Chapter CXXIII.
Then,
once on a time, in the course of conversation, one of Vikramáditya’s queens,
called Kalingasená, said to her rival queens, “What the king did for the sake
of Malayavatí was not wonderful, for this king Vishamaśíla has ever been famous
on the earth for such like acts. Was not I swooped down on by him and married
by force, after he had seen a carved likeness of me and been overcome by love?
On this account the kárpaṭika Devasena told me
a story: that story I will proceed to tell you; listen.”
“I
was very much vexed, and exclaimed ‘How can the king be said to have married me
lawfully?’ Then the kárpaṭika said to me, ‘Do
not be angry, queen, for the king married you in eager haste out of a violent
passion for you; hear the whole story from the beginning.’”
Story of Kalingasená’s marriage
Once
on a time, when I was serving your husband as a kárpaṭika,
I saw a great boar far away in the wood. Its mouth was formidable with tusks,
its colour was black as a Tamála tree, it looked like an incarnation of the
black fortnight devouring the digits of the moon. And I came, queen, and informed
the king of it, describing it to him as I have done to you. And the king went
out to hunt, attracted by his love for the sport. And when he reached the wood,
and was dealing death among the tigers and deer, he saw in the distance that
boar of which I had informed him. And when he saw that wonderful boar, he came
to the conclusion that some being had assumed that form with an object, and he
ascended his horse called Ratnákara, the progeny of Ucchaiḥśravas.
For
every day at noon, the sun waits a brief space in the sky, and then his
charioteer the dawn lets the horses loose, that they may bathe and feed: and
one day Uchchhaiḥśravas, having been
unyoked from the chariot of the sun, approached a mare of the king’s, that he
saw in the forest, and begot that horse.
So
the king mounted that swift horse, and quickly pursued that boar, that fled to
a very remote part of the forest. Then that boar escaped somewhere from his
view, being swifter even than that horse that had Uchchhaiḥśravas
for a sire. Then the king, not having caught him, and seeing that I alone had
followed him, while he had left the rest of his suite far behind, asked me this
question, “Do you know how much ground we have traversed to get to this place?”
When I heard that, queen, I made the king this answer, “My lord, we have come
three hundred yojanas.” Then the king being astonished said, “Then how have you
managed to come so far on foot?” When he asked me this question, I answered,
“King, I have an ointment for the feet; hear the way in which I acquired it.”
How
Devasena obtained the magic ointment.
Long
ago, on account of the loss of my wife, I went forth to make a pilgrimage to
all the holy bathing places, and in the course of my journey I came one evening
to a temple with a garden. And I went in there to pass the night, and I saw
inside a woman, and I remained there hospitably welcomed by her. And during the
course of the night she elevated one lip to heaven, resting the other on the earth,
and with expanded jaws said to me, “Have you seen before anywhere such a mouth
as this?” Then I fearlessly drew my dagger with a frown, and said to her, “Have
you seen such a man as this?” Then she assumed a gentle appearance without any
horrible distortion of shape, and said to me, “I am a Yakshí, Vandhyá by name,
and I am pleased with your courage; so now tell me what I can do to gratify
you.”
When
the Yakshiṇí said this, I answered her, “If
you are really pleased with me, then enable me to go round to all the holy
waters without any suffering.” When the Yakshí heard this, she gave me an
ointment for my feet; by means of it I travelled to all the holy
bathing-places, and I have been able to run behind you now so far as this
place. And by its aid I come to this wood here every day, and eat fruits, and
then return to Ujjayiní and attend upon you.
When
I told that tale to the king, I saw by his pleased face that he thought in his
heart that I was a follower well-suited to him. I again said to him, “King, I
will bring you here some very sweet fruits, if you will be pleased to eat
them.” The king said to me, “I will not eat; I do not require anything; but do
you eat something, as you are exhausted.” Then I got hold of a gourd and ate
it, and no sooner had I eaten it, than it turned me into a python.
But
king Vishamaśíla, when he saw me suddenly turn into a python, was astonished
and despondent. So, being there alone, he called to mind the Vetála Bhútaketu,
whom he had long ago made his servant, by delivering him with a look from a
disease of the eyes. That Vetála came, as soon as the king called him to mind,
and bowing before him said, “Why did you call me to mind, great king? Give me
your orders.” Then the king said, “Good sir, this my kárpaṭika
has been suddenly turned into a python by eating a gourd; restore him to his
former condition.” But the Vetála said, “King, I have not the power to do this.
Powers are strictly limited: can water quench the flame of lightning?” Then the
king said, “Then let us go to this village, my friend. We may eventually hear of
some remedy from the Bhillas there.”
When
the king had come to this conclusion, he went to that village with the Vetála.
There the bandits surrounded him, seeing that he wore ornaments. But when they
began to rain arrows upon him, the Vetála, by the order of the king, devoured
five hundred of them. The rest fled and told their chief what had occurred, and
he, whose name was Ekákikeśarin, came there in wrath, with his host. But one of
his servants recognised the monarch, and the chief hearing from him who it was,
came and clung to Vikramáditya’s feet, and announced himself. Then the king
welcomed kindly the submissive chief, and asked after his health, and said to
him, “My kárpaṭika has become a python by
eating the fruit of a gourd in the forest; so devise some plan for releasing
him from his transformation.”
