hmana enjoins the sacrifice of a man at the Horse sacrifice. (7)\nThat the Pur\u00e1nas recognise human sacrifices to Chandik\u00e1 but prohibit\nthe Purushamedha rite. (8) That the Tantras enjoin human sacrifices\nto Chandik\u00e1, and require that, when human victims are not available,\nan effigy of a human being should be sacrificed to her. Of the\nsacrifices to Chandik\u00e1 we have enough and to spare in the Kath\u00e1\nSarit S\u00e1gara. Strange to say, it appears that human sacrifices were\noffered in Greece on Mount Lykaion in Arcadia even in the time of\nPausanias. Dim traditions with respect to the custom are still found\namong the inhabitants of that region, (Bernhard Schmidt, Griechische\nM\u00e4rchen, p. 27). Cp. the institution of the pharmakoi connected with\nthe worship of Apollo! Preller, Griechische Mythologie, Vol. I, p. 202;\nsee also pp. 240 and 257 and Vol. II, pp. 310 and 466; Herodotus VII,\n197; Plato, Min. p. 315, C; Preller, R\u00f6mische Mythologie, p. 104.\n\n[665] Cp. chapter 45. In chapter 73 will be found another instance\nof a \"rifted rock whose entrance leads to hell.\" Cp. the Hercules\nFurens of Seneca, v. 662 & ff.\n\n[666] For a parallel to the absurdities that follow, see Campbell's\nWest Highland Tales, p. 202.\n\n[667] The personified energies of the principal deities, closely\nconnected with the worship of the god Siva. Professor Jacobi compares\nthem with the Greek goddesses called m\u00eateres, to whom there was a\ntemple in the Sicilian town of Engyion. (Indian Antiquary, January\n1880.)\n\n[668] For \u00e1vaham I read \u00e1havam.\n\n[669] Labdhakakshy\u00e1h is probably a misprint for baddhakakshy\u00e1h.\n\n[670] I read abhik\u00e1nksh\u00e1 for abhik\u00e1nksho which is found in Brockhaus's\ntext. This is supported by a MS. in the Sanskrit College.\n\n[671] The MS. in the Sanskrit College reads jagme.\n\n[672] Possibly an arrow with a head resembling two hands joined.\n\n[673] There is probably a pun here. Kshetra, besides its astrological\nsense, means a wife on whom issue is begotten by some kinsman or duly\nappointed person, as in the Jewish law.\n\n[674] Tvashtri is the Vulcan of the Hindus. Bhaga is an \u00c1ditya regarded\nin the Vedas as bestowing wealth, and presiding over marriage,\nhis Nakshatra is the Uttara Ph\u00e1lgun\u00ed. Aryaman is also an \u00c1ditya;\nP\u00fashan, originally the sun, is in later times an \u00c1ditya. The \"canopy\nof arrows\" reminds us of the saying of Dieneces, Herodotus, VII. 227,\nand of Milton, P. L., VI. 666.\n\n[675] An epithet of Siva in his character of the destroying deity.\n\n[676] There are three different styles of music called t\u00e1ra, ud\u00e1ra,\nand mud\u00e1ra. So the word m\u00e1rga contains a pun.\n\n[677] Ogha means current and also quick time in music.\n\n[678] Chhal\u00e1hatah is a mistake for chhal\u00e1dritah. See B\u00f6htlingk\nand Roth, (s. v. han with \u00e1). The MS. in the Sanskrit College has\nchhal\u00e1datah.\n\n[679] Here Brockhaus makes a hiatus.\n\n[680] I read Gunasarmanah or Gunasarmane.\n\n[681] The old story of Hippolyte, the wife of Acastus, (the \"Magnessa\nHippolyte\" of Horace,) and Peleus, of Antea and Bellerophon, of Ph\u00e6dra\nand Hippolytus, of Fausta and Crispus. See also the beginning of\nthe Seven Wise Masters, Simrock's Deutsche Volksb\u00fccher, Vol. XII,\npp. 128, 129. Cp. also Gr\u00f6ssler, Sagen der Grafschaft Mansfeld,\np. 192. See the remarkable statement in Rohde, Der Griechische Roman,\np. 31, quoted from Pausanias I, 22, 1, to the effect that the story\nof Ph\u00e6dra was known to \"Barbarians.\"\n\n[682] Cp. the English superstitions with regard to the raven, crow\nand magpie (Henderson's Folk-lore of the Northern Counties, pp. 95\nand 96, Hunt's Romances and Drolls of the West of England, p. 429,\nThiselton Dyer, English Folk-lore, pp. 80 and 81). See also Horace,\nOdes, III, 27. In Europe the throbbing or tingling of the left\near indicates calamity, (Liebrecht, Zur Volkskunde, p. 327, Hunt's\nRomances and Drolls of the West of England, p. 430, Thiselton Dyer,\nEnglish Folk-lore, p. 279). See also Bartsch's Sagen, M\u00e4rchen und\nGebr\u00e4uche aus Meklenburg, Vol. II, p. 313, and Birlinger, Aus Schwaben,\npp. 374-378, and 404. For similar superstitions in ancient Greece see\nJebb's Characters of Theophrastus, p. 163, \"The superstitious man,\nif a weasel run across his path, will not pursue his walk until some\none else has traversed the road, or until he has thrown three stones\nacross it. When he sees a serpent in his house, if it be the red snake,\nhe will invoke Sabazius, if the sacred snake, he will straightway place\na shrine on the spot * * * * If an owl is startled by him in his walk,\nhe will exclaim \"Glory be to Athene!\" before he proceeds.\" Jebb refers\nus to Ar. Eccl. 792.\n\n[683] The Sanskrit College MS. reads ny\u00e1yam for pr\u00e1ptam \"hear my suit\nagainst Gunasarman.\" This makes a far better sense.\n\n[684] Daridryo is probably a misprint for daridro.\n\n[685] Cp. Thiselton Dyer's English Folk-lore, p. 280. He remarks: \"A\nbelief was formerly current throughout the country in the significance\nof moles on the human body. When one of these appeared on the upper\nside of the right temple above the eye, to a woman it signified good\nand happy fortune by marriage. This superstition was especially\nbelieved in in Nottinghamshire, as we learn from the following\nlines, which, says Mr. Briscoe, (author of 'Nottinghamshire Facts\nand Fictions') were often repeated by a poor girl at Bunny:--\n\n\n 'I have a mole above my right eye,\n And shall be a lady before I die.\n As things may happen, as things may fall\n Who knows but that I may be Lady of Bunny Hall?'\n\n\nThe poor girl's hopes, it is stated, were ultimately realized, and\nshe became 'Lady of Bunny Hall.' See Brand's Popular Antiquities,\nVol. III, pp. 252-255.\n\n[686] I read dehaty\u00e1gam and v\u00e1nchasi.\n\n[687] I. e. \"beautiful.\" There is a pun here.\n\n[688] P\u00e1t\u00e1la = Hades, i. e., the world below, vasati = dwelling.\n\n[689] Here Brockhaus supposes a hiatus.\n\n[690] Savar\u00e1 should probably be sarak\u00e1.\n\n[691] Here Brockhaus supposes a hiatus.\n\n[692] The god of Death.\n\n[693] i. e. Destruction (a goddess of death and corruption).\n\n[694] i. e. the god of the wind.\n\n[695] The god of wealth.\n\n[696] Cp. Homer's Iliad, Book XV, 113-141.\n\n[697] For anyonyais I read anye' anyais.\n\n[698] Or perhaps--with arrows having ten million points.\n\n[699] Cp. Thiselton Dyer's English Folk-lore, p. 203.\n\n[700] Probably some kind of sparkling gem.\n\n[701] Said to mean, planets or demons unfavourable to children.\n\n[702] Cp. Odyssey VII, 117. The same is asserted by Palladius of\nthe trees in the island of Taprobane, where the Makrobioi live. The\nfragment of Palladius, to which I refer, begins at the 7th Chapter\nof the IIIrd book of the History of the Pseudo-Callisthenes edited\nby Carolus Mueller.\n\n[703] i. e., connected in some way with Buddha. See B\u00f6htlingk and\nRoth s. v.\n\n[704] i. e., the Him\u00e1laya.\n\n[705] This seems to agree with the story as told in the Bh\u00e1gavata\nPur\u00e1na. For various forms of the R\u00e1ma legend, see the translation of\nthe Uttara R\u00e1ma Charita by M. F\u00e9lix N\u00e8ve.\n\n[706] The story of Genovefa in Simrock's Deutsche Volksb\u00fccher, Vol. I,\np. 371, bears a striking resemblance to that of S\u00edt\u00e1. The way in\nwhich Schmerzensreich and his father retire to the forest at the\nend of the story is quite Indian. In the Greek novel of Hysminias\nand Hysmine the innocence of the heroine is tested by the fountain\nof Diana (Scriptores Erotici, p. 595). For parallels to the story\nof Genoveva or Genovefa see Prym und Socin, Syrische M\u00e4rchen, LII,\nand the Introduction, p. xxii.\n\n[707] One of the five trees of Paradise. For the golden lotuses, see\nChapter XXV. In Ch. LII we find trees with trunks of gold and leaves\nand fruit of jewels. A similar tree is found in the medi\u00e6val romance\nof king Alexander. Dunlop compares the golden vine carried away by\nPompey. Liebrecht remarks that there was also a golden vine over the\ngate of the temple at Jerusalem, and compares the golden lotus made by\nthe Chinese emperor Tunghwan. He refers also to Huon of Bordeaux, Ysaie\nle Triste, and Grimm's Kinderm\u00e4rchen 130 and 133. (Liebrecht's Dunlop,\np. 184). See also Milton's Paradise Lost, IV. 220 and 256. Cp. Thalaba\nthe Destroyer, Book I, 30. The passage in the Pseudo-Callisthenes\nwill be found in III, 28, Karl Mueller's Edition.\n\n[708] See page 445.\n\n[709] Cp. the story of Seyf ul Mulk in the Persian Tales, and\nthe Bahar-Danush, c. 35 (Dunlop, Vol. II, p. 208, Liebrecht's\ntranslation, p. 335) see also Dunlop's remarks upon the Polexandre of\nGomberville. In this romance Abdelmelec, son of the emperor of Morocco,\nfalls in love with Alcidiana by seeing her portrait (Vol. II, p. 276,\nLiebrecht's translation, p 372.) A similar incident is found in the\nromanco of Agesilaus of Colchos, (Liebrecht's Dunlop, p. 157.) See\nPrym und Socin, Syrische M\u00e4rchen, p. 3; Rohde, Der Griechische Roman,\np. 49; Coelho, Contos Populares Portuguezes, p. 109.\n\n[710] For the vidruteshu of Brockhaus's edition I read nihateshu,\nwhich I find in the Sanskrit College MS.\n\n[711] An elaborate pun. Rasika also means \"full of (poetical) flavour.\"\n\n[712] Dim traditions of this mountain seem to have penetrated to Greece\nand Rome. Aristophanes (Acharnians v. 82) speaks of the king of Persia\nas engaged for 8 months epi chrys\u00f4n or\u00f4n. Clark tells us that Bergler\nquotes Plautus, Stichus 24, Neque ille mereat Persarum sibi montes\nqui esse perhibentur aurei. (Philological Journal, VIII. p. 192.) See\nalso Ter. Phormio I, 2, 18, Pers. III, 65. Narav\u00e1hanadatta's journey\nthrough the air may remind the reader of the air-voyage of Alexander\nin the Pseudo-Callisthenes, II, 41. He sees a serpent below him,\nand a hal\u00f4s in the middle of it. A divine being, whom he meets,\ntells him, that these objects are the earth and the sea.\n\n[713] I. e. Siva.\n\n[714] See note on page 488.\n\n[715] i. e. city of heroes. See Cunningham's Ancient Geography of\nIndia, p. 99.\n\n[716] Cp. the properties of the magic ring given to Canace in the\nSquire's tale, and Grimm's story of \"Die drei Sprachen,\" (No. 33,\nKinderm\u00e4rchen). See also Tylor's Primitive Culture, Vol. I, pp. 18,\n423. In the Edda, Sigurd learns to understand the language of birds\nby tasting the blood of Fafner. For other parallels see Liebrecht's\nDunlop, p. 184, and note 248.\n\n[717] Cp. the 77th chapter of this work, the second in the Vet\u00e1la\nPanchavinsati, and Ralston's exhaustive note, in his Russian\nFolk-tales, pp. 231, 232, 233. Cp. also Bernhard Schmidt's Griechische\nM\u00e4rchen, p. 114, and Bartsch's Sagen, M\u00e4rchen, und Gebr\u00e4uche aus\nMeklenburg, Vol. I, p. 486. The Pseudo-Callisthenes (Book II, c. 40)\nmentions a fountain that restored to life a salt fish, and made one of\nAlexander's daughters immortal. This is perhaps the passage that was\nin Dunlop's mind, when he said (page 129 of Liebrecht's translation)\nthat such a fountain is described in the Greek romance of Ismenias\nand Ismene, for which Liebrecht takes him to task. See the parallels\nquoted by Dunlop and Liebrecht. Wheeler, in his Noted Names of Fiction,\ntells us that there was a tradition current among the natives of\nPuerto Rico, that such a fountain existed in the fabulous island of\nBimini, said to belong to the Bahama group. This was an object of\neager and long-continued quest to the celebrated Spanish navigator,\nJuan Ponce de Leon. By Ismenias and Ismene Dunlop probably means\nHysminias and Hysmine. See also Birlinger, Aus Schwaben, p. 185. Kuhn\nin his \"Herabkunft des Feuers\" traces this story back to the Satapatha\nBr\u00e1hmana.\n\n[718] Here there is an elaborate pun. \"King\" may also mean \"mountain,\"\n\"race\" may mean \"wings,\" and the whole passage refers to Indra's\nclipping the wings of the mountains.\n\n[719] Compare the remarkable passage which M. L\u00e9v\u00eaque quotes from\nthe works of Empedocles (Les Mythes et les L\u00e9gendes de l'Inde, p. 90).\n\n\n Estin anank\u00eas chr\u00eama, the\u00f4n ps\u00eaphisma palaion,\n aidion, plateessi katesphr\u00eagismenon horkois,\n eute tis amplaki\u00easi phon\u00f4 phila gyia mi\u00ean\u00ea\n haimasin \u00ea epiorkon hamart\u00easas epomoss\u00ea\n daim\u00f4n, hoi te makrai\u00f4nos lelachasi bioio,\n tris min myrias h\u00f4ras apo makar\u00f4n alal\u00easthai,\n phyomenon pantoia dia chronou eidea thn\u00eat\u00f4n,\n argaleas biotoio metallassonta keleuthous.\n\n\nI have adopted the readings of Ritter and Preller, in their Historia\nPhilosophi\u00e6, in preference to those of M. L\u00e9v\u00eaque. It is clear that\nEmpedocles supposed himself to be a Vidy\u00e1dhara fallen from heaven in\nconsequence of a curse. As I observed in an article in the Calcutta\nReview of 1875, \"The Bhagavad G\u00edt\u00e1 and Christianity,\" his personality\nis decidedly Indian.\n\n[720] Cp. Odyssey IX. 27, 28.\n\n[721] Comprising the modern provinces of Allahabad, Agra, Delhi\nand Oude.\n\n[722] For anrityata I should like to read anartyata.\n\n[723] i. e., one who has obtained a prize.\n\n[724] Badar\u00edn\u00e1tha is a place sacred to Vishnu in the Him\u00e1layas. The\nBadar\u00edn\u00e1tha peaks, in British Gurwhal, form a group of six summits,\nfrom 22,000 to 23,400 feet above the sea. The town of Badar\u00edn\u00e1tha is\n55 miles north-east of Sr\u00ednagar, on the right bank of the Vishnuganga,\na feeder of the Alakananda. The temple is situated in the highest\npart of the town, and below it a tank, supplied by a sulphureous\nthermal spring, is frequented by thousands of pilgrims. The temple\nis 10,294 feet above the sea. (Akbar, an Eastern Romance, by Dr. Van\nLimburg-Brouwer, with an introduction by Clements Markham, p. 1, note.)\n\n[725] Praj\u00e1 means subjects and also offspring.\n\n[726] The word artha means wealth, and also meaning.\n\n[727] The story of Anangaprabh\u00e1 may be the origin of the seventh\nNovel of the IInd day in the Decameron of Boccacio.\n\n[728] Pray\u00e1ga--Allahabad, the place of sacrifice kat' exoch\u00ean. Here\nthe Gang\u00e1 and Yamun\u00e1 unite with the supposed subterranean Sarasvat\u00ed.\n\n[729] The word in the original is k\u00e1rpatika. B\u00f6htlingk and Roth\nexplain it in this passage as \"ein im Dienste eines F\u00fcrsten\nstehender Bettler.\" It appears from Taranga 81, that a poor man\nbecame a k\u00e1rpatika by tearing a karpata, a ragged garment, in a king's\npresence. The business of a k\u00e1rpatika seems to have been to do service\nwithout getting anything for it.\n\n[730] Cp. the 1st Novel in the 10th Day of the Decameron and Ralston's\nRussian Folk Tales, p. 197.\n\n[731] There is a pun here. The word pal\u00e1sa also means \"cruel,\nunmerciful.\"\n\n[732] The word used shews that he was probably a Buddhist mendicant.\n\n[733] Cp. Miss Frere's Old Deccan days, p. 171, and Giles's Strange\nStories from a Chinese Studio, p. 430, where the young lady says to Ma;\n\"You have often asked me for money, but on account of your weak luck\nI have hitherto refrained from giving you any.\"\n\n[734] This story is found in the Hitopadesa, p. 89 of Johnson's\ntranslation.\n\n[735] These two lines are an elaborate pun--ku = evil, and also earth,\nguna = virtue, and also string, avich\u00e1ra = injustice, also the movement\nof sheep.\n\n[736] I follow the MS. in the Sanskrit College which reads rodorandhre.\n\n[737] Here with the Sanskrit College MS. I read ruditam for the\nunmetrical kranditam.\n\n[738] I read dhrishyan, i. e., rejoicing, from hrish.\n\n[739] The word sattvavara here means \"possessing pre-eminent virtue.\"\n\n[740] In sl. 163 (a) I read mama for may\u00e1 with the Sanskrit College MS.\n\n[741] The story, as told in Chapter 78, is somewhat different from\nthis.\n\n[742] There is a pun in this word mah\u00e1sattva. It means noble, good,\nvirtuous, and also full of great monsters.\n\n[743] This reminds one of the description which Palladius gives of\nthe happy island of Taprobane. St. Ambrose in his version speaks of\nit as governed by four kings or satraps. The fragment begins at the\n7th chapter of the 3rd book of the History of the Pseudo-Callisthenes\nedited by Carolus M\u00fcller. See Rohde, Der Griechische Roman, p. 239.\n\n[744] i. e. Lakshm\u00ed or Sr\u00ed.\n\n[745] Hansa--means swan and also supreme soul, i. e., Vishnu.\n\n[746] War, peace, marching, encamping, dividing one's forces, seeking\nthe alliance of a more powerful king.\n\n[747] Or sects. The word used for \"bee\" means literally the\nsix-footed. The whole passage is full of double meanings, charana\nmeaning foot, line, i. e., the fourth part of a stanza, and also sect.\n\n[748] Darsana utsukah should probably be read here for the sake of\nthe metre.\n\n[749] Here there is a pun.\n\n[750] This passage is an elaborate pun throughout.\n\n[751] I read phalam which I find in the Sanskrit College MS. instead\nof param.\n\n[752] i. e., possessor of much gold.\n\n[753] i. e., Durg\u00e1. For mritaj\u00e1tir I read mritaj\u00e1nir which is the\nreading of the MS. in the Sanskrit College. In the next line j\u00edvit\u00e1\nshould be j\u00edvat\u00e1.\n\n[754] Cp. the story of Dhanagupta and Upabhuktadhana, Benfey's\nPanchatantra, Vol. II, p. 197. It is part of the fifth story, that\nof Somilaka. See Benfey, Vol. I, p. 321, where he traces it to a\nBuddhist source.\n\n[755] I read tapahstha-p\u00farva-drisht\u00e1y\u00e1s one word.\n\n[756] Siva is invoked by a different name for each limb which he is\nasked to protect. See the quotations in Brand's Popular Antiquities\n(Bohn's Edition, Vol. I, pp. 365 and 366) from Moresini Papatus and\nMelton's Astrologaster. Brand remarks, \"The Romanists, in imitation of\nthe heathens, have assigned tutelary gods to each member of the body.\"\n\n[757] V\u00edra means hero.\n\n[758] The puns here defy translation.\n\n[759] Here the Sanskrit text has \"and so resembled himself.\" Each\nof the Sanskrit compounds may be taken in another sense. The \"heat\"\nis valour; the \"swans\" subject kings; the sight of the king delighted\nhis subjects, and he possessed furious elephants.\n\n[760] The Sanskrit College MS. reads As\u00edkalahay\u00e1r\u00fadhah.\n\n[761] Cp. The Lament of Moschos for Bion, 1. 99-104.\n\n[762] I. e. Female snake, somewhat of the nature of the Echidna of\nour boyhood;\n\n\n h\u00eamisy men nymph\u00ean helik\u00f4pida kallipar\u00eaon\n h\u00eamisy d' aute pel\u00f4ron ophin, deinon te megan te.\n\n Hesiod. Theog. 298.\n\n\n[763] Cp. the following passage which Wirt Sikes (British Goblins,\np. 385) quotes from the Mabinogion. \"Take the bowl and throw a bowlful\nof water on the slab,\" says the black giant of the wood to Sir Kai,\n\"and thou wilt hear a mighty peal of thunder, so that thou wilt think\nthat heaven and earth are trembling with its fury. With the thunder\nwill come a shower so severe that it will be hardly possible for thee\nto endure and live. And the shower will be of hailstones; and after\nthe shower the weather will become fair, but every leaf that was\nupon the tree will have been carried away by the shower.\" Cp. Prym\nund Socin, Syrische M\u00e4rchen, p. 116, and Gaal, M\u00e4rchen der Magyaren,\npp. 101 and 102.\n\n[764] I read with the Sanskrit College MS. ajayyah.\n\n[765] B\u00f6htlingk conjectures s\u00farpa for s\u00farya; s\u00farpa is a\nwinnowing-basket.\n\n[766] This is the sense, but--\u00e9psur cannot be right; the Sanskrit\nCollege MS. reads--echchhum. Perhaps--echchhuh will do.\n\n[767] I read tad\u00e1 for pad\u00e1, a conjecture of Babu S. C. Mookerjea's. The\nSanskrit College MS. reads aty\u00e1nandabhrite yuktam n\u00e1vartet\u00e1m yad\u00e1tmani.\n\n[768] I. e. showerer of riches.\n\n[769] The MS. in the Sanskrit College reads svasainyam which saves\nthe metre.\n\n[770] Svasuravesmavartm\u00e1sritas is the reading of the MS. in the\nlibrary of the Sanskrit College.\n\n[771] I read m\u00e1nitaprakritih, following the MS. in the Sanskrit\nCollege.\n\n[772] I. e. earth-protector, king.\n\n[773] Compare for the idea Richard II. Act III, Sc. 2. line 41 and ff.\n\n[774] Here I have omitted a short story.\n\n[775] He seems to correspond to the Junker Voland or Herr Urian of\nthe Walpurgisnacht; (see Bayard Taylor's notes to his translation\nof Goethe's Faust). See also, for the assembly of witches and their\nuncanny president, Birlinger, Aus Schwaben, pp. 323 and 372. In\nBartsch's Sagen &c. aus Meklenburg, pp. 11--44, will be found the\nrecorded confessions of many witches, who deposed to having danced\nwith the Teutonic Bhairava on the Blocksberg. The Mothers of the\nsecond part of Faust probably come from Greece.\n\n[776] Mukta for yukta, which is clearly a misprint.\n\n[777] This story is identical with the story of \"The merchant who\nstruck his mother,\" as given by the Rev. S. Beal in the Antiquary\nfor September 1880. It is also found in the Avad\u00e1na Sataka: see\nDr. R. L. Mitra's Buddhist Literature of Nepal, p. 28, where the above\nMS. is described. See also Dr. R. Morris's remarks in the Academy of\nthe 27th of August, 1881.\n\n[778] A similar transferable wheel is found in the Panchatantra,\nVth Book, 3rd Story. Benfey's Panchatantra, Vol. II, p. 331.\n\n[779] Cp. Ralston's Russian Folk-Tales, p. 358. \"Great stress is laid\nin the skazkas and legends upon the terrible power of a parent's\ncurse. The hasty word of a father or mother will condemn even an\ninnocent child to slavery among devils and when it is once uttered,\nit is irrevocable.\" Throughout the present work curses appear to\nbe irrevocable but susceptible of modification and limitation. See\nWaldau's B\u00f6hmische M\u00e4rchen, p. 537, and the remarks of Preller in\nhis Griechische Mythologie, Vol. II, p. 345.\n\n[780] Perhaps we should read mrishyat\u00e1m, forgive me, be patient.\n\n[781] This character is probably taken from the Mah\u00e1bh\u00e1rata (see\nDowson's Classical Dictionary of Hindu Mythology, p. 90).\n\n[782] I have followed the Sanskrit College MS. which gives \u00e1darsa.\n\n[783] I. e. Benevolent, and also satisfied at heart.\n\n[784] Sadguna means good quality, also \"good thread.\"\n\n[785] The epithet refers also to the arrows and means \"bright with\nexcellent heads.\"\n\n[786] So in Heliodorus, \u00c6thiopica, Lib. III, cap. XIII.\n\nalla tois t' aphthalmois an gn\u00f4stheien atenes diolou blepontes kai to\nblepharon ou pot' epimyontes.--In the third canto of the Purgatorio\nDante is much troubled at finding that Virgil, being a disembodied\nspirit, casts no shadow.\n\n[787] Kali is the side of the die marked with one point. Dv\u00e1para\nis the side marked with two. They are personified here as demons of\ngambling. They are also the present, i. e., the fourth and the third\nYugas or ages of the world.\n\n[788] Cp. Milton's Comus, v. 421 and ff. The word \"might\" also means\n\"fire\". This \"fire\" burnt up the hunter.\n\nThe pun in the previous sentence cannot be rendered in English.\n\n[789] Here there is a pun. Ambara also means the sky.\n\n[790] Preller in his Griechische Mythologie, Vol. II, p. 475, refers\nto a Servian story, in which a shepherd saves the life of a snake in\na forest fire. In return for this service, the snake's father gives\nhim endless treasures, and teaches him the language of birds.\n\n[791] For the jewels in the heads of reptiles see the long note in\nBenfey's Panchatantra, Vol. I, p. 214. The passage in \"As you like it\"\nwill occur to every one. Snakes' crowns are mentioned in Gr\u00f6ssler,\nSagen der Grafschaft Mansfeld, p. 178, in Veckenstedt's Wendische\nM\u00e4rchen, pp. 403-405, and in Grohmann, Sagen aus B\u00f6hmen, pp. 219\nand 223.\n\n[792] Dasa means \"ten,\" and also \"bite.