Chapter
LXXI.
Then, as Mṛigánkadatta
was journeying to Ujjayiní, with Śrutadhi and Vimalabuddhi, to find
Śaśánkavatí, he reached the Narmadá which lay in his path. The fickle stream,
when she beheld him, shook her waves like twining arms, and gleamed white with
laughing foam, as if she were dancing and smiling because he had so fortunately
been reunited with his ministers. And when he had gone down into the bed of the
river to bathe, it happened that a king of the Śavaras, named Máyávaṭu, came
there for the same purpose. When he had bathed, three water-genii rose up at
the same time and seized the Bhilla, whose retinue fled in terror. When Mṛigánkadatta
saw that, he went into the water with his sword drawn, and killed those
water-genii, and delivered that king of the Bhillas. When the king of the
Bhillas was delivered from the danger of those monsters, he came up out of the
water and fell at the feet of the prince, and said to him,—“Who are you, that
Providence has brought here to save my life on the present occasion? Of what
virtuous father do you adorn the family? And what is that country favoured by
fortune to which you are going?” When he said this, Śrutadhi told him the
prince’s whole story from the beginning, and then the Śavara king shewed him
exceeding respect, and said to him; “Then I will be your ally in this
undertaking which you have in view, as you were directed by the god, and with
me will come my friend Durgapiśácha the king of Mátangas. So do me the favour,
my lord, of coming to my palace, since I am your slave.”
Thus he
entreated Mṛigánkadatta with various humble speeches, and then took him to his
own village. And there he entertained the prince fittingly with all the
luxuries he could command, and all the people of the village shewed him
respect. And the king of the Mátangas came and honoured him as the saviour of
his friend’s life, and placed his head on the ground to shew that he was his
slave. Then Mṛigánkadatta remained there some days, to please that Máyávaṭu,
the king of the Bhillas.
And one
day, while he was staying there, that king of the Śavaras began to gamble with
Chaṇḍaketu his own warder. And while he was playing, the clouds began to roar,
and the domestic peacocks lifted up their heads and began to dance, and king
Máyávaṭu rose up to look at them. Then the warder, who was an enthusiastic
gambler, said to his sovereign, “What is the use, my master, of looking at
these peacocks which are not skilled in dancing? I have a peacock in my house,
to which you would not find an equal in the world. I will show it you
to-morrow, if you take pleasure in such things.” When the king heard that, he
said to the warder, “You must certainly shew it to me,” and then he set about
the duties of the day. And Mṛigánkadatta, when he heard all that, rose up with
his companions, and performed his duties such as bathing and eating.
The
adventures of Mṛigánkadatta and the warder.
And when
the night came, and thick darkness was diffused over the face of things, the
prince went out alone and self-impelled from the chamber in which his
companions were sleeping, in search of adventures, with his body smeared with
musk, wearing dark-blue garments and with his sword in his hand. And as he was
roaming about, a certain man, who was coming along the road and did not see him
on account of the darkness, jostled against him, and struck his shoulder
against his. Then he rushed at him angrily and challenged him to fight. But the
person challenged, being a man not easily abashed, made an appropriate reply,
“Why are you perplexed by want of reflection? If you reflect, you will see that
you ought to blame the moon for not lighting up this night, or the Governor of
the world for not appointing that it should rule with full sway here, since in
such darkness causeless quarrels take place.”
Mṛigánkadatta
was pleased with this clever answer and he said to him, “You are right. Who are
you?” The man answered, “I am a thief.” Whereupon the prince said falsely,
“Give me your hand, you are of the same profession as myself.” And the prince
made an alliance with him, and went along with him out of curiosity, and at
last reached an old well covered with grass. And there the man entered a
tunnel, and Mṛigánkadatta went along it with him, and reached the harem of that
king Máyávaṭu. And when he got there, he recognized the man by the light of the
lamp, and lo! it was the warder Chaṇḍaketu, and not a robber. But the warder,
who was the secret paramour of the king’s wife, did not recognize the prince,
because he had other garments on than those he usually wore, and kept in a
corner where there was not much light.