When
that chief heard this speech of the king’s, he said to him, “King, let this
follower of yours shew him to my son here.” Then that son of his came with the
Vetála, and made me a man as before by means of a sternutatory made of the
extract of a plant. And then we went joyful into tho presence of the king; and
when I bent at the feet of the king, the king informed the delighted chief who
I was.
Then
the Bhilla chief Ekákikeśarin, after obtaining the king’s consent, conducted
him and us to his palace. And we beheld that dwelling of his, crowded with
Śavaras, having its high walls covered with the tusks of elephants, adorned
with tiger-skins; in which the women had for garments the tails of peacocks,
for necklaces strings of gunjá-fruit, and for perfume the ichor that flows from
the foreheads of elephants. There the wife of the chief, having her garments
perfumed with musk, adorned with pearls and such like ornaments, herself waited
on the king.
Then
the king, having bathed and taken a meal, observed that the chief’s sons were
old, while he was a young man, and put this question to him, “Chief, explain, I
pray you, this that puzzles me. How comes it, that you are a young man, whereas
these children of yours are old?” When the king had said this to the Śavara
chief, he answered him, “This, king, is a strange story; listen if you feel any
curiosity about it.”
Story of the grateful Monkey.
I
was long ago a Bráhman named Chandrasvámin, and I lived in the city of Máyápur.
One day I went by order of my father to the forest to fetch wood. There a
monkey stood barring my way, but without hurting me, looking at me with an eye
of grief, pointing out to me another path. I said to myself, “This monkey does
not bite me, so I had better go along the path which he points out, and see
what his object is.” Thereupon I set out with him along that path, and the
monkey kept going along in front of me, and turning round to look at me. And
after he had gone some distance, he climbed up jambu-tree, and I looked at the
upper part of the tree, which was covered with a dense network of creepers: and
I saw a female monkey there with her body fettered by a mass of creepers
twisted round her, and I understood that it was on this account that the monkey
had brought me there. Then I climbed up the tree, and cut with my axe the
creepers that had twisted round and entangled her, and set that female monkey
at liberty.
And
when I got down from the tree, the male and female monkey came down also and
embraced my feet. And the male monkey left that female clinging to my feet for
a moment, and went and fetched a heavenly fruit, and gave it to me. I took it
and returned home after I had got my fuel, and there I and my wife ate that
splendid fruit together, and as soon as we had eaten it, we ceased to be liable
to old age and disease.
Then
there arose in that country of ours the scourge of famine. And afflicted by
that calamity the people of that land fled in all directions. And I happened in
course of time to reach this country with my wife. And at that time there was a
king of the Śavaras here named Kánchanadanshṭra:
I entered his service with my sword. And as Kánchanadanshṭra
saw that I came to the front in several engagements, he appointed me general.
And as I had won the affections of that master of mine by my exclusive devotion
to him, when he died, having no son, he bestowed on me his kingdom. And
twenty-seven hundred years have passed over my head, since I have been in this
place, and yet, owing to eating that fruit, I do not suffer from old age.
When
Ekákikeśarin, the king of the Bhillas, had told in these words his own history,
he went on to ask a favour of the astonished monarch, saying, “By the fruit
given by the monkey I gained a long life, and by that long life I have again
obtained a perfect fruit, namely, the sight of your august self. So I entreat,
king, that the condescension towards me, which you have shown by coming to my
house, may be developed into gracious approval. I have, king, a daughter of
matchless beauty, born to me by a Kshatriyá wife, and her name is
Madanasundarí. That pearl of maidens ought not to fall to the lot of any one
but your Highness. Therefore I bestow her on you; marry her with due
ceremonies. And I, my sovereign, will follow you as your slave with twenty
thousand archers.”
When
the Bhilla chief addressed this petition to the king, he granted it. And in an
auspicious hour he married the daughter of that chief, who gave him a hundred
camels laden with pearls and musk. And after the king had remained there seven
days, he set out thence with Madanasundarí and the army of the Bhillas.
In
the meanwhile, after the king had been carried away by his horse, our army
remained despondent in the forest, where the hunting took place; but the warder
Bhadráyudha said to them, “Away with despondency! Even though our king has been
away for a long time, he is of divine power, and no serious misfortune will
happen to him. Do you not remember how he went to Pátála and married there the
daughter of a Nága, whose name was Surúpá, and came back here alone, and how
the hero went to the world of the Gandharvas, and returned here with Tárávalí
the daughter of the king of the Gandharvas?” With these words Bhadráyudha
consoled them all, and they remained at the entrance of the forest waiting for
the king.
And
while that Madanasundarí was advancing leisurely by an open path, accompanied
by the Śavara hosts, the king entered that forest on horseback, with myself and
the Vetála, in order to get a sight of the boar he had before seen: and when he
entered it, the boar rushed out in front of him, and the moment the king saw
it, he killed it with five arrows. When it was slain, the Vetála rushed to it,
and tore its belly open, and suddenly there issued from it a man of pleasing
appearance.
The
king, astonished, asked him who he was, and then there came there a wild
elephant, resembling a moving mountain. When the king saw that wild elephant
charging down on him, he smote it in a vital place and slew it with a single
arrow. The Vetála tore open its belly also, and there issued from it a man of
heavenly appearance, and a woman beautiful in all her limbs. And when the king
was about to question the man, who issued from the boar, he said to him,
“Listen, king; I am going to tell you my history.