\"\n\n[793] In Prester John's letter quoted by Baring Gould, Curious Myths\nof the Middle Ages, New Edition, p. 43, we find, \"In one of our lands,\nhight Zone, are worms called in our tongue Salamanders. These worms\ncan only live in fire, and they build cocoons like silkworms, which\nare unwound by the ladies of our palace, and spun into cloth and\ndresses, which are worn by our Exaltedness. These dresses, in order\nto be cleansed and washed, are cast into flames.\"\n\n[794] Or robe. The pun is obvious.\n\n[795] Cp. the 28th story in the 1st Part of Sicilianische M\u00e4rchen by\nLaura Gonzenbach, \"Von der Tochter der Sonne.\" Here Lattughina says\n\"Fire, be lighted,\" and immediately a clear fire burned upon the\nhearth. Then she said \"Come along, pan,\" and a golden pan came and\nplaced itself upon the fire. \"Come along oil,\" and the oil came and\npoured itself into the pan. In \"The story of Shams ul d\u00edn and his son,\"\nHasan Badr ul d\u00edn is discovered by his skill in cooking (Lane's Arabian\nNights, Vol. I, p. 266.) De Gubernatis (Zoological Mythology, Vol. I,\np. 158,) remarks that service in the kitchen is especially dear to\nthe young hero. Bh\u00edma disguises himself as a cook in the Vir\u00e1ta parvan\nof the Mah\u00e1bh\u00e1rata. Pausanias tells us, Book I, ch. 16, Seleuk\u00f4 gar,\nhos h\u00f4rmato ek Makedonias syn Alexandr\u00f4, Thyonti en Pell\u00ea t\u00f4 Dii,\nta xyla epi tou b\u00f4mou keimena proub\u00ea te automata pros to agalma,\nkai aneu pyros h\u00eaphth\u00ea.\n\n[796] The Petersburg lexicographers think that samvritti should\nbe sadvritti.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nNOTES TO VOLUME II\n\n\n[1] I read mada for madya.\n\n[2] Nrisinha, Vishnu assumed this form for the destruction of\nHiranyukasipu.\n\n[3] See the note on page 14 of this work. Parallels will be found also\nin the notes to No. 52 of the Sicilian Tales, collected by Laura von\nGonzenbach. I have referred, in the Addenda to the 1st Fasciculus,\nto Ralston's Russian Folk-tales, p. 230, and Veckenstedt's Wendische\nSagen, p. 152. The Mongolian form of the story is found in Sagas from\nthe Far East, p. 148. See also Corrigenda and Addenda to Vol. I,\nand Dasent's Norse Tales, pp. 12, 264, and 293-295, and xcv of the\nIntroduction. The first parallel is very close, as the hero of the\ntale lets out his secret, when warmed with wine. For the most ancient\nexample of this kind of tale, see Rhys Davids, Buddhist Birth Stories,\nIntroduction, pp. xvi-xxi. Cp. Prym und Socin Syrische M\u00e4rchen,\np. 343; Grimm, Irische M\u00e4rchen, No. 9, \"Die Flasche,\" p. 42. In\nthe Bhadraghataj\u00e1taka, No. 291 Sakko gives a pitcher, which is lost\nin the same way. Grimm in his Irische Elfenm\u00e4rchen, Introduction,\np. xxxvii, remarks that \"if a man discloses any supernatural power\nwhich he possesses, it is at once lost.\"\n\n[4] In Bartsch's Sagen, M\u00e4rchen und Gebr\u00e4uche aus Meklenburg, Vol. I,\np. 41, a man possesses himself of an inexhaustible beer-can. But as\nsoon as he told how he got it, the beer disappeared. Another (page 84)\nspoils the charm by looking into the vessel, at the bottom of which\nhe sees a loathsome toad. This he had been expressly forbidden to do.\n\n[5] Wealth in her case, salvation in that of the hermit.\n\n[6] Cp. Winter's Tale, Act VI, Scene 4, line 140.\n\n[7] i. e., beautiful.\n\n[8] I find in the Sanskrit College MS. kimmuchyate for vimuchyate.\n\n[9] In La Fontaine's Contes et Nouvelles III, 13, there is a little\ndog qui secoue de l'argent et des pierreries. The idea probably\ncomes from the Mah\u00e1bh\u00e1rata. In this poem Srinjaya has a son named\nSuvarnasht\u00edvin. Some robbers treat him as the goose that laid the\ngolden eggs was treated. There are also birds that spit gold in\nthe Mah\u00e1bh\u00e1rata. (See L\u00e9v\u00eaque, Les Mythes et L\u00e9gendes de l'Inde,\npp. 289-294.) There is an ass with the same gift in Sicilianische\nM\u00e4rchen, No. 52. For the wishing-stone see Dasent's Norse Tales,\nIntroduction, p. xcv. He remarks that the stone in his tale No. LIX,\nwhich tells the prince all the secrets of his brides, \"is plainly\nthe old Okastein or wishing-stone.\"\n\n[10] The reading should be Makarakatyevam.\n\n[11] There is a certain resemblance between this story and the\nXth Novel of the VIIIth day in Boccacio's Decameron. Dunlop traces\nBoccacio's story to the Disciplina Clericalis of Petrus Alphonsus\n(c. 16). It is also found in the Arabian Nights (story of Ali Khoja,\nthe merchant of Baghdad) in the Gesta Romanorum (c. 118), and in the\nCento Novelle Antiche (No. 74), see also Fletcher's Rule a Wife and\nhave a Wife. (Dunlop's History of Fiction, p. 56, Liebrecht's German\ntranslation, p. 247).\n\n[12] An elaborate pun.\n\n[13] Ralston remarks (Songs of the Russian people, p. 327.) \"The fact\nthat in Slavonic lands, a thousand years ago, widows used to destroy\nthemselves, in order to accompany their dead husbands to the world\nof spirits, seems to rest upon incontestable evidence, and there\ncan be no doubt that 'a rite of suttee, like that of modern India'\nprevailed among the heathen Slavonians, the descendant, perhaps as\nMr. Tylor remarks (Primitive Culture, I, 421) of 'widow-sacrifice'\namong many of the European nations, of 'an ancient Aryan rite belonging\noriginally to a period even earlier then the Veda'\". See also Zimmer,\nAlt-Indisches Leben, pp. 329-331.\n\n[14] i. e., of bad character.\n\n[15] The Sanskrit College MS. inserts n\u00edcho after kritam.\n\n[16] Cp. the falcon in Chaucer's Squire's Tale and the parallels\nquoted by Skeat in his Introduction to Chaucer's Prioresses Tale &c.,\np. xlvii.\n\n[17] An elaborate pun on dvija and s\u00e1kh\u00e1.\n\n[18] For the conception of the sun as an eye see Kuhn, Die Herabkunft\ndes Feuers und des G\u00f6ttertranks, pp. 52, 53. The idea is common in\nEnglish poetry. See for instance Milton, P. L. V. 171, Spenser's\nFaery Queene, I, 3, 4. For instances in classical poetry, see Ovid,\nMet. IV, 228, Ar. Nub. 286, Soph. Tr. 101.\n\n[19] I read tvadv\u00e1kyam with the Sanskrit College MS. and ahit\u00e1sanki\ntachcha in sl. 141 with the same MS.\n\n[20] Cp. Aristophanes, Aves, pp. 169, 170.\n\n\n anthr\u00f4pos ornis astathm\u00eatos, petomenos\n atekmartos, ouden oudepot' en taut\u00f4 men\u00f4n\n\n\n[21] This is also found in the Panchatantra and the Hitopadesa. See\nBenfey's Panchatantra, Vol. I, (Einleitung), p. 100. In fact the\npresent chapter corresponds to the 2nd book of the Hitopadesa, \"The\nseparation of friends,\" Johnson's Translation, p. 40, and to the 1st\nbook of the Panchatantra. In sl. 15, I read, with Dr. Kern, sashp\u00e1n.\n\n[22] Weber supposes that the Indians borrowed all the fables\nrepresenting the jackal as a wise animal, as he is not particularly\ncunning. He thinks that they took the Western stories about the fox,\nand substituted for that animal the jackal. Benfey argues that this\ndoes not prove that these fables are not of Indian origin. German\nstories represent the lion as king of beasts, though it is not a\nGerman animal. (Benfey's Panchatantra, Vol. I, pp. 102, 103). See\nalso De Gubernatis, Zoological Mythology, p. 122.\n\n[23] This story is found in the Hitopadesa, the Panchatantra,\nthe Kalilah and Dimnah, Anv\u00e1r-i-Suhaili, Livre des Lumi\u00e8res,\np. 61, Cabinet des F\u00e9es, XVII. 152, and other collections (Benfey's\nPanchatantra, Vol. I, p. 105.) For the version of the Panchatantra,\nsee Benfey, Vol. II, p. 9, for that of the Hitopadesa, Johnson's\nTranslation, p. 44. For that of the Kal\u00edla and Dimna Benfey refers us\nto Knatchbull's translation, p. 88, for that of the Anv\u00e1r-i-Suhaili\nto Eastwick's translation, p. 86. Benfey considers a fable of \u00c6sop,\nin which an ape tries to fish and is nearly drowned, an imitation of\nthis. It reminds one of the trick which the fox played the bear in\nReineke Fuchs, (Simrock's Deutsche Volksb\u00fccher, Vol. I, p. 148.)\n\n[24] Cp. Panchatantra, Vol. II, p. 21. In the 1st volume Benfey tells\nus that in the old Greek version of the fables of Bidpai, the fox,\nwho represents the jackal, loses through fear his appetite for other\nfood, and for a hen in the Anv\u00e1r-i-Suhaili, 99. The fable is also\nfound in Livre des Lumi\u00e8res, p. 72, Cabinet des F\u00e9es, p. XVII, 183,\nand other collections. The Arabic version and those derived from\nit leave out the point of the drum being found on a battle-field\n(Benfey's Panchatantra, Vol. I, p. 132).\n\nCp. also Campbell's West Highland Tales, p. 268, \"A fox being hungry\none day found a bagpipe, and proceeded to eat the bag, which is\ngenerally made of hide. There was still a remnant of breath in the\nbag, and when the fox bit it, the drone gave a groan, when the fox,\nsurprised but not frightened, said--'Here is meat and music.'\"\n\n[25] I follow the reading of the Sanskrit College MS. m\u00fadhabuddih\nprabhur ny\u00e1yam ukshn\u00e1nen\u00e1dya sikshyate. This satisfies the metre,\nwhich Brockhaus's reading does not.\n\n[26] This word generally means crocodile. But in the Hitopadesa the\ncreature that kills the crane is a crab.\n\n[27] This fable is the 7th in Benfey's translation of the Panchatantra,\nVol. II, p. 58. It is found in the 4th book of the Hitopadesa,\nJohnson's translation, p. 103. It is also found in the Arabic version\n(Wolff, I, 41, Knatchbull, 114), Symeon Seth (Athenian edition, p. 16,)\nJohn of Capua, c. 4, b., German translation (Ulm., p. 1483. D.,\nV, b.,) Spanish translation, XIII, 6, Firenzuola, 39, Doni, 59,\nAnv\u00e1r-i-Suhaili, 117, Livre des Lumi\u00e8res, 92, Cabinet des F\u00e9es, XVII,\n221, Thousand and one Nights (Weil, III, 915.) Cp. Lafontaine, X,\n4. (Benfey, Vol. I, p. 175). Benfey shews that it may be Buddhistic in\norigin, quoting a story from Upham's Sacred and Historical Books of\nCeylon, III, 292. He also shews that it may have come into Buddhist\nbooks from the Greek, as Alc\u00e6us appears to have been acquainted\nwith a similar Greek fable, (\u00c6sopus, Furia 231, Cor., 70). See also\nWeber's Indische Studien, III, 343. I may as well mention that in\nthe notes taken from Benfey's Panchatantra I substitute Johnson's\ntranslation of the Hitopadesa for Max Mueller's. The story is found\nin Rhys Davids' translation of the J\u00e1takas, (pp. 317-321,) which has\njust been published.\n\n[28] Here he is called a jhasha which means \"large fish.\"\n\n[29] Cp. Hitopadesa, Johnson's translation, Fable, IX, p. 61, Arabic,\n(Wolff., 46, Knatchbull, 117,) Symeon Seth, 18, John of Capua c., 5,\nb., German translation (Ulm edition) 1483, E., II, a, Spanish, XIII,\n6, Firenzuola, 43, Doni, 62, Anv\u00e1r-i-Suhaili, 124, Livre des Lumi\u00e8res,\n99, Cabinet des F\u00e9es, XVII, 236, Baldo 4th Fable, Livre des Merveilles\n(in Ed\u00e9l\u00e9stand du M\u00e9ril, Po\u00e9sies In\u00e9dites, 234), also Sukasaptati,\n31. Benfey considers it to be Buddhistic in origin, referring\nto Memoires sur les contr\u00e9es occidentales traduits du Sanscrit\npar Hiouen Thsang et du Chinois par Stan. Julien I, 361, K\u00f6ppen,\nReligion des Buddha, p. 94, Note I, (Benfey's Panchatantra, Vol. I,\np. 179 and ff.) This is the 30th story in my copy of the Sukasaptati.\n\n[30] Dr. Kern conjectures abhigarjinam but the Sanskrit College\nMS. reads matv\u00e1 tatr\u00e1tigarjitam iti sinham, thinking that he was\noutroared there, however, the word sinham must be changed if this\nreading is to be adopted.\n\n[31] I prefer the reading kas of the Sanskrit College MS., and would\nrender, \"Whom can the king make his equal? Fortune does not proceed\nin that way.\"\n\n[32] I read dosham for dosho with the Sanskrit College MS.\n\n[33] Cp. the ninth in Benfey's translation, Vol. II, p. 71. Cp. also\nKalilah and Dimnah, (Wolff. I, 59, Knatchbull, 126), Symeon Seth,\np. 22, John of Capua d, 1, b, German translation (Ulm, 1483) E., V.,\na, Spanish translation, XVI a, Firenzuola, 49, Doni, 75, (Benfey,\nVol. I, p. 223).\n\n[34] Cp. Johnson's translation of the Hitopadesa, Fable XI,\np. 110. Benfey compares Kalilah and Dimnah (Wolff. 1, 78, Knatchbull\n138), John of Capua, d., 3, Symeon Seth, p. 25, German translation\n(Ulm 1483) F. 1, 6, Spanish translation, XVII, 6 and ff, Firenzuola,\n57, Doni 54, Anv\u00e1r-i-Suhaili, 153, Livre des Lumi\u00e8res, 118, Cabinet\ndes F\u00e9es, XVII, 294, (Benfey's Panchatantra, Vol. I, p. 230.) Cp. also\nSagas from the Far East, Tale XIX. In sl. 145, I read vairaktyam;\nsee B\u00f6htlingk and Roth s. v. vairatya.\n\n[35] I adopted this translation of desajna, in deference to the opinion\nof a good native scholar, but might not the word mean simply \"knowing\ncountries?\" The crow then would be a kind of feathered Ulysses,\ncp. Waldau's B\u00f6hmische M\u00e4rchen, p. 255. The fable may remind some\nreaders of the following lines in Spenser's Mother Hubberd's Tale.\n\n\n He shortly met the Tygre and the Bore\n That with the simple Camell raged sore\n In bitter words, seeking to take occasion\n Upon his fleshly corpse to make invasion.\n\n\n[36] Benfey (Panchatantra, Vol. I, p. 231) quotes the following\npassage from John of Capua's version, \"Dicitur autem, melior omnium\nregum est qui aquil\u00e6 similatur in cujus circuitu sunt cadavera,\npejor vero omnium est qui similatur cadaveri in cujus circuitu sunt\naquil\u00e6.\" It is wanting in De Sacy's edition of the Arabic version,\nand in the old Greek translation. This looks as if the Hebrew version,\nfrom which John of Capua translates, was the best representation of\nthe original Indian work.\n\n[37] This corresponds to the 2nd Fable in the IVth book of the\nHitopadesa, Johnson's translation, page 99. Benfey considers that the\nfable of \u00c6sop, which we find in Babrius, 115, is the oldest form of\nit. He supposes that it owes its present colouring to the Buddhists. It\nappears in the Arabic version (Wolff. I, 91, Knatchbull, 146), Symeon\nSeth, p. 28, John of Capua d., 5, b., German translation (Ulm., 1483)\nF., VIII, 6, Spanish translation, XIX a, Firenzuola, 65, Doni 93,\nAnv\u00e1r-i-Suhaili, 159, Livre des Lumi\u00e8res, 124, Cabinet des F\u00e9es, XVII,\n309. (Benfey's Panchatantra, Vol. I, pp. 239, 240). See also Weber,\nIndische Studien, III, 339. This story is found in the Avad\u00e1nas\ntranslated from the Chinese by Stanislas Julien No. XIV, Vol. I,\npp. 71-73, (Liebrecht, Zur Volkskunde, p. 111.) It is the 3rd in La\nFontaine's tenth book. The original source is probably the Kachchhapa\nJ\u00e1taka; see Rhys Davids' Introduction to his Buddhist Birth stories,\np. viii. In Coelho's Contos Portuguezes, p. 15, the heron, which is\ncarrying the fox, persuades it to let go, in order that she may spit\non her hand. (A similar incident on page 112 of this volume.) Gosson\nin his School of Abuse, Arber's Reprints, p. 43, observes, \"Geese\nare foolish birds, yet, when they fly over mount Taurus, they shew\ngreat wisdom in their own defence for they stop their pipes full of\ngravel to avoid gagling, and so by silence escape the eagles.\"\n\n[38] i. e., the provider for the future, the fish that possessed\npresence of mind, and the fatalist, who believed in kismat. This\nstory is found in the Hitopadesa, Book IV, Fable 11, Johnson's\ntranslation. Benfey has discovered it in the Mah\u00e1bh\u00e1rata, XII, (III,\n538) v. 4889, and ff. He compares Wolff., I, 54, Knatchbull, 121,\nSymeon Seth, p. 20, John of Capua, c., 6, b., German translation\n(Ulm., 1483), E. III, a., Spanish, XV, b, Firenzuola, 47, Doni, 73,\nAnv\u00e1r-i-Suhaili, 130, Livre des Lumi\u00e8res, 105, Cabinet des F\u00e9es,\nXVII, 250. (Benfey, Vol. I, pp. 241 and 242)\n\n[39] For the story of the pair of tittibha birds, cp. Hitopadesa,\nBook II, fable X, Johnson's translation, p. 65. Benfey compares\nWolff, I, 84, Knatchbull 145, Symeon Seth, 28, John of Capua d.,\n5, a., German translation (Ulm 1483) F., VII, a., Spanish, XIX, a.,\nFirenzuola, 63, Doni, 92, Anv\u00e1r-i-Suhaili, 158, Livre des Lumi\u00e8res,\n123, Cabinet des F\u00e9es, XVII, 307, (Benfey's Panchatantra, Vol. I,\np. 235) Benfey adduces evidence in favour of its Buddhistic origin.\n\n[40] The following story is the 17th in the 1st Book of the\nPanchatantra, Benfey's translation. He compares the Arabic version\n(Wolff, I, 91, Knatchbull, 150,) Symeon Seth, 31, John of Capua e.,\n1., German translation (Ulm 1483) G., IV., Spanish translation,\nXX, a., Firenzuola, 70, Doni, 98, Anv\u00e1r-i-Suhaili, 170; Cabinet des\nF\u00e9es, XVII, 329. Symeon Seth has for the firefly lithon stilbonta:\nthe Turkish version in the Cabinet des F\u00e9es \"Un morceau de crystal\nqui brillait.\" (Benfey's Panchatantra, Vol. I, pp. 269, 270).\n\n[41] Benfey compares the Arabic version, (Wolff, I, 93, Knatchbull,\n151,) Symeon Seth, 31, John of Capua, o., 2., German translation\n(Ulm 1483) G., VI, b., Spanish, XXI, a., Firenzuola, 73, Doni, 104,\nAnv\u00e1r-i-Suhaili, 172, Livre des Lumi\u00e8res, 129, Cabinet des F\u00e9es,\nXVII, 333, Baldo, Fab. XIX, in Ed\u00e9l\u00e9stand du M\u00e9ril. Benfey points out\nthat that Somadeva agrees wholly or partly with the Arabic version in\ntwo points. The judges set the tree on fire (or apply smoke to it,)\nnot Dharmabuddhi, (as in Panchatantra, Benfey, Vol. II, pp. 114 &\nff.) Secondly, in the Panchatantra the father dies and the son is\nhanged, in De Sacy's Arabic and the old Greek version both remain\nalive, in Somadeva, and John of Capua, and the Anv\u00e1r-i-Suhaili, the\nfather dies and the son is punished. Here we have a fresh proof that\nthe Hebrew version, from which John of Capua translated, is the truest\nrepresentative of the oldest Arabic recension. (Benfey's Panchatantra,\nVol. I, p. 275 and ff.) This story has been found in Tibet by the\nHead Master of the Bh\u00fatia School, Darjiling, Babu Sarat Chandra D\u00e1s.\n\n[42] I read with the Sanskrit College MS. asadvyayi.\n\n[43] i. e., \"Virtuously-minded.\" His brother's name\nmeans--\"Evil-minded.\"\n\n[44] Cp. Hitopadesa, Johnson's translation, Fable, VIII, p. 60. Benfey\nappears not to be aware that this story is in Somadeva. It corresponds\nto the sixth in his 1st Book, Vol. II, p. 67. He thinks that Somadeva\nmust have rejected it though it was in his copy. Benfey says it\nis of Buddhistic origin. It is found in the Arabic version (Wolff,\np. 40, Knatchbull, p. 113), Symeon Seth, (Athenian edition, p. 16),\nJohn of Capua, e., 4, a., German translation, Ulm, 1483 D., IV. b.,\nSpanish, XIII, 6, Firenzuola, 38, Doni, 57, Anv\u00e1r-i-Suhaili, p. 116,\nLivre des Lumi\u00e8res, 91, Cabinet des F\u00e9es, XVII, 220. It is connected\nwith the 20th of the 1st book in Benfey's translation, in fact it is\nanother form of it. (Somadeva's fable seems to be a blending of the\ntwo Panchatantra stories). Cp. also Ph\u00e6drus, I, 28, Aristophanes,\nAves, 652. (Benfey's Panchatantra, Vol. I. pp. 167-170.)\n\n[45] This corresponds to the 21st of the first book in Benfey's\ntranslation, Vol. II, p. 120. Cp. Arabic version (Wolff, I, 98,\nKnatchbull, 156.), Symeon Seth, 33, John of Capua, e., 4, German\ntranslation (Ulm, 1483) H., II, b., Firenzuola, 82, Doni, 113,\nAnv\u00e1r-i-Suhaili, 187, Livre des Lumi\u00e8res, 135, Cabinet des F\u00e9es, XVII,\n353, Robert, Fables in\u00e9dites, II, 193-196. (Benfey, I, 283). It is the\n1st of the IXth Book of La Fontaine's Fables, Le depositaire infid\u00e8le.\n\n\nThis is the 218th J\u00e1taka. A g\u00e1mav\u00e1s\u00ed deposits ploughshares with a\nnagarav\u00e1s\u00ed who sells them and buys m\u00fasikavaccam. \"Ph\u00e1l\u00e1 te m\u00fasike hi\nkh\u00e1dit\u00e1 ti m\u00fasikavaccam dassesi.\" The rest much as in our tale. A\nkulalo is said to have carried off the son. (Fausb\u00f6ll, Vol. II,\np 181.) If Plutarch is to be believed, the improbability of the\nmerchant's son's story is not so very striking, for he tells us,\nin his life of Marcellus, that rats and mice gnawed the gold in the\ntemple of Jupiter Capitolinus.\n\n[46] The argument reminds one of that in \"Die kluge Bauerntochter,\"\n(Grimm's M\u00e4rchen, 94). The king adjudges a foal to the proprietor of\nsome oxen, because it was found with his beasts. The real owner fishes\nin the road with a net. The king demands an explanation. He says,\n\"It is just as easy for me to catch fish on dry land, as for two\noxen to produce a foal.\" See also Das M\u00e4rchen vom sprechenden Bauche,\nKaden's Unter den Olivenb\u00e4umen, pp. 83, 84.\n\n[47] This is No. 84 in Stanislas Julien's translation of the Avad\u00e1nas.\n\n[48] This is No. 67 in Stanislas Julien's translation of the\nAvad\u00e1nas. This story is found in Coelho's Contos Portuguezes,\np. 112. So Ino persuaded the women of the country to roast the\nwheat before it was sown, Preller Griechische Mythologie, Vol. II,\np. 312. To this Ovid refers, Fasti, II, 628, and III, 853-54.\n\n[49] This is No. 70 in Stanislas Julien's translation of the Avad\u00e1nas.\n\n[50] Cp. The Two Noble Kinsmen, Act IV, Scene 2, 1. 110,\n\n\n His nose stands high, a character of honour.\n\n\n[51] This is No. 57 in Stanislas Julien's translation of the Avad\u00e1nas.\n\n[52] This is No. 71 in the Avad\u00e1nas.\n\n[53] The MS. in the Sanskrit College reads\nr\u00e1jakul\u00e1dishtakharj\u00far\u00e1nayanam. This is No. 45 in the Avad\u00e1nas\ntranslated by Stanislas Julien.\n\n[54] The reading of the Sanskrit College MS. is \u00e1drit\u00e1noparenate, but\nprobably the reading is \u00e1drit\u00e1 no, panena te they were not honoured\nbut on the contrary punished with a fine.\n\n[55] I think tad should be tam. The story is No. 58 in the Avad\u00e1nas.\n\n[56] The Sanskrit College MS. reads gahvaragr\u00e1mav\u00e1s\u00ed, but below sa\ngahvarah. This story is No. 38 in the Avad\u00e1nas.\n\n[57] This story is No. 98 in the Avad\u00e1nas.\n\n[58] Benfey shews that this introduction is probably of Buddhistic\norigin. He quotes from Upham's Sacred and Historical books of Ceylon\na story about some snipe, which escape in the same way, but owing to\ndisunion are afterwards caught again. Cp. also Mah\u00e1bh\u00e1rata, V (II,\n180) v. 2455 and ff., also Baldo Fab. X, in Ed\u00e9l\u00e9stand du M\u00e9ril,\nPo\u00e9sies In\u00e9dites, pp. 229, 230, La Fontaine, XII, 15. (Benfey,\nVol. I, p. 304, and ff.) See the first book of the Hitopadesa,\n(page 3, Johnson's translation) and the 2nd book of the Panchatantra\n(page 176, Benfey's translation). It is to be found in Rhys Davids'\ntranslation of the J\u00e1takas, which has just reached India, pp. 296-298.\n\n[59] Cp. Wolff, I, 159, Knatchbull, 201, Symeon Seth, 47, John of\nCapua, g., 3, b., German translation (Ulm, 1483) M., IV, b., Spanish\ntranslation, XXXI, b., Doni, 18, Anv\u00e1r-i-Suhaili, 273, Livre des\nLumi\u00e8res, 211, Cabinet des F\u00e9es, XVII, 410, Hitopadesa (Johnson)\nFable V, p. 22. (Benfey, Vol. I, p. 316.)\n\n[60] For jata we must read j\u00e1ta. Cp. for the power given by a treasure\nthe 18th chapter of this work, see also Benfey, Vol. I, p. 320.\n\n[61] The Sanskrit College MS. has ullambya, having hung it upon a peg.\n\n[62] Cp. Wolff, I, 160, Knatchbull, 202, Symeon Seth, 48, John of\nCapua, g., 6, German translation (Ulm) M., IV, b., Anv\u00e1r-i-Suhaili,\n275, Livre des Lumi\u00e8res, 214, Cabinet des F\u00e9es, XVII, 412. (Benfey,\nVol. I, p. 318.)\n\n[63] Cp. Hitopadesa, Fable VII, p. 30. Benfey compares Wolff, I,\n162, Knatchbull, 203, Symeon Seth, 48, John of Capua, g., 6, German\ntranslation (Ulm, 1483) M., V, Spanish translation, XXXII, a, Doni,\np. 20, Anv\u00e1r-i-Suhaili, 275, Livre des Lumi\u00e8res, 216, Cabinet des\nF\u00e9es, XVII, 413, Camerarius, Fab. \u00c6sop., 388, Lafontaine, VIII, 27,\nLancereau, French translation of the Hitopadesa, 222, Robert, Fables\nIn\u00e9dites, II, 191. (Benfey, Vol. I, p. 320). Cp. also Sagas from the\nFar East, p. 189.\n\n[64] Perhaps we should read--s\u00e1yake.\n\n[65] Here Somadeva departs from the Panchatantra, (Benfey, Vol. I,\np. 318.)\n\n[66] As he does the lion in Babrius, 107.