But the
moment the warder arrived, the king’s wife, who was named Manjumatí, and was
desperately in love with him, rose up and threw her arms round his neck. And
she made him sit down on a sofa, and said to him, “Who is this man that you
have brought here to-day?” Then he said to her, “Make your mind easy, it is a
friend of mine.” But Manjumatí said excitedly, “How can I, ill-starred woman
that I am, feel at ease, now that this king has been saved by Mṛigánkadatta,
after entering the very jaws of death?” When the warder heard her say that, he
answered, “Do not grieve, my dear! I will soon kill the king and Mṛigánkadatta
too.” When he said this, she answered, as fate would have it, “Why do you
boast? When the king was seized that day by monsters in the water of the
Narmadá, Mṛigánkadatta alone was ready to rescue him; why did you not kill him
then? The fact is, you fled in fear. So be silent, lest some one hear this
speech of yours, and then you would certainly meet with calamity at the hands
of Mṛigánkadatta, who is a brave man.” When she said this, her paramour the
warder lost his temper with her. He said, “Wretched woman, you are certainly in
love with Mṛigánkadatta, so receive now from me the just recompense of that
taunt.” And he rose up to kill her, dagger in hand. Then a maid, who was her
confidante, ran and laid hold of the dagger with her hand and held it. In the
meanwhile Manjumatí escaped into another room. And the warder dragged the
dagger out of the maid’s hand, cutting her fingers in the process; and returned
home by the way which he came, somewhat confused, with Mṛigánkadatta, who was
much astonished.
Then Mṛigánkadatta,
who could not be recognized in the darkness, said to the warder, “You have
reached your own house, so I will leave you.” But the warder said to the
prince, “Sleep here to-night, without going further, for you are very tired.”
Then the prince consented, as he wished to learn something of his goings on;
and the warder called one of his servants and said to him, “Take this man to
the room where the peacock is, and let him rest there and give him a bed.” The
servant said—“I will do as you command,” and took the prince to the room and
placed a light in it, and gave him a bed. He then departed, fastening the outer
door with a chain, and Mṛigánkadatta saw the peacock there in a cage. He said
to himself, “This is the very peacock, that the warder was speaking of,” and
out of curiosity he opened its cage. And the peacock came out and, after
looking intently at Mṛigánkadatta, it fell down and rolled at his feet again
and again. And as it was rolling, the prince saw a string tied round its neck
and at once untied it, thinking that it gave the bird pain. The peacock, the
moment that the thread was loosed from its neck, became before his eyes his
minister Bhímaparákrama. Then Mṛigánkadatta embraced the affectionate minister,
who bowed before him, and in his astonishment said to him, “Tell me, friend,
what is the meaning of this?” Then Bhímaparákrama said to him in his delight,
“Listen, prince, I will tell you my story from the beginning.”
The
adventures of Bhímaparákrama after his separation from the prince.
When I was
separated from you by the curse of the Nága, I wandered about in the wood until
I reached a śalmali tree. And I saw an image representing Gaṇeśa carved in the
tree, which I worshipped, and then I sat down at the foot of the tree being
tired, and I said to myself, “All this mischief has been brought about by me,
by telling my master that time the incident of the Vetála which took place at
night. So I will abandon here this my sinful body.” In this frame of mind I
remained there, fasting, in front of the god. And after some days an old
traveller came that way, and sat in the shade of that tree. And the good man,
seeing me, questioned me with much persistence, saying, “Why do you remain in
this solitary place, my son, with such a downcast face?” Then I told him my
story, exactly as it took place, and the old traveller kindly said to me, to
encourage me; “Why, being a man, are you killing yourself like a woman?
Moreover, even women do not lose their courage in calamity; hear the following
tale in proof of it.”
Story of
Kamalákara and Hansávalí.
In the city
of Kośala there was a king, named Vimalákara, and he had a son named
Kamalákara, who was made by the Creator admirable in respect of the qualities
of courage, beauty and generosity, as if to outdo Skanda, Kandarpa, and the
wishing-tree of heaven. Then one day a bard, whom he had known before, came and
recited a certain stanza in the presence of that prince, who deserved to be
praised by bards in all the regions of the world. “Where can the row of swans
obtain satisfaction, until it reaches the lotus-bed, round which sings a host
of many noisy birds delighted at obtaining the lotus-flower?” When the bard,
named Manorathasiddhi, had frequently recited this stanza, prince Kamalákara
questioned him, and he said to him: “Prince, as I was roaming about, I reached
the city of king Meghamálin, named Vidiśá, the pleasure-ground of the goddess
of prosperity. There I was staying in the house of a professor of singing,
named Dardura, and one day he happened to say to me, ‘To-morrow the daughter of
the king, named Hansávalí, will exhibit in his presence her skill in dancing,
which she has lately been taught.’ When I heard that, I was filled with
curiosity, and managed to enter the king’s palace with him the following day,
and went into the dancing-hall. There I saw the slender-waisted princess Hansávalí
dancing before her father, to the music of a great tabor, looking like a
creeper of the tree of Love agitated by the wind of youth, shaking her
ornaments like flowers, curving her hand like a shoot. Then I thought, ‘There
is no one fitted to be the husband of this fawn-eyed one, except the prince
Kamalákara; so, if she, being such, is not joined to him, why has the god of
love taken the trouble of stringing his bow of flowers thus fruitlessly? So I
will adopt some expedient in this matter.’ Thus minded I went, after I had seen
the spectacle, to the door of the king’s court, and I put up a notice with this
inscription on it; ‘If there is any painter here, who is a match for me, let
him paint a picture.’ When no one else dared to tear it down, the king coming
to hear of it, appointed me to paint his daughter’s bower. Then I painted you
and your servants, prince Kamalákara, on the wall of the bower of that
Hansávalí.