“We
two, king, are two sons of gods: this one’s name is Bhadra, and I am Śubha. As
we were roaming about we observed the hermit Kanva engaged in meditation. We
assumed in sport the forms of an elephant and a boar, and having done so, we
terrified the great sage in our reckless folly, and he pronounced on us this
curse, ‘Become in this forest an elephant and boar such as you are now; but
when you shall be killed by king Vikramáditya, you shall be released from the
curse.’ So we became an elephant and a boar by the curse of the hermit, and we
have to-day been set free by you; as for this woman, let her tell her own
story. But touch this boar on the neck and this elephant on the back; and they
will become for you celestial sword and shield.”
When
he had said this, he disappeared with his companion, and the boar and elephant,
touched by the hand of the king, became for him a sword and a shield. Then the
woman, being questioned about her history, spoke as follows:
“I
am the wife of a great merchant in Ujjayiní named Dhanadatta. One night, as I
was sleeping on the top of a palace, this elephant came and swallowed me and
brought me here; however this man was not inside the elephant, but when its
belly was torn open, he came out of it with me.”
When
the woman said this in grief, the king said to her, “Be of good courage: I will
take you to your husband’s house: go and journey along in security with my
harem.” When he had said this, he made the Vetála take her and hand her over to
the queen Madanasundarí, who was travelling by a different path.
Then,
the Vetála having returned, we suddenly saw there in the wood two princesses,
with a numerous and splendid retinue. And the king sent me and summoned their
chamberlains, and they, when asked whence the two maidens came, told the following
story;
Story of the two princesses.
There
is a dvípa named Kaṭáha, the home of all
felicities. In it there is a king rightly named Guṇaságara.
He had born to him by his principal queen a daughter named Guṇavatí,
who by her beauty produced astonishment even in the Creator who made her. And
holy seers announced that she should have for a husband the lord of the seven
dvípas; whereupon her father the king deliberated with his counsellors; and
came to this conclusion, “King Vikramáditya is a suitable husband for my
daughter; so I will send her to marry him.”
Accordingly,
the king made his daughter embark in a ship on the sea, with her retinue and
wealth, and sent her off. But it so happened that when the ship came near Suvarṇadvípa,
it was swallowed, with the princess and the people on board, by a large fish.
But that monstrous fish was carried by the current of the sea as if by the
course of Destiny, and thrown up on a coast near that dvípa, and there
stranded. And the people of the neighbourhood, the moment they saw it, ran with
many weapons in their hands, and killed that marvellous fish, and cut open its
belly. And then there came out of it that great ship full of people; and when
the king of that dvípa heard of it, he came there greatly wondering. And that
king, whose name was Chandraśekhara, and who was the brother-in-law of king Guṇaságara,
heard the whole story from the people in the ship. Then the king, finding that
Guṇavatí
was the daughter of his sister, took her into his palace, and out of joy
celebrated a feast. And the next day that king put on board a ship in a lucky
moment his daughter Chandravatí, whom he had long intended to give to king
Vikramáditya, with that Guṇavatí, and
sent her off with much magnificence as a gift to that sovereign.
These
two princesses, having crossed the sea, by advancing gradually, have at length
arrived here; and we are their attendants. And when we reached this place, a
very large boar and a very large elephant rushed upon us; then, king, we
uttered this cry, “These maidens have come to offer themselves for wives to
king Vikramáditya: so preserve them for him, ye Guardians of the World, as is
meet.” When the boar and the elephant heard this, they said to us with
articulate speech, “Be of good courage! the mere mention of that king’s name
ensures your safety. And you shall see him arrive here in a moment.” When the
boar and the elephant, who were, no doubt, some heavenly beings or other, had
said this, they went away.
“This
is our story,” said the chamberlain, and then, queen, I said to them, “And this
is the king you seek.” Then they fell at the king’s feet rejoicing, and made
over to him those two princesses Guṇavatí
and Chandravatí. And the king gave orders to the Vetála and had those two fair
ones also taken to his queen, saying, “Let all three travel with
Madanasundarí.”
The
Vetála returned immediately, and then, queen, the king went with him and myself
by an out-of-the-way path. And as we were going along in the forest, the sun
set; and just at that time we heard there the sound of a drum. The king asked,
“Whence comes this sound of a drum?” The Vetála answered him, “King, there is a
temple here. It is a marvel of heavenly skill, having been built by
Viśvakarman; and this beating of the drum is to announce the commencement of
the evening spectacle.”
When
the Vetála had said this, he and the king and I went there out of curiosity,
and after we had tied up the horse, we entered. And we saw worshipped there a
great linga of tárkshyaratna and in front of it a spectacle with blazing
lights. And there danced there for a long time three nymphs of celestial
beauty, in four kinds of measures, accompanied with music and singing. And at
the end of the spectacle we beheld a wonder, for the dancing nymphs disappeared
in the figures carved on the pillars of the temple: and in the same way the
singers and players went into the figures of men painted on the walls. When the
king saw this, he was astonished, but the Vetála said to him, “Such is this
heavenly enchantment produced by Viśvakarman, lasting for ever, for this will
always take place at both twilights.”
