KATHASRIT SAGAR CHAPTER X.

 CHAPTER X. 

After he had gone a long distance the king encamped that day in a certain forest on the border of a lake. He went to bed weary, and in the evening he said to Sangataka a story-teller who had come to him on account of the pleasure he took in his service ; " Tell me some tale that will gladd on my heart, for I am longing for the joy of beholding the lotus-face of Mrigavati." Then Sangataka said, King why do you grieve without cause ? The union with your queen, which will mark the termination of your curse, is nigh at hand. Human beings experience many unions and separations : and I will tell you a story to illustrate this ; listen, my lord ! Once on a time there lived in Story of&ridaita and MrigdnkaiDati. the country of Malava a Brahman named Yujnasoma. And that good man had two sons born to him, beloved by men. One of them was known as Kulunemi and the second was named 57 Vigatabhaya. Now, when their fatlier had gone to heaven, those two brothers, having passed through the age o childhood, went to the city of Fatal iputra to acquire learning. And when they had completed their studies, their teacher Devasarman gave them his own two daughters, like another couple of sciences incarnate in bodily form. Then seeing that the householders around him were rich, K.ilanemi through envy made a vow and propitiated the goddess of Fortune with burntofferings. And the goddess being satisfied appeared in bodily form and said to him " Thou shalt obtain great wealth and a son who shall rule the earth ; but at last thou shalt be put to death like a robber, because thou hast offered flesh in the fire with impure motives." When she had said this, the goddess disappeared ; and Kalanemi in course of time became very rich ; moreover after some days a son was born to him. So the father, whose desires were now accomplished, called that son S'ridatta,* because he had been obtained by the favour of the goddess of Fortune. In course of time S'ridatta grew up, and though a Brahman, became matchless upon earth in the use of weapons, and in boxing and wrestling. Then Kalanemi's brother Vigatabhaya went to a foreign land, having become desirous of visiting places of pilgrimage, through sorrow for his wife, who died of the bite of a snake. Moreover the king of the land, Yallabhasakti, who appreciated good qualities, made S'ridatta the companion of his son Vikramasakti. So he had to live with a haughty prince, as the impetuous Bhima lived in his youth with Duryodhana. Then two Kshatriyas, natives of Avanti, Bahusalin and Vajramushti became friends of that Brahman's. And some other nien from the Deccan, sons of ministers, having been conquered by him in wrestling, resorted to him out of spontaneous friendship, as they knew how to value merit. Mahabala and Vyaghrabhata and also Upendrabala and a man named Nishthuraka became his friends. One day, as years rolled on, S'ridatta, being in attendance on the prince, went with him and those friends to sport on the bank of the Ganges ; then the prince's own servants made him king, and at the same time S'ridatta was chosen king by his friends. This made the prince angry, and in over-weening confidence he at once challenged that Brahman hero to fight. Then being conquered by him in wrestling, and so disgraced, he made up his mind that this rising hero should be put to death. But S'ridatta found out that intention of the prince's, and withdrew in alarm with those friends of his from his presence. And as lie was going along, he saw in the middle of the Ganges a woman 1 dragged under by the stream, looking like the goddess of Fortune in the middle of the sea. And then he plunged in to pull her out of the water, leaving Bahusalin and his five other friends on the bank. Then that woman, * /. e., given by Fortune. 8 58 though he seized her by the hair, sank deep in the water ; and he dived as deep in order to follow her. And after he had dived a long way, he sud- denly saw a splendid temple of S'iva, but no water and no woman.* After beholding that wonderful sight, being wearied out he paid his adorations to the god with the bull-blazoned banner, and spent that night in a beautiful garden attached to the temple. And in the morning that lady was seen by him having come to worship the god S'iva, like the incarnate splendour of beauty attended by all womanly perfections. And after she had worshipped the god, the moon-faced one departed to her own house, and SVi- datta for his part followed her. And he saw that palace of hers resembling the city of the gods, which the haughty beauty entered hurriedly in a contemptuous manner. And without deigning to address him, the graceful lady sat down on a sofa in the inner part of the house, waited upon by thousands of women. And SVidatta also took a seat near her ; then sud- denly that virtuous lady began to weep. The tear-drops fell in an unceas- ing shower on her bosom, and that moment pity entered