The Katha Sarit Sagara or Ocean of the Streams of Story Part 47

Story of Vichitrakatha's adventures after his separation from the prince.

At that time, when you were dispersed in all directions by the curse of Paravataksha, I too in my bewilderment wandered about alone for a long time. And after I had roamed far, still unconscious, I suddenly reached in the course of the next day, when I was tired out, a great and heavenly town on the outskirts of the forest. There a G.o.dlike being, accompanied by two consorts, beheld me, and had me bathed with cool water, and restored my strength. And he made me enter his city, and carefully fed me with heavenly food, then he ate himself, and those two wives of his ate after him. And after the meal, [226] being refreshed, I said to him, "Who are you, sir, and why have you thus saved the life of me who am resolved on death? For I must certainly abandon the body, as I have lost my master." When I had said this, I told him my whole story. Then that n.o.ble and kind being said to me, "I am a Yaksha, these are my wives, and you have come here to-day as my guest, and you know that it is the duty of householders to honour guests to the utmost of their power. I have accordingly welcomed you. But why do you wish to abandon the body? For this separation of yours is due to the curse of a Naga, and will last only a short time. And you will certainly be all re-united, when the curse p.r.o.nounced on you has spent its force. And reflect, my good man; who is born free from sorrow in this world? Hear what sorrow I have gone through, though I am a Yaksha."

Story of Sridarsana.

There is a city named Trigarta, the garland that adorns the head of this bride the earth, strung with virtues as with flowers. [227] In it there lived a young Brahman named Pavitradhara, who was himself poor in worldly wealth, but rich in relations, high birth, and other advantages. That high-spirited Brahman, living in the midst of rich people, reflected,--"Though I live up to the rules of my caste, I do not cut a good figure in the midst of these rich people, like a word without meaning [228] among the words of some splendid poem; and being a man of honour, I cannot have recourse to service or donations. So I will go into some out-of-the-way place and get into my power a Yaks.h.i.+ni, [229] for my spiritual teacher taught me a charm for accomplis.h.i.+ng this." Having formed this resolution, the Brahman Pavitradhara went to the forest, and according to the prescribed method he won for himself a Yaks.h.i.+ni, named Saudamini. And when he had won her, he lived united with her, like a banyan-tree, that has tided through a severe winter, united to the glory of spring. One day the Yaks.h.i.+ni, seeing her husband Pavitradhara in a state of despondency, because no son had been born to him, thus addressed him, "Do not be despondent, my husband, for a son shall be born to us. And now hear this story which I am about to tell you."

Story of Saudamini.

There is on the confines of the southern region a range of tamala forests, dark with clouds that obscure the sun, looking like the home of the monsoon. In it dwells a famous Yaksha of the name of Prithudara, and I am his only daughter, Saudamini by name. My loving father led me from one mighty mountain to another, and I was for ever amusing myself in heavenly gardens.

And one day, as I was sporting on mount Kailasa with my friend Kapisabhru, I saw a young Yaksha named Attahasa. He too, as he stood among his companions, beheld me; and immediately our eyes were mutually attracted by one another's beauty. When my father saw that, and ascertained that the match would be no mesalliance, he summoned Attahasa, and arranged our marriage. And after he had fixed an auspicious day, he took me home, but Attahasa returned to his home with his friends in high spirits. But the next day my friend Kapisabhru came to me with a downcast air, and when I questioned her, she was at length induced to say this; "Friend, I must tell you this bad news, though it is a thing which should not be told. As I was coming to-day, I saw your betrothed Attahasa in a garden named Chitrasthala, on a plateau of the Himalayas, full of longing for you. And his friends, in order to amuse him, made him in sport king of the Yakshas, and they made his brother Diptasikha personate Nadakuvara his son, and they themselves became his ministers. While your beloved was being solaced in this way by his friends, Nadakuvara, who was roaming at will through the air, saw him. And the son of the king of wealth, being enraged at what he saw, summoned him, and cursed him in the following words; 'Since, though a servant, you desire to pose as a lord, become a mortal, you villain! As you wish to mount, fall!' When he laid this curse on Attahasa, he answered despondingly, 'Prince, I foolishly did this to dispel my longing, not through aspiring to any lofty rank, so have mercy upon me.' When Nadakuvara heard this sorrowful speech of his, he ascertained by meditation that the case was so, and said to him by way of fixing an end for the curse, 'You shall become a man, and beget on that Yaks.h.i.+ni, with whom you are in love, your younger brother Diptasikha by way of son, [230] and so you shall be delivered from your curse, and obtain your own rank once more, together with your wife, and this brother of yours shall be born as your son, and after he has reigned on earth, he shall be released from his curse.' When the son of the G.o.d of wealth had said this, Attahasa disappeared somewhere or other by virtue of the curse. And when I saw that, my friend, I came here to you grieved." When my friend said this to me, I was reduced to a terrible state by grief, and after I had bewailed my lot, I went and told it to my parents, and I spent that time in hope of a re-union with my beloved.