When
he had said this, we wandered about in the temple, and saw in one place a
female figure on a pillar, of extraordinary beauty. When the king saw her, he
was bewildered by her beauty, and remained for a moment absent-minded and
motionless, so that he himself was like a figure cut on a pillar. And he
exclaimed, “If I do not see a living woman like this figure, of what profit to
me is my kingdom or my life?” When the Vetála heard this, he said, “Your wish
is not hard to gratify, for the king of Kalinga has a daughter named
Kalingasená, and a sculptor of Vardhamána seeing her, and being desirous of
representing her beauty, carved this figure in imitation of her. So return to
Ujjayiní, king, and ask that king of Kalinga for his daughter, or carry her off
by force.” This speech of the Vetála’s the king laid up in his heart.
Then
we spent that night there, and the next morning we set out, and we saw two
handsome men under an aśoka-tree, and then they rose up and bowed before the
king. Then the king said to them, “Who are you, and why are you in the forest?”
One of them answered, “Listen, king, I will tell you the whole story.”
Story of Dhanadatta.
I
am the son of a merchant in Ujjayiní, and my name is Dhanadatta. Once on a time
I went to sleep with my wife on the top of my palace. In the morning I woke up
and looked about me, and lo! my wife was not in the palace, nor in the garden
attached to it, nor anywhere about it. I said to myself, “She has not lost her
heart to another man; of that I am convinced by the fact that the garland which
she gave me, telling me that as long as she remained chaste, it would certainly
not fade, is still as fresh as ever. So I cannot think where she has gone,
whether she has been carried off by a demon or some other evil being, or what
has happened to her.” With these thoughts in my mind, I remained looking for
her, crying out, lamenting, and weeping; consumed by the fire of separation
from her; taking no food. Then my relations succeeded at last in consoling me
to a certain extent, and I took food, and I made my abode in a temple, and
remained there plunged in grief, feasting Bráhmans.
Once
when I was quite broken down, this Bráhman came to me there, and I refreshed
him with a bath and food, and after he had eaten, I asked him whence he came,
and he said, “I am from a village near Váráṇasí.”
My servants told him my cause of woe, and he said, “Why have you, like an
unenterprising man, allowed your spirits to sink? The energetic man obtains
even that which it is hard to attain; so rise up my friend, and let us look for
your wife; I will help you.”
I
said, “How are we to look for her, when we do not even know in what direction
she has gone?” When I said this, he answered me kindly, “Do not say this; did
not Keśaṭa
long ago recover his wife, when it seemed hopeless that he should ever be
reunited with her? Hear his story in proof of it.”
Story of Keśaṭa and Kandarpa.
There
lived in the city of Páṭaliputra a wealthy
young Bráhman, the son of a Bráhman; his name was Keśaṭa,
and he was in beauty like a second god of love. He wished to obtain a wife like
himself, and so he went forth secretly from his parents’ house, and wandered
through various lands on the pretext of visiting holy bathing-places. And in
the course of his wanderings he came once on a time to the bank of the Narmadá,
and he saw a numerous procession of bridegroom’s friends coming that way. And a
distinguished old Bráhman, belonging to that company, when he saw Keśaṭa
in the distance, left his companions, and coming up to him accosted him, and
respectfully said to him in private, “I have a certain favour to ask of you,
and it is one which you can easily do for me, but the benefit conferred on me
will be a very great one; so, if you will do it, I will proceed to say what it
is.” When Keśaṭa heard this, he said, “Noble
sir, if what you say is possible, I must certainly do it: let the benefit be
conferred on you.”
When
the Bráhman heard that, he said, “Listen, my good young man; I have a son, who
is the prince of ugly, as you are of good-looking, men. He has projecting
teeth, a flat nose, a black colour, squinting eyes, a big belly, crooked feet,
and ears like winnowing baskets. Though he is such, I, out of my love for him,
described him as handsome, and asked a Bráhman, named Ratnadatta, to give him
his daughter, named Rúpavatí, and he has agreed to do it. The girl is as
beautiful as her name expresses, and to-day they are to be married. For this
reason we have come, but I know that, when that purposed connexion of mine sees
my son, he will refuse to give him his daughter, and this attempt will be
fruitless. And while thinking how I could find some way out of the difficulty,
I have met you here, courteous sir; so quickly perform for me my desire, as you
have pledged your word to do. Come with us, and marry that maiden, and hand her
over to my son to-day, for you are as good-looking as the bride.”
When
Keśaṭa
heard this, he said, “Agreed,” and so the old Bráhman took Keśaṭa
with him, and they crossed the Narmadá in boats and landed on the opposite
bank. And so he reached the city, and rested outside it with his followers, and
at that time the sun also, the traveller of the sky, went to his rest on the
mountain of setting. Then the darkness began to diffuse itself abroad, and Keśaṭa,
having gone to rinse his mouth, saw a terrible Rákshasa rise up near the water;
and the Rákshasa said, “Where will you go from me, Keśaṭa?
I am about to devour you.” Thereupon Keśaṭa
said to the Rákshasa, “Do not devour me now; I will certainly come back to you
presently, when I have done the Bráhman the service I promised.” When the
Rákshasa heard this, he made Keśaṭa
take an oath to this effect, and then let him go; and he returned to the
company of the bridegroom’s friends.