\n\n[67] Benfey compares Grimm R. F. CCLXXXIV, Renart, br. 25, Grimm\nKinder- und Hausm\u00e4rchen, 58, (III, 100) Keller, Romans des sept Sages,\nCLII, Dyocletian, Einleitung, 48, Conde Lucanor, XLIII. (Benfey,\nVol. I, p. 333). See also Lafontaine's Fables, XII, 15. This is\nperhaps the story which General Cunningham found represented on a\nbas-relief of the Bharhut St\u00fapa. (See General Cunningham's St\u00fapa of\nBharhut, p. 67.) The origin of the story is no doubt the Birth-story\nof \"The Cunning Deer,\" Rhys Davids' translation of the J\u00e1takas,\npp. 221-223. The Kurunga Miga J\u00e1taka, No. 206 in Fausb\u00f6ll Vol. II,\np. 152 is a still better parallel. In this the tortoise gnaws through\nthe bonds, the crane (satapatto) smites the hunter on the mouth as\nhe is leaving his house; he twice returns to it on account of the\nevil omen; and when the tortoise is put in a bag, the deer leads\nthe hunter far into the forest, returns with the speed of the wind,\nupsets the bag, and tears it open.\n\n[68] Benfey compares with this the fifth story in the 4th book of\nhis Panchatantra, Wie eine Frau liebe belohnt. But the very story is\nfound in Taranga 65, which was not published when Benfey wrote his\nbook. For parallel stories see Liebrecht, Zur Volkskunde, p. 39 and\nff. where he is treating of a tale in the Nug\u00e6 Curialium of Gualterus\nMapes. The woman behaves like Erippe in a story related by Parthenius\n(VIII). In the heading of the tale we are told that Aristodemus of\nNysa tells the same tale with different names.\n\n[69] The Sanskrit College MS. reads pall\u00edm for patn\u00edm.\n\n[70] N\u00e1ga in the original--a fabulous serpent demon with a human\nface. Cp. Ralston's Russian Folk-Tales, p. 65. \"He flies as a fiery\nsnake into his mistress's bower, stamps with his foot on the ground\nand becomes a youthful gallant.\"\n\n[71] Cp. Arrian's Indika, chapter xvii, McCrindle's translation.\n\n[72] This story corresponds to No. XLIII, in the Avad\u00e1nas.\n\n[73] This to a certain extent resembles the 129th story in the Gesta\nRomanorum, \"Of Real Friendship.\" Douce says that the story is in\nAlphonsus. A story more closely resembling the story in the Gesta is\ncurrent in Bengal, with this difference, that a goat does duty for\nthe pig of the Gesta. A son tells his father he has three friends,\nthe father says that he has only half a friend. Of course the half\nfriend turns out worth all the three put together. The Bengali story\nwas told me by Pandit Sy\u00e1m\u00e1 Charan Mukhop\u00e1dhy\u00e1ya. See also Liebrecht's\nDunlop, p. 291, and note 371. See also Herrtage's English Gesta,\np. 127, Tale 33.\n\n[74] A perpetually recurring pun! The word can either mean \"oiliness\"\nor \"affection.\"\n\n[75] Cp. what Sganarelle says in Le Mariage Forc\u00e9:\n\n\"La raison. C'est que je ne me sens point propre pour le mariage,\net que je veux imiter mon p\u00e8re et tous ceux de ma race, qui ne se\nsont jamais voulu marier.\"\n\n[76] This story bears a certain resemblance to the European stories of\ngrammarians who undertake to educate asses or monkeys. (See L\u00e9v\u00eaque,\nLes Mythes et L\u00e9gendes de l'Inde et de la Perse, p. 320.) La Fontaine's\nCharlatan is perhaps the best known. This story is found in Prym und\nSocin's Syrische M\u00e4rchen, p. 292, where a man undertakes to teach a\ncamel to read.\n\n[77] This story is No. LI in the Avad\u00e1nas.\n\n[78] See Felix Liebrecht, Orient und Occident, Vol. I, p. 135 on\nthe Avad\u00e1nas translated from the Chinese by Stanislas Julien, Paris,\n1859 where this story is found (No. LXIX.) He compares a story of an\nIrishman who was hired by a Yarmouth Malster to assist in loading his\nship. As the vessel was about to set sail, the Irishman cried out from\nthe quay. \"Captain, I lost your shovel overboard, but I cut a big notch\non the rail-fence, round stern, just where it went down, so you will\nfind it when you come back.\" Vol. II, p. 544, note. Liebrecht thinks\nhe has read something similar in the Asteia of Hierokles. See also\nBartsch, Sagen, M\u00e4rchen und Gebr\u00e4uche aus Meklenburg, Vol. I, p. 349.\n\n[79] See Liebrecht, Zur Volkskunde, pp. 119 and 120, also Benfey's\nPanchatantra. Vol. I, p. 391, Nachtr\u00e4ge II, 543. This is No. CIII. in\nthe Avad\u00e1nas.\n\n[80] This is No. XLIX in the Avad\u00e1nas.\n\n[81] This is No. XXXVII in the Avad\u00e1nas.\n\n[82] In the original the husband is called a \"vessel of alms,\" i. e.,\n\"receiver of alms,\" but the pun cannot be retained in the translation\nwithout producing obscurity.\n\n[83] See Benfey's Panchatantra, IIIrd book, page 213, Vol. II. Benfey\npoints out that in the Mah\u00e1bh\u00e1rata, Drona's son, one of the few\nKauravas that had survived the battle, was lying under a sacred\nfig-tree, on which crows were sleeping. Then he sees one owl come and\nkill many of the crows. This suggests to him the idea of attacking\nthe camp of the P\u00e1ndavas. In the Arabic text the hostile birds are\nravens and owls. So in the Greek and the Hebrew translation. John\nof Capua has \"sturni,\" misunderstanding the Hebrew. (Benfey, Vol. I,\n335). Rhys Davids states in his Buddhist Birth Stories (p. 292 note,)\nthat the story of the lasting feud between the crows and the owls is\ntold at length in J\u00e1taka, No. 270.\n\n[84] For Prad\u00edvin the Petersburg lexicographers would read Praj\u00edvin,\nas in the Panchatantra.\n\n[85] Benfey remarks that this fable was known to Plato; Cratylus, 411,\nA, (but the passage might refer to some story of Bacchus personating\nHercules, as in the Ran\u00e6,) and he concludes that the fable came from\nGreece to India. He compares \u00c6sop, (Furia, 141, Coraes, 113,) Lucianus,\nPiscator, 32, Erasmus, \"Asinus apud Cumanos,\" Robert, Fables In\u00e9dites,\nI, 360. (Benfey, Vol. I, p. 463.) I cannot find the fable in Ph\u00e6drus\nor Babrius. The skin is that of a tiger in Benfey's translation, and\nalso in Johnson's translation of the Hitopadesa, p. 74 in the original\n(Johnson's edition). See also Liebrecht, Zur Volkskunde, p. 119. It\nis No. 189 in Fausb\u00f6ll's edition of the J\u00e1takas, and will be found\ntranslated in Rhys Davids' Introduction to his Buddhist Birth Stories,\np. v.\n\n[86] Benfey compares Grimm's M\u00e4rchen, Vol. III, 246, where parallels\nto story No. 171 are given; Thousand and one Nights (Weil, III,\n923). In a fable of \u00c6sop's the birds choose a peacock king. (\u00c6sop,\nFuria, 183, Coraes, 53). (Benfey, Vol. I, p. 347.) See also Liebrecht,\nZur Volkskunde, p. 110, Veckenstedt's Wendische M\u00e4rchen, p. 424, De\nGubernatis, Zoological Mythology, Vol. II, p. 206. See also p. 246 for\nan apologue in which the owl prevents the crow's being made king. See\nalso Rhys Davids' Buddhist Birth Stories, p. 292. See also Brand's\nPopular Antiquities, Vol. III, pp. 196, 197. The story of the crow\ndissuading the birds from making the owl king is J\u00e1taka, No. 270. In\nthe Kosiya J\u00e1taka, No. 226, an army of crows attacks an owl.\n\n[87] Cp. Hitopadesa, 75, Wolff, I, 192; Knatchbull, 223, Symeon Seth,\n58, John of Capua, h., 5, b., German translation (Ulm 1483) O., II,\nSpanish translation, XXXVI, a.; Doni, 36, Anv\u00e1r-i-Suhaili, 315, Livre\ndes Lumi\u00e8res, 246; Cabinet des F\u00e9es, XVII, 437. This fable is evidently\nof Indian origin. For the deceiving of the elephant with the reflexion\nof the moon, Benfey compares Disciplina Clericalis XXIV. (Benfey,\nVol. I, pp. 348, 349.) See also De Gubernatis, Zoological Mythology,\nVol. II, p. 76.\n\n[88] i. e. moon-lake.\n\n[89] Common epithets of the moon. The Hindus find a hare in the moon\nwhere we find a \"man, his dog, and his bush.\"\n\n[90] This story is found in Wolff, I, 197, Knatchbull, 226, Symeon\nSeth, 60, John of Capua, h., 6, b, German translation (Ulm 1483) O.,\nIV, 6, Spanish translation, 36, b, Doni, 38, Anv\u00e1r-i-Suhaili, 322,\nLivre des Lumi\u00e8res, 251, Cabinet des F\u00e9es, XVII, 442, Baldo Fab. XX,\nin Ed\u00e9l\u00e9stand du M\u00e9ril, Poesies In\u00e9dites, p. 249. Benfey finds three\n\"moments\" in the Fable; the first is, the \"hypocritical cat\"; this\nconception he considers to be \"allgemein menschlich\" and compares\nFuria, 14, Coraes, 152, Furia, 15, Coraes, 6, Furia, 67, Coraes,\n28, Robert, Fables In\u00e9dites, I, 216; also Mah\u00e1bh\u00e1rata V. (II, 283)\n5421 and ff., where the cat manages to get herself taken to the\nriver, to die, by the rats and mice, and there eats them. The second\nmoment is the folly of litigiousness: here he compares a passage\nin Dubois's Panchatantra. The third is the object of contention,\nthe nest, for which he compares Ph\u00e6drus, I, 21. (Benfey, Vol. I,\npp. 350-354). I should compare, for the 1st moment, Ph\u00e6drus, Lib. II,\nFabula, IV, (recognovit Lucianus Mueller) Aquila, Feles et Aper,\nLa Fontaine, VII, 16. See also for the \"hypocritical cat\" Liebrecht,\nZur Volkskunde, p. 121. The cat's tactics are much the same as those\nof the fox in Reineke Fuchs (Simrock, Deutsche Volksb\u00fccher, Vol. I,\np. 138.) See also De Gubernatis, Zoological Mythology, Vol. II,\np. 54. The story is No. CXXV in the Avad\u00e1nas. From De Gubernatis,\nZoological Mythology, pp. 227-228 it appears that kapinjala means\na heath-cock, or a cuckoo. Here the word appears to be used as a\nproper name. There is a very hypocritical cat in Prym und Socin,\nSyrische M\u00e4rchen, p. lx. See especially p. 242, and cp. p. 319.\n\n[91] This is the 3rd story in Benfey's translation of the third book\nof the Panchatantra. See Johnson's translation of the Hitopadesa,\np. 110. Wolff, I. 205, Knatchbull, 233. Symeon Seth, 62, John of Capua,\ni., 1, b., German translation O., VI, 6, Spanish, XXXVII, a., Doni,\n42, Anv\u00e1r-i-Suhaili, 331, Livre des Lumi\u00e8res, 254, Cabinet des F\u00e9es,\nXVII, 444. Benfey translates a reference to it in P\u00e1nini. He shews\nthat there is an imitation of this story in the Gesta Romanorum,\n132. In Forlini, Novel VIII, a peasant is persuaded that his kids are\ncapons. Cp. also Straparola, I, 3; Loiseleur Deslongchamps, Essai,\n47, 2. Liebrecht's translation of Dunlop, note 356, Lancereau on\nthe Hitopadesa, 252. (Benfey, Vol. I, pp. 355-357.) See also Till\nEulenspiegel, c. 66, in Simrock's Deutsche Volksb\u00fccher, Vol. X,\np. 452. In the XXth tale of the English Gesta Romanorum (Ed. Herrtage)\nthree \"lechis\" persuade Averoys that he is a \"lepre;\" and he becomes\none from \"drede,\" but is cured by a bath of goat's blood. The 69th\ntale in Coelho's Contos Populares, Os Dois Ment\u00edroses, bears a strong\nresemblance to this. One brother confirms the other's lies.\n\n[92] Benfey compares this with the story of Zopyrus. He thinks that the\nIndians learned the story from the Greeks. See also Avad\u00e1nas. No. V,\nVol. I, p. 31.\n\n[93] Benfey compares Wolff, I, 210, Knatchbull, 237, Symeon Seth,\np. 64, John of Capua i., 2, German translation (Ulm., 1483) No. VIII,\n6, Spanish translation, XXXVIII, a., Doni, 44, Anv\u00e1r-i-Suhaili,\n336, Livre des Lumi\u00e8res, 259, Cabinet des F\u00e9es, XVII, 449. (Benfey's\nPanchatantra, Vol. I, p. 366.) See also La Fontaine, IX, p. 15.\n\n[94] Dr. Kern suggests vyat\u00edta-pushpa-k\u00e1latv\u00e1d. The Sanskrit College\nMS. has the reading of Dr. Brockhaus's text.\n\n[95] Cp. Wolff, I, 212, Knatchbull, 238, Symeon Seth, p. 64, John of\nCapua i., 2, b., German translation (Ulm, 1483) P., I, b., Spanish\ntranslation, XXXVIII, a., Doni, 45, Anv\u00e1r-i-Suhaili, 338, Livre des\nLumi\u00e8res, 261, Cabinet des F\u00e9es, XVII, 451. (Benfey, Vol. I, p. 368.)\n\n[96] See Chapter VII of this work.\n\n[97] Benfey compares the Arabic version, Wolff, I, 214, Knatchbull,\n240, Symeon Seth, 65, John of Capua i., 3, b., German translation\n(Ulm, 1483), P., II. b., Spanish translation, XXXVIII, b., Doni, 47,\nAnv\u00e1r-i-Suhaili, 340, Livre des Lumi\u00e8res, 264; Cabinet des F\u00e9es, XVII,\n453, cp. also Hitopadesa, (Johnson's translation, p. 78). (Benfey,\nVol. I, p. 371.)\n\n[98] This story is found in the Arabic version, Wolff, I, 219,\nKnatchbull, 243, Symeon Seth, 68, John of Capua, i., 4, b., German\ntranslation (Ulm, 1483) P. IV, b., Spanish translation, XXXIX, a.,\nDoni, 50, Anv\u00e1r-i-Suhaili, 355, Livre des Lumi\u00e8res, 279, Cabinet des\nF\u00e9es, XVII, 466, La Fontaine, IX, 7, Polier, Mythologie des Indes,\nII, 571, Hitopadesa, (similar in some respects) Johnson, p. 108,\nMah\u00e1bh\u00e1rata, XII, (III, 515) v. 4254 and ff. Benfey compares also\nthe story of the cat which was changed into a virgin, Babrius,\n32. It is said to be found in Strattis (400 B. C.) (Benfey, Vol. I,\npp. 373 and ff.) See also De Gubernatis, Zoological Mythology, Vol. II,\np. 65. This bears a strong resemblance to A Formiga e a Neve, No. II,\nin Coelho's Contos Portuguezes.\n\n[99] This reminds one of Babrius, Fabula LXXII.\n\n[100] I follow the Sanskrit College MS. which reads bhaj\u00e1mi not\nbhanj\u00e1mi.\n\n[101] See Liebrecht's notes on the Avad\u00e1nas, translated by Stanislas\nJulien, on page 110 of his \"Zur Volkskunde.\" He adduces an English\npopular superstition. \"The country people to their sorrow know the\nCornish chough, called Pyrrhocorax, to be not only a thief, but an\nincendiary, and privately to set houses on fire as well as rob them\nof what they find profitable. It is very apt to catch up lighted\nsticks, so there are instances of houses being set on fire by its\nmeans.\" So a parrot sets a house on fire in a story by Arnauld of\nCarcass\u00e8s (Liebrecht's translation of Dunlop's History of Fiction,\np. 203.) Benfey thinks that this idea originally came from Greece\n(Panchatantra, Vol. I, p. 383.) Cp. also Pliny's account of the\n\"incendiaria avis in Kuhn's Herabkunft des Feuers, p. 31.\n\n[102] This story is found in Wolff, I, 226, Knatchbull, 250, Symeon\nSeth, 70, John of Capua, i., 6, German translation (Ulm, 1483) Q. I,\nSpanish translation, XL, b., Anv\u00e1r-i-Suhaili, 364, Livre des Lumi\u00e8res,\n283, Cabinet des F\u00e9es, XIII, 467, Hitopadesa, Johnson's translation,\np. 112. Benfey compares the western fable of the sick lion. This\nfable is told in the Kath\u00e1 Sarit S\u00e1gara, X, 63, sl. 126, and ff.,\nand will be found further on. (Benfey, Vol. I, p. 384.)\n\n[103] This is No. XVII in the Avad\u00e1nas. Cp. Grohmann, Sagen aus B\u00f6hmen,\np. 35.\n\n[104] i. e. sweet, salt, acid, astringent, bitter, and pungent.\n\n[105] This is No. XLVI in the Avad\u00e1nas.\n\n[106] Naukaha should be no doubt 'anokaha on Dr. Brockhaus's system.\n\n[107] This is No. CIV in the Avad\u00e1nas.\n\n[108] This is No. LXVI in the Avad\u00e1nas.\n\n[109] Cp. the 37th story in Sicilianische M\u00e4rchen, part\nI. p. 249. Giuf\u00e1's mother wished to go to the mass and she said to him\n\"Giuf\u00e1, if you go out, draw the door to after you.\" (Ziehe die Th\u00fcr\nhinter dir zu.) Instead of shutting the door, Giuf\u00e1 took it off its\nhinges and carried it to his mother in the church. See Dr. K\u00f6hler's\nnotes on the story.\n\n[110] For the superstition of water-spirits see Tylor's Primitive\nCulture, p. 191, and ff.\n\n[111] Does this throw any light upon the expression in Swift's Polite\nConversation, \"She is as like her husband as if she were spit out of\nhis mouth.\" (Liebrecht, Volkskunde, p. 495.)\n\n[112] The fact of this incident being found in the Arabian Nights is\nmentioned by Wilson (Collected Works, Vol. IV, p. 146.) See Lane's\nArabian Nights, Vol. I, p. 9. L\u00e9v\u00eaque (Les Mythes et les L\u00e9gendes de\nl' Inde et de la Perse, p. 543) shews that Ariosto borrowed from the\nArabian Nights.\n\n[113] I follow the Sanskrit College MS. which reads\nrakshatyubhayalokatah.\n\n[114] This is the beginning of the fourth book of the\nPanchatantra. Benfey does not seem to have been aware that it was to be\nfound in Somadeva's work. It is also found, with the substitution of a\nboar for the porpoise, in the Sindibad-namah and thence found its way\ninto the Seven Wise Masters, and other European collections. (Benfey's\nPanchatantra, Vol. I, p. 420.) See also Liebrecht, Zur Volkskunde,\npp. 122, 123. For the version of the Seven Wise Masters see Simrock's\nDeutsche Volksb\u00fccher, Vol. XII, p. 139. It is also found in the\nMah\u00e1vastu Avad\u00e1na, p. 138 of the Buddhist Literature of Nepal by\nDr. Rajendra L\u00e1l Mitra, Rai Bahad\u00far. (I have been favoured with a\nsight of this work, while it is passing through the press.) The wife\nof the kumbh\u00edla in the Varanindaj\u00e1taka (57 in Fausb\u00f6ll's edition) has a\nlonging for a monkey's heart. The original is, no doubt, the Sumsum\u00e1ra\nJ\u00e1taka in Fausb\u00f6ll, Vol. II, p. 158. See also M\u00e9lusine, p. 179,\nwhere the story is quoted from Thorburn's Bannu or our Afghan Frontier.\n\n[115] The Sanskrit College MS. reads c\u00e1kshipan where Brockhaus reads\nca kshipan.\n\n[116] In Bernhard Schmidt's Griechische M\u00e4rchen, No. 5, the Lamnissa\npretends that she is ill and can only be cured by eating a gold fish\ninto which a bone of her rival had been turned. Perhaps we ought to\nread s\u00e1dy\u00e1 for s\u00e1dhy\u00e1 in sl. 108.\n\n[117] For stories of external hearts see Ralston's Russian Folk-Tales,\npp. 109-115, and the notes to Miss Stokes's XIth Tale.\n\n[118] Benfey does not seem to have been aware of the existence of this\nstory in Somadeva's work. It is found in the Sanskrit texts of the\nPanchatantra (being the 2nd of the fourth book in Benfey's translation)\nin the Arabic version, (Knatchbull, 264, Wolff I, 242,) Symeon Seth,\n75, John of Capua, k., 2, b., German translation (Ulm 1483) Q.,\nVII, Spanish translation, XLIV, a, Doni, 61, Anv\u00e1r-i-Suhaili, 393,\nCabinet des F\u00e9es, XVIII, 26; Baldo fab. XIII, in Ed\u00e9l\u00e9stand du M\u00e9ril,\np. 333; Benfey considers it to be founded on Babrius, 95. There\nthe fox only eats the heart. Indeed there is no point in the remark\nthat if he had ears he would not have come again. The animal is a\nstag in Babrius. It is deceived by an appeal to its ambition. In the\nGesta Romanorum the animal is a boar, which returns to the garden of\nTrajan, after losing successively its two ears and tail. (Benfey's\nPanchatantra, Vol. I, p. 430 and ff.) See also Weber's article in\nIndische Studien, Vol. III, p. 338. He considers that the fable came\nto India from Greece. Cp. also De Gubernatis, Zoological Mythology,\nVol. I, p. 377. An ass is deceived in the same way in Prym und Socin,\nSyrische M\u00e4rchen, p. 279. In Waldau's B\u00f6hmische M\u00e4rchen, p. 92, one of\nthe boys proposes to say that the Gl\u00fccksvogel had no heart. Rutherford\nin the Introduction to his edition of Babrius, p. xxvii, considers\nthat the fable is alluded to by Solon in the following words:\n\n\n hyme\u00f4s d' heis men hekastos al\u00f4pekos ichnesi bainei\n sympasin d' hymin chouros enesti noos\u00b7\n es gar gl\u00f4ssan horate kai eis epos aiolon andros,\n eis ergon d' ouden gignomenon blepete.\n\n\nBut all turns upon the interpretation of the first line, which\nSchneidewin renders \"Singuli sapitis, cuncti desipitis.\"\n\n[119] I have followed the Sanskrit College MS. in reading\nnirb\u00e1dhasukham.\n\n[120] For parallels to this story compare Liebrecht, Zur Volkskunde,\np. 33, where he treats of the Avad\u00e1nas, and the Japanese story in\nthe Nachtr\u00e4ge. In this a gentleman who had much enjoyed the smell\nof fried eels, pays for them by exhibiting his money to the owner of\nthe cook-shop. See also p 112 of the same work. M. L\u00e9v\u00eaque shews that\nRabelais' story of Le Facquin et le Rostisseur exactly resembles this\nas told in the Avad\u00e1nas. He thinks that La Fontaine in his fable of\nL'Hu\u00eetre et les Plaideurs is indebted to the story as told in Rabelais:\n(Les Mythes et les L\u00e9gendes de l'Inde, pp. 547, 548.) A similar idea is\nfound in the Hermotimus of Lucian, chapters 80 and 81. A philosopher\nis indignant with his pupil on account of his fees being eleven days\nin arrear. The uncle of the young man, who is standing by, being a\nrude and uncultured person, says to the philosopher--\"My good man,\npray let us hear no more complaints about the great injustice with\nwhich you conceive yourself to have been treated, for all it amounts\nto is, that we have bought words from you, and have up to the present\ntime paid you in the same coin.\" See also Rohde, Der Griechische\nRoman, p. 370 (note). Gosson in his School of Abuse, Arber's Reprint,\npp. 68-69, tells the story of Dionysius.\n\n[121] There is a certain resemblance between this story and a joke in\nPhilogelos, p. 16. (Ed. Eberhard, Berlin, 1869.) Scholasticus tells\nhis boots not to creak, or he will break their legs.\n\n[122] This corresponds to the 14th story in the 5th book of the\nPanchatantra, Benfey, Vol. II, p. 360. At any rate the leading idea\nis the same. See Benfey, Vol. I, p. 537. It has a certain resemblance\nto the fable of Menenius. There is a snake in Bengal with a knob at\nthe end of his tail. Probably this gave rise to the legend of the\ndouble-headed serpent. Sir Thomas Browne devotes to the Amphisb\u00e6na\nChapter XV of the third book of his Vulgar Errors, and craves leave to\n\"doubt of this double-headed serpent,\" until he has \"the advantage\nto behold, or iterated ocular testimony.\" See also Liebrecht, Zur\nVolkskunde, p. 120, where he treats of the Avad\u00e1nas. The story is\nidentical with that in our text. M. L\u00e9v\u00eaque shews that this story,\nas found in the Avad\u00e1nas, forms the basis of one of La Fontaine's\nfables, VII, 17. La Fontaine took it from Plutarch's life of Agis.\n\n[123] This story is No. LIX in Sir G. Cornewall Lewis's edition of\nthe Fables of Babrius, Part II. The only difference is that the tail,\nwhen in difficulties, entreats the head to deliver it.\n\n[124] I read hanum, the conjecture of Dr. Kern.\n\n[125] This story appears to have been known to Lucian. In his Demonax\n(28) he compares two unskilful disputants to a couple, one of whom is\nmilking a goat, the other holding a sieve. So Aristophanes speaks of\nonou pokai and ornith\u00f4n gala. It must be admitted that some critics\ndoubt Lucian's authorship of the Demonax. Professor Aufrecht in\nhis Beitr\u00e4ge zur Kenntniss Indischer Dichter quotes a Strophe of\nAmarasinha in which the following line occurs,\n\nDugdh\u00e1 seyam achetanena jarat\u00ed dugdh\u00e1say\u00e1t s\u00fakar\u00ed. Professor Aufrecht\nproposes to read gardabh\u00ed for s\u00fakar\u00ed.\n\n[126] Benfey does not appear to have been aware that this story was to\nbe found in Somadeva's work. It is found in his Panchatantra, Vol. II,\np. 326. He refers to Wolff, II, 1; Knatchbull, 268; Symeon Seth, 76;\nJohn of Capua, k., 4; German translation, (Ulm, 1483) R., 2; Spanish\ntranslation, XLV. a; Doni, 66; Anv\u00e1r-i-Suhaili, 404; Cabinet des F\u00e9es,\nXVIII, 22; Baldo fab. XVI, (in Ed\u00e9l\u00e9stand du M\u00e9ril p. 240). Hitopadesa,\nIV, 13, (Johnson's translation, page 116.) In Sandabar and Syntipas\nthe animal is a dog. It appears that the word dog was also used in\nthe Hebrew translation. John of Capua has canis for ichneumon in\nanother passage, so perhaps he has it here. Benfey traces the story\nin Calumnia Novercalis C., 1; Historia Septem Sapientum, Bl. n.;\nRomans des Sept Sages, 1139; Dyocletian, Einleitung, 1212; Gr\u00e4sse,\nGesta Romanorum II, 176; Keller, Romans, CLXXVIII; Le Grand d' Aussy,\n1779, II, 303; Grimm's M\u00e4rchen, 48. (Benfey, Vol. I, pp. 479-483.) To\nEnglishmen the story suggests Llewellyn's faithful hound Gelert, from\nwhich the parish of Bethgelert in North Wales is named. This legend\nhas been versified by the Hon'ble William Robert Spencer. It is found\nin the English Gesta, (see Bohn's Gesta Romanorum, introduction, page\nxliii. It is No. XXVI, in Herrtage's Edition.) The story (as found\nin the Seven Wise Masters) is admirably told in Simrock's Deutsche\nVolksb\u00fccher, Vol. XII, p. 135. See also Baring Gould's Curious Myths\nof the Middle Ages, 1st Series, p. 126.