Chapter XXX
Then
Kalingasená out of love went to the top of a palace on the high road, to follow
with her eyes the course of Somaprabhá, who had set out for her own home, and
by chance a young king of the Vidyádharas, named Madanavega, travelling through
the air, had a near view of her. The youth beholding her, bewildering the three
worlds with her beauty, like the bunch of peacock feathers of the conjuror
Cupid, was much troubled. He reflected—“Away with the Vidyádhara beauties! Not
even the Apsarases deserve to be mentioned in presence of the surpassing
loveliness of this mortal lady. So if she will not consent to become my wife,
what is the profit of my life? But how can I associate with a mortal lady, being
a Vidyádhara?” Thereupon he called to mind the science named Prajnapti, and
that science, appearing in bodily form, thus addressed him, “She is not really
a mortal woman, she is an Apsaras, degraded in consequence of a curse, and born
in the house of the august king Kalingadatta.” When the Vidyádhara had been
thus informed by the science, he went off delighted and distracted with love;
and averse from all other things, reflected in his palace; “It is not fitting
for me to carry her off by force; for the possession of women by force is,
according to a curse, fated to bring me death. So in order to obtain her, I
must propitiate Śiva by asceticism, for happiness is procurable by asceticism,
and no other expedient presents itself.” Thus he resolved, and the next day he
went to the Ṛishabha mountain, and standing on one foot, performed penance
without taking food. Then the husband of Ambiká was soon won over by
Madanavega’s severe asceticism, and appearing to him, thus enjoined him, “This
maiden, named Kalingasená, is famous for beauty on the earth, and she cannot
find any husband equal to her in the gift of loveliness. Only the king of Vatsa
is a fitting match for her, and he longs to possess her, but through fear of
Vásavadattá, does not dare to court her openly. And this princess, who is
longing for a handsome husband, will hear of the king of Vatsa from the mouth
of Somaprabhá, and repair to him to choose him as her husband. So, before her
marriage takes place, assume the form of the impatient king of Vatsa, and go
and make her your wife by the Gándharva ceremony. In this way, fair sir, you
will obtain Kalingasená.” Having received this command from Śiva, Madanavega
prostrated himself before him, and returned to his home on the slope of the
Kálakúṭa mountain.
Then
Kalingasená went on enjoying herself in the city of Takshaśilá, in the society
of Somaprabhá, who went every night to her own home, and came back every
morning to her friend, in her chariot that travelled through the air: and one
day she said to Somaprabhá in private; “My friend, you must not tell any one
what I tell you. Listen, and I will give you a reason that makes me think the
time of my marriage has arrived. Ambassadors have been sent here by many kings
to ask me in marriage. And they, after an interview with my father, have always
hitherto been dismissed by him as they came. But now the king of the name of
Prasenajit, who lives in Śrávastí, has sent a messenger, and he alone has been
received with honourable distinction by my father. And that course has been
recommended by my mother, so I conjecture, the king, my suitor, has been
approved of by my father and mother, as of sufficiently noble lineage. For he
is born in that family, in which were born Ambá and Ambáliká, the paternal
grandmothers of the Kurus and Páṇḍus. So, my friend, it is clear that they have
now determined to bestow me in marriage on this king Prasenajit in the city of
Śrávastí.” When Somaprabhá heard this from Kalingasená, she suddenly shed from
grief a copious shower of tears, creating, as it were, a second necklace. And
when her friend asked her the cause of her tears, that daughter of the Asura
Maya, who had seen all the terrestrial world, said to her—“Of the desirable
requisites in a suitor, youth, good looks, noble birth, good disposition, and
wealth, youth is of the greatest importance; high birth, and so on, are of
subordinate importance. But I have seen that king Prasenajit, and he is an old
man; who cares about his high lineage, as he is old, any more than about the
birth of the jasmine-flower? You will be to be pitied when linked to him who is
white as snow, as the lotus-bed, when linked to the winter, and your face will
be a withered lotus. For this reason despondency has arisen in me, but I should
be delighted if Udayana, the king of Vatsa, were to become your husband, O
auspicious lady. For there is no king upon the earth equal to him in form,
beauty, lineage, daring and riches. If, fair one, you should be married to that
fitting mate, the display which the Creator has made in your case of his power
to create beauty, would have brought forth fruit.” By means of these speeches,
artfully framed by Somaprabhá, the mind of Kalingasená was impelled as if by
engines, and flew towards the king of Vatsa. And then the princess asked the
daughter of Maya, “Friend, how is it that he is called the king of Vatsa? In
what race was he born? And whence was he named Udayana? Tell me.” Then
Somaprabhá said—“Listen, friend, I will tell you that. There is a land, the
ornament of the earth, named Vatsa. In it there is a city named Kauśámbí, like
a second Amarávatí; and he is called the king of Vatsa because he rules there.