into the heart of SVidatta. And then he said to her, " Who art thou, and what is thy sorrow ? Tell me, fair one, for I am able to remove it." Then she said reluctantly, " We are the thousand granddaughters of Balif the king of the Daityas, and I am the eldest of all, and my name is Vidyutprabha. That grandfather of ours was carried off by Vishnu to long imprisonment, and the same hero slew our father in a wrestling-match. And after he had slain him, he excluded us from our own city, and he placed a lion in it to prevent us from entering. The lion occupies that place, and grief our hearts. It is a Yaksha that was made a lion by the curse of Kuvera, and long ago it was predicted that the Yaksha's curse should end when he was conquered by some mortal ; so Vishnu deigned to inform us on our humbly asking him how we might be enabled to enter our city. Therefore subdue that lion our enemy ; it was for that reason, O hero, that I enticed you hither. And when you have overcome him you will obtain from him a sword named Mriganka, by the virtue of which you shall conquer the world and become a king." When he heard that, S'ridatta agreed to undertake the adventure, and after that day had passed, on the morrow he took those Daitya maidens with him as guides, and went to that city, and there he overcame in wrestling that haughty lion. He being freed from his curse assumed a human form, and out of gratitude gave his sword to the man who had put an end to his curse, and then disappeared together with tho burden of the sorrow of the great Asura's daughter. Then that S'ridatta, together with the Daitya's daughter, who was accompanied by her younger sisters, entered that splendid city which looked like the serpent Ananta* having emerged from the earth. And that Daitya maiden gave him a ring that destroyed the effect of poison. Then that young man remaining there fell in love with her. And she cunningly said to him, " Bathe in this tank, and when you dive in, take with you this swordf to keep off the danger of . crocodiles." He consented, and diving into the tank, rose upon that very bank of the Ganges from which he first plunged in. Then he, seeing the ring and the sword, felt astonishment at having emerged from the lower regions, and despondency at having been tricked by the Asura maid. Then he went towards his own house to look for his friends, and as he was going he saw on the way his friend Nishthuraka. Nishthuraka came up to him and saluted him, and quickly took him aside into a lonely place, and when asked by him for news of his relations, gave him this answer ; " On that occasion when you plunged into the Ganges we searched for you many days, and out of grief we were preparing to cut off our heads, but a voice from heaven forbade tht attempt of ours saying, ' My sons, do no rash act, your friend shall return alive.' And then we were returning into the pre- sence of your father, when on the way a man hurriedly advanced to meet us and said this ' You must not enter this city at present, for the king of it Vallabhasakti is dead, and the ministers have with one accord conferred the royal dignity on Vikramasakti ; now the day after he was made king he went to the house of Kalanemi, and full of wrath asked him where his son S'ridatta was, and he replied ' I do not know.' Then the king in a rage, supposing he had concealed his son, had him put to death by impalement as a thief. When his wife saw that, her heart broke. Men of cruel deeds must always pile one evil action upon another in long succession ; and so Vikramasakti is searching for S'ridatta to slay him, and you are his friends, therefore leave this place.' When the man had given us this warning, Bahusalin and his four companions being grieved went by common consent to their own home in Ujjayini. And they left me here in conceal- ment, my friend, for your sake. So come, let us go to that very place to meet our friends." Having heard this from Nishthuraka, and having be- wailed his parents, S'ridatta cast many a look at his sword, as if reposing in that his hope of vengeance ; then the hero, biding his time, set out accompanied by Nishthuraka for that city of Ujjayini in order to meet his friends. *

   And as he was relating to his friend his adventures from the time of his plunging into the stream, S'ridatta beheld a woman weeping in the road ; when she said, " I am a woman going to Ujjayini and I have lost my way," S'ridatta out of pity made her journey along with him. He and Nishthuraka, together with that woman, whom he kept with him out of compassion, halted that day in a certain deserted town. There he suddenly woke up in the night and beheld that the woman had slain Nishthuraka, and was devouring his flesh with the utmost delight. Then he rose up drawing his sword Mriganka, and that woman assumed her own terrible form, that of a Rakshasi,* and he seized that night-wanderer by her hair, to slay her. That moment she assumed a heavenly