\n\n[127] Here, as Wilson remarked, (Collected Works, Vol. IV, p. 149) we\nhave the story of Rhampsinitus, Herodotus, II, 121. Dr. Rost compares\nKeller, Dyocletianus Leben, p. 55, Keller Li Romans des Sept Sages,\np. cxciii, Liebrecht's translation of Dunlop's History of Fiction,\npp. 197 and 264. Cp. also Sagas from the Far East, Tale XII; see also\nDr. R. K\u00f6hler in Orient und Occident, Vol. II, p. 303. He gives many\nparallels to Campbell's Gaelic Story of \"the Shifty lad,\" No. XVIII,\nd., Vol. I, p. 331, but is apparently not aware of the striking\nresemblance between the Gaelic story and that in the text. Whisky does\nin the Highland story the work of Dhatt\u00fara. See also Cox's Mythology\nof the Aryan Nations, I, p. 111 and ff. and Liebrecht, Zur Volkskunde,\np. 34. A similar stratagem is described in Gr\u00f6ssler's Sagen aus der\nGrafschaft Mansfeld, p. 219.\n\n[128] Of course Karpara is the Sanskrit for pot. In fact the\ntwo friends' names might be represented in English by Pitcher and\nPott. In modern Hindu funerals boiled rice is given to the dead. So\nI am informed by my friend Pandit Sy\u00e1m\u00e1 Charan Mukhop\u00e1dhy\u00e1ya, to whom\nI am indebted for many kind hints.\n\n[129] I read \u00e1hritendhanah. The Sanskrit College MS. seems to me to\ngive hritendhana.\n\n[130] So Frau Claradis in \"Die Heimonskinder\" advises her husband not\nto trust her father (Simrock's Deutsche Volksb\u00fccher, Vol. II, p. 131.)\n\n[131] The Sanskrit College MS. has mama for the may\u00e1 of Dr. Brockhaus.\n\n[132] Mr. Gough has kindly pointed out to me a passage in the\nSarvadarsana Sangraha which explains this. The following is Mr. Gough's\ntranslation of the passage; \"We must consider this teaching as regards\nthe four points of view. These are that\n\n (1) Everything is momentary and momentary only:\n (2) Everything is pain and pain only:\n (3) Everything is individual and individual only:\n (4) Everything is baseless and baseless only.\"\n\n[133] This story is identical with the 5th in the 4th book of the\nPanchatantra in Benfey's translation, which he considers Buddhistic,\nand with which he compares the story of the Bhilla in chapter 61 of\nthis work. He compares the story of Dh\u00famin\u00ed in the Dasakum\u00e1ra Charita,\npage 150, Wilson's edition, which resembles this story more nearly even\nthan the form in the Panchatantra. Also a story in Ardschi Bordschi,\ntranslated by himself in Ausland 1858, No. 36, pages 845, 846. (It will\nbe found on page 305 of Sagas from the Far East.) He quotes a saying\nof Buddha from Spence Hardy's Eastern Monachism, page 166, cp. K\u00f6ppen,\nReligion des Buddha, p. 374. This story is also found in the Forty\nVaz\u00edrs, a collection of Persian tales, (Behrnauer's translation,\nLeipzig, 1851, page 325.) It is also found in the Gesta Romanorum,\nc. 56. (But the resemblance is not very striking.) Cp. also Grimm's\nKinder- und Hausm\u00e4rchen, No. 16. (Benfey's Panchatantra, Vol. I,\npp. 436 and ff.) This story is simply the Cullapadumaj\u00e1taka, No. 193\nin Fausb\u00f6ll's edition. See also Ralston's Tibetan Tales, Introduction,\npp. lxi-lxiii.\n\n[134] In La Fontaine's Fables X, 14, a man gains a kingdom by carrying\nan elephant.\n\n[135] In the story of Satyamanjar\u00ed, a tale extracted by Professor\nNilmani Mookerjee from the Kath\u00e1 Kosa, a collection of Jaina stories,\nthe heroine carries her leprous husband on her back.\n\n[136] This story is found, with the substitution of a man for a woman,\non p. 128 of Benfey's Panchatantra, Vol. 11; he tells us that it is\nalso found in the 17th chapter of Silvestre de Sacy's Kalila o Dimna\n(Wolff's Translation II, 99; Knatchbull, 346,) in the 11th section\nof Symeon Seth's Greek version, 14th chapter of John of Capua; German\ntranslation Ulm, 1483 Y., 5; Anv\u00e1r-i-Suhaili, p. 596 Cabinet des F\u00e9es,\nXVIII, 189. It is imitated by Baldo, 18th fable, (Poesics In\u00e9dites\ndu Moyen Age by Ed\u00e9l\u00e9stand du M\u00e9ril, p. 244.) Benfey pronounces it\nBuddhistic in origin, though apparently not acquainted with its form\nin the Kath\u00e1 Sarit S\u00e1gara. Cp. Rasav\u00e1hini, chap. 3. (Spiegel's Anecdota\nPaliea). It is also found in the Karma Sataka. Cp. also Matth\u00e6us Paris,\nHist. Maj. London, 1571, pp. 240-242, where it is told of Richard\nCoeur de Lion; Gesta Romanorum, c. 119; Gower, Confessio Amantis,\nBook V; E. Meier Schw\u00e4bische Volksm\u00e4rchen. (Benfey's Panchatantra,\nVol. I, p. 192 and ff.) Cp. also for the gratitude of the animals the\nIVth story in Campbell's Tales of the West Highlands. The animals are\na dog, an otter and a falcon, p. 74 and ff. The Mongolian form of the\nstory is to be found in Sagas from the Far East, Tale XIII. See also\nthe XIIth and XXIInd of Miss Stokes's Indian Fairy Tales. There is a\nstriking illustration of the gratitude of animals in Grimm's No. 62,\nand in Bartsch's Sagen, M\u00e4rchen und Gebr\u00e4uche aus Meklenburg, Vol. I,\np. 483. De Gubernatis in a note to p. 129 of Vol. II, of his Zoological\nMythology, mentions a story of grateful animals in Afanassief. The hero\nfinds some wolves fighting for a bone, some bees fighting for honey,\nand some shrimps fighting for a carcase; he makes a just division,\nand the grateful wolves, bees, and shrimps help him in need. See\nalso p. 157 of the same volume. No. 25 in the Pentamerone of Basile\nbelongs to the same cycle.\n\nSee Die dankbaren Thiere in Gaal's M\u00e4rchen der Magyaren, p. 175, and\nDer Rothe Hund, p. 339. In the Saccamkirajat\u00e1taka No. 73, Fausb\u00f6ll,\nVol. I, 323, a hermit saves a prince, a rat, a parrot and a snake. The\nrat and snake are willing to give treasures, the parrot rice, but\nthe prince orders his benefactor's execution, and is then killed by\nhis own subjects. See Bernhard Schmidt's Griechische M\u00e4rchen, p. 3,\nnote. See also Ralston's Tibetan Tales, Introduction, pp. lxiii-lxv.\n\n[137] In Giles's Strange Stories from a Chinese Studio, a tiger, who\nhas killed the son of an old woman, feeds her henceforth, and appears\nas a mourner at her funeral. The story in the text bears a faint\nresemblance to that of Androclus, (Aulus Gellius. V, 14). See also\nLiebrecht's Dunlop, p. 111, with the note at the end of the Volume.\n\n[138] Cp. Gijjhaj\u00e1taka, Fausb\u00f6ll, Vol. II, p. 51.\n\n[139] Cp. the 46th story in Sicilianische M\u00e4rchen gesammelt von Laura\nvon Gonzenbach, where a snake coils round the throat of a king, and\nwill not let him go, till he promises to marry a girl, whom he had\nviolated. See also Benfey's Panchatantra, Vol. I, p. 523.\n\n[140] The Petersburg lexicographers explain takka as Geizhals, Filz;\nbut say that the word thaka in Marathi means a rogue, cheat. The\nword kadarya also means niggardly, miserly. General Cunningham\n(Ancient Geography of India, p. 152) says that the Takkas were once\nthe undisputed lords of the Panj\u00e1b, and still subsist as a numerous\nagricultural race in the lower hills between the Jhelum and the R\u00e1vi.\n\n[141] So in the Russian story of \"The Miser,\" (Ralston's Russian\nFolk-tales, p. 47.) Marko the Rich says to his wife, in order to avoid\nthe payment of a copeck; \"Harkye wife! I'll strip myself naked, and\nlie down under the holy pictures. Cover me up with a cloth, and sit\ndown and cry, just as you would over a corpse. When the moujik comes\nfor his money, tell him I died this morning.\" Ralston conjectures\nthat the story came originally from the East.\n\n[142] This resembles the conclusion of the story of the turtle\nKambugr\u00edva and the swans Vikata and Sankata, Book X, chap. 60, sl. 169,\nsee also Ralston's Russian Folk-Tales, p. 292. A similar story is\ntold in Bartsch's Sagen, M\u00e4rchen und Gebr\u00e4uche aus Meklenburg, Vol. I,\np. 349, of the people of Teterow. They adopted the same manoeuvre to\nget a stone out of a well. The man at the top then let go, in order\nto spit on his hands.\n\n[143] I follow Dr. Kern's conjecture avikrit\u00e2nan\u00e2.\n\n[144] In the Sicilianische M\u00e4rchen, No. 14, a prince throws a stone\nat an old woman's pitcher and breaks it. She exclaims in her anger,\n\"May you wander through the world until you find the beautiful\nNzentola!\" Nos. 12 and 13 begin in a similar way. A parallel will be\nfound in Dr. K\u00f6hler's notes to No. 12. He compares the commencement\nof the Pentamerone of Basile.\n\n[145] Cp. the Yaksha to whom Phalabh\u00fati prays in Ch. XX. The belief in\ntree-spirits is shewn by Tylor in his Primitive Culture to exist in\nmany parts of the world. (See the Index in his second volume.) Grimm\nin his Teutonic Mythology (p. 70 and ff) gives an account of the\ntree-worship which prevailed amongst the ancient Germans. See also\nan interesting article by Mr. Wallhouse in the Indian Antiquary for\nJune 1880.\n\n[146] The Sanskrit College reads anena for asanena. Dr. Kern wishes\nto read suhitasy\u00e1py asanena kim. This would still leave a superfluity\nof syllables in the line.\n\n[147] This part of the story may be compared with the story of As\ntres Lebres in Coelho's Contos Portuguezes, p. 90, or that of the\nBlind Man and the Cripple in Ralston's Russian Folk Tales.\n\n[148] In the notice of the first ten fasciculi of this translation\nwhich appeared in the Saturday Review for May 1882, the following\ninteresting remark is made on this story:\n\n\"And the story of the woman, who had eleven husbands, bears a curious\nbut no doubt accidental likeness to an anecdote related by St. Jerome\nabout a contest between a man and his wife as to which would outlive\nthe other, she having previously conducted to the grave scores of\nhusbands and he scores of wives.\"\n\n[149] So in the Novell\u00e6 Morlini, No. 4, a merchant, who is deeply\ninvolved, gives a large sum of money to the king for the privilege of\nriding by his side through the town. Henceforth his creditors cease\ntheir importunities. (Liebrecht's Dunlop, p. 494.)\n\n[150] I follow the Sanskrit College MS. which reads vidy\u00e1bhih saha\nsamsmrit\u00e1.\n\n[151] An allusion to the custom of choosing a husband in the Svayamvara\nceremony, by throwing a garland on the neck of the favoured suitor.\n\n[152] Dr. Kern would read \u00e1sata.\n\n[153] Compare Book III of the novel of Achilles Tatius, c. 5.\n\n[154] Cp. Enmathius' novel of Hysminias and Hysmine, Book IX, ch. 4.\n\nEpi d\u00ea toutois pasin ophthalmos h\u00ealato mou ho dexios, kai \u00ean moi to\ns\u00eameion agathon, kai to promanteuma dexi\u00f4taton\n\nSee also Theocritus III, 37.\n\n\n halletai ophthalmos meu ho dexios\u00b7 \u00ea rha g' id\u00eas\u00f4\n autan?\n\n\nWhere Fritsche quotes Plant. Pseudol. 1.1.105. Brand in his\nPopular Antiquities, Vol. III, p. 172, quotes the above passage\nfrom Theocritus, and a very apposite one from Dr. Nathaniel Home's\nDemonologie--\"If their ears tingle, they say they have some enemies\nabroad that doe or are about to speake evill of them: so, if their\nright eye itcheth, then it betokens joyful laughter.\"\n\nBartsch in his Sagen, M\u00e4rchen, und Gebra\u00fcche aus Mecklenburg, says,\n\"Throbbing in the right eye betokens joy, in the left, tears.\" In\nNorway throbbing in the right ear is a good sign, in the left a bad\nsign (Liebrecht, Zur Volkskunde, p. 327.) Forcellini s. v. Salisatores\nquotes from Isidor. VIII, 9. Salisatores vocati sunt, qui dum eis\nmembrorum qu\u00e6cunque partes salierint, aliquid sibi exinde prosperum,\nseu triste significare pr\u00e6dicunt.\n\n[155] i. e., under the protection of a Buddha.\n\n[156] So Malegis in Die Heimonskinder represents that his blind brother\nwill be freed from his affliction when he comes to a place where\nthe horse Bayard is being ridden. (Simrock's Deutsche Volksb\u00fccher,\nVol. II, p. 96.)\n\n[157] See note in Vol. I, p. 121. So Balder is said to be so fair of\ncountenance and bright that he shines of himself. (Grimm's Teutonic\nMythology, translated by Stallybrass, p. 222.) In Tennyson's Vivien\nwe find\n\n\n \"A maid so smooth, so white, so wonderful,\n They said a light came from her when she moved.\"\n\n\n[158] This probably means that she was burnt with his corpse.\n\n[159] B\u00f6htlingk and Roth read s\u00e1kin\u00edsiddhisamvar\u00e1.\n\n[160] We have had many transformations of this kind and shall have many\nmore. A very amusing story of a transformation is found in Campbell's\nHighland Tales, Vol. II, p. 60 which may be compared with this. The\nbiter is bit as in our text, and in the story of Sidi Noman in the\nArabian Nights, which closely resembles this.\n\n[161] I read kritv\u00e1 for k\u00edrtv\u00e1.\n\n[162] Cp. the story of the Porter and the Ladies of Baghdad in the\nArabian Nights. (Lane's translation, Vol. I, page 129.) The bitches\nare solemnly beaten in the same way as the mare in our story. They\nare the sisters of the lady who beats them.\n\n[163] Professor Cowell informs me that there is a passage in the\nSankara Dig Vijaya which explains this. A seer by means of this\nvidy\u00e1 gains a life equivalent to 11 years of Brahm\u00e1. It seems to be\na life-prolonging charm.\n\n[164] So \"one who dwelt by the castled Rhine\" called the flowers,\n\"the stars that in earth's firmament do shine.\"\n\n[165] This story extends to the end of the book.\n\n[166] The word tejas also means \"courage.\"\n\n[167] An elaborate pun, only intelligible in Sanskrit.\n\n[168] Cp. the long black tongue which the horrible black man protrudes\nin Wirt Sikes's British Goblins, p. 177. In Birlinger's Aus Schwaben,\nVol. I, p. 341, the fahrende sch\u00fcler puts out his tongue in a very\nuncanny manner.\n\n[169] Cp. Ralston's Russian Folk-Tales, p. 15, Giles's Strange\nStories from a Chinese Studio, p. 294, and the classical legend of\nthe birth of Adonis. A similar story will be found in Liebrecht,\nZur Volkskunde, p. 306. In Bernhard E. Schmidt's Griechische M\u00e4rchen,\nNo. 5, three maidens come out of a citron, and one of them again out\nof a rosebush. For other parallels see the Notes to No. XXI, in Miss\nStokes's Indian Fairy Tales. Cp. also Das Rosmarinstr\u00e4uchlein in\nKaden's Unter den Olivenb\u00e4umen, (Stories from the South of Italy),\np. 10. In the 49th Story of the Pentamerone of Basile a fairy comes\nout of a citron. The word I have translated \"tear\" is in the original\nv\u00edrya. See Rohde, Der Griechische Roman, p. 195, and Ralston's Tibetan\nTales, Introduction, p. lii.\n\n[170] See the story of Polyidos, in Preller, Griechische Mythologie,\nVol. II, p. 478. Preller refers to Nonnus, XXV, 451 and ff. The\nstory terminates psych\u00ea d' eis demas \u00ealthe to deuteron. See also\nBaring Gould's Curious Myths of the Middle Ages, New Edition, 1869,\npp. 399-402, and Rohde, Der Griechische Roman, pp. 112 and 126.\n\n[171] Dr. Kern conjectures evam.\n\n[172] In Bengal no animal sacrifices are offered to Siva at the\npresent day.\n\n[173] Cp. \"The Story of the First Royal Mendicant,\" Lane's Arabian\nNights, Vol. I, p. 136.\n\n[174] I follow the Sanskrit College MS. which reads kesakap\u00e1l\u00e1di;\nperhaps for kesa we should read vesa. The skulls have been mentioned\nbefore.\n\n[175] For \u00e1svasto I read visvasto. Perhaps we ought to read asvastho,\ni. e., sick, ill.\n\n[176] The wanderings of Herzog Ernst are brought about in a very\nsimilar manner. (See Simrock's Deutsche Volksb\u00fccher, Vol. III, p. 278).\n\n[177] Compare the myths of Attis and Cyparissus. In the story called\n\"Der rothe Hund,\" Gaal, M\u00e4rchen der Magyaren, p. 362, the queen\nbecomes a dry mulberry tree. See also Grohmann, Sagen aus B\u00f6hmen,\np. 116. In Ovid's Metamorphoses, XIV, 517 an abusive pastor is turned\ninto an oleaster.\n\n[178] Triphal\u00e1 according to Professor Monier Williams means the three\nmyrobalans, i. e., the fruits of Terminalia Chebula, T. Bellerica,\nand Phyllanthus Emblica; also the three fragrant fruits, nutmeg,\nareca-nut, and cloves; also the three sweet fruits, grape, pomegranate\nand date. The first interpretation seems to be the one usually accepted\nby the Pandits of Bengal.\n\n[179] i. e., N\u00e1ga a kind of snake demon. See Ralston's Russian\nFolk-Tales, page 65, Veckenstedt's Wendische M\u00e4rchen, pp. 400-409,\nPrym und Socin, Syrische M\u00e4rchen, pp. 100, 101. The sword with a name\nmay remind the reader of Balmung, Excalibur, Durandal &c.\n\n[180] The Sanskrit College MS. reads s\u00e1mpus\u00e1raih perhaps for\ns\u00e1mbus\u00e2rasaih i. e., with the water-cranes.\n\n[181] An\u00e1yata is a misprint for an\u00e1yatta.\n\n[182] I read kulamandiram with the MS. in the Sanskrit College.\n\n[183] i. e., M\u00e1y\u00e1.\n\n[184] For vanopam\u00e1m I conjecture vanopam\u00e1t.\n\n[185] i. q., Ganesa.\n\n[186] Or \"the elephants of his enemies.\" Here there is probably a pun.\n\n[187] Literally, \"water-men.\" Perhaps they were of the same race as\nGrendel the terrible nicor. See also Veckenstedt's Wendische M\u00e4rchen,\np. 185 and ff., Grimm's Irische M\u00e4rchen, p. cv, Kuhn's Westf\u00e4lische\nM\u00e4rchen, Vol. II, p. 35, Waldau's B\u00f6hmische M\u00e4rchen, p. 187 and ff.,\nand the 6th and 20th J\u00e1takas. See also Grohmann's account of the\n\"Wassermann,\" Sagen aus B\u00f6hmen, p. 148.\n\n[188] The MS. in the Sanskrit College seems to me to read p\u00farnosya.\n\n[189] I read 'nyuvesustham, which is the reading of the Sanskrit\nCollege MS.\n\n[190] The silk-cotton tree.\n\n[191] Or Hans\u00e1val\u00ed.\n\n[192] Or Kamal\u00e1kara.\n\n[193] It may also mean a host of Br\u00e1hmans or many birds and bees. It\nis an elaborate pun.\n\n[194] Another pun! It may mean \"by obtaining good fortune in the form\nof wealth.\"\n\n[195] For v\u00e1t\u00e1yanoddes\u00e1t the Sanskrit College MS. reads\nch\u00e1yatanoddes\u00e1t; perhaps it means \"entering to visit the temple.\"\n\n[196] Cp. Die G\u00e4nsemagd, Grimm's Kinder- und Hausm\u00e4rchen, No. 89. See\nalso Indian Fairy Tales, by Miss Stokes, No. 1; and Bernhard Schmidt's\nGriechische M\u00e4rchen, p. 100. In the 1st Tale of Basile's Pentamerone,\nLiebrecht's translation, a Moorish slave-girl supplants the princess\nZoza. See also the 49th tale of the same collection. In Gonzenbach's\nSicilianische M\u00e4rchen, Nos. 33 and 34, we have tales of \"A substituted\nBride;\" see Dr. K\u00f6hler's notes.\n\n[197] i. e., Vishnu.\n\n[198] The sword seems to be essential in these rites: compare the\nVIth book of the \u00c6thiopica of Heliodorus, where the witch Cybele\nraises her son to life, in order that he may prophesy; see also the\nstory of K\u00e1lar\u00e1tri, Chapter 20 of this work.\n\n[199] The debased form of Buddhism found throughout this work is no\ndoubt the Tantra system introduced by Asanga in the sixth century\nof our era (Rhys Davids' Manual of Buddhism, pp. 207, 208, 209.) To\nborrow Dr. Rajendral\u00e1la Mitra's words, who is speaking of even worse\ncorruptions, (Introduction to the Lalita Vistara, p. 12) it is a wonder\n\"that a system of religion so pure and lofty in its aspirations as\nBuddhism could be made to ally itself with such pestilent dogmas and\npractices.\" The whole incantation closely resembles similar practices\nin the West. See Brand's Popular Antiquities, Vol. III, pp. 56 and\nff. especially the extract from Mason's Anatomie of Sorcerie, 1612,\np. 86--\"Inchanters and charmers, they which by using of certaine\nconceited words, characters, circles, amulets, and such like wicked\ntrumpery (by God's permission) doo worke great marvailes: as namely\nin causing of sicknesse, as also in curing diseases in men's bodies.\n\n[200] Here there is a pun, as Kamal\u00e1kara means a bed of lotuses, the\nword paksha meaning wing and also \"side.\" She was of good lineage by\nher father's and mother's side. Manorathasiddhi means \"the attainment\nof desire.\"\n\n[201] Compare the Soldier's Midnight Watch in Ralston's Russian\nFolk-Tales, p. 274.\n\n[202] In the Golden Ass of Apuleius, Pamphile turns herself into an\nowl; when Apuleius asks to be turned into an owl, in order to follow\nher, Fotis turns him by mistake into an ass. See also the Ass of\nLucian. The story of Circe will occur to every one in connection with\nthese transformations. See also Baring Gould's Myths of the Middle\nAges, 1st Series, p. 143.\n\n[203] I read pr\u00e1tah for pr\u00e1yah.\n\n[204] This city is identified by General Cunningham with Adikot near\nRamnagar in Rohilcund. (Ancient Geography of India, p. 359 and ff.)\n\n[205] The male and female of this bird are represented by Hindu poets\nas separated at night.\n\n[206] The sword may be compared with that of Chandamah\u00e1sena in\nthe eleventh chapter, and with Morglay, Excalibur, Durandal, Gram,\nBalmung, Chrysaor &c. (See Sir G. Cox's Mythology of the Aryan nations,\nVol. I, p. 308.) The same author has some remarks upon Pegasus and\nother magic horses in his IInd Vol. p. 287 and ff. See also Ralston's\nRussian Folk-Tales, p. 256 and ff.\n\n[207] Excessive rain, drought, rats, locusts, birds, and foreign\ninvasion.\n\n[208] I have before referred to Ralston's remarks on snakes in\nhis Russian Folk-Tales, p. 65. Melusina is a clear instance of\na snake-maiden in European Folk-lore. See her story in Simrock's\nDeutsche Volksb\u00fccher, Vol. VI. There is a similar marriage in Prym\nund Socin, Syrische M\u00e4rchen, p. 246.\n\n[209] Compare the commencement of the story of the Blind Man and\nthe Cripple in Ralston's Russian Folk-Tales, and Waldau's B\u00f6hmische\nM\u00e4rchen, p. 445. This tale appears to belong to the Atalanta cycle.\n\n[210] The passage is full of puns, which it is impossible to translate:\nthe \"ornaments\" may be rhetorical ornaments, there is also a reference\nto the gunas of rhetorical writers. \"Sweetly-tinkling\" might mean\n\"elegant words.\" Gun\u00e1krisht\u00e1 in sloka 76 b, may also mean that the\nprincess was attracted by the good qualities of her opponent.\n\n[211] Dr. Kern conjectures udagh\u00e1tayat, which is as far as I can make\nout, the reading of the Sanskrit College MS.\n\n[212] There is probably a pun here. It may mean that his joints and\nbody were relaxed by old age.\n\n[213] This seems to be the meaning of m\u00e1nava here. See B\u00f6htlingk and\nRoth s. v.\n\n[214] The word also means \"dust.\"\n\n[215] Or \"by great sorrow.\"\n\n[216] M\u00e1ra, the god of Love, is the Buddhist devil.\n\n[217] The Kumuda remains with its petals closed during the day.\n\n[218] I follow the Sanskrit College MS. reading dhrity\u00e1.\n\n[219] A being recording the vices and virtues of mankind in Yama's\nworld. Kuhn, in his Westf\u00e4lische Sagen, p. 71, speaks of \"a devil\nwho records the evil deeds of men.\" B\u00f6htlingk and Roth say that\nutpunsayati in sl. 323 should be utp\u00e1nsayati.\n\n[220] Compare the story in Waldau's B\u00f6hmische M\u00e4rchen, p. 242, Gut\ndass es den Tod auf Erden gibt!\n\n[221] Cp. the speech of Chi, the scribe of the realms below, in\nGiles's Strange Stories from a Chinese Studio, p. 366.\n\n[222] I substitute Bauddham for bodhum.\n\n[223] I follow the Sanskrit College MS. which reads lopatah for\nlobhatah.\n\n[224] This idea is found in the story of J\u00edm\u00fatav\u00e1hana in the 21st\nTaranga of this work, where see note. Cp. also \"Das Wasser des Lebens,\"\nGrimm. 97, and the notes in his 3rd volume. See also note on page\n499 of Vol. I; and Herrtage's edition of the English Gesta, page 344.\n\n[225] I read ull\u00e1ghayan, which is found in the Sanskrit College MS.\n\n[226] I read with the MS. in the Sanskrit College bhuktottaram.\n\n[227] It also means \"the virtues of good or learned men.\"\n\n[228] It also means \"without wealth;\" vritta also means \"metre.\"\n\n[229] i.e. female Yaksha.\n\n[230] The notion which Lucretius ridicules in his famous lines,\n(Book III, 776 and ff,)\n\n\n Denique conubia ad Veneris partusque ferarum\n Esse animas pr\u00e6sto deridiculum esse videtur,\n Expectare immortales mortalia membra &c.\n\n\nwould, it is clear, present no difficulty to the mind of a Hindu. Nor\nwould he be much influenced by the argument in lines 670-674 of the\nsame book,\n\n\n Pr\u00e6terea si immortalis natura animai\n Constat, et in corpus nascentibus insinuetur,\n Cur super anteactam \u00e6tatem meminisse nequimus,\n Nec vestigia gestarum rerum ulla tenemus?\n\n\n[231] i.e. vision of the goddess of Fortune: something like Fortunatus.\n\n[232] I read b\u00e1h\u00fa and vidhvastat\u00e1: kim tad in sl. 78 should probably\nbe tat kim.\n\n[233] In the original there is a most elaborate pun: \"free from\ncalamity\" may mean also \"impolitic\" or \"lawless.