“I thought
to myself, ‘If I declare the matter openly, she will know that I am scheming,
so I will let the princess know it by means of an artifice.’ So I persuaded a
handsome fellow, who was an intimate friend of mine, to come near the palace,
and pretend to be mad, and I arranged with him beforehand how he was to behave.
Now he was seen a long way off by the princes, as he was roaming about singing
and dancing, and they had him brought into their presence to make game of him.
Then Hansávalí saw him, and had him brought by way of a joke into her bower,
and, when he saw the picture of you, which I had painted there, he began to
praise you, saying, ‘I am fortunate in beholding this Kamalákara, who is, like
Vishṇu, an endless store of virtues, with his hand marked with the lotus and
conch, the object of the favour of the goddess of Fortune.’ When the princess
heard him singing such songs, as he danced, she said to me, ‘What does this
fellow mean? Who is it that you have painted here?’ When she asked me this
persistently, I said, ‘This mad fellow must have previously seen this prince,
whom I have painted here out of regard for his beauty.’ And then I told her
your name, and described to her your good qualities. Then the young tree of
passion grew up in the heart of Hansávalí, which was irrigated by the
overflowing streams of gushing love for you. Then the king her father came and
saw what was going on, and in wrath had the pretended madman, who was dancing,
and myself, both turned out of doors. After that she pined away day by day with
longing, and was reduced to such a state that, like a streak of the moon during
the wane, she had only her beauty left. And on the pretence of illness she went
to a temple of Vishṇu that dispels calamity, and so managed to live a solitary
life by the permission of her father. And being unable to sleep, owing to
thinking on you, she could not endure the cruel moonlight, and remained there
ignorant of the changes of day and night. Then she saw me one day from a
window, as I was entering there, and she summoned me, and honoured me
respectfully with dresses and ornaments. And then I went out, and saw this
stanza which I have repeated to you written on the border of a garment that she
had given me: hear it again; ‘Where can the row of swans obtain satisfaction,
until it reaches the lotus-bed, round which sings a host of many noisy birds
delighted at obtaining the lotus-flower.’ And when I read it, I knew for
certain how she felt towards you, and I came here to inform you and recited the
stanza in your presence, and here is the garment on which she wrote the
stanza.” When Kamalákara heard the speech of the bard, and saw the stanza, he
joyed exceedingly, thinking on Hansávalí, who had entered his heart, he knew
not whether by eye or ear.
Now it
happened that, while he was thinking with eager longing about the best means of
obtaining this princess, his father summoned him and said to him; “My son,
unenterprising kings perish like snakes arrested by a charm, and how can kings
rise up again when they have once perished? But you have been addicted to
pleasures, and up to the present time you have not been visited by any longing
for conquest; so arouse yourself, and fling off sloth; advance and conquer that
enemy of mine the king of Anga, who has left his own country on an enterprise
against me, and I will remain at home. When the brave Kamalákara heard this, he
agreed to undertake the enterprise, being desirous of marching towards the
country of his beloved. Then he set out with the forces which his father
assigned him, making the earth and the hearts of his enemies tremble. And he
reached in a few marches the army of the king of Anga, and when that prince
turned round to make a counter-attack, he fought with him. And the brave hero
drank up his army, as Agastya did the water of the sea, and being victorious,
captured the king alive. And he sent that enemy in chains to his father,
committing him to the care of the principal warder in accordance with a letter,
which he sent with him. But he commissioned the warder to give the following
message by word of mouth to the king, “I now leave this place, my father, to
conquer other enemies.” So he went on conquering other enemies, and with his
army augmented by their forces, he at last arrived in the vicinity of the city
of Vidiśá.
And
encamping there he sent an ambassador to Meghamálin the father of Hansávalí, to
ask for her in marriage. When that king learnt from the ambassador that he had
come, not as an enemy, but for the sake of his daughter, he paid a friendly
visit to him in person. The prince welcomed him; and Meghamálin, after he had
complimented the prince, said to him, “Why did you take the trouble of coming
in person about a business which might have been negotiated by an ambassador?