"You are Attahasa born again as a Brahman, and I am that Yaks.h.i.+ni, and we have been thus united here, so we shall soon have a son born to us. When the Brahman Pavitradhara's wise wife Saudamini said this to him, he conceived the hope that he would have a son, and was much delighted. And in course of time a son was born to him by that Yaks.h.i.+ni, whose birth cheered up their house and his mind. And when Pavitradhara saw the face of that son, he immediately a.s.sumed a celestial shape and became again the Yaksha Attahasa. And he said to that Yaks.h.i.+ni, "My dear, our curse is at an end. I have become Attahasa as before, come let us return to our own place."

When he said this, his wife said to him, "Think what is to become of the child your brother, who through a curse has been born as your son." When Attahasa heard that, he saw what was to be done by means of his powers of contemplation, and said to her; "My dear, there is in this town a Brahman of the name of Devadarsana. He is poor in children and in wealth, and, though he keeps up five fires, hunger makes two others burn more fiercely, namely, the fire of digestion in his own stomach and in that of his wife. And one day, as he was engaged in asceticism to obtain wealth and a son, the holy G.o.d of fire, whom he was propitiating, said to him in a dream, 'You have not a son of your own, but you shall have an adopted son, and by means of him, Brahman, your poverty shall come to an end.' On account of this revelation of the G.o.d of fire, the Brahman is at the present moment expecting that son, so we must give him this child of ours, for this is the decree of fate." After Attahasa had said this to his beloved, he placed the child on the top of a pitcher full of gold, and fastened round its neck a garland of heavenly jewels, and deposited it in the house of that Brahman at night when he and his wife were asleep, and then went with his beloved to his own place.

Then the Brahman Devadarsana and his wife woke up, and beheld that young moon of a child glittering with resplendent jewels, and the Brahman thought in his astonishment, "What can be the meaning of this?" but when he saw the pot of gold, he remembered what the G.o.d of fire had told him in his dream, and rejoiced. And he took that young son given him by fate, and that wealth, and in the morning he made a great feast. And on the eleventh day he gave the child the appropriate name of Sridarsana. [231] Then the Brahman Devadarsana, having become very rich, remained performing his sacrificial and other ceremonies, and enjoying the good things of this world at the same time.

The brave Sridarsana grew up in his father's house, and acquired great skill in the Vedas and other branches of learning, and in the use of weapons. But in course of time, when he had grown up, his father Devadarsana, who had gone on a pilgrimage to sacred bathing-places, died at Prayaga. His mother, hearing of that, entered the fire, and then Sridarsana mourned for them, and performed on their behalf the ceremonies enjoined in the sacred treatises. But in course of time his grief diminished, and as he was not married, and had no relations, he became, though well educated, devoted to gambling. And in a short time his wealth was consumed by means of that vice, and he had difficulty in obtaining even food.

One day, after he had remained in the gambling-hall without food for three days, being unable to go out for shame, as he had not got a decent garment to wear, and refusing to eat the food which others gave him, a certain gambler, named Mukharaka, who was a friend of his, said to him, "Why are you so utterly overwhelmed? Do you not know that such is the nature of the sinful vice of gambling? Do you not know that the dice are the sidelong loving looks of the G.o.ddess of Ill Luck? Has not Providence ordained for you the usual lot of the gambler? His arms are his only clothing, the dust is his bed, the cross-roads are his house, ruin is his wife. [232] So why do you refuse to take food? Why do you neglect your health, though you are a wise man? For what object of desire is there that a resolute man cannot obtain, as long as he continues alive? Hear in ill.u.s.tration of this truth the following wonderful story of Bhunandana."

Story of Bhunandana.

There is here a region named Kasmira, the ornament of the earth, which the Creator made as a second heaven, after creating the first heaven, for men who have done righteous deeds. The difference between the two is that in heaven delights can only be seen, in Kasmira they can be actually enjoyed. The two glorious G.o.ddesses Sri and Sarasvati both frequent it, as if they vied with one another, saying--"I have the preeminence here"--"No, it is I."--The Himalaya encircles it with its embrace, as if to prevent Kali, the adversary of virtue, from entering it. The Vitasta adorns it, and repels sin with its waves, as if they were hands, and seems to say, "Depart far from this land which is full of waters sacred to the G.o.ds." In it the long lines of lofty palaces, whitened with silvery plaster, imitate the cliffs at the foot of the neighbouring Himalaya. In this land there lived a king, named Bhunandana, who upheld as a spiritual guide the system of the castes and the prescribed stages of life, learned in science and traditional lore, the moon that delighted his subjects. His valour was displayed in the kingdoms of his foes, on which he left the impress of his nails. He was a politic governor, and his people were ever free from calamity; he was exclusively devoted to Krishna, and the minds of his people took no pleasure in vicious deeds. [233]

Once on a time, on the twelfth day of the month, the king, after duly wors.h.i.+pping Vishnu, saw in a dream a Daitya maiden approach him. When he woke up, he could not see her, and in his astonishment he said to himself, "This is no mere dream; I suspect she is some celestial nymph by whom I have been cajoled." Under this impression he remained thinking of her, and so grieved at being deprived of her society, that gradually he neglected all his duties as a king. Then that king, not seeing any way of recovering her, said to himself; "My brief union with her was due to the favour of Vishnu, so I will go into a solitary place and propitiate Vishnu with a view to recovering her, and I will abandon this clog of a kingdom, which without her is distasteful." After saying this, king Bhunandana informed his subjects of his resolution, and gave the kingdom to his younger brother named Sunandana.