shape and said to him, " Slay me not, mighty hero, let me go, I am not a Rakshasi ; the hermit Visvamitra imposed this condition on me by a curse. For once when he was performing austerities from a desire to attain the position of the god of wealth, I was sent by the god to impede him. Then finding that I was not able to seduce him with my alluring form, being abashed, I assumed in order to terrify him a formidable shape. When he saw this, that hermit laid on me a curse suitable to my offence, exclaiming ' Wicked one, be- come a Rakshasi and slay men.' And he appointed that my curse should end when you took hold of my hair ; accordingly I assumed this detestable condition of a Rakshasi, and I have devoured all the inhabitants of this town ; now to-day after a long time yoikhave brought my curse to an end in the manner foretold ; therefore receive now some boon." When he heard that speech of hers, S'ridatta said respectfully, " Mother grant that my friend may be restored to life. What need have I of any other boon ?" " So be it," said she, and after granting the boon disappeared. Arid Nishthuraka rose up again alive without a scratch on his body. Then S'ridatta set out the next morning with him, delighted and astonished, and at last reached Ujjayini. There he revived by his appearance the spirits of his friends, who were anxiously expecting him, as the arrival of the cloud revives the peacocks. And after he had told all the wonders of his adventures, IJuhusalin went through the usual formalities of hospitality, taking him to his o\vn home. There S'ridatta was taken care of by the parents of Bahusulin, and lived with his friends as comfortably as if he were in his own ho" Once on a time, when the great feast of spring-tidef bad arrived, he went with his friends to behold some festal rejoicings in a garden. There he beheld a maiden, the daughter of king Jjimbaki, who had come to see the show, looking like the goddess of ilu- Splendour of Spring present in bodily form. She, by name Mrigankavati, that moment p I into bis heart, as if through the openings left. 1>\ in.- expansion of his eye. Her passionate look too, indicative of the beginning of love, fixed on him, went and returned like a confidante. When she entered a thicket of trees, S'ri- datta not beholding her, suddenly felt his heart so empty that he did not know where he was. His friend Bahusalin, who thoroughly understood the language of gestures, said to him, "My friend, I know your heart, do not deny your passion, therefore, come, let us go to that part of the garden where the king's daughter is." He consented and went near her accompanied by his friend. That moment a cry was heard there, which gave great pain to the heart of S'ridatta, " Alas the princess has been bitten by a snake!" Bahusalin then went and said to the chamberlain " My friend here possesses a ring that counteracts the effects of poison, and also healing spells." Immediately the chamberlain came, and bowing at his feet, quickly led S'ridatta to the princess. He placed the ring on her finger, and then muttered his spells so that she revived. Then all the attendants were delurhted, and loud in praise of S'ridatta, and the king Bimbaki hearing the circumstances came to the place. Accordingly S'ridatta returned with his friends to the house of Bahusalin without taking back the ring. And all the gold and other presents, which the delighted king sent to him there, lie handed over to the father of Bahusalin. Then, thinking upon that fair one, he was so much afflicted, that his friends became utterly bewildered as to what to do with him. Then a dear friend of the princess, Bhavanika by name, came to him on pretencefof returning the ring ; and said to him, " That friend of mine, illustrious Sir, has made up her mind, that either you must save her life by becoming her husband, or she will be married to her grave." When Bhavanika had said this, S'ridatta and Bahusalin and the others quickly put their heads together and came to the following resolution, " We will carry off this princess secretly by a stratagem, and will go unperceived from here to Mathura and live there." The plan having been thoroughly talked over, and the conspirators having agreed with one ano- ther what each was to do in order to carry it out, Bhavanika then depart (!. And the next day Bahusalin, accompanied by three of his friends, went to IMathura on pretext of trafficking, and as he went he posted in concealment at intervals swift horses for the conveyance of the princess. But S'ridat- ta then brought at eventide a woman with her daughter into the palace of the princess, after making them both drink spirits, and then l>li;lvanik;i. on pretence of lighting up the palace, set tire to it, and secretly conveyed the princess out of it ; and that moment S'ridatta, who was remaining out received her, and sent her on to Bahusalin, who had started in the mornii i:, and directed two of his friends