And hear his lineage, my friend, related by me. Arjuna of the Páṇḍava race had
a son named Abhimanyu, and he, skilled in breaking the close rings of the
hostile army, destroyed the force of the Kauravas. From him there sprang a king
named Paríkshit, the head of the race of Bharata, and from him sprang
Janamejaya, who performed the snake-sacrifice. His son was Śatáníka who settled
in Kauśámbí, and he was slain in a war between the gods and Asuras after
slaying many giants. His son was king Sahasráníka, an object of praise to the
world, to whom Indra sent his chariot, and he went to heaven and returned
thence. To him was born this Udayana by the queen Mṛigávatí, the ornament of
the race of the Moon, a king that is a feast to the eyes of the world. Hear too
the reason of his name. That Mṛigávatí, the mother of this high-born king,
being pregnant, felt a desire to bathe in a lake of blood, and her husband,
afraid of committing sin, had a lake made of liquid lac and other coloured
fluids in which she plunged. Then a bird of the race of Garuḍa pounced upon
her, thinking she was raw flesh, and carried her off, and, as fate would have
it, left her alive on the mountain of the sunrise. And there the hermit
Jamadagni saw her, and comforted her, promising her reunion with her husband,
and she remained there in his hermitage. For such was the curse inflicted upon
her husband by Tilottamá jealous on account of his neglecting her, which caused
him separation from his wife for a season. And in some days she brought forth a
son in the hermitage of Jamadagni on that very mountain of the sunrise, as the
sky brings forth the new moon. And because he was born on the mountain of the
sunrise, the gods then and there gave him the name of Udayana, uttering from
heaven this bodiless voice—‘This Udayana, who is now born, shall be sovereign
of the whole earth, and there shall be born to him a son, who shall be emperor
of all the Vidyádharas.’
“Sahasráníka,
for his part, who had been informed of the real state of the case by Mátali,
and had fixed his hope on the termination of his curse, with difficulty got
through the time without that Mṛigávatí. But when the curse had expired, the
king obtained his token from a Śavara who, as fate would have it, had come from
the mountain of the sunrise. And then he was informed of the truth by a voice
that came from heaven, and making that Śavara his guide, he went to the
mountain of the sunrise. There he found his wife Mṛigávatí like the success of
his wishes, and her son Udayana like the realm of fancy. With them he returned
to Kauśámbí, and appointed his son crown-prince, pleased with the excellence of
his qualities; and he gave him the sons of his ministers, Yaugandharáyaṇa and
others. When his son took the burden of the kingdom off his shoulders, he
enjoyed pleasures for a long time in the society of Mṛigávatí. And in time the
king established his son, that very Udayana, on the throne, and being old, went
with his wife and ministers on the long journey. So, Udayana has obtained that
kingdom that belonged to his father, and having conquered all his enemies,
rules the earth with the help of Yaugandharáyaṇa.”
Having in
these words quickly told her in confidence the story of Udayana, she again said
to her friend Kalingasená—“Thus that king is called the king of Vatsa, fair
one, because he rules in Vatsa, and since he comes of the Páṇḍava lineage, he
is also descended from the race of the sun. And the gods gave him the name of
Udayana, because he was born on the mountain of the sunrise, and in this world
even the god of love is not a match for him in beauty. He alone is a husband
fit for you, most beautiful lady of the three worlds, and he, being a lover of
beauty, no doubt longs for you, who are famous for it. But, my friend, his
head-wife is Vásavadattá, the daughter of Chaṇḍamahásena. And she selected him
herself, deserting her relations in the ardour of her passion, and so sparing
the blushes of Ushá, Śakuntalá and other maidens. And a son has been born to
him by her, called Naraváhanadatta, who is appointed by the gods as the future
emperor of the Vidyádharas. So it is through fear of her that the king of Vatsa
does not send here to ask for your hand, but she has been seen by me, and she
does not vie with you in the gift of beauty.” When her friend Somaprabhá said
this, Kalingasená, being in love with the king of Vatsa, answered her—“I know
all this, but what can I do, as I am under the power of my parents? But in
this, you, who know all things and possess magic power, are my refuge.”
Somaprabhá then said to her—“The whole matter depends on destiny; in proof of
it hear the following tale.”
Story of Tejasvatí.