For I desire this marriage; hear the reason. Seeing that this Hansávalí was
even in her childhood devoted to the worship of Vishṇu, and that she had a
frame delicate as a śirísha, I became anxious about her, and kept saying to
myself, ‘Who will be a fitting husband for this girl.’ And, as I could not
think of a suitable husband for her, I was deprived of sleep by my anxiety
about the matter, and contracted a violent fever. And in order to allay it, I
worshipped and petitioned Vishṇu, and one night, when I was only able to sleep
a little on account of pain, Vishṇu said to me in a dream, ‘Let that Hansávalí,
on account of whom you have contracted this fever, touch you with her hand, my
son, then your fever will be allayed. For her hand is so holy from worshipping
me, that whenever she touches any one with it, his fever, even though
incurable, will certainly pass away. And you need have no more anxiety about
her marriage, since prince Kamalákara is destined to be her husband. But she
will endure some misery for a short time.’ When I had been thus instructed by
Vishṇu in a dream, I woke up at the end of the night. Then my fever was removed
by the touch of Hansávalí’s hand. And so the union of you two is appointed by
the god. Accordingly I bestow on you Hansávalí.” When he had said this, he had
an auspicious moment fixed for the marriage and returned to his capital.
There he
told all that he had done, and when Hansávalí had heard it, she said in secret
to her confidante, named Kanakamanjarí, “Go and see with your own eyes whether
that prince, to whom I am to be given, is the same as he, who, when painted
here by the artist, captivated my heart. For it is just possible that my father
may wish, out of fear, to bestow me as a gift on some prince of the same name,
that has come here with an army.” With these words she sent off Kanakamanjarí,
acting in accordance with her own will only.
And the
confidante, having assumed the complete disguise of an ascetic, with rosary of
Aksha beads, deer-skin, and matted hair, went to the camp of that prince, and
entered introduced by his attendants, and beheld him looking like the god that
presides over the weapon with which the god of love conquers the world. And her
heart was fascinated by his beauty, and she remained a moment looking as if she
were in profound meditation. And full of longing she said to herself, “If I am
not united with this charming prince, I shall have been born in vain. So I will
take the necessary steps to ensure that, whatever comes of it.” Then she went
up to him, and gave him her blessing, and bestowed on him a jewel, and he
received the gem politely and sat down; then she said to him, “This is an
excellent jewel of which I have often seen the properties tested. By holding it
in your hand you can render ineffectual the best weapon of your enemy. And I
give it you out of regard for your excellence, for it is not of so much use to
me, prince, as it is to you.” When she said this, the prince began to speak to
her, but she forbade him, on the ground that she had vowed an exclusive
devotion to the life of a beggar, and departed thence.
Then she
laid aside the dress of a female ascetic, and assumed a downcast expression of
face, and went into the presence of Hansávalí, and when questioned by her, made
the following false statement; “I must out of love for you reveal the king’s
secret, although it is a matter which ought to be concealed. When I went from
here to the camp of the prince dressed as a female ascetic, a man came up to me
of his own accord and said in a low voice, ‘Reverend madam, do you know the rites
for exorcising demons?’ When I heard that, I said to him, looking upon him as
the warder, ‘I know them very well. This is a trifling matter for me.’ Then I
was immediately introduced into the presence of that prince Kamalákara. And I
saw him crouching, possessed by a demon, having horns on his head, and his
attendants were trying to restrain him; besides he had herbs and a talismanic
jewel on him. I performed certain pretended ceremonies to avert evil, and went
out immediately, saying, ‘To-morrow I will come and take away his affliction.’
Accordingly, being exceedingly grieved with the sight of such an unexpected
calamity, I have come here to tell you; it is for you to decide what you will
do next.”
When the
unsuspecting Hansávalí heard this trumped-up tale of her maid’s, terrible as a
thunderstroke, she was distracted and said to her, “Out on the spite of
destiny! she brings trouble on her handiwork, even when full of excellences;
indeed the spot on the moon is a disgrace to him who created it. As for this
prince, I chose him as my husband, but I cannot see him, so it is best for me
to die or to retire into some forest. So tell me what I had better do in this
matter.” When the guileless lady said this, the treacherous Kanakamanjarí
answered, “Have some maid of yours, dressed in your clothes, married to him,
and we will escape to some place of refuge; for the people of the palace will
be all in a state of excitement at that time.” When the princess heard that,
she said to her wicked confidante, “Then do you put on my clothes, and marry
that prince; who else is as faithful to me as you?” The wicked Kanakamanjarí
answered, “Cheer up, I will manage to effect this by a stratagem, happen to me
what may. But when the time comes, you must do as I direct you.” When she had
consoled her with these words, she went and told an intimate friend of hers,
named Aśokakarí, her secret object. And with her she waited during three days
on the desponding Hansávalí, who agreed with them on the measures to he taken.