Then
the old Bráhman brought Keśaṭa adorned
with the ornaments of a bridegroom, and entered that city with all the
bridegroom’s party. And then he made him enter the house of Ratnadatta, in
which an altar-platform was ready prepared, and which was made to resound with
the music of various instruments. And Keśaṭa
married there with all due ceremonies that fair-faced maiden Rúpavatí, to whom
her father gave great wealth. And the women there rejoiced, seeing that the
bride and bridegroom were well-matched; and not only Rúpavatí, when she saw
that such a bridegroom had arrived, but her friends also, fell in love with
him. But Keśaṭa at that time was overpowered
with despondency and astonishment.
And
at night Rúpavatí seeing that her husband, as he lay on the bed, was plunged in
thought, and kept his head turned away, pretended to be asleep. And in the dead
of night Keśaṭa, thinking that she was asleep,
went out to that Rákshasa to keep his promise. And that faithful wife Rúpavatí
also gently rose up unobserved, and followed her husband, full of curiosity.
And when Keśaṭa arrived where the Rákshasa
was, the latter said to him, “Bravo! you have kept your promise faithfully,
Keśaṭa;
you are a man of noble character. You sanctify your city of Páṭaliputra
and your father Deśaṭa by your virtue, so
approach, that I may devour you.” When Rúpavatí heard that, she came up quickly
and said, “Eat me, for, if my husband is eaten, what will become of me?” The
Rákshasa said, “You can live on alms.” She replied, “Who, noble sir, will give
alms to me who am a woman?” The Rákshasa said, “If any one refuses to give you
alms, when asked to do so, his head shall split in a hundred pieces.” Then she
said, “This being so, give me my husband by way of alms.” And, as the Rákshasa
would not give him, his head at once split asunder, and he died. Then Rúpavatí
returned to her bridal-chamber, with her husband, who was exceedingly astonished
at her virtue, and at that moment the night came to an end.
And
the next morning the bridegroom’s friends took food and set out from that city,
and reached the bank of the Narmadá with the newly married pair. Then the old
Bráhman, who was their leader, put the wife Rúpavatí with her attendants on
board one boat, and went on board a second himself, and cunningly made Keśaṭa
embark on a third, having previously made an agreement with the boatmen; and
before he went on board took from him all the ornaments he had lent him. Then
the Bráhman was ferried across with the wife and the bridegroom’s party, but
Keśaṭa
was kept out in the middle of the stream by the boatmen, and carried to a great
distance. Then those boatmen pushed the boat and Keśaṭa
into a place where the current ran full and strong, and swam ashore themselves,
having been bribed by the old Bráhman.
But
Keśaṭa
was carried with the boat, by the river which was lashed into waves by the
wind, into the sea, and at last a wave flung him up on the coast. There he
recovered strength and spirits, as he was not doomed to die just yet, and he
said to himself, “Well, that Bráhman has made me a fine recompense. But was not
the fact that he married his son by means of a substitute, in itself sufficient
proof that he was a fool and a scoundrel?”
While
he remained there, buried in such thoughts, the night came on him, when the
companies of air-flying witches begin to roam about. He remained sleepless
through it, and in the fourth watch he heard a noise in the sky, and saw a
handsome man fall from heaven in front of him. Keśaṭa
was terrified at first, but after some time he saw that he had nothing uncanny
about him, so he said to him, “Who are you, Sir?” Then the man said, “First
tell me who you are; and then I will tell you who I am.” Hearing that, Keśaṭa
told him his history. Then the man said, “My friend, you are exactly in the
same predicament as myself, so I will now tell you my history, listen.
“There
is on the bank of the river Veṇá a city
named Ratnapura; I am a Bráhman householder in that city, the son of a rich
man, and my name is Kandarpa. One evening I went down to the river Veṇá
to draw water, and I slipped and fell into it, and was carried away by the
current. The current carried me a long way during that night, and when the
morning came, as I was not doomed to die yet, it brought me to the foot of a
tree that grew on the bank. I climbed up the bank by the help of the tree, and
when I had recovered breath, I saw in front of me a great empty temple dedicated
to the Mothers. I entered it, and when I saw before me the Mothers flashing, as
it were, with brightness and power, my fear was allayed, and I bowed before
them, and praised them and addressed this prayer to them, ‘Venerable ones,
deliver me a miserable man; for I have to-day come here as a suppliant for your
protection.’ When I had uttered this prayer, being exhausted with my struggles
in the current of the river, I rested, my friend, till my fatigue gradually
disappeared, and the day disappeared also. And then there appeared the horrible
female ascetic called night, furnished with many stars by way of a
bone-necklace, white with moonlight instead of ashes, and carrying the moon for
a gleaming seull.
“And
then, I remember, a band of witches came out from the company of the Mothers,
and they said to one another, ‘To night we must go to the general assembly of
the witches in Chakrapura, and how can this Bráhman be kept safe in this place
which is full of wild beasts? So let us take him to some place where he will be
happy: and afterwards we will bring him back again; he has fled to us for
protection.’ When they had said this, they adorned me, and carrying me through
the air, placed me in the house of a rich Bráhman in a certain city, and went
away.