But after he had resigned the kingdom, he went to a holy bathing-place named Kramasaras; which arose from the footfall of Vishnu, for it was made by him long ago in his Dwarf incarnation. It is attended by the three G.o.ds Brahma, Vishnu, and Siva, who have settled on the top of the neighbouring mountains in the form of peaks. And the foot of Vishnu created here in Kasmira another Ganges, named Ikshuvati, as if in emulation of the Vitasta. There the king remained, performing austerities, and pining, without desire for any other enjoyment, like the chataka in the hot season longing for fresh rainwater.

And after twelve years had pa.s.sed over his head, while he remained engaged in ascetic practices, a certain ascetic came that way who was a chief of sages: he had yellow matted hair, wore tattered garments, and was surrounded by a band of pupils; and he appeared like Siva himself come down from the top of the hills that overhang that holy bathing-place. As soon as he saw the king, he was filled with love for him, and went up to him, and bowing before him, asked him his history, and then reflected for a moment and said; "King, that Daitya maiden that you love lives in Patala, so be of good cheer, I will take you to her. For I am a Brahman named Bhurivasu, the son of a sacrificing Brahman of the Dekkan, named Yajuh, and I am a chief among magicians. My father communicated his knowledge to me, and I learnt from a treatise on Patala the proper charms and ceremonies for propitiating Hatakesana. [234] And I went to Sriparvata and performed a course of asceticism there for propitiating Siva, and Siva, being pleased with it, appeared to me and said to me,

'Go; after you have married a Daitya maiden and enjoyed pleasures in the regions below the earth, you shall return to me; and listen; I will tell you an expedient for obtaining those delights. There are on this earth many openings leading to the lower regions; but there is one great and famous one in Kasmira made by Maya, by which Usha the daughter of Bana introduced her lover Aniruddha into the secret pleasure-grounds of the Danavas, and made him happy there. And Pradyumna, in order to deliver his son, laid it open, making a door in one place with the peak of a mountain, and he placed Durga there, under the name of Sarika, to guard that door, after propitiating her with hundreds of praises. Consequently even now the place is called by the two names of Peak of Pradyumna and Hill of Sarika. So go and enter Patala with your followers by that famous opening, and by my favour you shall succeed there.'

"When the G.o.d had said this, he disappeared, and by his favour I acquired all knowledge at once, and now I have come to this land of Kasmira. So come with us, king, to that seat of Sarika, in order that I may conduct you to Patala, to the maid that you love." When the ascetic had said this to king Bhunandana, the latter consented and went with him to that seat of Sarika. There he bathed in the Vitasta, and wors.h.i.+pped Ganesa, and honoured the G.o.ddess Sarika, and performed the ceremony of averting evil spirits from all quarters by waving the hand round the head, [235] and other ceremonies. And then the great ascetic, triumphing by the favour of the boon of Siva, revealed the opening by scattering mustard-seeds in the prescribed manner, and the king entered with him and his pupils, and marched along the road to Patala for five days and five nights. [236] And on the sixth day they all crossed the Ganges of the lower regions, and they beheld a heavenly grove on a silver plain. It had splendid coral, camphor, sandal, and aloes trees, and was perfumed with the fragrance of large full-blown golden lotuses. And in the middle of it they saw a lofty temple of Siva. It was of vast extent, adorned with stairs of jewels; its walls were of gold, it glittered with many pillars of precious stone; and the s.p.a.cious translucent body of the edifice was built of blocks of the moon-gem.

Then king Bhunandana and the pupils of that ascetic, who possessed supernatural insight, were cheered, and he said to them, "This is the dwelling of the G.o.d Siva, who inhabits the lower regions in the form of Hatakesvara, and whose praises are sung in the three worlds, so wors.h.i.+p him." Then they all bathed in the Ganges of the lower regions, and wors.h.i.+pped Siva with various flowers, the growth of Patala. And after the brief refreshment of wors.h.i.+pping Siva, they went on and reached a splendid lofty jambu-tree, the fruits of which were ripe and falling on the ground. And when the ascetic saw it, he said to them; "You must not eat the fruits of this tree, for, if eaten, they will impede the success of what you have in hand." In spite of his prohibition one of his pupils, impelled by hunger, ate a fruit of the tree, and, as soon as he had eaten it, he became rigid and motionless. [237]

Then the other pupils, seeing that, were terrified, and no longer felt any desire to eat the fruit; and that ascetic, accompanied by them and king Bhunandana, went on only a cos further, and beheld a lofty golden wall rising before them, with a gate composed of a precious gem. On the two sides of the gate they saw two rams with bodies of iron, ready to strike with their horns, put there to prevent any one from entering. But the ascetic suddenly struck them a blow on their heads with a charmed wand, and drove them off somewhere, as if they had been struck by a thunderbolt. Then he and his pupils and that king entered by that gate, and beheld splendid palaces of gold and gems. And at the door of every one they beheld warders terrible with many teeth and tusks, [238] with iron maces in their hands. And then they all sat down there under a tree, while the ascetic entered into a mystic contemplation to avert evil. And by means of that contemplation all those terrible warders were compelled to flee from all the doors, and disappeared.