to attend on her and also llhdvani:, that drunken woman and her daughter were burnt in the palace of the princess, and people supposed that the princess had been burnt with her friend But S'lidatta took care to show himself in the morning:, as before, in the city ; then on the second night, taking with him his sword Mriganka, he started to follow his beloved, who had set out before him. And in his eagerness he accomplished a great distance that night, and when the morning watch* had passed, he reached the "Vindhya forest. There he first beheld unlucky omens, and afterwards he saw all those friends of his to- gether with Bhavanika lying in the road gashed with wounds. And when he came up all distracted, they said to him, " We were robbed to-day by a large troop of horsemen that set upon us. And after we were reduced to this, state, one of the horsemen threw the terrified princess on his horse and carried her off. So before she has been carried to a great distance, go in this direction, do not remain near us, she is certainly of more importance than we." Being urged on with these words by his friends, S'ridatta rapidly followed after the princess, but could not help frequently turning round to look at them. And after he had gone a considerable distance, he caught up that troop of cavalry, and he saw a young man of the warrior caste in the midst of it. And he beheld that princess held by him upon his horse. So he slowly approached that young warrior ; and when soft words would not induce him to let the princess go, he hurled him from his horse with a blow of his foot, and dashed him to pieces on a rock. And after he had slain him, he mounted on his horse and slew a great number of the other horsemen who charged him in anger. Ajid then those who remained alive, seeing that the might which the hero displayed was more than human, fled away in terror; and S'ridatta mounted on the horse with the princess Mrigankavati and set out to find those friends of his. And after lie had gone a little way, he and his wife got off the horse which had been severely wounded in the fight, and soon after it fell down and died. And then his beloved Mfig&nkavati, exhausted with fear and exertion, became very thirsty. And leaving her there, he roamed a long distance hither and thither, and while he was looking for water the sun set. Then he discovered that, though he hud found water, he had lost his way, and he passed that night in the wood roaming about, moaning aloud like a Chakravaka.f And in the morning he reached that place, which was easy to recognise by the carcass of tlio horse. And nowhere there did he behold his beloved princess. Then in hid distraction lie placed his sword Mriganka.on the ground, and climbed to the top of a tree, in order to cast his eye in all directions for her. That very moment a certain S'avnra chieftain passed that way ; and he came up and took the sword from the foot of the tree. Beholdin that S'avara chieftain, S'ridatta came down from the top of the tree, and in great grief asked him for news of his beloved. The S'avara chieftain said " Leave this place and come to my village ; I have no doubt she whom you seek has gone there ; and I shall come there and return you this sword." When the S'avara chieftain urged him to go with these words, S'ridatta, being hiins'-lt' all eagerness, went to that village with the chief's men. And there those men said to him, " Sleep off your fatigue," and when he reached the house of the chief of the village, being tired he went to sleep in an instant. And when he woke up he saw his two feet fastened with fetters, like the two efforts he had made in order to obtain his beloved, which failed to reach their object. Then he remained there weeping for his darling, who, like the course of destiny, had for a moment brought him joy, and the next moment blasted his hopes. One day a serving maid .of the name of Mochanika came to him and said, Illustrious Sir, unwittingly you have come hither to your death ? For the S'avara chieftain has gone somewhither to accomplish certain weighty affairs, and when he returns, he will offer you to Chandika.* For with that object he decoyed you here by a stratagem from this slope of the wild Vindhya hill, and immediately threw you into the chains in which you now are. And it is because you are intended to be offered as a victim to the goddess, that you are continually served with garments and food. But I know of only one expedient for delivering you, if you agree to it. This S'avara chieftain has a daughter named Sundari, and she having seen you is becoming exceedingly love-sick ; marry her who is my friend, then you will obtain deliverance. f When she said this to him, S'ridatta consented, desiring to be set at liberty, and secretly made that S'undari his wife by the Gandharva form of marriage. And every night she removed his chains and in a short time Sundari became pregnant. Then her mother, having heard the