“And
when I looked about me there, lo! the altar was prepared for a marriage, and
the auspicious hour had arrived, but the procession of bridegroom’s friends was
nowhere to be seen. And all the people, seeing me in front of the door arrayed
in bridegroom’s garments of heavenly splendour, said, ‘Here is the bridegroom
at any rate arrived.’ Then the Bráhman of the house took me to the altar, and
led his daughter there adorned, and gave her to me with the usual ceremonies.
And the women said to one another, ‘Fortunate is it that the beauty of Sumanas
has borne fruit by winning her a bridegroom like herself!’ Then, having married
Sumanas, I slept with her in a palace, gratified by having every want supplied
in the most magnificent style.
“Then
those witches came back from their assembly in this last watch of the night,
and by their supernatural power carried me off, and flew up into the air with
me. And while they were flying through the air, they had a fight with another
set of witches, who came, wishing to carry me off, and they let me go and I
fell down here. And I do not know the city where I married that Sumanas; and I
cannot tell what will become of her now. This succession of misfortunes, which
Destiny has brought upon me, has now ended in happiness by my meeting with
you.”
When
Kandarpa had given this account of his adventure, Keśaṭa
said to him, “Do not be afraid, my friend; the witches will have no power over
you henceforth; since I possess a certain irresistible charm, which will keep
them at a distance: now let us roam about together: Destiny will bestow on us
good fortune.” And while they were engaged in this conversation, the night came
to an end.
In
the morning Keśaṭa and Kandarpa set
out from that place together, and crossing the sea, reached in due course a
city named Bhímapura near the river called Ratnanadí. There they heard a great
noise on the bank of that river, and when they went to the place whence it
came, they saw a fish that filled the channel of the stream from bank to bank.
It had been thrown up by the tide of the sea, and got fast in the river owing
to the vastness of its bulk, and men with various weapons in their hands were
cutting it up to procure flesh. And while they were cutting it open, there came
out of its belly a woman, and being beheld by the people with astonishment, she
came terrified to the bank.
Then
Kandarpa looked at her, and said exultingly to Keśaṭa,
“My friend, here is that very Sumanas, whom I married. But I do not know how
she came to be living in the belly of a fish. So let us remain here in silence,
until the whole matter is cleared up.” Keśaṭa
consented, and they remained there. And the people said to Sumanas, “Who are
you, and what is the meaning of this?” Then she said very reluctantly,
“I
am the daughter of a crest-jewel of Bráhmans, named Jayadatta, who lived in the
city of Ratnákara. My name is Sumanas, and one night I was married to a certain
handsome young Bráhman, who was a suitable match for me. That very night, my
husband went away somewhere, while I was asleep; and though my father made
diligent search for him, he could not find him anywhere. Then I threw myself
into the river to cool the fire of grief at separation from him, and I was
swallowed by this fish; and now Destiny has brought me here.”
While
she was saying this, a Bráhman named Yajnasvámin rushed out of the crowd, and
embraced her and said this to her, “Come, come with me, niece; you are the
daughter of my sister; for I am Yajnasvámin, your mother’s own brother.” When
Sumanas heard that, she uncovered her face and looked at him, and recognising
her uncle, she embraced his feet weeping. But after a moment she ceased
weeping, and said to him, “Do you give me fuel, for, as I am separated from my
husband, I have no other refuge but the fire.”
Her
uncle did all he could to dissuade her, but she would not abandon her
intention; and then Kandarpa, having thus seen her real feelings tested, came
up to her. When the wise Sumanas saw him near her, she recognised him, and fell
weeping at his feet. And when the discreet woman was questioned by the people,
and by that uncle of hers, she answered, “He is my husband.” Then all were
delighted, and Yajnasvámin took her husband Kandarpa to his house, together
with Keśaṭa. There they told their
adventures, and Yajnasvámin and his family lovingly waited on them with many
hospitable attentions.
After
some days had passed, Keśaṭa said to
Kandarpa, “You have gained all you want by recovering your longed-for wife; so
now go with her to Ratnapura your own city; but, as I have not attained the
object of my desire, I will not return to my own country: I, my friend, will
make a pilgrimage to all the holy bathing-places and so destroy my body.” When
Yajnasvámin, in Bhímapura, heard this, he said to Keśaṭa,
“Why do you utter this despondent speech? As long as people are alive, there is
nothing they cannot get: in proof of this hear the story of Kusumáyudha, which
I am about to tell you.”
Story of Kusumáyudha and Kamalalochaná.
There
was in a town named Chandrapura a Bráhman named Devasvámin: he had a very
beautiful daughter named Kamalalochaná. And he had a young Bráhman pupil named
Kusumáyudha; and that pupil and his daughter loved one another well.
One
day her father made up his mind to give her to another suitor, and at once that
maiden sent by her confidante the following message to Kusumáyudha, “Though I
have long ago fixed my heart on you for a husband, my father has promised to
give me to another, so devise a scheme for carrying me off hence.” So
Kusumáyudha made an arrangement to carry her off, and he placed outside her
house at night a servant with a mule for that purpose. So she quietly went out
and mounted the mule, but that servant did not take her to his master; he took
her somewhere else, to make her his own.
And
during the night he took Kamalalochaná a long distance, and they reached a
certain city by the morning, when that chaste woman said to the servant, “Where
is my husband your master? Why do you not take me to him?” When the cunning
rogue heard this, he said to her who was alone in a foreign country, “I am
going to marry you myself: never mind about him; how can you get to him now?”