\"\n\n[234] A name of Siva.\n\n[235] My native friends tell me that the hand is waved round the head,\nand the fingers are snapped four or ten times.\n\n[236] Possibly this story is the same as that of Tannh\u00e4user,\nfor which see Baring-Gould's Curious Myths of the Middle Ages,\npp. 196-208. He remarks that the story of Tannh\u00e4user is a very ancient\nmyth christianized.\n\n[237] For the consequences entailed in European Stories by eating\nfruit in the under-world, see Kuhn, Westf\u00e4lische M\u00e4rchen, Vol. 1,\np. 127; Grimm, Irische M\u00e4rchen, p. ciii.\n\n[238] The Sanskrit College MS. has dantadr\u00edsht\u00e1dharotkat\u00e1n. Perhaps\ndrishta should be dashta. It would then mean terrible because they\nwere biting their lips.\n\n[239] The Sanskrit College MS. reads vim\u00e1navijig\u00edshay\u00e1.\n\n[240] Descendants of Vrishni and relatives of Krishna. In Achyuta\nthere is a pun: the word may mean \"Vishnu\" and also \"permanent\":\nr\u00e1mam may also refer to Balar\u00e1ma, who is represented us a drunkard.\n\n[241] P\u00e1t\u00e1la, like Milton's lower world, \"wants not her hidden lustre,\ngems and gold.\"\n\n[242] Kumudin\u00ed means an assemblage of white water-lilies: female\nattendants may also mean bees, as the Sandhi will admit of ali or \u00e1li:\nrajendram should probably be r\u00e1jendum, moon of kings, as the kumudin\u00ed\nloves the moon.\n\n[243] Cp. the story of Saktideva in Chapter 26.\n\n[244] By the laws of Hindu rhetoric a smile is regarded as white.\n\n[245] We have an instance of this a little further on.\n\n[246] I read d\u00farabhrasht\u00e1. The reading of the Sanskrit College MS. is\nd\u00faram bhrasht\u00e1.\n\n[247] See Vol. I. pp. 327 and 577, also Prym und Socin, Syrische\nM\u00e4rchen, p. 36, and Southey's Thalaba the Destroyer, Book I, 30,\nwith the notes.\n\n[248] The moon suffers from consumption in consequence of the curse\nof Daksha, who was angry at his exclusive preference for Rohin\u00ed.\n\n[249] Here there is a pun: upachitam means also \"concentrated.\"\n\n[250] Cp. a story in the Nug\u00e6 Curialium of Gualterus Mapes, in which a\ncorpse, tenanted by a demon, is prevented from doing further mischief\nby a sword-stroke, which cleaves its head to the chin. (Liebrecht's\nZur Volkskunde, p. 34 and ff.) Liebrecht traces the belief in vampires\nthrough many countries and quotes a passage from Fran\u00e7ois Lenormant's\nwork, La Magie chez les Chald\u00e9ens, which shews that the belief in\nvampires existed in Chald\u00e6a and Babylonia.--See Vol. I, p. 574.\n\n[251] Cp. the Vampire stories in Ralston's Russian Folk-Tales,\nespecially that of the soldier and the Vampire, p. 314. It seems to me\nthat these stories of Vet\u00e1las disprove the assertion of Herz quoted\nby Ralston, (p. 318) that among races which burn their dead, little\nis known of regular corpse-spectres, and of Ralston, that vampirism\nhas made those lands peculiarly its own which have been tenanted or\ngreatly influenced by Slavonians. Vet\u00e1las seem to be as troublesome in\nChina as in Russia, see Giles's Strange Stories from a Chinese Studio,\nVol. II, p. 195. In Bernhard Schmidt's Griechische M\u00e4rchen, p. 139,\nthere is an interesting story of a Vampire, who begins by swallowing\nfowls, goats and sheep, and threatens to swallow men, but his career\nis promptly arrested by a man born on a Saturday. A great number of\nVampire stories will be found in the notes to Southey's Thalaba the\nDestroyer, Book VIII, 10. See also his poem of Roprecht the Robber,\nPart III. For the lamps fed with human oil see Addendum to Fasciculus\nIV, and Brand's Popular Antiquities, Vol. I, p. 312, Waldau's B\u00f6hmische\nM\u00e4rchen, p. 360, and Kuhn's Westf\u00e4lische M\u00e4rchen, p. 146.\n\n[252] A series of elaborate puns.\n\n[253] The significance of those names will appear further on.\n\n[254] The word may mean \"man of romantic anecdote.\"\n\n[255] Cp. Vol. I, pp. 355 and 577.\n\n[256] The Sanskrit College MS. reads na for tu.\n\n[257] I read j\u00e1n\u00e1si with the Sanskrit College MS. instead of j\u00e1n\u00e1mi\nwhich Dr. Brockhaus gives in his text.\n\n[258] For European methods of attaining invisibility see Brand's\nPopular Antiquities, Vol. I, p. 315; Bartsch, Sagen, M\u00e4rchen, und\nGebr\u00e4uche aus Meklenburg, Vol. II, pp. 29 and 31; Kuhn, Westf\u00e4lische\nM\u00e4rchen, Vol. I, p. 276, Vol. II, p. 177. The virtues of the Tarnkappe\nare well-known. In Europe great results are expected from reciting\ncertain sacred formul\u00e6 backwards. A somewhat similar belief appears to\nexist among the Buddhists. Milton's \"backward muttering of dissevering\ncharms\" is perhaps hardly a case in point.\n\n[259] An elaborate pun! varna = caste and also colour: kal\u00e1 = digit\nof the moon and accomplishment, or fine art: dosh\u00e1kara = mine of\ncrimes and also the moon. Dowson, in his Classical Dictionary of\nHindu Mythology, tells us that L\u00e1ta is a country comprising Kandesh\nand part of Guzerat about the Mhye river. It is now called L\u00e1r and\nis the Larik\u00ea of Ptolemy.\n\n[260] I read pr\u00e1pnomyaham the reading of the Sanskrit College MS.\n\n[261] i. e. Dice-mendicant.\n\n[262] I conjecture oghapras\u00e1ntyaiva.\n\n[263] Cp. No. LXVI in the English Gesta, page 298 of Herrtage's\nedition, and the end of No. XII of Miss Stokes's Fairy Tales. See\nalso Prym und Socin, Syrische M\u00e4rchen, pp. 83 and 84.\n\n[264] Cp. Odyssey, Book IV, 441-442.\n\n[265] I read d\u00e1mabhih for dh\u00e1mabhih.\n\n[266] Benfey (Panchatantra, Vol. I, p. 214, note,) traces this\nsuperstition through all countries.\n\n[267] This passage is a concatenation of puns.\n\n[268] The whole passage is an elaborate pun. The lady is compared to\na bow, the string of which vibrates in the notches, and the middle\nof which is held in the hand.\n\n[269] I read, with the MS. in the Sanskrit College, drutam anuddhritya\nfor drutam anugatya.\n\n[270] As a life-buoy to prevent him from drowning.\n\n[271] There must be a reference to the five flowery arrows of the\ngod of Love.\n\n[272] When applied to the moon, it means \"glorious in its rising.\"\n\n[273] B\u00f6htlingk and Roth give upasankhya as \u00fcberz\u00e4hlig (?).\n\n[274] I adopt pramatt\u00e1 the reading of the Sanskrit College MS.\n\n[275] The gods and Asuras used it as a churning-stick at the churning\nof the ocean for the recovery of the Amrita, and other precious things\nlost during the deluge.\n\n[276] The Mongolian form of these stories is to be found in Sagas\nfrom the Far East. This work appears to be based upon a translation\nmade by J\u00fclg from the Calmuck language. Oesterley, in his German\nversion of these tales, tells us that J\u00fclg's translation appeared\nin Leipzig in the year 1866 under the title of \"The tales of the\nSiddhik\u00fcr.\" Oesterley mentions a Sanskrit redaction of the tales,\nattributed to Sivad\u00e1sa, and one contained in the Kath\u00e1rnava. He also\nmentions a Tamul version translated into English by Babington under\nthe title of Vet\u00e1la Cadai; two Telugu versions, a Mahratta version,\nthe well-known Hindi version, a Bengali version based upon the Hindi,\nand a Canarese version.\n\n[277] Here there is probably a pun. The word translated \"jackal\"\nalso means the god Siva. Bhairava is a form of Siva.\n\n[278] See note on page 293.\n\n[279] This story is the 27th in Miss Stokes's collection.\n\n[280] I read sat\u00e1l\u00e1ni, which I find in the Sanskrit College MS.,\ninstead of saj\u00e1l\u00e1ni. The mistake may have arisen from the blending\nof two readings sat\u00e1lani and jat\u00e1l\u00e1ni.\n\n[281] In this there is a pun; the word translated \"lotus\" may also\nrefer to Lakshm\u00ed the wife of Vishnu.\n\n[282] Pandit Sy\u00e1m\u00e1 Charan Mukhop\u00e1dhy\u00e1ya thinks that the word\ndantagh\u00e1taka must mean \"dentist:\" the Petersburg lexicographers take it\nto mean, \"a worker in ivory.\" His name Sangr\u00e1mavardhana has a warlike\nsound. Pandit Mahesa Chandra Ny\u00e1yaratna thinks that dantagh\u00e1ta is a\nproper name. If so, sangr\u00e1mavardhana must mean prime minister.\n\n[283] Cp. the way in which Pushpadanta's preceptor guesses the riddle\nin page 44 of Vol. I of this work; so Prince Ivan is assisted by\nhis tutor Katoma in the story of \"The Blind Man and the Cripple,\"\nRalston's Russian Folk-Tales, p. 240. Compare also the story of\nAzeez and Azeezeh in Lane's Arabian Nights, Vol. I, particularly page\n484. The rapid manner, in which the hero and heroine fall in love in\nthese stories, is quite in the style of Greek romances. See Rohde,\nDer Griechische Roman, p. 148.\n\n[284] The Chakora is fabled to subsist upon moonbeams.\n\n[285] See the numerous parallels in Ralston's Russian Folk-Tales,\np. 232; and Grimm's Teutonic Mythology, p. 185, note, where he refers\nto the story of the Machandel boom (Kinder und Hausm\u00e4rchen, No. 47),\nthe myth of Zeus and Tantalus, and other stories. In the 47th tale of\nthe Pentamerone of Basile, one of the five sons raises the princess\nto life and then demands her in marriage. In fact Basile's tale seems\nto be compounded of this and the 5th of the Vet\u00e1la's stories. In\nPrym and Socin's Syrische M\u00e4rchen, No. XVIII, the bones of a man who\nhad been killed ten years ago, are collected, and the water of life\nis poured over them with the same result as in our text. There is a\n\"Pergamentblatt\" with a life-restoring charm written on it, in Waldau's\nB\u00f6hmische M\u00e4rchen, p. 353.\n\n[286] Nishk\u00e2ntam is perhaps a misprint for nishkr\u00e2ntam the reading\nof the Sanskrit College MS.\n\n[287] Cp. Sagas from the Far East, p. 303.\n\n[288] Cp. the story told by the \"faucon peregryn\" in Chaucer's\nSquire's Tale.\n\n[289] The following story is the Xth in Sagas from the Far East.\n\n[290] The god of love, with Buddhists the Devil. Benfey considers\nthat the Vet\u00e1la Panchavinsati was originally Buddhistic.\n\n[291] A pun difficult to render in English.\n\n[292] The Sanskrit College MS. reads vibuddhesvatha, i. e., being\nawake.\n\n[293] I conjecture prah\u00e1r\u00ed for the pah\u00e1r\u00ed of Brockhaus' edition. In\ndh\u00e1r\u00e1 there is a pun as it also means the \"edge of a sword.\"\n\n[294] I read with the Sanskrit College MS. gupta-bhuvane k\u00e1latamasi.\n\n[295] Cp. the way in which the Banshi laments in Grimm's Irische\nM\u00e4rchen, pp. 121 and 122.\n\n[296] I read kritapratishth\u00e1 which I find in the Sanskrit College MS.\n\n[297] Sattvavara means distinguished for courage.\n\n[298] i. e., Moonlight.\n\n[299] Vijn\u00e1na appears to have this meaning here. In the Pentamerone of\nBasile (Liebrecht's translation, Vol. I, p. 266) a princess refuses\nto marry, unless a bridegroom can be found for her with a head and\nteeth of gold.\n\n[300] The wife of Siva, called also P\u00e1rvat\u00ed and Durg\u00e1.\n\n[301] The word sukl\u00e1y\u00e1m, which is found in the Sanskrit College MS.,\nis omitted by Professor Brockhaus.\n\n[302] So in the Hero and Leander of Mus\u00e6us the two lovers meet in the\ntemple of Venus at Sestos, and in the \u00c6thiopica of Heliodorus Theagenes\nmeets Chariclea at a festival at Delphi. Petrarch met Laura for the\nfirst time in the chapel of St. Clara at Avignon, and Boccacio fell\nin love with Maria, the daughter of Robert of Naples, in the Church\nof the bare-footed friars in Naples. (Dunlop's History of Fiction,\ntranslated by Liebrecht, p. 9.) Rohde remarks that in Greek romances\nthe hero and heroine usually meet in this way. Indeed it was scarcely\npossible for two young people belonging to the upper classes of Greek\nsociety to meet in any other way, (Der Griechische Roman, p. 146 and\nnote). See also pp. 385 and 486.\n\n[303] For tay\u00e1 in sl. 10. b, the Sanskrit College MS. reads tath\u00e1.\n\n[304] Prasnayah in Professor Brockhaus's text should be prasvayah.\n\n[305] An allusion to the Ardhan\u00e1r\u00edsa, (i. e. half male half female,)\nrepresentation of Siva.\n\n[306] Grimm in his Teutonic Mythology, p. 185, note, seems to refer\nto a similar story. He says, \"The fastening of heads, that have been\nchopped off, to their trunks in Waltharius 1157 seems to imply a\nbelief in their reanimation;\" see also Schmidt's Griechische M\u00e4rchen,\np. 111. So St. Beino fastened on the head of Winifred after it had\nbeen cut off by Caradoc; (Wirt Sikes, British Goblins, p. 348). A\nhead is cut off and fastened on again in the Gl\u00fccksvogel, Waldau's\nB\u00f6hmische M\u00e4rchen, p. 108. In Coelho's Portuguese Stories, No. XXVI,\nO Colhereiro, the 3rd daughter fastens on, in the Bluebeard chamber,\nwith blood, found in a vase marked with their names, the heads of\nher decapitated sisters.\n\n[307] Cp. Giles's Strange Stories from a Chinese Studio, pp. 98, 99;\nDo Gubernatis, Zoological Mythology, Vol. I, pp. 303 and 304.\n\n[308] The word translated \"ragged garment\" is karpata. The word\ntranslated \"dependent\" is k\u00e1rpatika. Cp. the story in the 53rd Chapter.\n\n[309] Hriday\u00e1ni should of course be hridy\u00e1ni, as in the Sanskrit\nCollege MS.\n\n[310] Cp. the palace of Morgan la Fay in the Orlando Innamorato, canto\n36, (Dunlop's History of Fiction, p. 168, Liebrecht's translation,\np. 76); also the continuation of the romance of Huon de Bourdeaux,\n(Dunlop's History of Fiction, p. 262, Liebrecht's translation,\np. 128); and the romance of Ogier le Danois, (Dunlop's History of\nFiction, p. 286, Liebrecht's translation, p. 141); cp. also the 6th\nFable in the IInd book of the Hitopadesa, (Johnson's translation,\np. 57). Stories in which human beings marry dwellers in the water are\ncommon enough in Europe, see Ralston's Russian Folk-Tales, p. 116,\nand ff, Veckenstedt's Wendische M\u00e4rchen, p. 192, and La Motto Fouqu\u00e9's\nstory of Undine. The present story resembles in many points \"Der\nrothe Hund\" in Gaal's M\u00e4rchen der Magyaren. There is a similar castle\nin the sea in Prym und Socin, Syrische M\u00e4rchen, p. 125. Cp. Hagen's\nHelden-Sagen, Vol. I, p. 53, where king Wilkinus marries a Meerweib,\nand the following extract from a letter of Mr. David Fitzgerald's in\nthe Academy.\n\n\"The Siren's tale--like many other episodes of the Iliad and the\nOdyssey--reappears in various forms, one of the most curious of which\nis perhaps to be found in Ireland. I borrow it from O'Curry; and I\nomit the depreciatory criticism with which it is now the fashion to\nseason extracts from that scholar's useful works. Ruad, son of Rigdonn,\na king's son, crossing over to North-land with three ships and thirty\nmen in each found his vessel held fast in mid-sea. [Compare the tale\nof Vid\u00fashaka in Vol. I.] At last he leaped over the side to see what\nwas holding it, and sinking down through the waters, alighted in a\nmeadow where were nine beautiful women. These gave him nine boatloads\nof gold as the price of his embraces, and by their power held the\nthree vessels immoveable on the water above for nine days. Promising\nto visit them on his return, the young Irish prince got away from\nthe Sirens and their beds of red bronze, and continued his course to\nLochlann, where he stayed with his follow-pupil, son to the king of\nthat country, for seven years. Coming back, the vessels put about to\navoid the submerged isle, and had nearly gained the Irish shore, when\nthey heard behind them the song of lamentation of the nine sea-women,\nwho were in vain pursuit of them in a boat of bronze. One of these\nmurdered before Ruad's eyes the child she had borne him, and flung\nit head foremost after him. O'Curry left a version of this tale from\nthe Book of Ballymote. I have borrowed a detail or two given in the\nTochmarc Emere (fol. 21b)--e. g., the important Homeric feature of\nthe watery meadow (machaire). The story given by Gervase of Tilbury\n(ed. Liebrecht, pp. 30, 31), of the porpoise-men in the Mediterranean\nand the young sailor; the Shetland seal-legend in Grimm's edition of\nCroker's tales (Irische Elfen-M\u00e4rchen, Leipzig, 1826, pp. xlvii et\nseqq.); and the story found in Vincentius Bellovacensis and elsewhere,\nof the mermaid giantess and her purple cloak, may be named as belonging\nor related to the same cycle. These legends are represented in living\nIrish traditions and the purple cloak just referred to appears, much\ndisguised, in the story of Liban in the book of the Dun.\" Coraes in\nhis notes on the \u00c6thiopica of Heliodorus, p. 225, has the following\nquotation from the life of Apollonius of Tyana written by Philostratus,\nIV, 25, referring to Menippus who married a female of the R\u00e1kshas\u00ed\ntype and was saved from his fate by Apollonius.\n\n\"H\u00ea chr\u00east\u00ea nymph\u00ea mia t\u00f4n Empous\u00f4n estin has Lamias te kai Mormolykias\nhoi polloi h\u00eagountai ......... sark\u00f4n de, kai malista anthr\u00f4pei\u00f4n,\ner\u00f4si, kai palleuousi (is. sphallousi) tois aphrodisiois, hous an\nethel\u00f4si daisasthai.\"\n\n[311] Cp. the 26th Taranga of this work, and the parallels referred\nto there. See also the Losakaj\u00e1taka, the 41st in Fausb\u00f6ll's\nedition. Oesterley refers us to Benfey's Panchatantra, 151 and\nfollowing pages. See Waldau, B\u00f6hmische M\u00e4rchen, p. 410.\n\n[312] More literally \"through my merits in a former state of\nexistence.\"\n\n[313] Cp. Spenser's Fairy Queen, Book III, canto 6. stanza 42.\n\n\n There is continual spring, and harvest there\n Continual, both meeting at one tyme.\n\n\nCp. also Odyssey VII 117, Milton, P. L., IV. 148.\n\n[314] Niyogajanitas is a misprint for niyogijanatas, as is evident\nfrom the Sanskrit College MS.]\n\n[315] Literally \"grove of ancestors,\" i. e., cemetery.\n\n[316] Here we have one of the puns in which our author delights.\n\n[317] More literally, \"for my own two garments.\" A Hindu wears two\npieces of cloth.\n\n[318] See note on Vol. I. p. 499, Liebrecht's translation of the\nPentamerone of Basile, Vol. II, p. 215, Herrtage's edition of\nthe English Gesta Romanorum, p. 55, the Greek fable of Teiresias,\nWaldau, B\u00f6hmische M\u00e4rchen, p. 1. Cp. also Hagen's Helden-Sagen,\nVol. II, p. 24. We are told that Melampus buried the parents of a\nbrood of snakes, and they rewarded him by licking his ears so that he\nunderstood the language of birds. (Preller, Griechische Mythologie,\nVol. II, p. 474.)\n\n[319] This idea is common enough in this work, and I have already\ntraced it in other lands. I wish now to refer to Rohde, der Griechische\nRoman, p. 126, note. It will be found specially illustrative of a\npassage in Vol. II, p. 144 of this work. Cp. also the Volsunga-Saga, in\nHagen's Helden-Sagen, Vol. III, p. 33, and Murray's Ancient Mythology,\np. 43. So Hanum\u00e1n, in the R\u00e1m\u00e1yana, brings medicinal herbs from\nthe Him\u00e1laya.\n\n[320] The word vajra also means thunderbolt.\n\n[321] Or \"to protect the realm of Anga;\" a shameless pun! The god of\nLove was consumed by the fire of Siva's eye.\n\n[322] i. e. wise.\n\n[323] One of our author's puns.\n\n[324] The word that means \"mountain\" also means \"king.\"\n\n[325] The Sanskrit College MS. reads yantra for Brockhaus's yatra. The\nwishing-tree was moved by some magical or mechanical contrivance.\n\n[326] The Sanskrit College MS. reads an\u00e1yatt\u00e1, which Dr. Kern has\nconjectured.\n\n[327] This part of the story may remind the reader of the story of\nMelusina the European snake-maiden: see Simrock's Deutsche Volksb\u00fccher,\nVol. VI. It bears a certain resemblance to that of the Knight of\nStauffenberg (Simrock's Deutsche Volksb\u00fccher, Vol. III.) Cp. also Ein\nZimmern und die Meerfrauen, in Birlinger, Aus Schwaben, p. 7. Cp. also\nDe Gubernatis, Zoological Mythology, Vol. II, p. 206. There is a\nslight resemblance in this story to the myth of Cupid and Psyche.\n\n[328] For bhujagah the Sanskrit College MS. rends bhujaga, which\nseems to give a better sense than the reading in Brockhaus's text.\n\n[329] Oesterley (Bait\u00e1l Pach\u00eds\u00ed, 201) compares the 12th chapter of\nthe Vikramacharitam in which Vikram\u00e1ditya delivers a woman, who was\nafflicted every night by a R\u00e1kshasa in consequence of her husband's\ncurse.\n\n[330] I follow the reading of a MS. in the Sanskrit College\nyantradv\u00e1rav\u00e1pik\u00e1.\n\n[331] In the original sinsap\u00e1, which Professor Monier Williams renders\nthus; \"the tree Dalbergia Sisu; the Asoka tree.\" Dr. King informs me\nthat these two trees are altogether different. The translation which I\nhave given of the word sinsap\u00e1, throughout these tales of the Vet\u00e1la,\nis, therefore, incorrect. The tree to which the Vet\u00e1la so persistently\nreturns, is a Dalbergia Sisu.\n\n[332] Dvesh\u00e1 must be a misprint for dvesh\u00e1t.\n\n[333] For arudanniva the Sanskrit College MS. reads abhavanniva.\n\n[334] B\u00f6htlingk and Roth s. v. say that ch\u00edra in Taranga 73, sloka 240,\nis perhaps a mistake for ch\u00edr\u00ed, grasshopper; the same may perhaps be\nthe case in this passage.\n\n[335] For vir\u00fapa the Sanskrit College MS. gives vir\u00faksha.\n\n[336] Oesterley refers to Benfey's Panchatantra, Vol. I, p. 362,\nfor stories in which snakes spit venom into food. Benfey gives\nat length a fable found in the Latin translation of John of Capua\nand compares a story in the Sindib\u00e1d-n\u00e1mah, Asiatic Journal, 1841,\nXXXVI, 17; Syntipas, p. 149; Scott's Tales of the Seven Vizirs, 196;\nThe 1001 Nights (Breslau) XV, 241; Seven Wise Masters in Gr\u00e4sse,\nGesta Romanorum II, 195; Bah\u00e1r D\u00e1nush 1, second and third stories;\nKeller, Romans des Sept Sages, CL; Dyocletian, Einleitung, 49;\nLoiseleur-Deslongchamps, Essai, 119, 1.\n\n[337] I.e., Dharmar\u00e1ja, possibly the officer established by Asoka\nin his fifth edict; (see Senart, Les Inscriptions de Piyadasi,\np. 125.) The term Dharmar\u00e1ja is applied to Yudhishthira and Yama. It\nmeans literally king of righteousness or religion. There is a Dharm\nRaja in Bh\u00fat\u00e1n. B\u00f6htlingk and Roth seem to take it to mean Yama in\nthis passage.\n\n[338] I prefer the reading of the Sanskrit College MS. t\u00faryakulaih.\n\n[339] See note on page 13. Rohde, (Der Griechische Roman, p. 111,)\npoints out that there are traces of this practice in the mythology\nof Ancient Greece. Evadne is said to have burnt herself with the\nbody of her husband Capaneus. So OEnone, according to one account,\nleapt into the pyre on which the body of Paris was burning. See also\nZimmer, Alt-Indisches Leben, pp. 329-331. So Brynhild burns herself\nwith the body of Sigurd, (Hagen's Helden-Sagen, Vol. III, p. 166).\n\n[340] Cp. Mah\u00e1bh\u00e1rata, Vanaparvan, Adhy\u00e1ya 297, sl. 39.\n\n[341] His name Manahsv\u00e1min would imply that he ought to be.\n\n[342] For gaja the Sanskrit College MS. reads mada.\n\n[343] The word siddha also means a class of demigods who travel\nthrough the sky: Sasin means moon.\n\n[344] Cp. the shaving, by the help of which Preziosa, in the\nPentamerone, turns herself into a bear. (Liebrecht's translation of\nthe Pentamerone of Basile, Vol. I, p. 212.) As soon as she takes it\nout of her mouth she resumes her human shape.\n\n[345] Compare Vol. I, p. 45.\n\n[346] This part of the story bears a certain resemblance to the myth\nof Achilles.\n\n[347] The 10 stages are thus given by Sivad\u00e1sa: (1) Love of the eyes;\n(2) attachment of the mind (manas); (3) the production of desire;\n(4) sleeplessness; (5) emaciation; (6) indifference to objects\nof sense; (7) loss of shame; (8) distraction; (9) fainting; (10)\ndeath. (Dr. Zachari\u00e6's Sixteenth Tale of the Vet\u00e1lapanchavinsati,\nin Bezzenberger's Beitr\u00e4ge).\n\n[348] Here the MS. in the Sanskrit College has mantrin\u00e1se m\u00falan\u00e1s\u00e1d\nrakshy\u00e1 dharmakshatir dhruvam, which means, \"we should certainly try\nto prevent virtue from perishing by the destruction of its root in\nthe destruction of the minister.\"\n\n[349] See Chapter XXII for another version of this story. It is found\nin the Bodhisattv\u00e1vad\u00e1na-kalpalat\u00e1: see Dr. R. L. Mitra's Buddhist\nLiterature of Nepal, p. 77.