Once on a
time there lived in Ujjayiní a king named Vikramasena, and he had a daughter
named Tejasvatí, matchless in beauty. And she disapproved of every king who
sued for her hand. But one day, while she was on the roof of her palace, she
saw a man, and as fate would have it, she felt a desire to meet him as he was
very handsome, and she sent her confidante to him, to communicate to him her
desire. The confidante went and entreated the man, who shrank from such an
audacious step, and at last with much difficulty she made him against his will
agree to an assignation, saying, “Await, good sir, the arrival of the princess
at night in this retired temple which you see here.” After saying this, she
took leave of him, and went and told the princess Tejasvatí, who for her part
remained watching the sun. But that man, though he had consented, fled
somewhere else out of fear; a frog is not capable of relishing the fibres of a
bed of red lotuses.
In the
meanwhile a certain prince of high lineage came, as his father was dead, to
visit the king who had been his father’s friend. And that handsome young
prince, named Somadatta, whose kingdom and wealth had been taken by pretenders,
arriving at night, entered by accident, to pass the night there, that very
temple in which the confidante of the princess had arranged a meeting with the
man. While he was there, the princess, blind with passion, approached him,
without distinguishing who he was, and made him her self-chosen husband. The
wise prince gladly received in silence the bride offered him by fate, who
foreshadowed his union with the future Fortune of Royalty. And the princess
soon perceived that he was very charming, and considered that she had not been
deceived by the Creator. Immediately they conversed together, and the two
separated according to agreement; the princess went to her own palace, while
the king spent the rest of the night there. In the morning the prince went and
announced his name by the mouth of the warder, and being recognised, entered into
the presence of the king. There he told his sorrow on account of his kingdom
having been taken away, and other insults, and the king agreed to assist him in
overthrowing his enemies. And he determined to give him the daughter he had
long desired to give away, and then and there told his intention to the
ministers. Then the queen told the king his daughter’s adventure, having been
informed of it before by herself, through the mouths of trusty confidantes.
Then the king was astonished at finding that calamity had been averted and his
desire attained by mere chance, as in the fable of the crow and the palm, and
thereupon one of the ministers said to the king, “Fate watches to ensure the
objects of auspicious persons, as good servants of their masters, when the
latter are not on the look-out. And to illustrate this, I will tell you the
following tale: listen!”
Story of the Bráhman
Hariśarman.
There was a
certain Bráhman in a certain village, named Hariśarman. He was poor and foolish
and in evil ease for want of employment, and he had very many children, that he
might reap the fruit of his misdeeds in a former life. He wandered about
begging with his family, and at last he reached a certain city, and entered the
service of a rich householder called Sthúladatta. He made his sons keepers of
this householder’s cows and other possessions, and his wife a servant to him,
and he himself lived near his house, performing the duty of an attendant. One
day there was a feast on account of the marriage of the daughter of
Sthúladatta, largely attended by many friends of the bridegroom, and
merry-makers. And then Hariśarman entertained a hope that he would be able to
fill himself up to the throat with ghee and flesh and other dainties, together
with his family, in the house of his patron. While he was anxiously expecting
that occasion, no one thought of him. Then he was distressed at getting nothing
to eat, and he said to his wife at night; “It is owing to my poverty and
stupidity that I am treated with such disrespect here: so I will display by
means of an artifice an assumed knowledge, in order that I may become an object
of respect to this Sthúladatta, and when you get an opportunity, tell him that
I possess supernatural knowledge.” He said this to her, and after turning the
matter over in his mind, while people were asleep he took away from the house
of Sthúladatta a horse on which his son-in-law rode. He placed it in
concealment at some distance, and in the morning the friends of the bridegroom
could not find the horse, though they searched in every direction. Then, while
Sthúladatta was distressed at the evil omen, and searching for the thieves who
had carried off the horse, the wife of Hariśarman came and said to him—“My
husband is a wise man, skilled in astrology and sciences of that kind; and he
will procure for you the horse; why do you not ask him?” When Sthúladatta heard
that, he called that Hariśarman, who said, “Yesterday I was forgotten, but
to-day, now the horse is stolen, I am called to mind,” and Sthúladatta then
propitiated the Bráhman with these words—“I forgot you, forgive me”—and asked
him to tell him who had taken away their horse? Then Hariśarman drew all kinds
of pretended diagrams and said,—“The horse has been placed by thieves on the
boundary line south from this place. It is concealed there, and before it is
carried off to a distance, as it will be at close of day, quickly go and bring
it.” When they heard that, many men ran and brought the horse quickly, praising