And immediately there issued from those doors lovely women with heavenly ornaments and dresses, who were the attendants of those Daitya maidens. They approached separately all there present, the ascetic among them, and invited them in the name of their mistresses into their respective palaces. And the ascetic, having now succeeded in his enterprise, said to all the others,--"You must none of you disobey the command of your beloved after entering her palace." Then he entered with a few of those attendants a splendid palace, and obtained a lovely Daitya maiden and the happiness he desired. And the others singly were introduced into magnificent palaces by other of the attendants, and were blessed with the love of Daitya maidens.

And the king Bhunandana was then conducted by one of the attendants, who bowed respectfully to him, to a palace built of gems outside the wall. Its walls of precious stone were, so to speak, adorned all round with living pictures, on account of the reflections on them of the lovely waiting-women. It was built on a platform of smooth sapphire, and so it appeared as if it had ascended to the vault of heaven, in order to outdo a sky-going chariot. [239] It seemed like the house of the Vrishnis, [240] made rich by means of the power of Vishnu. In it sported fair ones wild with intoxication, and it was full of the charming grace of Cupid. Even a flower, that cannot bear the wind and the heat, would in vain attempt to rival the delicacy of the bodies of the ladies in that palace. It resounded with heavenly music, and when the king entered it, he beheld once more that beautiful Asura maiden, whom he had seen in a dream. Her beauty illuminated the lower world which has not the light of the sun or the stars, and made the creation of sparkling jewels and other l.u.s.trous things, an unnecessary proceeding on the part of the Creator. [241]

The king gazed with tears of joy on that indescribably beautiful lady, and, so to speak, washed off from his eyes the pollution, which they had contracted by looking at others. And that girl, named k.u.mudini, who was being praised by the songs of female attendants, [242] felt indescribable joy when she saw the prince. She rose up, and took him by the hand and said to him, "I have caused you much suffering," and then with all politeness she conducted him to a seat. And after he had rested a little while, he bathed, and the Asura maiden had him adorned with robes and jewels, and led him out to the garden to drink. Then she sat down with him on the brink of a tank filled with wine, and with the blood and fat of corpses, that hung from trees on its banks, and she offered that king a goblet, full of that fat and wine, to drink, but he would not accept the loathsome compound. And she kept earnestly saying to the king: "You will not prosper if you reject my beverage." But he answered, "I certainly will not drink that undrinkable compound, whatever may happen." Then she emptied the goblet on his head and departed; and the king's eyes and mouth were suddenly closed, and her maids took him and flung him into the water of another tank.

And the moment he was thrown into the water, he found himself once more in the grove of ascetics, near the holy bathing-place of Kramasaras, where he was before. [243] And when he saw the mountain there, as it were, laughing at him with its snows, [244] the disappointed king, despondent, astonished, and bewildered, reflected as follows: "What a difference there is between the garden of the Daitya maiden and this mountain of Kramasaras. Ah! what is this strange event? Is it an illusion or a wandering of the mind? But what other explanation can there be than this, that undoubtedly this has befallen me, because, though I heard the warning of the ascetic, I disobeyed the injunction of that fair one. And after all the beverage was not loathsome; she was only making trial of me; for the liquor, which fell upon my head, has bestowed on it heavenly fragrance. So it is indubitable that, in the case of the unfortunate, even great hards.h.i.+ps endured bring no reward, for Destiny is opposed to them." While king Bhunandana was engaged in these reflections, bees came and surrounded him on account of the fragrant perfume of his body, that had been sprinkled with the liquor offered by the Asura maiden. When those bees stung the king, he thought to himself, "Alas! so far from my toils having produced the desired fruit, they have produced disagreeable results, as the raising of a Vetala does to a man of little courage." [245]

Then he became so distracted that he resolved on suicide.

And it happened that, at that very time, there came a young hermit that way, who, finding the king in this state, and being of a merciful disposition, went up to him and quickly drove away the bees, and after asking him his story, said to him--"King, as long as we retain this body, how can woes come to an end? So the wise should always pursue without distraction the great object of human existence. And until you perceive that Vishnu, Siva, and Brahma are really one, you will always find the successes, that are gained by wors.h.i.+pping them separately, short-lived and uncertain. So meditate on Brahma, Vishnu, and Siva, in the light of their unity, and patiently perform asceticism here for another twelve years. Then you shall obtain that beloved, and eventually everlasting salvation; and observe, you have already attained a body possessing heavenly fragrance. Now receive from me this skin of a black antelope, to which a charm is attached, and if you wrap yourself up in it, you will not be annoyed here by bees." When the hermit had said this, he gave him the deer-skin and the charm, and departed; and the king accepted his advice, and taking to himself patience, so lived in that place. And after the king had lived there twelve years, and propitiated Siva by penance, that Daitya maiden, named k.u.mudini, came to him of her own accord. And the king went with that beloved to Patala, and after he had lived with her a long time in happiness, he attained salvation.