And when the
wedding-day came, the bridegroom Kamalákara arrived at night, with a train of
elephants, horses, and footmen. While all the people of the palace were
occupied with festal rejoicing, Kanakamanjarí, keeping by an artifice the other
maids out of the way, quickly took Hansávalí into her chamber, ostensibly for
the purpose of decking her, and put the princess’s dress on herself, and
clothed her in the dress of Aśokakarí, and put her own dress on her accomplice
Aśokakarí, and when night came, said to Hansávalí, “If you go out only the
distance of a cos from the western gate of this city, you will find an old
hollow Śalmali-tree. Go and hide inside it, and await my arrival. And after the
business is accomplished, I will certainly come there to you.” When Hansávalí
heard these words of her treacherous friend, she agreed, and went out from the
female apartments at night clad in her garments, and she passed out unperceived
by the western gate of the city, which was crowded with the bridegroom’s
attendants, and reached the foot of that Śalmali-tree. But when she saw that
the hollow of it was black with thick darkness, she was afraid to go into it,
so she climbed up a banyan-tree near it. There she remained hidden by the
leaves, watching for the arrival of her treacherous friend, for she did not see
through her villainy, being herself of a guileless nature.
In the
palace meanwhile, the auspicious moment having arrived, the king brought
Kanakamanjarí, who was dressed as Hansávalí, and placed her on the sacrificial
platform, and Kamalákara married that fair-hued maid, and on account of its
being night nobody detected her. And the moment the marriage was over, the
prince set out for his own camp at full speed by that same western gate of the
city, in order to gain the benefit of propitious constellations, and he took
with him the supposed Hansávalí, together with Aśokakarí, who was personating
Kanakamanjarí. And as he went along, he came near that Śalmali-tree, in the
banyan-tree near which was concealed Hansávalí, who had been so cruelly
deceived. And when he arrived there, the supposed Hansávalí, who was on the
back of the elephant, which the king had mounted, embraced him, as if she were
terrified. And he asked her eagerly the reason of that terror, whereupon she
artfully replied with gushing tears; “My husband, I remember that, last night,
in a dream, a woman like a Rákshasí rushed out from this tree, and seized me to
eat me. Then a certain Bráhman ran forward and delivered me, and after he had
consoled me, he said, ‘My daughter, you should have this tree burnt, and if
this woman should come out of it, she must be thrown back into it. So all will
turn out well.’ When the Bráhman had said this, he disappeared. And I woke up.
Now that I have seen this tree I remember it. That is why I am frightened.”
When she said this, Kamalákara immediately ordered his servants to burn the
tree and the woman too. So they burned the tree; and the pretended Hansávalí
thought that her mistress was burned in it, as she did not come out of it. Then
she was satisfied, and Kamalákara returned with her to the camp, thinking that
he had got the real Hansávalí. And the next morning he returned rapidly from
that place to his city of Kośala, and he was anointed king by his father, who
was pleased at his success. And after his father had gone to the forest, he
ruled the earth, having for his wife Kanakamanjarí the pretended Hansávalí. But
the bard Manorathasiddhi kept at a distance from the palace, because he feared
for his own safety in case she were to find out who he was.
But when
Hansávalí, who remained that night in the banyan-tree, heard and saw all that,
she perceived that she had been tricked. And she said to herself, as soon as
Kamalákara had departed; “Alas! my wicked confidante has robbed me of my lover
by treachery. Alas! she even desires to have me burned in order to ensure her
own peace of mind. But to whom is reliance upon treacherous people not a source
of calamity? So I will throw my unlucky self into the glowing ashes of the
Śalmali-tree, that was burnt for me, and so pay my debt to the tree.” After
these reflections she descended from the tree, determined to destroy herself,
but as fate would have it, she returned to her sober reason, and thought thus
within herself; “Why should I destroy myself without reason? If I live, I shall
soon be revenged on that betrayer of her friend. For when my father was seized
with that fever, Vishṇu appeared to him in a dream, and after saying that he
was to be healed by the touch of my hand, said this to him, ‘Hansávalí shall
obtain Kamalákara, who will be a suitable husband for her, but she shall endure
calamity for a short time.’ So I will go somewhere and wait a little.” When she
had formed this resolution, she set out for an uninhabited forest.
And after
she had gone a long distance, and was weary, and her steps began to falter, the
night disappeared, as if out of pity, in order to let her see her way. And the
heaven being, as it were, moved with compassion at beholding her, let fall a
flood of tears in the form of drops of dew. And the sun, the friend of the
virtuous, rose up so as to comfort her, by revealing to her both hopes and the
face of the country, and stretched out the fingers of his rays to wipe away her
tears. Then the princess, being a little consoled, went on slowly by by-paths,
avoiding the sight of men; and wounded by the spikes of kuśa grass, she at last
reached with difficulty a certain forest, full of birds which seemed to be
singing, “Come here, come here!” She entered the wood fatigued, and was, as it
were, courteously fanned by the trees with their creepers waving in the wind.