the discernment of Hariśarman. Then Hariśarman was honoured by all men as a
sage, and dwelt there in happiness, honoured by Sthúladatta. Then, as days went
on, much wealth consisting of gold and jewels was carried off by a thief from
the palace of the king. As the thief was not known, the king quickly summoned
Hariśarman on account of his reputation for supernatural knowledge. And he,
when summoned, tried to gain time, and said “I will tell you to-morrow,” and
then he was placed in a chamber by the king, and carefully guarded. And he was
despondent about his pretended knowledge. Now in that palace there was a maid
named Jihvá, who, with the assistance of her brother had carried off that
wealth from the interior of the palace: she, being alarmed at Hariśarman’s
knowledge, went at night and applied her ear to the door of that chamber in
order to find out what he was about. And Hariśarman, who was alone inside, was
at that very moment blaming his own tongue, that had made a vain assumption of
knowledge. He said—“O Tongue, what is this that you have done, through desire
of enjoyment? Ill-conducted one, endure now punishment in this place.” When
Jihvá heard this, she thought in her terror, that she had been discovered by
this wise man, and by an artifice she managed to get in where he was, and
falling at his feet, she said to that supposed sage;—“Bráhman, here I am, that
Jihvá whom you have discovered to be the thief of the wealth, and after I took
it, I buried it in the earth in a garden behind the palace, under a pomegranate
tree. So spare me, and receive the small quantity of gold which is in my
possession.” When Hariśarman heard that, he said to her proudly, “Depart, I
know all this; I know the past, present and future: but I will not denounce
you, being a miserable creature that has implored my protection. But whatever
gold is in your possession you must give back to me.” When he said this to the
maid, she consented and departed quickly. But Hariśarman reflected in his
astonishment; “Fate, if propitious, brings about, as if in sport, a thing that
cannot be accomplished, for in this matter when calamity was near, success has
unexpectedly been attained by me. While I was blaming my tongue (jihvá), the
thief Jihvá suddenly flung herself at my feet. Secret crimes I see, manifest
themselves by means of fear.” In these reflections he passed the night happily
in the chamber. And in the morning he brought the king by some skilful parade
of pretended knowledge into the garden, and led him up to the treasure, which
was buried there and he said that the thief had escaped with a part of it. Then
the king was pleased and proceeded to give him villages. But the minister,
named Devajnánin, whispered in the king’s ear, “How can a man possess such
knowledge unattainable by men, without having studied treatises; so you may be
certain that this is a specimen of the way he makes a dishonest livelihood, by
having a secret intelligence with thieves. So it will be better to test him by
some new artifice.” Then the king of his own accord brought a new covered
pitcher into which he had thrown a frog, and said to that Hariśarman—“Bráhman,
if you can guess what there is in this pitcher, I will do you great honour
to-day.” When the Bráhman Hariśarman heard that, he thought that his last hour
had come, and he called to mind the pet name of frog which his father had given
him in his childhood in sport, and impelled by the deity he apostrophized
himself by it, lamenting his hard fate, and suddenly exclaimed there—“This is a
fine pitcher for you, frog, since suddenly it has become the swift destroyer of
your helpless self in this place.” The people there, when they heard that, made
a tumult of applause, because his speech chimed in so well with the object
presented to him, and murmured,—“Ah! a great sage, he knows even about the
frog!” Then the king, thinking that this was all due to knowledge of
divination, was highly delighted, and gave Hariśarman villages with gold,
umbrella, and vehicles of all kinds. And immediately Hariśarman became like a
feudal chief.
“Thus good
objects are brought about by fate for those whose actions in a former life have
been good. Accordingly fate made that daughter of yours, Tejasvatí, approach
Somadatta a man of equal birth, and kept away one who was unsuited to her.”
Hearing this from the mouth of his minister, the king Vikramasena gave his
daughter to that prince as if she were the goddess of fortune. Then the prince
went and overcame his enemies by the help of his father-in-law’s host, and
being established in his own kingdom, lived happily in the company of his wife.
“So true is
it that all this happens by the special favour of fate; who on earth would be
able to join you, lovely as you are, with the king of Vatsa, though a suitable
match for you, without the help of fate? What can I do in this matter, friend
Kalingasená?” Kalingasená, hearing this story in private from the mouth of
Somaprabhá, became eager in her soul for union with the king of Vatsa, and, in
her aspirations after him, began to feel in a less degree the fear of her
relations and the warnings of modesty. Then, the sun, the great lamp of the
three worlds, being about to set, Somaprabhá the daughter of the Asura Maya, having
with difficulty taken leave, until her morning return, of her friend, whose
mind was fixed upon her proposed attempt, went through the air to her own home.
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