"So those fortunate ones, whose characters are free from perturbation, and who betake themselves to patient endurance, obtain again their own rank, though they may have fallen far from it. [246] And since you, Sridarsana, are a man fated to be prosperous, being covered with auspicious marks, why do you, out of perturbation, allow yourself to go without food?" When Sridarsana, who was fasting, was thus addressed in the gambling-hall by his friend Mukharaka, he said to him, "What you say, is true, but being a man of good family, I cannot for shame go out into this town, as I am reduced so low by gambling. So if you will permit me, my friend, to go to some other country this very night, I will take food." When Mukharaka heard that, he consented, and brought food and gave it to him, and he ate it. And after Sridarsana had eaten it, he set out for another country with that friend of his, who followed him out of affection.

And as he was going along the road at night, it happened that the two Yakshas, Attahasa and Saudamini, his father and mother, who had deposited him, as soon as he was born, in the house of the Brahman, saw him while they were roaming through the air. When they saw him in distress, impoverished by the vice of gambling, and on his way to a foreign country, affection made them say to him, while still remaining invisible, the following words; "Sridarsana, your mother, the wife of Devadarsana, buried in her house some jewels. Take those, and do not omit to go with them to Malava, for there is a magnificent prince there of the name of Srisena. And since he was much afflicted in his youth by miseries arising from gambling, he has made a large and glorious asylum for gamblers. There gamblers live, and are fed with whatever food they desire. So go there, darling, and you shall be prosperous."

When Sridarsana heard this speech from heaven, he went back to his house with his friend, and found those ornaments in it, in a hole in the ground. Then he set out delighted for Malava, with his friend, thinking that the G.o.ds had shewn him favour. So in that night and the succeeding day he went a long distance, and the next evening he reached with his friend a village named Bahusasya. And being weary, he sat down with his friend on the bank of a translucent lake, not far from that village. While he remained for a brief period on the bank of that lake, after was.h.i.+ng his feet and drinking water, there came there a certain maiden, matchless in beauty, to fetch water. Her body resembled a blue lotus in colour, and she seemed like Rati left alone, and blackened by the smoke from the body of the G.o.d of Love, when he had just been consumed by Siva. Sridarsana was delighted to behold her, and she went up to him, and looked at him with an eye full of love, and said to him and his friend, "Worthy sirs, why have you come hither to your death? Why, through ignorance, have you fallen like moths into burning fire?" When Mukharaka heard this, he said to the maiden, without the least trepidation, "Who are you? And what is the meaning of what you say? Tell us." Then she said, "Listen both of you! I will tell you the whole story in few words.

"There is a large and famous royal grant to Brahmans, named Sughosha. In it there dwelt a Brahman named Padmagarbha, who possessed a thorough knowledge of the Vedas. He had a wife of very good family, named Sasikala. And the Brahman had two children by that wife, a son of the name of Mukharakha, and myself a daughter of the name of Padmishtha. My brother Mukharaka was ruined by the vice of gambling in early youth, and left his home and went off to some other country. My mother died of grief on that account, and my father, afflicted with two sorrows, abandoned the state of a householder. And he roamed about from place to place, with no other companion than myself, to look for that son, and, as it happened, he reached this village. Now in this village there lives a great bandit, the chief of a gang of robbers, called Vasubhuti, a Brahman only by name. When my father arrived here, that ruffian, with the help of his servants, killed him, and took away the gold that he had about his person. And he made me a prisoner and carried me off to his house, and he has made arrangements to give me in marriage to his son Subhuti. But his son has gone off somewhere to plunder a caravan, and, owing to my good fortune, the result of good deeds in a former birth, he has not yet returned; now it remains for Destiny to dispose of me. But, if this bandit were to see you, he would certainly do you some violence: so think of some artifice by which you may escape him."

When the maiden said this, Mukharaka recognized her, and at once clasping her round the neck, said to her, "Alas, my sister Padmishtha! I am that very brother of yours Mukharaka, the murderer of his relations. Alas! wretched that I am, I am ruined." When Padmishtha heard this, and saw her elder brother, pity caused her to be, as it were, suddenly encircled with all sorrows. Then Sridarsana comforted the brother and sister, who were lamenting their parents, and addressed a timely admonition and encouragement to them. He said, "This is not the time for lamentation, we must now save our lives even at the cost of our wealth, and by means of it we must protect ourselves against this bandit." When Sridarsana said this, they checked their grief with self-control, and all three agreed together what each was to do.