So she, full of longing for her beloved, beheld that wood in all the pomp of
spring, where the cuckoos cooed sweetly on fragrant mango-trees in full
blossom. And in her despondency she said to herself; “Although this breeze from
the Malaya mountain, red with the pollen of flowers, scorches me like a fire,
and these showers of flowers falling from the trees, while the bees hum, strike
me like showers of the arrows of Love, still I will remain here worshipping
with these flowers the husband of Ramá, and by so doing purge away my sin.”
Having formed this resolution, she remained bathing in tanks and living on
fruit, devoted to the worship of Vishṇu, in order to gain Kamalákara.
In the
meanwhile it happened that Kamalákara was seized with a chronic quartan fever.
Then the wicked Kanakamanjarí, who personated Hansávalí, was terrified, and
thought thus in her heart, “I have always one fear in my heart, lest Aśokakarí
should reveal my secret, and now a second has come on the top of it. For the
father of Hansávalí said to my husband, in the presence of a large number of
persons, that the touch of his daughter’s hand removed fever; and as soon as in
his present attack he shall call that to mind, I shall be exposed, as not
having that power, and ruined. So I will perform on his behalf with all due
rites an incantation for obtaining control over an imp of the fever-demon, who
has the power of removing fever, and who was mentioned to me long ago by a
certain witch. And I will by a stratagem kill this Aśokakarí, in front of the
imp, in order that the offering to him may be made with human flesh, and so he
may be enlisted in my service and bring about the desired result. So the king’s
fever will be cured and Aśokakarí removed at the same time, and both my fears
will be ended; I do not see any chance of a prosperous issue in any other way.”
Having
formed this resolution, she told Aśokakarí all the harmless points of her plan,
taking care to omit the necessity of slaying a human being. Then Aśokakarí
consented, and brought the necessary utensils, and Kanakamanjarí by an artifice
dismissed her attendants, and, accompanied by Aśokakarí only, went out from the
women’s apartments secretly at night by a postern-door, and sword in hand, made
for a deserted temple of Śiva in which there was one linga. There she killed
with the sword a goat, and anointed the linga with its blood, and made an
offering to it of its flesh, and threw the animal’s entrails round it by way of
a garland, and honoured it by placing on its summit the goat’s lotus-like
heart, and fumigated it with the smoke of its eyes, and lastly presented to it
the animal’s head by way of oblation. Then she smeared the front of the sacrificial
platform with blood and sandalwood, and painted on it with yellow paint a
lotus, having eight leaves, and on its pericarp she traced with crushed mango a
representation of the demon of fever, with three feet and three mouths, and
with a handful of ashes by way of weapon; and she represented on the leaves the
fever’s attendant imps in proper form, and summoned them with a spell which she
knew. And then she wished to make an offering to them, preparatory to bathing,
with human flesh, as I said before, so she said to Aśokakarí, “Now, my friend,
prostrate yourself flat on the earth before the god, for thus you will obtain
prosperous fortune.” Then she consented, and flung herself flat on the earth,
and the wicked Kanakamanjarí gave her a cut with the sword. As it happened, the
sword only wounded her slightly on the shoulder, and she rose up terrified, and
ran away, and seeing Kanakamanjarí pursuing her, she exclaimed again and again,
“Help, help!” And thereupon some policemen, who happened to be near, ran to her
assistance. When they saw Kanakamanjarí pursuing her, sword in hand, with a
ferocious expression of countenance, they thought she was a Rákshasí, and
slashed her with their swords till she was almost dead. But when they heard
from the lips of Aśokakarí the real state of the case, they took both the women
to the king’s court, with the governor of the town at their head. When king
Kamalákara heard their story, he had that wicked wife and her confidante
brought into his presence. And when they were brought, what with fear and the
severe pain of her wounds, Kanakamanjarí died on the spot.
Then the
king, in great despondency, said to Aśokakarí, who was wounded, “What is the
meaning of this? Tell me without fear.” Then Aśokakarí related from the very
beginning the history of the daring treachery accomplished by Kanakamanjarí.