\n\n[350] The MS. in the Sanskrit College reads s\u00far\u00e1sandrishtaprishthas.\n\n[351] I adopt the reading of the Sanskrit College MS. adhrisya for\nadhrishya, invincible, instead of adrisya invisible.\n\n[352] i. e., P\u00e1rvat\u00ed or Durg\u00e1.\n\n[353] See Vol. I, p. 48, and Baring Gould's remarks in his Curious\nMyths of the Middle Ages, Second Series, \"The piper of Hamelin.\"\n\n[354] Here there is an insipid pun about the army of the P\u00e1ndavas\npenetrating by the help of Arjuna the host of Karna. There seems to\nbe an allusion to Krishna also. For vivikshat\u00edm the Sanskrit College\nMS. reads vimathnat\u00edm.\n\n[355] See Vol. I, p. 176.\n\n[356] The Sanskrit College MS. has bal\u00e1d for the bal\u00ed of Brockhaus's\nedition. For the \"wager\" see Vol. I, p. 182.\n\n[357] The Sanskrit College MS. reads T\u00e1rkshyan n\u00e1n\u00e1kranda nity\u00e1karnana\nnirghrinam.\n\n[358] The Sanskrit College MS. has s\u00e1nunay\u00e1m.\n\n[359] The Sanskrit College MS. reads vidadhy\u00e1d. This is the reading\nwhich I follow hero in preference to that of Brockhaus.\n\n[360] Cp. Waldau's B\u00f6hmische M\u00e4rchen, p. 594. See Bernhard Schmidt's\nGriechische M\u00e4rchen, p. 106.\n\n[361] The MS. in the Sanskrit College reads anyam vritt\u00e1tm\u00e1nam:\nanyam at any rate must be right.\n\n[362] See Vol. I, pp. 104, 294, and 574.\n\n[363] The Sanskrit College MS. reads pr\u00e1g for n\u00e1ma.\n\n[364] The Sanskrit College MS. gives m\u00e1ndyam for maurkhyam.\n\n[365] The Sanskrit College MS. gives mankshu for mantram.\n\n[366] Duhkh\u00e1vahe, the reading of Brockhaus's edition, is obviously\na misprint for sukh\u00e1vahe, which I find in the Sanskrit College MS.\n\n[367] May we compare this king to Daphnis, who ton haut\u00f4 anye pikron\ner\u00f4ta, kai es telos anye moiras?\n\n[368] Cp. the behaviour of the followers of the emperor Otho.\n\n[369] Bhanga also means defeat.\n\n[370] This vice was prevalent even in the Vedic age. See Zimmer,\nAlt-Indisches Leben, pp. 283-287; Muir's Sanskrit Texts, Vol. V,\npp. 425-430. It is well-known that the plot of the Mah\u00e1bh\u00e1rata\nprincipally turns on this vice.\n\n[371] Compare the conduct of M\u00e1thura in the Mrichchhakatika. For the\npenniless state of the gambler, see p. 195, and Gaal, M\u00e4rchen der\nMagyaren, p. 3.\n\n[372] I read sakshy\u00e1mi with the Sanskrit College MS.\n\n[373] Prabodhya should, I think, be prabudhya.\n\n[374] It also means, in the case of Vishnu, \"by his incarnation in\nthe form of a boar.\"\n\n[375] There is a probably a pun in s\u00fachitah.\n\n[376] So in the legend of Pope Gregory the child is exposed with a sum\nof gold at its head, and a sum of silver at its feet. (English Gesta,\nedited by Herrtage, No. LXI.) The story will also be found in Simrock's\nDeutsche Volksb\u00fccher, Vol. XI; here we have the gold and silver, as\nin the Gesta. See also No. 85 in Gonzenbach's Sicilianische M\u00e4rchen\nwith Dr. K\u00f6hler's notes. Cp. V. and VI in Prym and Socin's Syrische\nM\u00e4rchen for stories of exposed children who attain wealth and power.\n\n[377] I read with the Sanskrit College MS. prayatah for pray\u00e1tah. The\nlatter reading however gives a fair sense. In sl. 67 I read tishthaty.\n\n[378] The modern Allahabad.\n\n[379] Literally \"head of Gay\u00e1.\" When Gay\u00e1sura was engaged in devotion\non the hill Kol\u00e1hal about 30 miles from Gay\u00e1, Brahm\u00e1 and the other gods\ncame to him, and asked him what object he had in view. He said his\nwish was that his body might become the holiest thing in the world,\nso that all, who touched it, might at once obtain salvation. The\nrequest was granted. But Yama complained to Brahm\u00e1 that no one now\ncame to hell, so that his position had become a sinecure. Thereupon\nBrahm\u00e1, after taking counsel with the other gods, went to Gay\u00e1sura,\nand asked him to give his body for a place on which to perform a\nsacrifice. He consented. Then Brahm\u00e1 performed his sacrifice on the\nbody of Gay\u00e1sura, placed several gods on it, and made it immovable. His\nbody now lies with its head towards the north and its feet towards the\nsouth. It is therefore called Gay\u00e1kshetra. The area of Gay\u00e1kshetra is\nten square miles. The interior part of Gay\u00e1kshetra, about two square\nmiles in extent, is called Gay\u00e1sirah or the head of Gay\u00e1. A more\nusual form appears to be Gay\u00e1sirah the head of the Asura Gay\u00e1. It\nis a little south-west of Bishnu Pad. The pilgrims offer pindas\nthere. The principal part of Gay\u00e1sirah is called Gay\u00e1mukha. Sr\u00e1ddhas\nare performed there. Dharm\u00e1ranya which I have translated \"Holy wood\"\nis a place in the east of Bodh Gay\u00e1, where Dharmar\u00e1ja performed\na sacrifice. Gay\u00e1k\u00fapa or the well of Gay\u00e1 is in the south-west of\nGay\u00e1sirah. Here pindas are offered to ancestors who have been great\nsinners. The above note is summarized from some remarks by Babu Sheo\nNarain Trivedi, Deputy Inspector of Schools, made for my information,\nat the request of W. Kemble, Esq. C. S., Magistrate of Gay\u00e1. Pandit\nMahesa Chandra Ny\u00e1yaratna has pointed out to me, that there is an\naccount of the glories of Gay\u00e1 in the V\u00e1yu Pur\u00e1na, and another in the\nPadma Pur\u00e1na. [These agree pretty nearly with that given above.] See\nalso Barth's Religions of India, p. 278, note 2.\n\n[380] Used for filtering the soma-juice, see B\u00f6htlingk and Roth, s. v.\n\n[381] i. e., wonderful peak.\n\n[382] Here there is probably a pun. The phrase may mean that the king\ndelighted in the dark-grey skins of the pigs.\n\n[383] This alludes to Indra's clipping with his bolts the wings of\nthe mountains. The Sarabha is a fabulous eight-legged animal.\n\n[384] The natives of India beckon in this way.\n\n[385] The Sanskrit College MS. reads v\u00e1hyasya, which I have followed.\n\n[386] The Sanskrit College MS. gives d\u00far\u00e1dhva-gamana-kl\u00e1ntam vikshya\ntam nripatim tad\u00e1, having seen that the king was wearied with his\nlong journey.\n\n[387] The passage is full of puns; \"darkness\" means the quality of\ndarkness in the mind: and illuminated means also \"calmed.\"\n\n[388] There is also an allusion to the circle of the sun's rays.\n\n[389] See Vol. I, p. 166.\n\n[390] Vin\u00e1syaiva should be vin\u00e1syeva.\n\n[391] I follow the Sanskrit College MS. which reads eten\u00e1tyas\u00e1rena.\n\n[392] Tejas means courage and also brightness.\n\n[393] Asrikkanim is probably a misprint for srikkan\u00edm.\n\n[394] ushm\u00e1 should probably be ushn\u00e1.\n\n[395] In the Sanskrit College MS. ati is inserted before durbalat\u00e1m.\n\n[396] The moon is the patron of the kumuda; the sun of the kamala or\nlotus. Kamal\u00e1kara means a collection of kamalas.\n\n[397] The Sanskrit College MS. reads ach\u00farnam without powder.\n\n[398] I take any\u00e1vin\u00edtavanit\u00e1h\u00e1sin\u00ed as one word, and read vilapant\u00ed\ninstead of vilapant\u00edm.\n\n[399] I insert sut\u00e1m at the beginning of the line. The su is clear\nenough in the Sanskrit College MS. but the rest of the word is\nillegible.\n\n[400] I read with the Sanskrit College\nMS. Kusumapur\u00e1khyanagaresvarah. But Kusumapur\u00e1khye nagare svar\u00e1t,\nthe reading of Professor Brockhaus's text, would mean \"an independent\nmonarch in the city of P\u00e1taliputra,\" and would give almost as good\na sense.\n\n[401] I follow the Sanskrit College MS. which reads baddhv\u00e1 for\nbuddhy\u00e1.\n\n[402] The Sanskrit College MS. gives the reading,\nsadanshtr\u00e1sankatamukhah, which I follow.\n\n[403] I read avikrite with the Sanskrit College MS.\n\n[404] Guna means virtue and also string; kara finger and tribute; the\nkaliyuga, or age of vice, is the last and worst. Vaikritam in sl. 2,\nmay perhaps mean \"anger,\" as in 79. sl. 2.: see B. and R. s. v.\n\n[405] Oesterley (p. 221,) tells us that a similar incident is found\nin the Thousand and One Nights, Breslau, Vol. I, p. 62.\n\n[406] i. e., possessed of beauty.\n\n[407] I read visvasya with the Sanskrit College MS. in place of\nvisramya which means \"having rested.\"\n\n[408] I adopt Dr. Kern's conjecture of hata for ahata.\n\n[409] I read param with the MS. in the Sanskrit College.\n\n[410] This idea is also found in European story-books. See Kuhn's Sagen\naus Westfalen, p. 277; \"Diese Unerschrockenheit gefiel dem Teufel\nso sehr, dass sich sein Zorn nicht nur legte, sondern &c.\" See also\nGrimm's Irische Elfenm\u00e4rchen (which is based on Croker's Tales), p. 8.\n\n[411] Sramana.\n\n[412] I read with the MS. in the Sanskrit College lipta for klipta,\nand p\u00farna for p\u00farva.\n\n[413] See Addendum to Fasciculus IV, being a note on Vol. I, p. 306.\n\n[414] The Sanskrit College MS. reads nishkampam. But perhaps we\nought to read nishkampa, \"O fearless one.\" Satyam must be used\nadverbially. Kulabh\u00fabhrit\u00e1m also means \"of great mountains.\"\n\n[415] I read netraiseha for netre cha with the Sanskrit College MS.\n\n[416] Perhaps p\u00e1tit\u00e1t would give a better sense.\n\n[417] The story is here taken up from page 232.\n\n[418] The Sanskrit College MS. reads sa krit\u00e1rtham.\n\n[419] So in Melusine, p. 447, the hero of the tale \"La Montagne Noire\"\nrides on the back of a crow, to whom he has to give flesh, as often\nas he says \"couac\". At last he has to give him flesh from his own\nthighs. The wounds are healed instantaneously by means of a \"fiole\nde graisse\" which he carries with him. See No. 61 in Gonzenbach's\nSicilianische M\u00e4rchen with Dr. K\u00f6hler's notes.\n\n[420] The Sanskrit College MS. reads kopita for m\u00e1nada i. e., \"Since\nI was separated from you by the curse of the enraged N\u00e1ga.\"\n\n[421] Ganesa, who is represented with the head of an elephant. In\nsl. 8 I read with the Sanskrit College MS. vibhrashtapath\u00e1.\n\n[422] This word means the sons of Dhritar\u00e1shtra, and also geese with\nblack legs and bills.\n\n[423] This also means \"in which Arjuna was displaying great activity.\"\n\n[424] There is also an allusion to Siva's having drunk the poison\nthat was produced by the churning of the ocean.\n\n[425] There is an allusion to Vishnu's having obtained Lakshm\u00ed from\nthe ocean when churned. The passage may also mean that the beauty of\nthe lake was permanent.\n\n[426] This expression also means that \"it rested on the head of the\nserpent Ananta:\" which was true of P\u00e1t\u00e1la or Hades.\n\n[427] See Vol. I, pp. 99 and 573, and Brand's Popular Antiquities,\nVol. I, p. 225.\n\n[428] The Petersburg lexicographers read kalanay\u00e1 for kalatay\u00e1. The\nthree verbs correspond to the three nouns.\n\n[429] The Sanskrit College MS. read d\u00edn\u00e1y\u00e1m for d\u00edrgh\u00e1y\u00e1m.\n\n[430] When applied to the good man, it means \"his heart was benevolent\nand large.\"\n\n[431] See Vol. I, p. 362.\n\n[432] I follow the reading of the Sanskrit College MS. \u00e1yati-darsin\u00e1.\n\n[433] The Sanskrit College MS. gives pr\u00e1chy\u00e1m saila-sringa-tapovanam.\n\n[434] The Sanskrit College MS. reads sukhite jane. The sense is\nthe same.\n\n[435] See Vol. I, p. 499, Vol. II, p. 296, and Grohmann, Sagen aus\nB\u00f6hmen, p. 242.\n\n[436] The Sanskrit College MS. reads dh\u00e1tuh sdm\u00e1gryya-(sic)\nvaichitryam.\n\n[437] See Vol. I, p. 379.\n\n[438] The Sanskrit College MS. reads manye (I think) for Hara.\n\n[439] The Sanskrit College MS. read sadris\u00ed and anyatra.\n\n[440] For falling in love with a picture see Vol. I, p. 490; Prym\nund Socin, Syrische M\u00e4rchen, p. 3; and Rohde, Der Griechische Roman,\np. 49, note. For the conventional signs of love in the Greek romances,\nsee Rohde, der Griechische Roman, p. 157 and ff.\n\n[441] Here I omit some part of the inventory of the lady's charms.\n\n[442] The capital of the god of wealth.\n\n[443] B\u00f6htlingk and Roth give n\u00e1gabandha in this passage as \"eine\nSchlange als Fessel.\" I do not quite see how to bring in this\ntranslation, though I fear that my own is not correct.\n\n[444] I read dhairy\u00e1d for adhairy\u00e1d.\n\n[445] Storms play an important part in the Greek romances. See Rohde,\nDer Griechische Roman, pp. 428 and 468.\n\n[446] The Sanskrit College MS. has jn\u00e1ta-vritt\u00e1nt\u00e1.\n\n[447] The self-existent, a name of Siva, Vishnu, and Buddha.\n\n[448] I read tanna which I find in the Sanskrit College MS. for tatra.\n\n[449] The Sanskrit College MS. has ehi for iha.\n\n[450] I read sudurdharsh\u00e1m; the Sanskrit College MS. reads senan\u00edm\n(sic) iva durdharsh\u00e1m: the word translated \"rhinoceros\" can also mean\n\"sword;\" the adjective before it may mean \"uplifted,\" and the word\ntranslated \"inhabited by lions\" may perhaps mean, \"commanded by\na king.\"\n\n[451] I follow the reading of the Sanskrit College MS. which gives\ndaghna instead of lagna.\n\n[452] The Sanskrit College MS. reads vy\u00e1saktav\u00edrasirasam.\n\n[453] I read with the Sanskrit College MS. p\u00e1tah for pr\u00e1ptih.\n\n[454] vritt\u00e1ntam should probably be vritt\u00e1nta, and should be joined\nwith the words that follow.\n\n[455] An allusion to the phenomenon of the tides.\n\n[456] The Sanskrit College MS. gives vrishta-hiranya-vastram, in\nwhich gold and garments were showered on the people.\n\n[457] I read s\u00e1popan\u00edte with the Sanskrit College MS.\n\n[458] See the Dummedhaj\u00e1taka, Fausb\u00f6ll's edition of the J\u00e1takas,\nVol. I, p. 259; Liebrecht's translation of the Pentamerone of Basile,\nVol. I. p. 83; and Vol. I of this translation, pp. 153 and 575;\nalso Ralston's Tibetan Tales, Introduction, p. lii.\n\n[459] Or \"black as tam\u00e1la.\"\n\n[460] Or \"which were of opposite appearance, being white.\" The word\narjuna (white) also refers to the hero Arjuna one of the P\u00e1ndavas,\nwho lived disguised as a eunuch in the city of king Vir\u00e1ta. K\u00edchaka\n(cane) was the leader of the host of king Vir\u00e1ta, and was conquered\nby Bh\u00edma (terrible). The passage contains another pun which will be\nobvious to those acquainted with Hindu customs.\n\n[461] I. e. patatigavritti. The word seems to mean \"subsistence of\nbirds.\" Compare Macbeth IV, 2, 33. Pandit R\u00e1ma Chandra of Alwar points\nout that the reference in patangavritti is to the \"rushing of a moth\ninto a candle.\" In the text therefore \"would be a mere reckless rushing\non destruction\" should be substituted for \"is a mere chimerical fancy.\"\n\n[462] I find tat-sambandh\u00e1nur\u00e1gin\u00e1 in three India Office MSS. kindly\nlent me by Dr. Rost.\n\n[463] I read M\u00e1tangar\u00e1jades\u00e1gato; the reading of the India Office\nMS. No. 1882 is r\u00e1j\u00e1des\u00e1gato which would mean \"by the invitation\nof the king of the M\u00e1tangas.\" For d\u00far\u00e1gamana in sl. 31, No. 2166\nreads d\u00fat\u00e1gamana, i. e. \"the coming of your messenger.\" This makes\nbetter sense.\n\n[464] A pun! It also means \"holding prosperity, and holding out hopes\nto the world.\"\n\n[465] All the three India Office MSS., which Dr. Rost has kindly lent\nme, read nis\u00e1srayah.\n\n[466] Professor Monier Williams refers us to R\u00e1m\u00e1yana III, 75.\n\n[467] So, in the 89th chapter of the Wiikina Saga, Heime goes off to\njoin the robber chief Ingram. (Hagen's Helden-Sagen, Vol. I. p. 242).\n\n[468] The India office MS. No. 2166 reads m\u00e1tsyany\u00e1yabhayoday\u00e1t.\n\n[469] His name means \"Wild man of the Stronghold\" or \"Demon of the\nStronghold.\"\n\n[470] The passage is full of puns: vayas means \"age\" and \"bird\";\nkrishna \"black\" and also the god of that name; bh\u00fabhrit \"king\" and also\n\"mountain.\"\n\n[471] Killed by Vishnu in the form of a boar.\n\n[472] Another play on words. It may mean \"was the son of the P\u00e1ndava\nBh\u00edma.\"\n\n[473] I do not understand this allusion. Pandit R\u00e1ma Chandra of Alwar\npoints out that the reference is to one of the exploits of Arjuna\nSahasrab\u00e1hu, often called K\u00e1rtav\u00edryya, which is related in the Uttara\nK\u00e1nda of the R\u00e1m\u00e1yana, Sarga 32.\n\n[474] Anjana is a black pigment applied to the eyes.\n\n[475] Vana might mean \"water.\"\n\n[476] Two of the India office MSS. read cha te datta-d\u00fat\u00e1h, the\nother reads cha taddattad\u00fat\u00e1h. I think these readings give a better\nsense. The king of the M\u00e1tangas is here Durgapis\u00e1cha.\n\n[477] I read samam\u00e1nayat the conjecture of Dr. Kern. I find it in\nMS. No. 1882 and in 2166.\n\n[478] Being a man of high caste, he ate with men who had none, or next\nto none. Dr. Kern wishes to read k\u00e1rye, but all the MSS. have k\u00e1ryam.\n\n[479] Compare the way in which king Melias receives the proposals\nof Osantrix in the 53rd chapter of the Wilkina Saga, (Hagen's\nHelden-Sagen, Vol. I, p. 182.)\n\n[480] Or \"of the mountains that retained their wings,\" i. e., by taking\nrefuge from Indra in the sea. The pun is, of course, most intentional.\n\n[481] Krishna, in the form of a man-lion, destroyed Hiranyakasipu. The\nword man-lion also refers to brave soldiers. For sashpeshu No. 1882\nreads sasyeshu.\n\n[482] I read with India Office MS. No. 1882 dividattordhvajhamp\u00e1ni;\nthe two other MSS. agree in reading jamp\u00e1ni. For bhruvas\u00e1lin\u00e1m I read\nbhujas\u00e1lin\u00e1m which I find in the three India Office MSS.\n\n[483] The lady's name in Sanskrit is Chaturik\u00e1.\n\n[484] The king of the snakes. See for his thousand mouths and thousand\ntongues p. 313 of this Volume.\n\n[485] No. 1882 has mattairasamvritadv\u00e1r\u00e1m.\n\n[486] There is an intentional pun in this passage which may be\ntranslated, \"illuminated by the moon with his rays\" or \"pointed out\nby the moon with his fingers.\"\n\n[487] For paraspar\u00e1m, I read parampar\u00e1m, following B\u00f6htlingk and\nRoth. This is the reading of MS. No. 1882.\n\n[488] I read v\u00e1 rane the conjecture of Dr. Kern.\n\n[489] Sak\u00e1r\u00e1 is a misprint for S\u00e1k\u00e1r\u00e1, which I find in MS. No. 1882.\n\n[490] Dr. Kern prefers tejasvinam to tejasvin\u00e1m--I have adopted this\nconjecture, which is supported by two of the India Office MSS.\n\n[491] I read k\u00e1lochitam the conjecture of Dr. Kern; it is found in\nthe three MSS. lent me by Dr. Rost.\n\n[492] Dasibhih is a misprint for dasabhih, the reading of the MSS.\n\n[493] So king Nidung in the Wilkina Saga, (ch. 131,) asks king Sigmund\nto come to his palace if he wishes to marry his daughter. (Hagen's\nHelden-Sagen, Vol. I, p. 322)\n\n[494] Dr. Kern points out that Sraddhatus is a misprint for Sraddadhus.\n\n[495] Here No. 1882 reads griheshu kritavairasya gamane.\n\n[496] A bh\u00e1ra = 20 Tul\u00e1s.\n\n[497] The words are, by a misprint, wrongly divided in Brockhaus's\ntext.\n\n[498] Cp. Heliodorus III. 4. pleon apo t\u00f4n ophthalm\u00f4n selas \u00ea t\u00f4n\ndad\u00f4n ap\u00eaugazen, quoted by Rohde, Der Griechische Roman, p. 152, note.\n\n[499] For Sar\u00e1jak\u00e1varti I read Sar\u00e1jak\u00e1vanti; Mrig\u00e1nkadatta might be\nsaid by an admiring father to have conquered the king of Ujjayin\u00ed.\n\n[500] It corresponds to the European ceremony of coronation, though\nperformed with water.\n\n[501] This is the conclusion of the story of Mrig\u00e1nkadatta, which\nbegins on page 138.\n\n[502] There is of course an allusion to the M\u00e1nasa lake.\n\n[503] Here there is a pun; the word translated \"bees\" can also mean\n\"arrows.\"\n\n[504] The god of love, the Buddhist devil.\n\n[505] The word \"rati\" in Sanskrit means \"joy.\"\n\n[506] No. 1882 has dhany\u00e1 sa cha naro, No. 2166 dhanyah sa cha naro,\ni. e., Happy is that man.\n\n[507] Two of the India Office MSS. read \u00e1linganadhikam.\n\n[508] I read sammadah for sampadah. I find it in MSS. Nos. 1882\nand 2166.\n\n[509] MSS. Nos. 1882 and 2166 give cha tat for tath\u00e1.\n\n[510] More literally \"creeper-like chain.\"\n\n[511] I have followed Brockhaus's text, which is supported by MS. No\n3003. The other two read tatpremabhayasotkampam.\n\n[512] The words denoting \"reflection\" \"headache\" and \"ignorance\" are\nfeminine in Sanskrit and so the things denoted by them have feminine\nqualities attributed to them. Ignorance means perhaps \"the having\nno news of the beloved.\" All the India Office MSS. read vriddhay\u00e1\nfor vrittay\u00e1.\n\n[513] Here the reading of MS. No. 1882 is P\u00e1pam\u00fal\u00e1\nyatah p\u00e1paphalabh\u00e1ram pras\u00fayate Tatkshanenaiva bhajyante\ns\u00edghramdhanavishadrum\u00e1h. No. 3003 reads pr\u00e1ptamul\u00e1, tadbharenaiva, and\nbhujyante. No. 2166 agrees with No. 1882 in the main, but substitutes\ntana for dhana.\n\nI have followed No. 1882, adopting tadbharenaiva from No. 3003.\n\n[514] I read yas ch\u00e1dharmyo 'grad\u00fatuh. MS. No. 1882 reads yas\nch\u00e1dhamyo; No. 3003 reads yas ch\u00e1dharmo and No. 2166 reads as\nI propose.\n\n[515] The word may mean \"bridegroom.\"\n\n[516] I adopt Dr. Kern's conjecture \u00e1ropya sibik\u00e1m. It is found in\ntwo out of three India Office MSS. for the loan of which I am indebted\nto Dr. Rost.\n\n[517] The word which means \"boddice,\" means also \"the skin of a snake;\"\nand the word translated \"beauty\" means also \"saltness.\"\n\n[518] Because she really wanted to talk to Madir\u00e1vat\u00ed about her own\nlove affair.\n\n[519] I omit cha after vinodayitum as it is not found in the three\nIndia Office MSS.\n\n[520] The whole passage is an elaborate pun resting upon the fact\nthat the same word means \"tribute\" and \"ray\" in Sanskrit. \u00c1kranda\nsometimes means a protector.\n\n[521] I read b\u00e1ndharavat so. The late Professor Horace Hayman Wilson\nobserves of this story. \"The incidents are curious and diverting, but\nthey are chiefly remarkable from being the same as the contrivances\nby which M\u00e1dhava and Makaranda obtain their mistresses in the drama\nentitled M\u00e1lat\u00ed and M\u00e1dhava or the Stolen Marriage.\"\n\n[522] I adopt the reading of MSS. Nos. 1882 and 2166, parijanah. This\nseems to make better sense.\n\n[523] This bears a slight resemblance to the story of Psyche.\n\n[524] Cp. Vol. I, p. 301.\n\n[525] I read with MSS. Nos. 1882 and 2166 tvadn\u00e1mnyudirite; No. 3003\nreads tvattr\u00e1syud\u00edrite. This seems to point to the same reading,\nwhich agrees with sl. 74, a. It is also found in a MS. lent me by\nthe Principal of the Sanskrit College.\n\n[526] The god of fire.\n\n[527] Two of the India Office MSS. read haste. So also the Sanskrit\nCollege MS.\n\n[528] I follow Dr. Kern in deleting the inverted commas, and the\ncomma after drishtv\u00e1.\n\n[529] Bernhard Schmidt in a note on page 12 of his Griechische M\u00e4rchen\ninforms us that he considers the connexion between the Vidy\u00e1dharas and\nthe Ph\u00e6acians of Homer to be clearly proved. Here we have two points\nwherein the Gandharvas resemble them; (1) the love of music, (2)\nthe right of ordinary citizens to aspire to the hand of the princess.\n\n[530] I read satalam s\u00e1 cha g\u00e1yant\u00ed v\u00edn\u00e1y\u00e1m Saurin\u00e1 svayam Dattam\nsvag\u00edtakam k\u00e1sht\u00e1m g\u00e1ndharve param\u00e1m gat\u00e1. In this all the three\nIndia Office MSS. substantially agree. No. 1882 writes g\u00e1yant\u00ed with\nboth short and long i and gandharva, No. 2166 has k\u00e1shtham with short\na, and all three have a short a in Gandharve. It is curious to see\nhow nearly this agrees with Dr. Kern's conjecture. I find that the\nMS. lent me by the Principal of the Sanskrit College agrees with the\nreading I propose, except that it gives gandharva.\n\n[531] In the Swayamvara the election used to be made by throwing a\ngarland on the neck of the favoured suitor.\n\n[532] MSS. Nos. 1882 and 2166 read mukhamandane i. e., face-ornament.\n\n[533] Perhaps the word also conveys the meaning,\n\"intoxicated.\" MSS. Nos. 1882 and 3166, give samad\u00e1t\u00e1mranetra, the\nother by mistake \u00e1t\u00e1ma. This would mean the \"play of the eyes a little\nred with intoxication and of the eyebrow.