Then Sridarsana, being thin by reason of his former fasts, flung himself down on the bank of that tank, and pretended to be ill. And Mukharaka remained holding his feet and weeping: but Padmishtha immediately repaired to that bandit chief, and said, "A traveller has arrived, and is lying ill on the border of the tank, and there is another there who is his servant." When the bandit chief heard that, he sent some of his followers there. They went, and seeing the two men as had been described, asked Mukharaka why he wept so much for his companion. When Mukharaka heard this, he said with affected sorrow, "This Brahman, who is my elder brother, left his native land to visit holy bathing-places, but was attacked by disease, and slowly travelling along he has arrived here, accompanied by me. And the moment he got here, he became incapable of movement, and he said to me, 'Rise up, my dear brother, and quickly prepare for me a bed of darbha-gra.s.s. And fetch me some virtuous Brahman from this village. On him I will bestow all my wealth, for I cannot live through this night.' When he said this to me in this foreign country after sunset, I felt quite puzzled as to what I ought to do, and, being afflicted, I had recourse to weeping. So bring here some Brahman while he is alive, in order that he may bestow on him with his own hand whatever wealth we possess. For he will certainly not live through the night, and I shall not be able to survive the sorrow of his loss, so to-morrow I shall enter the fire. So do for us this which we ask, since we have met with you here as compa.s.sionate men and friends without any cause."

When the bandits heard that, pity arose in their minds, and they went and told the story, exactly as they had heard it, to their master Vasubhuti, and went on to say, "So come and receive, as a pious gift, from this Brahman, who is eager to bestow it on you, the wealth which ordinarily is to be obtained only by killing its possessor." When they said this to Vasubhuti, he said, "What course is this which you suggest? It is highly impolitic for us to take wealth without killing its possessor, for, if he is deprived of his wealth, without being killed, he will certainly do us an injury." When the villain said this, those servants answered him, "What is there to fear in this? There is some difference between taking wealth by force, and receiving it as a pious gift from a dying man. Besides, to-morrow morning we will kill those two Brahmans, if they are still alive. Otherwise, what is the use of incurring needlessly the guilt of killing a Brahman?" When Vasubhuti heard this, he consented, and in the night he came to Sridarsana to receive his pious gift, and Sridarsana concealed a part of his mother's ornaments, and gave him the rest, a.s.suming a faltering voice. Then the bandit, having got what he wanted, returned home with his followers.

Then Padmishtha came at night to Sridarsana and Mukharaka, while the bandits were asleep. Then they quickly deliberated together, and set off at once from that place for Malava by a path not frequented by the robbers. And during that night they went a long distance, and reached a wood that seemed to be afraid of the roaring lions, tigers, and other wild beasts within it. It seemed by its thorns to be in a state of perpetual horripilation, and by its roaming black antelopes to be rolling its eyes. The dry creepers shewed that its body was dried up from fear, and the shrill whistling of the loose bark was its screams of terror. And while they were journeying through that forest, the sun, that had observed their sufferings all day, withdrew its light, as if in compa.s.sion, and set. Then they sat down weary and hungry at the foot of a tree, and in the early part of the night they saw in the distance a light, as of fire. And Sridarsana said, "Can there possibly be a village here? I will go and look." So he went in the direction of the light. And when he reached it, and looked at it, lo! it was a great palace built of jewels, and its splendour produced that light as of fire. [247] And he saw inside it a Yaks.h.i.+ni of heavenly beauty, surrounded by many Yakshas, with feet turned the wrong way and squinting eyes. And the brave man, seeing that they had brought there all kinds of meat and drink, went up to the Yaks.h.i.+ni, and asked her to give him his share as a guest. And she was pleased with his courage and gave him what he asked for, enough food and water to satisfy himself and his two companions. The refreshment was placed on the back of a Yaksha ordered off by her for that duty, and Sridarsana returned with it to his friend and Padmishtha. And then he dismissed the Yaksha, and partook there with them of all that splendid food of various kinds, and drank pure cold water. Then Mukharaka was pleased, perceiving that he must be an incarnation of a divinity, as he was so rich in courage and might, and, desiring his own prosperity, he said to him, "You are some incarnation of a divinity, and this sister of mine Padmishtha is the greatest beauty in the world, so I now give her to you as a wife meet for you." When Sridarsana heard that, he was delighted, and said to his friend, "I accept with joy this offer of yours which I have long desired. But when I reach my goal I will marry her in proper form." This he said to those two, and then pa.s.sed the night in a joyful state of mind. And the next morning they all set out from that place, and reached in due course the city of that king Srisena, the sovereign of Malava. And arriving tired, they immediately entered the house of an old Brahman woman to rest. And in the course of conversation they told her their story and their names, and then they saw that the old woman was much disturbed, and when they questioned her, she said to them:

"I am the well-born wife of a Brahman here, named Satyavrata, who was a servant of the king's, and my name is Yasasvati. And after my husband died, the compa.s.sionate king gave me the fourth part of his salary to live upon, as I had not a son to support me. But now this moon of kings, though his virtues are great, and though he is generous enough to give away the whole world, has been seized by a consumption [248] which the physicians cannot cure. And the drugs and charms of those skilled in such things do not prevail against it; but a certain enchanter made this promise in his presence, 'If I could only get a hero, equal to the task, to help me, I would certainly put an end to this illness by getting a Vetala into my power.' Then proclamation was made by beat of drum, but no such hero was found. Then the king gave the following order to his ministers; 'You must look out for some daring gambler, who comes to reside in the great and well-known asylum, which I built for such. For gamblers are reckless, abandoning wife and relations, fearless, sleeping at the foot of trees and in other exposed places, like ascetics.' When the king gave this order to his ministers, they instructed to this effect the superintendent of the asylum, and he is now on the lookout for some brave man who may come there to reside awhile. Now you are gamblers, and if you, Sridarsana, feel able to accomplish the undertaking, I will take you to-day to that asylum. And you will be well treated by the king, and you will confer a benefit on me, for grief is killing me."