whole story from the mouth of Mochanika, out of love for her son-in-law S'ridatta, went and of her own accord said to him " My son, S'richanda the father of Sundari is a wrathful man, and will show thee no mercy. Therefore depart, but thou must not forget Sundari." When his mother-in-law had said this, she set him at liberty, and S'ridatta departed after telling Sundari that the sword, which was in her father's possession, really belonged to himself. So he again entered full of anxiety that forest, in which he had before wandered about, in order again to search for traces of Mri^avati. And having seen an auspicious omen he came to that same place, where that horse of his died before, and whence his wife was carried off. And there lie saw near* him a hunter coming towards him, and when lie saw him he asked him for news of that gazelle-eyed lady. Then the hunter asked him " Are you S'ridatta?" and he sighing replied " I am that unfortunate man." Then that hunter said, " Listen, friend, I have somewhat to tell you. I saw that wife of yours wandering hither and thither lamenting your ahsenee, and having asked her her story, and consoled her, moved with compassion I took her out of this wood to my own village. But when I saw the young Pulindasf there, I was afraid, and I took her to a village named Nagasthala near Mathura. And then I placed her in the house of an old Brahman named 'Visvadatta commending her with all due respect to his care. And thence I came here having learnt your name from her lips. Therefore you had better go quickly to Nagasthala to search for her." When the hunter had told him this, S'ridatta quickly set out, and he reached Nagasthala in the evening of the second day. Then he entered the house of Visvadatta and when he saw him said, " Give me my wife who was placed here by the hunter." Yisvadatfca when he heard that, answered him, "I have a friend in Mathura a Brahman, dear to all virtuous men, the spiritual preceptor and minister of the king S'urasena. In his care I placed your wife. For this village is an out-of-the-way place and would not afford her protection. So go to that city to-morrow morning, but to-day rest here." When Visvadatta said this, he spent that night there, and .the next morning he set off, and reached Mathura on the second day. Being weary and dusty with the long journey, he bathed outside that city in the pellucid water of a lake. And he drew out of the middle of the lake a garment placed there by some robbers, not suspecting any harm. But in one corner of the garment, which was knotted up, a necklace was concealed. J Then S'ridatta took that garment, and in his eagerness to meet his wife did not notice the necklace, and so entered the city of Mathura. Then the city police recognized the garment, and (hiding the necklace, arrested S'ridatta as a thief, and carried him off, and brought him before the chief magistrate exactly as he was found, with the garment in his possession ; by him he was handed up to the king, and the king ordered him to be put to death. Then, .-is lie was being led oft' to the place of execution with the drum being beaten behind him, his wife Mrig&nkavati saw him in the di>tance. She. went in a state of the utmost distraction and said to the chief minister, in whose house she was residing, u Yonder is my husband being led off to execution." Then that minister went and ordered the executioners to desist, and, by making a representation to the king, got .S'ridatta pardoned, and had him brought to his house. And when S'ridatta reached his house, and saw that minister, he recognised him and fell at his feet, exclaiming, " What ! is this my uncle Vigatabhaya, who long ago went to a foreign country, and do I now by good luck find him established in the position of a minister ?" He too recognised to his astonishment S'ridatta as his brother's son, and embraced him, and questioned him about alibis adventures. Then S'ridatta related to his uncle his whole history beginning with the execution of his father. And he, after weeping, said to his nephew in private, " Do not despond, my son, for I once brought a female Yaksha into subjection, by means of magic ; and she gave me, though I have no son, five thousand horses and seventy millions of gold pieces : and all that wealth is at your disposal." After telling him this, his uncle brought him his beloved, and he, having obtained wealth, married her on the spot. And then he remained there in joy, united with that beloved Mrigankavati as a bed of white lotuses* with the night. But even when his happiness was at its full, anxiety for Bahusalin and his companions clouded his heart, as a spot of darkness does the full moon. Now one day his uncle said secretly to S'ridatta : " my son, the king S'urasena has a maiden daughter, and in ac- cordance with his orders I have to take her to the land of Avanti to give her away in marriage ; so I will take her away on that very pretext, and marry