\" The word I have translated\n\"palate\" means the tongue considered as the organ of taste. The\nMS. kindly lent me by the Principal of the Sanskrit College reads\nsamad\u00e1tt\u00e1mranetra-bhr\u00favibhram\u00e1h.\n\n[534] The three India Office MSS., which Dr. Rost has kindly lent me,\nread tadany\u00e1nga. So does the Sanskrit College MSS.\n\n[535] I have altered the division of the words, as there appears to\nbe a misprint in Brockhaus's text.\n\n[536] The three India Office MSS. give Sr\u00e1ntamjalatrish\u00e1. In\nNo. 1882 the line begins with atra, in the other two with tatra:\nI have given what I believe to be the sense taking trish\u00e1 as the\ninstrumental. Sr\u00e1nta appears to be sometimes used for S\u00e1nta. The\nSanskrit College MS. reads tatra s\u00e1ntam jalatrish\u00e1 tasya p\u00edt\u00e1mbhaso\nvane. This exactly fits in with my rendering.\n\n[537] I delete the stop at the end of the 100th sloka. All the India\nOffice MSS. read krit\u00e1sv\u00e1s\u00e1, and so does the Sanskrit College MS.,\nbut krit\u00e1s\u00e1 s\u00e1 makes sense.\n\n[538] A single braid of hair worn by a woman as a mark of mourning\nfor an absent husband. Monier Williams s. v. ekaveni.\n\n[539] MSS. Nos. 1882 and 2166 read na cha for mayi; \"and did not\npractise cruelties;\" No. 3003 has may\u00ed. The Sanskrit College MS. has\nmama kraury\u00e1nnyavartat\u00e1 (sic).\n\n[540] I read tatr\u00e1sya tatpradh\u00e1n\u00e1gre dosham sirasi p\u00e1taya. The three\nIndia Office MSS. give tatr\u00e1sya; No. 1882 has pras\u00e1d\u00e1gre and dh\u00e1raya;\nNo. 3003 pradh\u00e1n\u00e1gre and dh\u00e1raya; No. 2166 pradh\u00e1n\u00e1gre and p\u00e1taya. The\nSanskrit College MS. agrees with Brockhaus's text.\n\n[541] Dr. Kern would read na cha for vata. Righteous kings and judges\nsee no difference between a feeble and powerful person, between\na stranger and a kinsman. But the three India Office MSS. read\nvata. So does the MS. which the Principal of the Sanskrit College,\nPandit Mahesa Chandra Ny\u00e1yaratna, has kindly lent me.\n\n[542] The Petersburg lexicographers are of opinion that risad should\nbe tasad or tasad. Two of the India Office MSS. seem to read tasad.\n\n[543] See Vol. I, pp. 136 and 142.\n\n[544] Here two of the India Office MSS. read m\u00e1msopadamsam, the\nthird m\u00e1msopadesam.\n\n[545] Dr. Kern reads tena for yena. His conjecture is confirmed by\nthe three India Office MSS. and the Sanskrit College MS.\n\n[546] I have adopted Dr. Kern's conjecture of saha for sahi and\nseparated with him abhyuday\u00e1yate into two words, abhyuday\u00e1ya te. I\nfind that his conjecture as to saha is confirmed by the three India\nOffice MSS.\n\n[547] Probably devanirmitah should be one word.\n\n[548] See Vol. I, p. 405.\n\n[549] In Sanskrit Siddhakshetra.\n\n[550] Perhaps we may compare Vergil Georgics, I, 487, and Horace,\nOd. I, 34, 5; and Vergil Aeneid VII, 141, with the passages there\nquoted by Forbiger. But MSS. Nos. 1882 and 2166 read udbh\u00fata.\n\n[551] It is clear that the goddess did not herself appear, so trinetr\u00e1\nis not a proper name, unless we translate the passage \"armed with\nthe trident of Gaur\u00ed.\"\n\n[552] Compare Webster's play, The Duchess of Malfy, where the\nDuchess says\n\n\n What witchcraft doth he practise, that he hath left\n A dead man's hand here?\n\n\n[553] I read antargriham as one word.\n\n[554] In the above wild story the hero has to endure the assaults of\nthe witches on three successive nights. So in the story of the Headless\nPrincess (Ralston's Russian Folk-Tales, p. 271) the priest's son has\nto read the psalter over the dead princess three nights running. He is\nhardest pressed on the last night; and on each occasion at day-break\nthe \"devilry vanished.\" In the same way in The Soldier's Midnight Watch\n(ib. p. 274) the soldier has three nights of increasing severity. So\nin Southey's Old Woman of Berkeley, the assaults continue for three\nnights, and on the third are successful.\n\n[555] Kuhn in his Westf\u00e4lische Sagen, Vol. II, p. 29, gives a long\nlist of herbs that protect men from witches. The earliest instance\nin literature is perhaps that Moly,\n\n\n \"That Hermes once to wise Ulysses gave.\"\n\n\nSee also Bartsch, Sagen aus Meklenburg, Vol. II, p. 37.\n\n[556] See Vol. I, pp. 224 and 576, and p. 268 of the present volume. To\nthe parallels quoted by Ralston may be added, Prym and Socin's Syrische\nSagen, p. 116; Bernhard Schmidt's Griechische M\u00e4rchen, p. 94; and\nCoelho's Contos Portuguezes, p. 63.\n\n[557] Cp. Hagen's Helden-Sagen, Vol. II, pp. 341, 342. Here Hagen\nsteals the clothes of some Meerweiber, who were bathing in the\nDanube; in this way he induces the elder of the two to prophesy the\nfate of himself and his companions at the court of Attila. In the\nRussian story of Vasilissa the Wise (Ralston's Russian Folk-Tales,\np. 126,) the hero steals Vasilissa's shift. She promises to do him\ngood service if he gives it back, which he does. She turned into a\nspoonbill and flew away after her companions. (See Ralston's remarks\non p. 120.) We find the incident of stealing the robes of bathing\nnymphs in Prym and Socin's Syrische Sagen und M\u00e4rchen, p. 116; in\nWaldau's B\u00f6hmische M\u00e4rchen, p. 250; Veckenstedt's Wendische M\u00e4rchen,\npp. 119-130; Gonzenbach's Sicilianische M\u00e4rchen, Part I, p. 31,\n(with K\u00f6hler's notes). In the above tales the dress stolen is what\nour great folk-lore authority terms a \"plumage-robe.\"\n\nThe Nereids in modern Greek stories are swan-maidens; see Bernhard\nSchmidt's Griechische M\u00e4rchen und Sagen, p. 134. The subject of\nSwan Maidens is thoroughly worked out by Baring Gould in his Curious\nMyths of the Middle Ages, New edition, pp. 561-578. See also Benfey's\nPanchatantra, Vol. I, pp. 263 and ff. He expresses his firm conviction\nthat tales of this kind will be found in Indian collections.\n\n[558] Or possibly, \"clothed in moisture.\"\n\n[559] The three India Office MSS. read samstav\u00e1d.\n\n[560] Cp. Vol. I, p. 250; and for what follows p. 230 of the same\nvolume.\n\n[561] Cp. p. 8 of this volume and the note there. In Sagas from the\nFar East there is a story of a gold-spitting prince. In Gonzenbach's\nSicilianische M\u00e4rchen, Quaddaruni's sister drops pearls and precious\nstones from her hair whenever she combs it. Dr. K\u00f6hler in his note\non this tale gives many European parallels. In a Swedish story a\ngold ring falls from the heroine's mouth whenever she speaks, and\nin a Norwegian story gold coins. I may add to the parallels quoted\nby Dr. K\u00f6hler, No. 36 in Coelho's Contos Portuguezes, in which tale\npearls drop from the heroine's mouth.\n\n[562] All the India Office MSS. read 'dy\u00e1pi for yo 'pi and two seem\nto read \u00e1p\u00e1tane. I find \u00e1patana in the Petersburg lexicon, but not\n\u00e1p\u00e1tana. I have translated the passage loosely so as to make a good\nsense. The Sanskrit College MS. gives a reading which exactly suits\nmy translation; Sachandr\u00e1rdhah Sivo 'dy\u00e1pi Harir yas cha sakaustubhah\nTattayorvedmi kuttany\u00e1 gochar \u00e1patane phalam.\n\n[563] More literally \"smeared with blood and relishing it.\" B\u00f6htlingk\nand Roth seem to think rasat refers to some noise made by the swords.\n\n[564] All the India Office MSS. read bhitam for the bh\u00edmam of\nBrockhaus's text.\n\n[565] The word means \"having sands of gold.\"\n\n[566] The word asm\u00e1bhir has been omitted in Brockhaus's text. It\nfollows panchabhir in the three India Office MSS. and in the Sanskrit\nCollege MS.\n\n[567] Two of the India Office MSS. have bh\u00e1ran\u00edyam. In the third the\npassage is omitted. But the text of Brockhaus gives a good sense.\n\n[568] I read prashth\u00e1s which I find in two of the India Office\nMSS. No. 1882 has prasth\u00e1s.\n\n[569] An epithet of Siva.\n\n[570] See Vol. I, pp. 153 and 575. Cf. also the story of Aschenkatze\nin the Pentamerone of Basile, Vol. I, p. 83; the Dummedhaj\u00e1taka,\nEd. Fausb\u00f6ll, Vol. I, p. 259; Preller, R\u00f6mische Mythologie, p. 96;\nKuhn, Westf\u00e4lische Sagen, Vol. I, pp. 241, 242, 244, 245; Ovid's\nMetamorphoses VIII, 722-724, and 743 and ff; and Ralston's Tibetan\nTales, Introduction, p. lii.\n\n[571] The Sanskrit College MS. has Raty\u00e1.\n\n[572] The seven jewels of the Chakravartin are often mentioned in\nBuddhist works. In the Mah\u00e1vastu, p. 108 (Ed. Senart) they are,\nchariot, elephant, horse, wife, householder, general. In a legend\nquoted by Burnouf (Introduction a l'Histoire du Buddhisme Indien,\np. 343) the same six are enumerated as \"les sept joyaux.\" In\nboth cases the sword is omitted. They are also described in the\nMah\u00e1-Sudassana-Sutta translated by Rhys Davids in the eleventh volume\nof the Sacred Books of the East Series.\n\n[573] For \u00e1tmasamarddhin\u00e1 the India Office MS. No. 1882 has\n\u00e1tmasamriddhin\u00e1; No. 2166 has samashtin\u00e1, and No. 3003 agrees with\nBrockhaus's text. So does the Sanskrit College MS.\n\n[574] We have often had occasion to remark that the Hindu poets\nconceive of glory as white.\n\n[575] See Sir Thomas Browne's Vulgar Errors, Book III, Chap. 7,\nHeliodorus, \u00c6thiopica, III, 8.\n\n[576] One of the Saktis.\n\n[577] Two of the India Office MSS. and the Sanskrit College MS. read\ncha ch\u00e1r\u00e1n\u00e1m for sad\u00e1r\u00e1n\u00e1m. This would mean, I suppose, that the cave\nmight be passed by all the scouts and ambassadors of the Vidy\u00e1dharas.\n\n[578] Or possibly \"Ganas (Siva's attendants) and witches.\"\n\n[579] Dh\u00famasikha, literally the smoke-crested, means fire.\n\n[580] I read saptv\u00e1 which I find in MSS. Nos. 1882 and 2196, the other\nhas sasv\u00e1. I also find cakravartibal\u00e1d in No. 1882, (with a short i,)\nand this reading I have adopted. The Sanskrit College MS. seems to have\nsaptv\u00e1. In sl. 119 I think we ought to delete the h in Sangr\u00e1mah. In\n121 the apostrophe before gra-bh\u00e1svarah is useless and misleading. In\n122 yad should be separated from vismayam.\n\n[581] Cp. Vol. I, p. 313.\n\n[582] All the India Office MSS. and the Sanskrit College MS. read\nchakravarti with a short i.\n\n[583] The India Office MSS. Nos. 1882 and 2166 and the Sanskrit\nCollege MS. read t\u00e1rat\u00faryam. It makes the construction clearer,\nbut no material difference in the sense.\n\n[584] Or adorned with Vishnu's Lakshm\u00ed. Here we have a pun, as she\nsprang from the sea.\n\n[585] Herein he shewed himself wiser than king M\u00e1ndh\u00e1tar the hero\nof the first tale in Ralston's Tibetan tales. He connects it with\nNo. 19 in Grimm's collection, and many other European stories. It\nis probable that the story of Narav\u00e1hanadatta's conquests is only\nanother form of the tale of M\u00e1ndh\u00e1tar.\n\n[586] Of course in the original the word expresses the idea of\nsprinkling with water.\n\n[587] It may possibly mean, \"land of the Siddhas\". In Chapter 107\nthe Siddhas are mentioned as directing Narav\u00e1hanadatta's devotions\non their holy mountain.\n\n[588] See Vol. I, p 305.\n\n[589] I read vairamalam. The reading in Brockhaus's text is a misprint.\n\n[590] Cp. Holinshed's account of Richard II's coronation. \"The\nArchbishop, having stripped him, first anointed his hands, after his\nhead, breast, shoulders, and the joints of his arms, with the sacred\noil, saying certain prayers, and in the meanwhile did the choir sing\nthe anthem, beginning 'Unxerunt regem Salomonem.' The above quotation\ncomes from the Clarendon Press Edition of King Richard II, p. 137,\nsub calcem.\n\n[591] I read vritam which appears to be the reading of the three\nIndia Office MSS. and of the Sanskrit College MS. It is clear enough\nin No. 2166. In sloka 85 I think that the reading of MS. No. 3003\nn\u00e1arityatkevalam y\u00e1vad v\u00e1toddh\u00fatalat\u00e1 api must be something near the\ntruth, as y\u00e1val in Brockhaus's text gives no meaning. (The Sanskrit\nCollege MS. gives Anrityannaiva v\u00e1tena dhut\u00e1 y\u00e1val lat\u00e1 api.) Of course\nthe plural must be substituted for the singular. I have translated\naccordingly. Two MSS. have valgad for vallad in sl. 87.\n\n[592] Two of the India Office MSS. and the Sanskrit College MS. read\n\u00e1s\u00e1dya; the line appears to be omitted in the third.\n\n[593] An allusion to the sprinkling at his coronation. The king\n\"put him on his lap.\"\n\n[594] I read drishtv\u00e1 prabhupras\u00e1d\u00e1ptadiryatv\u00e1n which I find in two\nof the India Office MSS. No 3003 has prata for prabhu.\n\n[595] All the India Office MSS. read sangamahotsave. The Sanskrit\nCollege MS. reads bandh\u00fan\u00e1m sangamotsave.\n\n[596] Here Brockhaus supposes a lacuna.\n\n[597] Literally \"ground.\" No doubt they squatted on the ground at\nthe feast as well as at the banquet; which preceded it, instead of\nfollowing it, as in the days of Shakespeare.\n\n[598] The king of Vatsa feels like Ulysses in the island of Calypso.\n\n[599] A bh\u00e1ra is 20 tul\u00e1s.\n\n[600] There is a play on words here. Sanskrit poets suppose that joy\nproduces in human beings, trembling, horripilation, and perspiration.\n\n[601] For anyonyasya the three India Office MSS. and the Sanskrit\nCollege MS. read anyasy\u00e1st\u00e1m, which means, \"Not to speak of other\nbeings, even animals &c.\"\n\n[602] This is only another form of the story on page 105 of Vol. I.\n\n[603] Cp. Hamlet Act V, Sc. II, 1. 223; Julius C\u00e6sar Act V, Sc. I,\n1 71 and ff.\n\n[604] See Vol. I, p. 441. Dante seems to have considered that dreams\nimmediately before morning were true. See Inferno, XXVI, 7; and\nPurgatorio, IX, 13-18. Fraticelli quotes from Horace--\n\n\n Quirinus\n Post mediam noctem visus cum somnia vera.\n\n\n[605] I read p\u00e1rsvasthitam for p\u00e1rsvastham. The former is found in\nthe three India Office MSS. and in the Sanskrit College MS.\n\n[606] The word, which means \"wrinkles,\" also means \"strong.\"\n\n[607] The three India Office MSS. read kritvaiva for kritveva.\n\n[608] Asitagiri.\n\n[609] This passage is full of lurking puns. It may mean \"full of\nworld-upholding kings of the snakes, and of many Kapilas.\"\n\n[610] For sup\u00e1d No 1182 reads pum\u00e1n and No. 2166 sum\u00e1n.\n\n[611] Two of the India Office MSS. have sun\u00e1m\u00e1vantivar\u00e1hanah in\nsl. 13. In the third there is a lacuna.\n\n[612] In Sanskrit the moon is masculine and the night feminine.\n\n[613] This story is found in Vol. I, pp. 69-71; where see notes. Some\nadditional notes will be found on p. 572 of the same volume. Cp. also\nSch\u00f6ppner, Sagen der Bayerischen Lande, Vol. I, p. 258.\n\n[614] So, in this story of Ohim\u00e9, No. 23, in Gonzenbach's Sicilianische\nM\u00e4rchen, Maruzza says to Ohim\u00e9, \"Tell me, dear master, if by ill luck\nany one wished to kill you, how ought he to set about it?\" The Indian\nstory is much less clumsy than the Sicilian, which is, no doubt,\nderived from it.\n\n[615] The moon hates the kamala and loves the kumuda.\n\n[616] I read stimitasthiteh which I find in MS. No. 2166, and in the\nSanskrit College MS.\n\n[617] Cp. Vol. I, p. 328 and ff. The story in the Gesta Romanorum\nto which reference is there made, bears a close resemblance to the\npresent story; but in the present case it appears as if beauty had\nmore to do with fascinating the elephant than modesty.\n\n[618] The Petersburg lexicographers explain this as a Chand\u00e1la,\na man of the lowest rank, a kind of Kir\u00e1ta.\n\n[619] The word \"good\" is used in a sense approximating to that in\nwhich it is used by Theognis, and the patricians in Coriolanus.\n\n[620] I read antyaj\u00e1m which I find in two of the Indian Office MSS. and\nthe Sanskrit College MS. In No. 3003 there is, apparently, a lacuna.\n\n[621] Cp. the Sig\u00e1luj\u00e1taka, Fausb\u00f6ll, Vol. II, p. 5. A barber's son\ndies of love for a Lichchhavi maiden. The Buddha then tells the story\nof a jackal whose love for a lioness cost him his life.\n\n[622] Compare the story of the birth of Servius Tullius, as told by\nOvid. The following are Ovid's lines:\n\n\n Namque pater Tulli Vulcanus, Ocresia mater\n Pr\u00e6signis facie Corniculana fuit.\n Hanc secum Tanaquil sacris de more peractis\n Jussit in ornatum fundere vina focum.\n Hic inter cineres obsc\u00e6ni forma virilis\n Aut fuit aut visa est, sed fuit illa magis.\n Jussa loco captiva sedet. Conceptus ab illa\n Servius a c\u00e6lo semina gentis habet.\n\n\n[623] All the India Office MSS. and the Sanskrit College MS. read\nkridy\u00e1n \"delicious fish.\"\n\n[624] See Vol. I, p. 241.\n\n[625] See Vol. I, p. 98. In sloka 143 the India Office MSS. Nos. 2166\nand 1882 and the Sanskrit College MS give pramay\u00e1t for prabhay\u00e1. I\nsuppose it means \"from dying in that holy place.\"\n\n[626] This is another version of the story which begins on page 297 of\nthis volume. I have not omitted it, as my object is to reproduce the\noriginal faithfully, with the exception of a few passages repugnant to\nmodern European taste. In the same way in J\u00e1taka No. 318, beginning\non page 58 of Fausb\u00f6ll's third Volume, a lady falls in love with a\ncriminal who is being led to execution.\n\n[627] I read iva serana: I suppose serana comes from si. Dr. Kern\nwould read ahrasva-sana: (the former word hesitatingly). But iva is\nrequired. Prerana would make a kind of sense. See Taranga 48, sl. 26,\na. The sloka is omitted in all the three India Office MSS. and in\nthe Sanskrit College MS.\n\n[628] The Petersburg lexicographers translate durbharah by Schwer\nbeladen. I think it means that the supposed thief had many costly\nvices, which he could not gratify without stealing. Of course it\napplies to the king in a milder sense.\n\n[629] In the realms below the earth.\n\n[630] I read after Dr. Kern visvastagh\u00e1takah a slayer of those who\nconfide in him. I also read kv\u00e1si for kv\u00e1pi; as the three India Office\nMSS. give kv\u00e1si.\n\n[631] The three India Office MSS. give tu for tam.\n\n[632] I take sak\u00e1ranam as one word.\n\n[633] See Vol. I, p. 174, and ff. and Vol. II, p. 307, and ff.\n\n[634] The Petersburg lexicographers spell the word Sibi. This\nstory is really the same as the XVIth of Ralston's Tibetan Tales\nwhich begins on page 257. Dr. Kern points out that we ought to read\ndugdh\u00e1bdinirmal\u00e1. The India Office MSS. give the words correctly. This\nstory is also found in the Chariy\u00e1 Pitaka. See Oldenberg's Buddha,\np. 302.\n\n[635] The word saumya means \"pleasing\" and also \"moon-like\"; kal\u00e1 in\nthe next line means \"digit of the moon\" and also \"accomplishment.\"\n\n[636] I read satr\u00e1ni or sattr\u00e1ni for p\u00e1tr\u00e1ni which would mean \"fit\nrecipients.\" I find sattr\u00e1ni in MS. No. 1882.\n\n[637] A perpetually recurring pun! Guna in Sanskrit means \"bowstring\"\nand also \"virtue,\" and is an unfailing source of temptation to\nour author.\n\n[638] This story was evidently composed at a time when the\nrecollections of the old clan-system were vivid in the minds of\nthe Hindus. See Rhys David's Buddhism, p. 28. Gautama's relations\n\"complained in a body to the R\u00e1j\u00e1 Suddhodana that his son, devoted\nto home pleasures, neglected those manly exercises necessary for one\nwho might hereafter have to lead his kinsmen in case of war.\"\n\n[639] I read any\u00e1nupayoginy\u00e1 which I find in MS. No. 3003. No. 1882\nhas any\u00e1nupabhoginy\u00e1. In the other MS. the passage is omitted. Another\nsyllable is clearly required. The Sanskrit College MS. reads kim\nch\u00e1ny\u00e1nupayoginyatra.\n\n[640] Cp. Richard II, V. 1. 35.\n\n[641] India Office MS. No. 1882 reads nitau; the other two seem to\nomit the lines altogether.\n\n[642] As An\u00e1thapindika gives the Jetavana garden to Buddha in the\nBharhut Sculptures; see also p. 329 of this volume.\n\n[643] The pun is intelligible enough: dvija means \"Br\u00e1hman\" and also\n\"bird\": \u00e1s\u00e1gata means \"coming from every quarter\" and \"coming in hope\nto get something.\"\n\n[644] tat should not be separated from the next word.\n\n[645] The three India Office MSS. read apach\u00e1ram tvam. The Sanskrit\nCollege MS. gives apavdram.\n\n[646] The metre shows that 'sta is a misprint for 'sita. All the\nthree India Office MSS. read 'sita. So does the Sanskrit College MS.\n\n[647] An allusion to the Arddhan\u00e1r\u00edsa form of Siva.\n\n[648] Pit\u00e1mah\u00e1h must be a misprint for pit\u00e1mahah, as is apparent from\nthe India Office MSS.\n\n[649] This story is in the original prefaced by \"Iti Padm\u00e1vat\u00ed\nkath\u00e1.\" It continues to the end of the book, but properly speaking,\nthe story of Padm\u00e1vat\u00ed does not commence until chapter 115.\n\n[650] There is a reference to the sectaries of Siva in Benares,\nand the Ganas of Siva on mount Kail\u00e1sa.\n\n[651] Here we have a longer form of the story of Brahmadatta found\non pp. 12 and 13 of Vol. I. Dr. Rajendral\u00e1l Mitra informs me that\nit is also found in a MS. called the Bodhisattva Avad\u00e1na, one of the\nHodgson MSS.\n\n[652] i. e., moonlight.\n\n[653] There is probably a double meaning. The clouds are compared to\nthe Ganges, and it is obvious that geese would cluster round lotuses.\n\n[654] The s\u00e1rasa is a large crane; the chakrav\u00e1ka the Brahmany duck.\n\n[655] i. e., T\u00e1rkshyaratna. I have no idea what the jewel is. B. and\nR. give ein bestimmter dunkelfarbiger Edelstein. In J\u00e1taka No. 136\nthere is a golden goose who had been a Br\u00e1hman. He gives his feathers\nto his daughters to sell, but his wife pulls out all the feathers at\nonce; they become like the feathers of a baka. Afterwards they all grow\nwhite. See Rhys David's Buddhist Birth Stories, p. ix, note. In Sloka,\n4. 1, I read tadras\u00e1d for tatra sad\u00e1, with MSS. Nos. 1882 and 2166;\nNo. 3003 has tatras\u00e1d.\n\n[656] It may possibly mean \"acted a love-drama.\" I cannot find the\nsense I have assigned to it in any Dictionary.\n\n[657] Before anu we should with the India Office MSS. insert\ntad. Monier Williams explains Brahma-R\u00e1kshasa as a \"fiend of the\nBr\u00e1hmanical class.\"\n\n[658] It is worth while remarking that all the India Office MSS. here\nread kshetram which would make Siddh\u00edsvara the name of a place here.\n\n[659] All the India Office MSS. read gatv\u00e1 for jn\u00e1tv\u00e1. I have adopted\nthis; and I take tatk\u00f3ranam adverbially. MS. No. 1882 has gatovijn\u00e1ta.\n\n[660] It appears from the India Office MSS. that dhanav\u00e1n should\nbe inserted after br\u00e1hmano. In sloka 82, the India Office MSS. read\nchitr\u00e1yatam which I have adopted.\n\n[661] The three India Office MSS. have viteratuh.\n\n[662] Dr. Kern would read kshudduhk\u00e1v\u00e1ptasamklesau. I find that all the\nthree India Office MSS. confirm his conjecture, so I have adopted it.\n\n[663] Cp. Vergil's Aeneid VIII. 172 and ff.\n\n[664] All the three India Office MSS. and the Sanskrit College MS. read\nsv\u00e1gra, which I have endeavoured to translate. Perhaps it may mean,\n\"before they took any food themselves.\"\n\n[665] Here the name of a place sacred to Siva. Before we have had it\nas the god's title. See B. & R. s. v. It means \"lord of magic powers.\"\n\n[666] It appears from the India Office MSS. that t\u00e1v should be inserted\nafter evam.\n\n[667] I have adopted the reading andhak\u00e1ritam which I find in the\nthree India Office MSS.\n\n[668] I read nihatasya which I find supported by two of the India\nOffice MSS. No. 1882 has nihitasya, No. 2166 nihatasya and No. 3003\nhas anihatasya. The Sanskrit College MS. has tihatasya.\n\n[669] Perhaps there is a pun here. The word ishta may also mean\nsacrifice, sacred rite.\n\n[670] I. e., Brihaspati.\n\n[671] The word for god here is amara, literally immortal. This may\nremind the classical reader of the passage in the Birds where Iris\nsays all' athanatos eim', and Peisthet\u00e6rus imperturbably replies,\nall' hom\u00f4s an apethanes.\n\n[672] I read dattajhampo which I find in MS. No. 3003. The other two\nhave dattajampo. The Sanskrit College MS. has dattajhampo.