Then king Kamalákara, having found out the truth, thus bewailed his lot on that
occasion, “Alas! I have been deceived by this supposed Hansávalí into burning
the real Hansávalí with my own hand, fool that I was! Well! this wicked woman
has met the just reward of her actions, in that, after becoming the wife of a
king, she has been thus put to death. But how came I to permit cruel Destiny to
deceive me with mere outward appearances, like a child, and so to rob me by
taking away my jewel and giving me glass instead. Moreover, I did not remember
that touch of the hand of Hansávalí, of which Vishṇu spoke to her father, which
has given evidence of its power to remove fever.” While Kamalákara was thus
lamenting, he suddenly recollected the words of Vishṇu and said to himself,
“Her father Meghamálin told me that Vishṇu said that she should obtain a
husband, but that she should suffer some little affliction, and that word of
the god, made known to men, will not have been spoken in vain. So it is quite
possible that she may have gone somewhere else, and be still alive, for who
knows the mysterious ways of a woman’s heart, any more than those of destiny?
So in this matter the bard Manorathasiddhi must once more be my refuge.”
Thus
reflecting, the king sent for that excellent bard, and said to him, “How is it,
my good friend, that you are never seen in the palace?” But how can those
obtain their wishes, who are deceived by rogues? When the bard heard that, he
said, “My excuse is that this Aśokakarí was well nigh slain, out of fear that
she would reveal the secret. But you must not be despondent about Hansávalí,
for Vishṇu revealed that she would suffer calamity for a short time. And he
certainly protects her, because she is ever intent on worshipping him; for
virtue prevails; has it not been seen in the present instance? So I will go,
king, to obtain tidings of her.” When the bard said this to the king, he
answered him, “I myself will go in search of her with you. For otherwise my
mind cannot be at rest even for a moment.”
When the
king had said this, he resolved on the course to be taken, and next day he
entrusted his kingdom to the care of his minister Prajnáḍhya. And though the
minister did all he could to dissuade him, the king left the town unobserved
with Manorathasiddhi. And he went round to many holy places, hermitages, and
forests in search of her, disregarding physical suffering, for weighty is the
command of Love. And it happened that he and Manorathasiddhi at last reached
the wood, where Hansávalí was performing austerities. There he saw her at the
foot of a red Aśoka-tree, thin and pale, but yet charming, like the last digit
of the gleaming moon. And he said to the bard; “Who is this silent and
motionless, engaged in meditation? Can she be a goddess, for her beauty is more
than human?” When the bard heard that, he looked and said, “You are fortunate,
my sovereign, in finding Hansávalí; for it is she herself that is standing
there.” When Hansávalí heard that, she looked at them, and recognising that
bard, she cried out with renewed grief; “Alas! my father, I am ruined! alas my
husband, Kamalákara! alas Manorathasiddhi! alas, Destiny, source of untoward
events!” Thus lamenting, she fell on the ground in a faint, and when Kamalákara
heard and saw her, he too fell on the earth overpowered with grief. Then they
were both brought round by Manorathasiddhi; and when they had recognised one
another for certain, they were much delighted, and, having crossed the ocean of
separation, they experienced indescribable joy, and they told one another in
due course all their adventures. Then Kamalákara returned with Hansávalí and
that bard to the city of Kośala. There he received in marriage her hand that
had the power of removing disease, after summoning her father the famous
Meghamálin. Then Kamalákara shone exceedingly bright, being united with
Hansávalí, both whose wings were pure. And having attained his object in life,
he lived happily with her whose endurance had borne fruit, ruling the earth,
inseparable from Manorathasiddhi.
“So you see
those who do not lose heart, even in calamity, obtain all they desire, and on
the same principle you should abstain from suicide, for, if you live, you will
be reunited to that lord.” With these words the old traveller closed his tale,
and after dissuading me from death, departed whither he would.
After
Bhímaparákrama had told all this to Mṛigánkadatta at night in the house of Chaṇḍaketu,
he went on to say:
Continuation
of the adventures of Bhímaparákrama.
So, having
received useful admonition, I left that forest and went to the city of
Ujjayiní, for which I knew you were making, to find you. When I did not find
you there, I entered the house of a certain woman to lodge, as I was worn out,
and gave her money for food. She gave me a bed, and being tired I slept for
some time, but then I woke up, and out of curiosity I remained quiet, and
watched her, and while I was watching, the woman took a handful of barley, and
sowed it all about inside the house, her lip trembling all the time with muttering
spells. Those grains of barley immediately sprang up, and produced ears, and
ripened, and she cut them down, and parched them, and ground them, and made
them into barley-meal. And she sprinkled the barley-meal with water, and put it
in a brass pot, and, after arranging her house as it was before, she went out
quickly to bathe.