her to you. Then, when you have got possession of the force that follows her, with mine already at your disposal, you will soon gain the kingdom that was promised you by the goddess S'ri." Having resolved on this, and having taken that maiden, S'ridatta and his uncle set out with their army and their attendants. But as soon as they had reached the Yindhya forest, before they were aware of the danger, a large army of brigands set upon them showering arrows. After routing S'ridatta' s force, and seizing all the wealth, they bound S'ridatta himself, who had fainted from his wounds, and carried him off to their village. And they took him to the awful temple of Durga, in order to offer him up in sacrifice, and, as it were, summoned Death with the sound of their gongs. There Sundari saw him, one of his wives, the daughter of the chief of the village, who had come with her young son to visit the shrine of the goddess. Full of joy s-ho ordered the brigands, who were between her and her husband, to stand aside, and then S'ridatta entered her palare with her. Immediately Sridatta obtained the sovereignty of that village, which Sundari's father, having HO son, bequeathed to her when he went to heaven. !.itt.i recovered his wife and his sword Mriganka, and also his uncle and his followers, who had been overpowered by the robbers. And, while he was in that town, he married the daughter of S'urasena, and became a great king there. And from that place he sent ambassadors to his two fathers-in-law, to Bimbaki, and king S'urasena. And they, being very fond of their daughters, gladly recognised him as a connection, and came to him accompanied by the whole of their armies. And his friends Bahusalin and the others, who had been separated from him, when they heard what had happened, came to him with their wounds healed and in good health. Then the hero marched, united with his fathers-in-law, and made that Vikramasakti, who had put his father to death, a burnt-offering in the flame of his wrath. And then S'ridatta, having gained dominion over the sea-encircled earth, and deliverance from the sorrow of separation, joyed in the society of Mrigankavati. Even so, my king, do men of firm resolution cross the calamitous sea of separation and obtain prosperity. After hearing this tale from Sangataka, the king Sahasranika, though longing for the sight of his beloved one, managed to get through that night on the journey. Then, engrossed with his desire, sending his thoughts on before, in the morning Sahasranika set out to meet his darling. And in a few days he reached that peaceful hermitage of Jamadagni, in which even the deer laid aside their wantonness. And there he beheld with reverence that Jamadagni, the sight of whom was sanctifying, like the incarnate form of penance, who received him hospitably. And the hermit handed over to him that queen Mrigavati with her son, regained by the king after long separation, like tranquillity accompanied with joy. And that sight which the husband and wife obtained of one another, now that the curse had ceased, rained, as it were, nectar into their eyes, which were filled with tears of joy. And the king embracing that son Udayana, whom he now beheld for the first time, could with difficulty let him go, as he was, so to speak, riveted to his body with his own hairs that stood erect from joy.* Then king Sahasranika took his queen Mrigavati with Udayana, and, bidding adieu to Jamadagni, set out from that tranquil hermitage for his own city, and even the deer followed him as far as the border of ths hermitage with tearful eyes. Beguiling the way by listening to the adventures of his beloved wife during the period of separation, and by relating his own, he at length reached the city of Kausambi, in which triumphal arches were erected and banners displayed. And he entered that city in company with his wife and child, being, so to speak, devoured! by the eyes of the citizens, that hail the fringe of their lashes elevated. And immediately the king appointed his son Udayana crown-prince, being incited to it by his excellent qualities. And he assigned to him as advisers the sons of his own ministers, Vusantaka and Rinnanvat and Yaugandharayana. Then a rain of flowers fell, and a celestial voice was heard " By the help of these excellent ministers, the prince shall obtain dominion over the whole earth." Then the king devolved on his son the cares of empire, and enjoyed in the society of Mrigavati the long-desired pleasures of the world. At last the desire of earthly enjoyment, beholding suddenly that old age, the harbinger of composure had readied the root of the lung's ear,* became enraged and fled far from him. Then that king Sahasranika established in his throne his excellent son Udayana,f whom the subjects loved so well, to ensure the world's pros, perity, and accompanied by his ministers, and his beloved wife, ascended the Himalaya to prepare for the last great journey.