\n\n[673] Cp. Ovid's Metamorphoses, V, 321-331, for the flight of the\ninhabitants of the Grecian heaven from the giant Typhoeus.\n\n[674] All the India Office MSS. read prishtas.\n\n[675] All the India Office MSS. read Vidyuddhvaj\u00e1ntako.\n\n[676] MS. No. 1882 here reads chirapr\u00e1pyas: the other two agree\nwith Brockhaus.\n\n[677] I suspect this island is the same as the Whiteman's land of the\nIcelandic chronicles. See Baring Gould's Curious Myths of the Middle\nAges (New Edition) p. 550 and following.\n\n[678] A title of Brahm\u00e1. See Muir's Sanskrit Texts, Vol. IV, p. 18.\n\n[679] For anyonya I read any\u00e1nya, but all the MSS. confirm Brockhaus's\ntext.\n\n[680] The three India Office MSS. have dasa kalp\u00e1n.\n\n[681] I read cyutam for cyut\u00e1. See Taranga 117, sl. 152 and ff. But\nall the India Office MSS. agree with Brockhaus's text. The tale itself\nwill justify my correction.\n\n[682] The word tejas\u00e1 also means valour.\n\n[683] Literally \"the nectar-rayed one.\"\n\n[684] Cp. Vol. I, p. 69 and Vol. II, p. 172. also Prym und Socin\nSyrische M\u00e4rchen, p. 205, and Silius Italicus I, 430, quoted by\nPreller, Griechische Mythologie, II, 354.\n\n[685] See the note in Vol. I, p. 465, also p. 578, and Zimmer's\nAlt-Indisches Leben p. 60, Preller, R\u00f6mische Mythologie, pp. 102\nand 103; the vultures will remind the English reader of Shakespeare's\nJulius C\u00e6sar, V, I, 84 and ff.; for the ominous import of lightning see\nSmith's Dictionary of Antiquities, Art. Bidental; and Preller, R\u00f6mische\nMythologie, p. 172. There is a very similar passage in Achilles Tatius,\nLib. V. C. 3. H\u00f4s oun pro\u00ealthomen t\u00f4n thyr\u00f4n, oi\u00f4nos h\u00eamin ginetai\npon\u00earos\u00b7 chelidona kirkos di\u00f4k\u00f4n t\u00ean Leukipp\u00ean patassei t\u00f4 pter\u00f4 eis\nt\u00ean kephal\u00ean. See also Sir Thomas Browne's Vulgar Errors, Book V,\nChapter 23, Sec. 1; Webster's Duchess of Malfi, Act II, Sc. II.\n\n\n How superstitiously we mind our evils!\n The throwing down salt, or crossing of a hare,\n Bleeding at nose, the stumbling of a horse,\n Or singing of a cricket, are of power\n To daunt whole man in us.\n\n\n[686] I read tadanullanghayan with MSS. Nos. 1882 and 2166 and the\nSanskrit College MS. No. 3003 has anullanghaya.\n\n[687] I read patyus for pitus with the three India Office MSS. and\nthe Sanskrit College MS.\n\n[688] The India Office MSS. have kasmai datt\u00e1 v\u00e1; but the sense is\nmuch the same.\n\n[689] It appears from the beginning of the chapter that this was the\ncharioteer of V\u00e1yu the chief god of the Wind. In Chapter 115, sl. 57,\nthe wind-gods are opposed to the Daityas. B. and R. identify these\nwind-gods with the Maruts, s.v. V\u00e1yu.\n\n[690] Dr. Kern corrects kavachanam to kavacham. The latter word is\nfound in the three India Office MSS. and the Sanskrit College MS.\n\n[691] I read mauktika for maulika. The three India Office MSS. and\nthe Sanskrit College MS have mauktika.\n\n[692] One of the seven hells, (not places of torment).\n\n[693] A title of Brahm\u00e1.\n\n[694] But the three India Office MSS. read gh\u00farnad for purna. It\ncould, I suppose, mean, \"reeling with joy.\" The Sanskrit College\nMS. has p\u00faruva.\n\n[695] The Lokap\u00e1las are the guardians of the four cardinal and four\nintermediate points of the compass. They appear to be usually reckoned\nas Indra, guardian of the East, Agni of the South-East, Varuna of\nthe West, Yama of the South, S\u00farya of the South-West, Pavana or\nV\u00e1yu of the North-West, Kuvera of the North, Soma or Chandra of the\nNorth-East. Some substitute Nirriti for S\u00farya and Is\u00e1n\u00ed or Prithiv\u00ed\nfor Soma.\n\n[696] The reed was no doubt used as a brush or pencil. The Sanskrit\nCollege MS. reads utkanth\u00e1-sannap\u00e1nir aham katham.\n\n[697] The three India Office MSS. read atha srutam, which, I suppose,\nmeans, \"and I heard something too.\"\n\n[698] This line in Brockhaus's text is unmetrical. Nos. 1882 and 3003\nread kim nu g\u00e1hyate, No. 2166 has na for nu.\n\n[699] I adopt Dr. Kern's conjecture of y\u00e1m for y\u00e1. It is confirmed\nby the three India Office MSS. and by the Sanskrit College MS.\n\n[700] This meaning is assigned by B\u00f6htlingk and Roth to the word\nnerv\u00e1ti in this passage.\n\n[701] I follow MSS. Nos. 3003 and 2166 which give jano' nuvritto'pi.\n\n[702] B\u00f6htlingk and Roth consider that s\u00e1kalyaka is the true\nrending. One MS. certainly has y and I think probably the others.\n\n[703] By the canons of Hindu rhetoric a smile is white. Hence this\nfrigid conceit.\n\n[704] I read na for tu. Two out of the three India Office MSS. and\nthe Sanskrit College MS. give na.\n\n[705] Here MSS. Nos. 3003 and 2166 and the Sanskrit College MS. read\napreksh\u00e1p\u00farvak\u00e1rin\u00e1, the nominative case of which word is found in\nTaranga 64, slokas 20 and 26. No. 1882 has aprekshy\u00e1p\u00farvak\u00e1rin\u00e1.\n\n[706] Two of the India Office MSS. and the Sanskrit College MS. insert\nkinchit before tapas\u00e1m.\n\n[707] MS. No. 1882 reads garbhav\u00e1se kleso; and this seems to give a\nsense more clearly in accordance with the sequel of the story.\n\n[708] Literally, too careful guarding of his din\u00e1ras. Din\u00e1ra is the\nLatin denarius.\n\n[709] Of course we must read avilambitam which is found in two out of\nthe three India Office MSS. and in the Sanskrit College MS. No. 1882\nhas vilambitam.\n\n[710] Vin\u00edyate is a misprint for viniyete.\n\n[711] We should probably read asranimnag\u00e1h with two India Office\nMSS. No 3003 has asrunimnag\u00e1h.\n\n[712] The three India Office MSS. give Devasabh\u00e1sanne, \"near\nDevasabha.\"\n\n[713] The three India Office MSS., read purasatair, \"hundreds of\ncities?\" In any case varais should he varair.\n\n[714] B\u00f6htlingk and Roth would read svadhishny\u00e1ni for sw\u00e1dhisth\u00e1ni\nin Taranga 120, 25. Here Brockhaus reads sv\u00e1dhisth\u00e1n rishayas which\nI find in MS. No 1882; No 3003 has what, judging from the way shu\nis written in this MS., I take to be svadhishny\u00e1nyashayas. No 2166\nhas what for similar reasons I take to be svadhishn\u00e1nrishayas. The\nSanskrit College MS. has svadhisht\u00e1nyrishayas.\n\n[715] For \u00e1r\u00e1dhayitum Nos. 1882 and 2166 give \u00e1r\u00e1dhayan which satisfies\nthe metre. The Sanskrit College MS. has \u00e1r\u00e1dhitum.\n\n[716] I read akritapunyayoh, not having done meritorious actions. This\nis the reading of all the India Office MSS. and the Sanskrit College\nMS.\n\n[717] The three India Office MSS. give susamiddham, which is perhaps\npreferable to the reading of Brockhaus's text. The Sanskrit College\nMS. gives susamitam.\n\n[718] MSS. Nos. 1882 and 2166 and the Sanskrit College MS. give\nlasannavanav\u00e1dbhut\u00e1 \"is ever displaying new marvels.\" No. 3003 gives\nlasannavatav\u00e1dbhut\u00e1. The t is no doubt a mere slip of the pen for n.\n\n[719] I read arghyap\u00e1dy\u00e1di in sl. 180, 6; as in sl. 181, 6. The y is\nfound in the three India Office MSS. and the Sanskrit College MS. I\nalso read in sl. 179 svagir\u00e1 datte deven\u00e1narthite vare, which I find\nin the three India Office MSS. and the Sanskrit College MS.\n\n[720] Two of the India Office MSS. read samayapratibandham; No. 3003\nhas samayaprativa; clearly some letters have been omitted. The sense\nwould remain the same.\n\n[721] P\u00e1t\u00e1la and Ras\u00e1tala seem to be used indiscriminately to denote\n\"the nether world\" in this passage. Strictly speaking, Ras\u00e1tala is\none of the seven P\u00e1t\u00e1las. The words in sl. 189 which I have translated\n\"regions of P\u00e1t\u00e1la\" mean literally \"the P\u00e1t\u00e1las.\" In sl. 192 the three\nIndia Office MSS. read sudrishtayoh \"having had a good look at them.\"\n\n[722] I read muchyate with the three India Office MSS. and the Sanskrit\nCollege MS.\n\n[723] The kak\u00f4n kai g\u00earaos alkar of Empedocles. Sir Thomas Browne\nin his Vulgar Errors, Book II. Ch. V, Sec. 11, makes mention of\nthe supposed magic virtues of gems. He will not deny that bezoar\nis antidotal, but will not believe that a \"sapphire is preservative\nagainst enchantments.\"\n\n[724] All the India Office MSS. and the Sanskrit College MS. read\napaty\u00e1ni for asaty\u00e1ni. I have adopted it. In sl. 29 two MSS. and\nthe Sanskrit College MS. have sarv\u00e1nga the other sarv\u00e1ngam. I do not\nunderstand the passage.\n\n[725] Perhaps we may compare this water with that of the river\nStyx. H\u00e1tak\u00ed appears to be the name of a river in the underworld.\n\n[726] The Sanskrit adjective corresponding to the noun Vidy\u00e1dhara,\nis, of course, Vaidy\u00e1dhara, but perhaps it is better to retain the\nnoun in English.\n\n[727] I read \u00e1hritya for \u00e1hatya. The three India Office MSS. and the\nSanskrit College MS. have \u00e1hritya.\n\n[728] Probably the passage also means that they sunned themselves in\nhis rays.\n\n[729] I read tapasyant\u00ed for na pasyant\u00ed. See Taranga 117, sl. 177\nand ff. The three India Office MSS. and the Sanskrit College MS. have\ntapasyant\u00ed.\n\n[730] All the India Office MSS. and the Sanskrit College MS. read\nanupravisht\u00e1m.\n\n[731] Gandharvar\u00e1j\u00e1ya in Brockhaus's text must be\na misprint. MS. No. 1882 has Gandharvar\u00e1dvyagraparigrahas which\nsatisfies the metre and makes sense. This is also the reading of the\nSanskrit College MS. No. 3003 seems to have the same but it is not\nquite clear. No. 2166 has vyadra for vyagra.\n\n[732] I read tadbh\u00e1ry\u00e1sachivau; the three words should be joined\ntogether.\n\n[733] In the original we find inserted here--\"Here ends the story\nof Padm\u00e1vat\u00ed.\"\n\n[734] K\u00e1ma, the god of love.\n\n[735] The central idea of the Birds of Aristophanes.\n\n[736] Here B\u00f6htlingk and Roth would read svadhishny\u00e1ny. Two of the\nthree India Office MSS. seem to read this, judging from the way in\nwhich they form the combination shn. No. 1882 is not quite clear.\n\n[737] He is a kind of Hindu Solomon.\n\n[738] I adopt the correction of the Petersburg lexicographers,\nvaishamyato for vaisasyato. I find it in No. 1882 and in the Sanskrit\nCollege MS.\n\n[739] The word an\u00edsvara, when applied to the Buddhists, refers to\ntheir not believing in a Disposer, but its other meaning is \"wanting\nin wealth.\"\n\n[740] I. q. Benares.\n\n[741] As Dr. Kern points out, there is a misprint here, namaty\u00e1 should\nbe namaty.\n\n[742] Or \"not cruel in exacting tribute.\"\n\n[743] Glory is white according to the canons of Hindu rhetoric.\n\n[744] It might merely mean, cried \"All-Hail,\" but here I think there\nis more in the expression than the usual salutation.\n\n[745] Dr. Kern would read abhyap\u00fajayat = honoured. The three India\nOffice MSS. and the Sanskrit College MS. confirm Brockhaus's text.\n\n[746] A most elaborate pun! There is an allusion to the sea having\nproved the refuge of the mountains that wished to preserve their wings,\nto the serpent V\u00e1suki's having served as a rope with which to whirl\nround mount Mandara, when the sea was churned and produced Sr\u00ed or\nLakshm\u00ed. In this exploit Hari or Vishnu bore a distinguished part.\n\n[747] I. q., Ceylon.\n\n[748] B\u00f6htlingk und Roth explain prat\u00edpsa in this passage as werben um.\n\n[749] Cp. Iliad XVIII, 417-420. I read pranartayantyau with Dr. Kern\nfor the obvious misprint in the text. The y is found in the three\nIndia Office MSS. and in the Sanskrit College MS.\n\n[750] In the original trishn\u00e1.\n\n[751] All the India Office MSS. give karn\u00edrath\u00e1vat\u00edrn\u00e1.\n\n[752] The word Gandharv\u00e1 should be G\u00e1ndharv\u00e1; see B. and R. s. v. har\nwith upa and sam. No. 2166 has G\u00e1ndh\u00e1ras; the other two MSS. agree\nwith Brockhaus's text.\n\n[753] B. and R. explain the word khandak\u00e1p\u00e1lika as--\"ein St\u00fcck von\neinem K\u00e1p\u00e1lika, ein Quasi-k\u00e1p\u00e1lika.\" A k\u00e1p\u00e1lika is, according to\nMonier Williams s. v., a worshipper of Siva of the left-hand order,\ncharacterized by carrying skulls of men as ornaments, and by eating\nand drinking from them.\n\n[754] For aruntudais MS. No. 1882 has adadanstachcha, No. 2166 has\nadadattascha and 3003 adadattuscha. These point I suppose to a reading\nadadattachcha; which means \"not paying what he owed.\"\n\n[755] Skrit. Brahma-R\u00e1kshasa.\n\n[756] They had heard D\u00e1gineya's story up to this point from his\nown lips.\n\n[757] This may be loosely translated \"Terror of the gambling saloon.\"\n\n[758] See page 323 of this Vol. s. c.\n\n[759] Two of the India Office MSS. and the Sanskrit College MS. have\nindu for Indra; the other has inmu. I have adopted indu. In sloka\n100 for dadate No. 1882 and the Sanskrit College MS. read dadhate,\nwhich means that the gods' possession of wealth and power depends on\nthe will of Siva. In sloka 89 the Sanskrit College MS. reads ekad\u00e1\nfor the unmetrical devat\u00e1h.\n\n[760] Tryaksha can probably mean \"having three dice,\" as well as\n\"having three eyes.\"\n\n[761] Cp. Vol. II, p. 452.\n\n[762] Up\u00e1yau is a misprint for up\u00e1yayau as is evident from the MSS.\n\n[763] The three India Office MSS. and the Sanskrit College MS. give\ndrishti.\n\n[764] i.e., Siva in this instance.\n\n[765] For the second ditya in sl. 132, b, MSS. Nos. 1882 and 2166\ngive navya, new.\n\n[766] Gold, diamond, sapphire, ruby and pearl. The Buddhists usually\nenumerate seven: see Burnouf, Lotus de La Bonne Loi, p. 319.\n\n[767] Cp. the story that begins on page 186 of this volume.\n\n[768] No. 1882 reads snapayata tatkshan\u00e1t at the end of sl. 194,\na. It seems to remove a tautology but is unmetrical. \"Take us and\ncause us to bathe.\" The Sanskrit MS. had snapayata tatshanam.\n\n[769] I read dh\u00fata for dy\u00fata No. 1882 (the Taylor MS.) and the Sanskrit\nCollege MS. have dh\u00fata; No. 3003 has dhuta; the other MS. does not\ncontain the passage.\n\n[770] I read \u00e1likhya purusham bh\u00famau. This is the reading of the\nTaylor MS. the other has \u00e1tikhya. The Sanskrit College MS. has\n\u00e1likhya purusham.\n\n[771] Both the India Office MSS. in which this passage is found give\ntats\u00e1mantam. So Vikramasakti would himself be a \"dependent king.\"\n\n[772] Cp. the story of Sunda and Upasunda, Vol. I, p. 108; and Preller,\nGriechische Mythologie, Vol. I, p. 81, note 1.\n\n[773] For ete manorame No. 3003 and the Sanskrit College MS. have\nvarak\u00e1ranam; in order that I might find a husband for them. No. 1882\nhas v\u00e1ranam for k\u00e1runam.\n\n[774] For Jayanto MSS. Nos. 1882 and 3003 and the Sanskrit College\nMS. give hev\u00e1k\u00ed, i. e., \"full of longing\".\n\n[775] i. e., conqueror of Indra.\n\n[776] It is just possible that sankhy\u00e1d ought to be s\u00e1ksh\u00e1d.\n\n[777] This expression is very similar to that in Tarnanga 120, sl. 80,\nb, to which Dr. Kern objects.\n\n[778] Dr. Kern would read samm\u00e1nitavisrishteshu; and this is the\nreading of the Taylor MS. and of the Sanskrit College MS. No. 3003\nhas samm\u00e1nitair.\n\n[779] For falling in love with a lady seen in a dream see Vol. I,\npp. 276, and 576, and Rohde, Der Griechische Roman, pp. 45, 46 and\n49. For falling in love with a lady seen in a picture see Vol. I,\np. 490, Rohde, Der Griechische Roman, p. 49, and Coelho's Contos\nPortuguezes, p. 109.\n\n[780] I read aratim\u00e1n for ratim\u00e1n in the Sanskrit College MS. The\nTaylor MS. has sarvatr\u00e1nratim\u00e1n; the other agrees with Brockhaus.\n\n[781] I read pravesyaiva.\n\n[782] Compare Ralston's Russian Folk Tales, p. 97; in Waldau's\nB\u00f6hmische M\u00e4rchen p. 444, there is a beautiful Amazon who fights with\nthe prince on condition that if he is victorious she is to be his\nprisoner, but if she is victorious, he is to be put to death. Rohde\nin Der Griechische Roman, p. 148, gives a long list of \"coy huntress\nmaids.\" Spenser's Radigund bears a close resemblance to Malayavat\u00ed.\n\n[783] Sanskrit matha.\n\n[784] The Petersburg lexicographers would read paurastya; and I\nfind this in the Taylor MS. and the Sanskrit College MS. The same\nMSS. read ambudasy\u00e1mo for atha durdarsa. The latter word should be\nspelt durdarsha.\n\n[785] I read savirahajv\u00e1lo and sak\u00e1sa in sl. 72.\n\n[786] The two India Office MSS., that contain this passage, and the\nSanskrit College MS. make the compound end in ravaih, so the command\nwill be given by the cries of the swans. In sl. 71, for grathyant\u00e1m\nNo. 1882 and the Sanskrit College MS. give budhyant\u00e1m. In sl. 73 for\n\u00e1khy\u00e1tim three MSS. give khy\u00e1tim.\n\n[787] Sanskrit vih\u00e1ra. The t\u00e1pas\u00ed of sl. 39 was therefore\na Buddhist. Cp. Vol. I, p. 87. No. 3003 reads vih\u00e1ranirgat\u00e1 which\nagrees with sl. 40. No. 1882 has viharanirgatam. The Sanskrit College\nMS. has vih\u00e1ranirgatam.\n\n[788] For gh\u00e1ta No. 1882 has tamah and No. 3003 v\u00e1ta.\n\n[789] This probably means that he started in the autumn.\n\n[790] No 3003 yath\u00e1 chitre tath\u00e1 svapne yath\u00e1 svapne tathairat\u00e1m\nvilokya s\u00e1ksh\u00e1d; so too No. 1882. The Sanskrit College MS. agrees\nbut omits yath\u00e1 svapne.\n\n[791] The word that means \"regret,\" may also mean \"wave.\"\n\n[792] I follow B. and R., Dr. Kern would read sajj\u00edkrita in the\nsense of \"prepared\": he takes kautukam in the sense of nuptial\nceremonies. No. 1882 (the Taylor MS.) has mant\u00fa and No. 2003 has\nsaty\u00ed. The Sanskrit College MS supports Brockhaus's text.\n\n[793] See Vol. I, pp. 199 and 515; and Vol. II, p. 265.\n\n[794] Cp. Iliad V, 265 and ff.; and (still better) Aeneid VII, 280,\nand ff.\n\n[795] Dev\u00edyas\u00edm is a misprint for dav\u00edyas\u00edm, as Dr. Kern points out.\n\n[796] In European superstition we find the notion that witches\ncan fly through the air by anointing themselves with the fat of a\ntoad. Veckenstedt, Wendische M\u00e4rchen, p. 288. In Bartsch, Sagen und\nGebr\u00e4uche aus Meklenburg, we read (Vol. II, p. 19) that Margretha\nDetloses confesses that she smeared her feet with some black stuff that\nSatan brought, and then said, Auf und darvan und nergens an. Anneke\nMettinges (ibid. p. 23) smeared herself with yellow fat; Anneke Swarten\n(ibid. p. 27) with black stuff from an unused pot.\n\n[797] See page 104 of this volume. An older form of that story is\nperhaps the Saccamkiraj\u00e1taka, No. 73, Fausb\u00f6ll, Vol. I, p. 323. Tho\npresent story bears perhaps a closer resemblance to that of Androclus,\nAulus Gellius, N. A. V, 14, the Indian form of which may be found in\nMiss Stokes's tale of \"The Man who went to seek his fate.\"\n\n[798] Val\u00ed should of course be vall\u00ed.\n\n[799] Cp. Oesterley's Bait\u00e1l Pach\u00eds\u00ed, p. 14; and the note on p. 176. In\nAelian's Varia Historia, III, 19, there is a tree, the fruit of which\nmakes an old man become gradually younger and younger until he reaches\nthe antenatal state of non-existence. The passage is referred to by\nRohde, Der Griechische Roman, p. 207. Baring Gould, in Appendix A to\nhis Curious Myths of the Middle Ages, gives a very curious passage\nfrom the Bragda M\u00e1gus Saga, an Icelandic version of the romance of\nMaugis. Here we have a man named Vidf\u00f6rull who was in the habit of\nchanging his skin and becoming young again. He changed his skin once\nwhen he was 330 years old, a second time at the age of 215, and a\nthird time in the presence of Charlemagne. It is quite possible that\nthe story in the text is a form of the fable of the Wandering Jew.\n\n[800] I read devakum\u00e1rau.\n\n[801] I. e. Sea of virtues.\n\n[802] See Vol. I, p. 207, and Vol. II, p. 224, and Rohde's note on page\n196 of Der Griechische Roman. This is probably the incident depicted\non the Bharhat St\u00fapa. See General Cunningham's work, Plate XXXIV,\nMedallion 2.\n\n[803] A certain dark-coloured precious stone. B. and R. s. v.\n\n[804] The Petersburg lexicographers explain it as a statue of\ns\u00e1la-wood. They explain stambhotkirna too as wie aus einem Pfosten\ngeschnitten, wie eine Statue von Holz. But could not the figures be\ncut in stone, as the Bharhut sculptures are?\n\n[805] See Vol. I, pp. 86 and 573. The parallel to the story of the\nWright's Chaste Wife is strikingly close.\n\n[806] Dr. Kern would read avidito. This is confirmed by the Sanskrit\nCollege MS. and by No. 1882; No. 3003 has avadito.\n\n[807] Both the India Office MSS. and the Sanskrit College MS. have\ny\u00e1syasi for p\u00e1yasi. The latter would mean, \"Where will you drink.\"\n\n[808] Cp. Vol. II, p. 63.\n\n[809] I insert subhagam before kh\u00e1d, from the Sanskrit College MS.\n\n[810] Both the India Office MSS read Vakrapura. The Sanskrit College\nMS. supports Brockhaus's text.\n\n[811] No. 1882 and the Sanskrit College MS. give tarhi for tvam hi\nand priyam for priyah. No 3003 agrees with the above MSS. in the\nfirst point and in the second with Brockhaus.\n\n[812] I read P\u00e1taliputrak\u00e1t.\n\n[813] The khatv\u00e1nga, a club shaped like the foot of a bedstead,\ni. e., a staff with a skull at the top, considered as the weapon\nof Siva and carried by ascetics and Yogis. For karah the MSS give\nravah. This would mean that the ascetic was beating his drum. The\nword in No. 1882 might be khah but is no doubt meant for ravah.\n\n[814] Cp. Vol. II, p. 243.\n\n[815] I separate pratijn\u00e1 from siddhim.\n\n[816] It is possible that this may be the original of the 4th story\nin the 10th day of the Decamerone.\n\n[817] See Vol. I, p. 212, and Lieutenant Temple's article Lamia in the\nAntiquary for August, 1882. Terrible man-eating Sirens are described\nin the Val\u00e1hassaj\u00e1taka to which Dr. Morris called attention in a\nletter in the Academy. Cp. Schmidt's Griechische M\u00e4rchen, p. 142.\n\n[818] No. 3003 and the Sanskrit College MS. give antahsthena for\nsambhramayya. No. 1882 has tva-tahsthena; an insect has devoured the\nintermediate letter.\n\n[819] This is substantially the same story as the second in chapter 77.\n\n[820] See Vol. I. pp. 465 and 578.\n\n[821] Vikros\u00e1m is a misprint for vikos\u00e1m. The latter is found in\nMS. No. 1882 and the Sanskrit College MS. and, I think, in No. 3003;\nbut the letter is not very well formed.\n\n[822] The word badh\u00fans is evidently a misprint for bandh\u00fans: as\nappears from the MSS.\n\n[823] This story is known in Europe, and may perhaps be the original\nsource of Shakespeare's \"All's Well that Ends Well.\" At any rate\nthere is a slight resemblance in the leading idea of the two\nstories. It bears a close resemblance to the story of Sorfarina,\nNo. 36 in Gonzenbach's Sicilianische M\u00e4rchen, and to that of Sapia\nin the Pentamerone of Basile. In the Sicilian and in the Neapolitan\ntale a prince is angry with a young lady who, when teaching him,\ngave him a box on the ear, and marries her in order to avenge\nhimself by ill-treating her; but finding that he has, without\nsuspecting it, had three children by her, he is obliged to seek a\nreconciliation. Dr. K\u00f6hler in his note on the Sicilian tale gives no\nother parallel than Basile's tale, which is the 6th of the Vth day,\nVol. II, p. 204 of Liebrecht's translation.\n\n[824] I think we should read ushne. I believe that Nos. 1882 and\n3003 have this, judging from the way in which shn is usually formed\nin those MSS.\n\n[825] Cp. Ralston's Tibetan Tales, p. 89.\n\n[826] I read pratyayo na me which I find in the Taylor MS. and which\nmakes sense. I take the words as part of the boy's speech. \"It is\nuntrue; I do not believe it.\" But vakshyasyapratyayena me would also\nmake sense. The Sanskrit College MS. supports Brockhaus's text.\n\n[827] In the original there is the following note, \"Here ends the\ntale of King Vikram\u00e1ditya.\"\n\n[828] Having reached the end of my translation, I am entitled to\npresume that this epithet refers to the extraordinary length of the\nKath\u00e1 Sarit S\u00e1gara.","title":"The Kath\u00e1 Sarit S\u00e1gara; or, Ocean of the Streams of Story","tradition":"myth-cosmogony","translated_text":null,"word_count":616787}