When the discreet woman heard this, she said, “Indeed I love you very much.”
Then the rascal left her in the garden of the city, and went to the market to
buy the things required for a wedding. In the meanwhile that maiden fled, with
the mule, and entered the house of a certain old man who made garlands. She
told him her history, and he made her welcome, so she remained there. And the
wicked servant, not finding her in the garden, went away from it disappointed,
and returned to his master Kusumáyudha. And when his master questioned him, he
said, “The fact is, you are an upright man yourself, and you do not understand
the ways of deceitful women. No sooner did she come out and was seen, than I
was seized there by those other men, and the mule was taken away from me. By
good luck I managed to escape and have come here.” When Kusumáyudha heard this,
he remained silent, and plunged in thought.
One
day his father sent him to be married, and as he was going along, he reached
the city, where Kamalalochaná was. There he made the bridegroom’s followers encamp
in a neighbouring garden, and while he was roaming about alone, Kamalalochaná
saw him, and told the garland-maker in whose house she was living. He went and
told her intended husband what had taken place, and brought him to her. Then
the garland-maker collected the necessary things, and the long-desired marriage
between the youth and the maiden was immediately celebrated. Then Kusumáyudha
punished that wicked servant, and married in addition that second maiden, who
was the cause of his finding Kamalalochaná, and in order to marry whom he had
started from home, and he returned rejoicing to his own country with those two
wives.
“Thus
the fortunate are reunited in the most unexpected manner, and so you may be
certain, Keśaṭa, of regaining your beloved
soon in the same way.” When Yajnasvámin had said this, Kandarpa, Sumanas and
Keśaṭa,
remained for some days in his house, and then they set out for their own
country. But on the way they reached a great forest, and they were separated
from one another in the confusion produced by a charge of wild elephants. Of
the party Keśaṭa went on alone and grieved, and
in course of time reached the city of Káśí and found his friend Kandarpa there.
And he went with him to his own city Páṭaliputra,
and he remained there some time welcomed by his father. And there he told his
parents all his adventures, beginning with his marrying Rúpavatí, and ending
with the story of Kandarpa.
In
the meanwhile Sumanas fled, terrified at the elephants, and entered a thicket,
and while she was there, the sun set for her. And when night came on, she cried
out in her woe, “Alas, my husband! Alas, my father! Alas, my mother!” and
resolved to fling herself into a forest fire. And in the meanwhile that company
of witches, that were so full of pity for Kandarpa, having conquered the other
witches, reached their own temple. There they remembered Kandarpa, and finding
out by their supernatural knowledge that his wife had lost her way in a wood,
they deliberated as follows, “Kandarpa, being a resolute man, will unaided
obtain his desire; but his wife, being a young girl, and having lost her way in
the forest, will assuredly die. So let us take her and put her down in
Ratnapura, in order that she may live there in the house of Kandarpa’s father
with his other wife.” When the witches had come to this conclusion, they went
to that forest and comforted Sumanas there, and took her and left her in
Ratnapura.
When
the night had passed, Sumanas, wandering about in that city, heard the
following cry in the mouths of the people who were running hither and thither,
“Lo! the virtuous Anangavatí, the wife of the Bráhman Kandarpa, who, after her
husband had gone somewhere or other, lived a long time in hope of reunion with
him, not having recovered him, has now gone out in despair to enter the fire,
followed by her weeping father-in-law and mother-in-law.” When Sumanas heard
that, she went quickly to the place where the pyre had been made, and going up
to Anangavatí, said to her, in order to dissuade her, “Noble lady, do not act
rashly, for that husband of yours is alive.” Having said this, she told the
whole story from the beginning. And she shewed the jewelled ring that Kandarpa
gave her. Then all welcomed her, perceiving that her account was true. Then
Kandarpa’s father honoured that bride Sumanas and gladly lodged her in his
house with the delighted Anangavatí.
Then
Kandarpa left Páṭaliputra without
telling Keśaṭa, as he knew he would not like
it, in order to roam about in search of Sumanas. And after he had gone, Keśaṭa,
feeling unhappy without Rúpavatí, left his house without his parents’
knowledge, and went to roam about hither and thither. And Kandarpa, in the
course of his wanderings, happened to visit that very city, where Keśaṭa,
married Rúpavatí. And hearing a great noise of people, he asked what it meant,
and a certain man said to him, “Here is Rúpavatí preparing to die, as she
cannot find her husband Keśaṭa,; the
tumult is on that account; listen to the story connected with her.” Then that
man related the strange story of Rúpavatí’s marriage with Keśaṭa
and of her adventure with the Rákshasa, and then continued as follows:
“Then
that old Bráhman, having tricked Keśaṭa,
went on his way, taking with him Rúpavatí for his son: but nobody knew where
Keśaṭa
had gone after marrying her. And Rúpavatí, not seeing Keśaṭa
on the journey, said, ‘Why do I not see my husband here, though all the rest of
the party are travelling along with me?’ When the old Bráhman heard that, he
shewed her that son of his, and said to her, ‘My daughter, this son of mine is
your husband; behold him.’ Then Rúpavatí said in a rage to the old man there,
‘I will not have this ugly fellow for a husband; I will certainly die, if I
cannot get that husband, who married me yesterday.’