Then, as I
saw that she was a witch, I took the liberty of rising up quickly; and taking
that meal out of the brass pot, I transferred it to the meal-bin, and I took as
much barley-meal out of the meal-bin, and placed it in the brass vessel, taking
care not to mix the two kinds. Then I went back again to bed, and the woman
came in, and roused me up, and gave me that meal from the brass pot to eat, and
she ate some herself, taking what she ate from the meal-bin, and so she ate the
charmed meal, not knowing that I had exchanged the two kinds. The moment she
had eaten that barley-meal, she became a she-goat; then I took her and sold her
by way of revenge to a butcher.
Then the
butcher’s wife came up to me and said angrily, “You have deceived this friend
of mine—you shall reap the fruit of this.” When I had been thus threatened by
her, I went secretly out of the town, and being weary I lay down under a
banyan-tree, and went to sleep. And while I was in that state, that wicked
witch, the butcher’s wife, came and fastened a thread on my neck. Then the
wicked woman departed, and immediately I woke up, and when I began to examine
myself, lo! I had turned into a peacock, though I still retained my
intelligence.
Then I
wandered about for some days much distressed, and one day I was caught alive by
a certain fowler. He brought me here and gave me to this Chaṇḍaketu, the
principal warder of the king of the Bhillas, by way of a complimentary present.
The warder, for his part, immediately made me over to his wife, and she put me
in this house as a pet bird. And to-day, my prince, you have been guided here
by fate, and have loosened the thread round my neck, and so I have recovered my
human shape.
“So let us
leave this place quickly, for this warder always murders next morning the
companions of his midnight rambles, for fear his secrets should be disclosed.
And to-day he has brought you here, after you have been a witness of his
nightly adventures, so fasten, my prince, on your neck this thread prepared by
the witch, and turn yourself into a peacock, and go out by this small window;
then I will stretch out my hand and loosen the thread from your neck, which you
must put up to me, and I will fasten it on my own neck and go out quickly in
the same way. Then you must loosen the thread round my neck, and we shall both
recover our former condition. But it is impossible to go out by the door which
is fastened from outside.”
When the
sagacious Bhímaparákrama had said this, Mṛigánkadatta agreed to his proposal
and so escaped from the house with him; and he returned to his lodging where
his other two friends were; there he and his friends all spent the night
pleasantly in describing to one another all their adventures.
And in the
morning Máyávaṭu, the Bhilla king, the head of that town, came to Mṛigánkadatta,
and after asking him whether he had spent the night pleasantly, he said to
amuse him, “Come, let us play dice.” Then Mṛigánkadatta’s friend Śrutadhi, observing
that the Bhilla had come with his warder, said to him, “Why should you play
dice? Have you forgotten? To-day we are to see the dance of the warder’s
peacock, which was talked about yesterday.” When the Śavara king heard that, he
remembered, and out of curiosity sent the warder to fetch the peacock. And the
warder remembered the wounds he had inflicted, and thought to himself, “Why did
I in my carelessness forget to put to death that thief, who witnessed my secret
nightly expedition, though I placed him in the peacock’s house? So I will go
quickly, and do both the businesses.” And thereupon he went quickly home.
But when he
reached his own palace and looked into the house where the peacock was, he
could not find either the thief or the peacock. Then terrified and despondent
he returned and said to his sovereign; “My lord, that peacock has been taken
away in the night by a thief.” Then Śrutadhi said smiling, “The man who took
away your peacock is renowned as a clever thief.” And when Máyávaṭu saw them all
smiling, and looking at one another, he asked with the utmost eagerness what it
all meant. Then Mṛigánkadatta told the Śavara king all his adventures with the
warder; how he met him in the night, and how the warder entered the queen’s
apartment as a paramour, and how he drew his knife in a quarrel; how he himself
went to the house of the warder, and how he set Bhímaparákrama free from his
peacock transformation, and how he escaped thence.
Then Máyávaṭu,
after hearing that, and seeing that the maid in the harem had a knife-wound in
the hand, and that when that thread was replaced for a moment on the neck of
Bhímaparákrama, he again became a peacock, put his warder to death at once as a
violator of his harem. But he spared the life of that unchaste queen, on the
intercession of Mṛigánkadatta, and renouncing her society, banished her to a
distance from his court. And Mṛigánkadatta, though eager to win Śaśánkavatí,
remained some more days in the Pulinda’s town, treated with great consideration
by him, looking for the arrival of the rest of his friends and his re-union
with them.
Literally,
“water-men.” Perhaps they were of the same race as Grendel the terrible nicor.
See also Veckenstedt’s Wendische Märchen, p.
and ff., Grimm’s Irische Märchen, p. cv, Kuhn’s Westfälische Märchen,
Vol. II, p. , Waldau’s Böhmische Märchen, p.
and ff., and the th and th Játakas. See also Grohmann’s account of the
“Wassermann,” Sagen aus Böhmen, p. .
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