When the old lady said this, Sridarsana answered her, "Agreed! I am able to accomplish this, so lead me quickly to that asylum." When she heard this, she took him, and Padmishtha, and Mukharaka, to that asylum, and there said to the superintendent, "Here is a Brahman gambler arrived from a foreign land, a hero who is able to a.s.sist that enchanter in performing incantations for the good of the king." When the superintendent heard this, he questioned Sridarsana, and when he confirmed the words of the old lady, he treated him with great respect, and led him quickly into the presence of the king.

And Sridarsana, being introduced by him, beheld the king, who was thin and pale as the new moon. And the king Srisena observed that Sridarsana, who bowed before him and sat down, was of a taking appearance, and pleased with his look, he felt comforted, and said to him, "I know that your exertions will certainly put an end to my disease; my body tells me this, for the mere sight of you has quieted its sufferings. So aid the enchanter in this matter." When the king said this, Sridarsana said to him "The enterprise is a mere trifle." Then the king summoned the enchanter and said to him, "This hero will aid you; do what you said." When that enchanter heard that, he said to Sridarsana,

"My good sir, if you are able to a.s.sist me in raising a Vetala, come to me in the cemetery at night-fall this very day, the fourteenth of the black fortnight." When the ascetic, who practised magic, had said this, he went away, and Sridarsana took leave of the king and returned to that asylum.

There he took food with Padmishtha and Mukharaka, and at night he went alone, sword in hand, to the cemetery. It was full of many ghosts, empty of men, inauspicious, full of roaring jackals, covered with impenetrable darkness, but shewed in some places a faint gleam where the funeral pyres were. [249] The hero Sridarsana wandered about in that place of horrors and saw the enchanter in the middle of it. His whole body was smeared with ashes, he had a Brahmanical thread of hair, he wore a turban made of the clothes of the dead, and he was clad in a black garment. Sridarsana approached him, and made himself known to him, and then girding up his loins, he said, "Tell me, what shall I do for you?" The enchanter answered in high spirits, "Half a cos only to the west of this place there is an Asoka tree, the leaves of which are burnt with the hot flame of funeral pyres. At the foot of it there is a corpse, go and bring it here unharmed."

Then Sridarsana said, "I will," and going quickly to the place he saw some one else taking away the corpse. So he ran and tried to drag it from the shoulder of that person, who would not let it go, and said to him,--"Let go this corpse: where are you taking my friend whom I have to burn?" Then that second person said to Sridarsana, "I will not let the dead man go; I am his friend; what have you to do with him?" While they were dragging the corpse from one another's shoulders, and making these mutual recriminations, the corpse itself, which was animated by a Vetala, uttered a terrible shriek. That terrified the second person so that his heart broke, and he fell down dead, and then Sridarsana went off with that corpse in his arms. Then the second man, though dead, rose up, being possessed by a Vetala, and tried to stop Sridarsana, and said to him, "Halt! do not go off with my friend on your shoulder." Then Sridarsana, knowing that his rival was possessed by a Vetala, said to him, "What proof is there that you are his friend? He is my friend." The rival then said, "The corpse itself shall decide between us." Then Sridarsana, said, "Well! let him declare who is his friend." Then the corpse, that was on his back, being possessed by a Vetala, said, "I am hungry, so I decide that whoever gives me food is my friend; let him take me where he likes." When the second corpse, that was also possessed by a Vetala, heard this, he answered,--"I have no food; if he has any, let him give you some." Sridarsana, hearing this, said, "I will give him food," and proceeded to strike with his sword at the second corpse, in order to procure food for the Vetala that was on his shoulder. [250]

But that second corpse, which was also possessed by a Vetala, the moment he began to strike it, disappeared by its supernatural power.