“Saying
this, she at once stopped eating and drinking; and the old Bráhman, through
fear of the king, had her taken back to her father’s house. There she told the
trick that the old Bráhman had played her, and her father, in great grief, said
to her, ‘How are we to discover, my daughter, who the man that married you,
is?’ Then Rúpavatí said, ‘My husband’s name is Keśaṭa,
and he is the son of a Bráhman named Deśaṭa
in Páṭaliputra;
for so much I heard from the mouth of a Rákshasa.’ When she had said this, she
told her father the whole story of her husband and the Rákshasa. Then her
father went and saw the Rákshasa lying dead, and so he believed his daughter’s
story, and was pleased with the virtue of that couple.
“He
consoled his daughter with hopes of reunion with her husband, and sent his son
to Keśaṭa’s
father in Páṭaliputra, to search for him. And
after some time they came back and said, ‘We saw the householder Deśaṭa
in Páṭaliputra.
But when we asked him where his son Keśaṭa
was, he answered us with tears, “My son Keśaṭa
is not here; he did return here, and a friend of his named Kandarpa came with
him; but he went away from here without telling me, pining for Rúpavatí”—When
we heard this speech of his, we came back here in due course.’
“When
those sent to search had brought back this report, Rúpavatí said to her father,
‘I shall never recover my husband, so I will enter the fire; how long, father,
can I live here without my husband?’ She went on saying this, and as her father
has not been able to dissuade her, she has come out to-day to perish in the
fire. And two maidens, friends of hers, have come out to die in the same way;
one is called Śṛingáravatí and the
other Anurágavatí. For long ago, at the marriage of Rúpavatí, they saw Keśaṭa
and made up their minds that they would have him for a husband, as their hearts
were captivated by his beauty. This is the meaning of the noise which the
people here are making.”
When
Kandarpa heard this from that man, he went to the pyre which had been heaped up
for those ladies. He made a sign to the people from a distance to cease their
tumult, and going up quickly, he said to Rúpavatí, who was worshipping the
fire; “Noble lady; desist from this rashness; that husband of yours Keśaṭa
is alive; he is my friend; know that I am Kandarpa.” When he had said this, he
told her all Keśaṭa’s adventures,
beginning with the circumstance of the old Bráhman’s treacherously making him
embark on the boat. Then Rúpavatí believed him, as his story tallied so
completely with what she knew, and she joyfully entered her father’s house with
those two friends. And her father kindly welcomed Kandarpa and took good care
of him; and so he remained there, to please him.
In
the meanwhile it happened that, as Keśaṭa
was roaming about, he reached Ratnapura and found there the house of Kandarpa,
in which his two wives were. And as he was wandering about near the house,
Sumanas, the wife of Kandarpa, saw him from the top of the house and said
delighted to her father-in-law and mother-in-law, and the other people in the house,
“Here now is Keśaṭa my husband’s
friend arrived; we may hear news of my husband from him; quickly invite him
in.” Then they went and on some pretext or other brought in Keśaṭa
as she advised, and when he saw Sumanas come towards him, he was delighted. And
after he had rested she questioned him, and he immediately told her his own and
Kandarpa’s adventures, after the scare produced by the wild elephants.
He
remained there some days, hospitably entertained, and then a messenger came
from Kandarpa with a letter. The messenger said, “Kandarpa and Rúpavatí are in
the town where Kandarpa’s friend Keśaṭa
married Rúpavatí;” and the contents of the letter were to the same effect; and
Keśaṭa
communicated the tidings with tears to the father of Kandarpa.
And
the next day Kandarpa’s father sent in high glee a messenger to bring his son,
and dismissed Keśaṭa, that he might
join his beloved. And Keśaṭa went with
that messenger, who brought the letter, to that country where Rúpavatí was
living in her father’s house. There, after a long absence, he greeted and
refreshed the delighted Rúpavatí, as the cloud does the chátakí. He met
Kandarpa once more, and he married at the instance of Rúpavatí her two
before-mentioned friends, Anurágavatí and Śṛingáravatí.
And then Keśaṭa went with Rúpavatí and them to
his own land, after taking leave of Kandarpa. And Kandarpa returned to
Ratnapura with the messenger, and was once more united to Sumanas and
Anangavatí and his relations. So Kandarpa regained his beloved Sumanas, and
Keśaṭa
his beloved Rúpavatí, and they lived enjoying the good things of this life,
each in his own country.
Thus
men of firm resolution, though separated by adverse destiny, are reunited with
their dear ones, despising even terrible sufferings, and taking no account of
their interminable duration. So rise up quickly my friend, let us go; you also
will find your wife, if you search for her; who knows the way of Destiny? I
myself regained my wife alive after she had died.
“Telling
me this tale my friend encouraged me; and himself accompanied me; and so
roaming about with him, I reached this land, and here I saw a mighty elephant
and a wild boar. And, (wonderful to say!) I saw that elephant bring my helpless
wife out of his mouth, and swallow her again; and I followed that elephant,
which appeared for a moment and then disappeared for a long time, and in my
search for it I have now, thanks to my merits, beheld your Majesty here.”
When
the young merchant had said this, Vikramáditya sent for his wife, whom he had
rescued by killing the elephant, and handed her over to him. And then the
couple, delighted at their marvellous reunion, recounted their adventures to
one another, and their mouths were loud in praise of the glorious king
Vishamaśíla.
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