Then the Vetala, that was on Sridarsana's shoulder, said to him, "Now give me the food that you promised me." So Sridarsana, not being able to obtain any other flesh to give him to eat, cut off with his sword some of his own flesh, and gave it to him. This pleased the Vetala, and he said to him, "I am satisfied with you, brave man, let your body be restored whole as before. Now take me off; this enterprise of yours shall succeed, but that ascetic enchanter shall be destroyed, for he is a great coward." When Sridarsana was thus addressed by the Vetala, he immediately became whole as before, and taking the corpse he handed it to that magician. And he received it joyfully, and honoured it with unguents and garlands of blood, and he placed the corpse, possessed by the Vetala, on its back in a great circle marked out with powdered human bones, in the corners of which were placed pitchers of blood, and which was lighted up with lamps fed by oil from the human body. And he sat on the breast of the corpse, and holding in his hand a ladle and spoon of human bone, he began to make an oblation of clarified b.u.t.ter in its mouth. Immediately such a flame issued from the mouth of that corpse possessed by the Vetala, that the sorcerer rose up in terror and fled. When he thus lost his presence of mind, and dropped his spoon and ladle; the Vetala pursued him, and opening his mouth swallowed him whole. [251]

When Sridarsana saw that, he lifted up his sword and attacked the Vetala, but the Vetala said to him, "Sridarsana, I am pleased with this courage of yours, so take these mustard-seeds produced in my mouth. If you place these on the head and hands of the king, the malady of consumption will immediately leave him, and you in a short time will become the king of the whole earth." When Sridarsana heard this, he said, "How can I leave this place without that sorcerer? The king is sure to say that I killed him out of a selfish regard to my own interests." When Sridarsana said this to the Vetala, he answered, "I will tell you a convincing proof, which will clear you. Cut open the body of this corpse, and shew inside it this sorcerer dead, whom I have swallowed." When the Vetala had said this, he gave him the mustard-seeds, and went off somewhere or other, leaving that corpse, and the corpse fell on the ground.

Then Sridarsana went off, taking with him the mustard-seeds, and he spent that night in the asylum in which his friend was. And the next morning he went to the king, and told him what had happened in the night, and took and shewed to the ministers that sorcerer in the stomach of the corpse. Then he placed the mustard-seeds on the head and the hand of the king, and that made the king quite well, as all his sickness at once left him. Then the king was pleased, and, as he had no son, he adopted as his son Sridarsana, who had saved his life. And he immediately anointed that hero crown-prince; for the seed of benefits, sown in good soil, produces abundant fruit. Then the fortunate Sridarsana married there that Padmishtha, who seemed like the G.o.ddess of Fortune that had come to him in reward for his former courting of her, and the hero remained there in the company of her brother Mukharaka, enjoying pleasures and ruling the earth.

One day a great merchant, named Upendrasakti, found an image of Ganesa, carved out of a jewel, on the border of a tank, and brought it and gave it to that prince. The prince, seeing that it was of priceless value, out of his fervent piety, set it up in a very splendid manner in a temple. And he appointed a thousand villages there for the permanent support of the temple, and he ordained in honour of the idol a festive procession, at which all Malava a.s.sembled. And Ganesa, being pleased with the numerous dances, songs, and instrumental performances in his honour, said to the Ganas at night, "By my favour this Sridarsana shall be a universal emperor on the earth. Now there is an island named Hansadvipa in the western sea; and in it is a king named AnanG.o.daya, and he has a lovely daughter named Anangamanjari. And that daughter of his, being devoted to me, always offers to me this pet.i.tion after she has wors.h.i.+pped me, "Holy one, give me a husband who shall be the lord of the whole earth." So I will marry her to this Sridarsana, and thus I shall have bestowed on both the meet reward of their devotion to me. So you must take Sridarsana there, and after you have contrived that they should see one another, bring him back quickly; and in course of time they shall be united in due form; but it cannot be done immediately, for such is the will of destiny. Moreover I have determined by these means to recompense Upendrasakti, the merchant, who brought my image to the prince."

The Ganas, having received this order from Ganesa, took Sridarsana that very night, while he was asleep, and carried him to Hansadvipa by their supernatural power. And there they introduced him into the chamber of Anangamanjari, and placed him on the bed on which that princess was lying asleep. Sridarsana immediately woke up, and saw Anangamanjari. She was reclining on a bed covered with a coverlet of pure white woven silk, in a splendid chamber in which flashed jewel-lamps, and which was illuminated by the numerous priceless gems of the canopy and other furniture, and the floor of which was dark with the rajavarta stone. As she lay there pouring forth rays of beauty like the lovely effluence of a stream of nectar, she seemed like the orb of the autumn moon lapped in a fragment of a white cloud, in a sky adorned with a host of bright twinkling stars, gladdening the eyes. Immediately he was delighted, astonished, and bewildered, and he said to himself, "I went to sleep at home and I have woke up in a very different place. What does all this mean? Who is this woman? Surely it is a dream! Very well, let it be so. But I will wake up this lady and find out." After these reflections he gently nudged Anangamanjari on the shoulder with his hand. And the touch of his hand made her immediately awake and roll her eyes, as the k.u.mudvati opens under the rays of the moon, and the bees begin to circle in its cup. When she saw him, she reflected for a moment, "Who can this being of celestial appearance be? Surely he must be some G.o.d that has penetrated into this well-guarded room?" So she rose up, and asked him earnestly and respectfully who he was, and how and why he had entered there. Then he told his story, and the fair one, when questioned by him, told him in turn her country, name, and descent. Then they both fell in love with one another, and each ceased to believe that the other was an object seen in a dream, and in order to make certain, they exchanged ornaments.