The Katha Sarit Sagara or Ocean of the Streams of Story Part 2

Story of the chanter of the Sama Veda.

In another place a Brahman who had got eight gold mashas as a present, a chanter of the Sama Veda, received the following piece of advice from a man who was a bit of a roue, "You get enough to live upon by your position as a Brahman, so you ought now to employ this gold for the purpose of learning the way of the world in order that you may become a knowing fellow." The fool said "Who will teach me?" Thereupon the roue said to him, "This lady [84] named Chaturika, go to her house." The Brahman said, "What am I to do there"? The roue replied--"Give her gold, and in order to please her make use of some sama." [85] When he heard this, the chanter went quickly to the house of Chaturika; when he entered, the lady advanced to meet him and he took a seat. Then that Brahman gave her the gold and faltered out the request, "Teach me now for this fee the way of the world." Thereupon the people who were there began to t.i.tter, and he, after reflecting a little, putting his hands together in the shape of a cow's ear, so that they formed a kind of pipe, began, like a stupid idiot, to chant with a shrill sound the Sama Veda, so that all the roues in the house came together to see the fun; and they said "Whence has this jackal blundered in here? Come, let us quickly give him the half-moon [86] on his throat." Thereupon the Brahman supposing that the half-moon meant an arrow with a head of that shape, and afraid of having his head cut off, rushed out of the house, bellowing out, "I have learnt the way of the world;" then he went to the man who had sent him, and told him the whole story. He replied "when I told you to use sama, I meant coaxing and wheedling; what is the propriety of introducing the Veda in a matter of this kind? The fact is, I suppose, that stupidity is engrained in a man who muddles his head with the Vedas?" So he spoke, bursting with laughter all the while, and went off to the lady's house, and said to her, "Give back to that two-legged cow his gold-fodder." So she laughing gave back the money, and when the Brahman got it, he went back to his house as happy as if he had been born again.

Witnessing strange scenes of this kind at every step, I reached the palace of the king which was like the court of Indra. And then I entered it, with my pupils going before to herald my arrival, and saw the king Satavahana sitting in his hall of audience upon a jewelled throne, surrounded by his ministers, Sarvavarman and his colleagues, as Indra is by the G.o.ds. After I had blessed him and had taken a seat, and had been honoured by the king, Sarvavarman and the other ministers praised me in the following words, "This man, O king, is famous upon the earth as skilled in all lore, and therefore his name Gunadhya [87] is a true index of his nature." Satavahana hearing me praised in this style by his ministers, was pleased with me and immediately entertained me honourably, and appointed me to the office of Minister. Then I married a wife, and lived there comfortably, looking after the king's affairs and instructing my pupils.

Once, as I was roaming about at leisure on the banks of the G.o.davari out of curiosity, I beheld a garden called Devikriti, and seeing that it was an exceedingly pleasant garden, like an earthly Nandana, [88] I asked the gardener how it came there, and he said to me, "My lord, according to the story which we hear from old people, long ago there came here a certain Brahman who observed a vow of silence and abstained from food, he made this heavenly garden with a temple; then all the Brahmans a.s.sembled here out of curiosity, and that Brahman being persistently asked by them told his history. There is in this land a province called Vakakachchha on the banks of the Narmada, in that district I was born as a Brahman, and in former times no one gave me alms, as I was lazy as well as poor; then in a fit of annoyance I quitted my house being disgusted with life, and wandering round the holy places, I came to visit the shrine of Durga the dweller in the Vindhya hills, and having beheld that G.o.ddess, I reflected, 'People propitiate with animal offerings this giver of boons, but I will slay myself here, stupid beast that I am.' Having formed this resolve, I took in hand a sword to cut off my head. Immediately that G.o.ddess being propitious, herself said to me, 'Son, thou art perfected, do not slay thyself, remain near me;'

thus I obtained a boon from the G.o.ddess and attained divine nature; from that day forth my hunger and thirst disappeared; then once on a time, as I was remaining there, that G.o.ddess herself said to me, 'Go, my son, and plant in Pratishthana a glorious garden;' thus speaking, she gave me, with her own hands, heavenly seed; thereupon I came here and made this beautiful garden by means of her power; and this garden you must keep in good order. Having said this, he disappeared. In this way this garden was made by the G.o.ddess long ago, my lord." When I had heard from the gardener this signal manifestation of the favour of the G.o.ddess, I went home penetrated with wonder.

The story of Satavahana.

When Gunadhya had said this, Kanabhuti asked, "Why, my lord, was the king called Satavahana?" Then Gunadhya said, Listen, I will tell you the reason. There was a king of great power named Dvipikarni. He had a wife named Saktimati, whom he valued more than life, and once upon a time a snake bit her as she was sleeping in the garden. Thereupon she died, and that king thinking only of her, though he had no son, took a vow of perpetual chast.i.ty. Then once upon a time the G.o.d of the moony crest said to him in a dream--"While wandering in the forest thou shalt behold a boy mounted on a lion, take him and go home, he shall be thy son." Then the king woke up, and rejoiced remembering that dream, and one day in his pa.s.sion for the chase he went to a distant wood; there in the middle of the day that king beheld on the bank of a lotus-lake a boy splendid as the sun, riding on a lion; the lion desiring to drink water set down the boy, and then the king remembering his dream slew it with one arrow. The creature thereupon abandoned the form of a lion, and suddenly a.s.sumed the shape of a man; the king exclaimed, "Alas! what means this? tell me!" and then the man answered him--"O king, I am a Yaksha of the name of Sata, an attendant upon the G.o.d of wealth; long ago I beheld the daughter of a Ris.h.i.+ bathing in the Ganges; she too, when she beheld me, felt love arise in her breast, like myself: then I made her my wife by the Gandharva form of marriage; and her relatives, finding it out, in their anger cursed me and her, saying, "You two wicked ones, doing what is right in your own eyes, shall become lions." The hermit-folk appointed that her curse should end when she gave birth to offspring, and that mine should continue longer, until I was slain by thee with an arrow. So we became a pair of lions; she in course of time became pregnant, and then died after this boy was born, but I brought him up on the milk of other lionesses, and lo! to-day I am released from my curse having been smitten by thee with an arrow. Therefore receive this n.o.ble son which I give thee, for this thing was foretold long ago by those hermit-folk." Having said this that Guhyaka named Sata disappeared, [89] and the king taking the boy went home; and because he had ridden upon Sata he gave the boy the name of Satavahana, and in course of time he established him in his kingdom. Then, when that king Dvipikarni went to the forest, this Satavahana became sovereign of the whole earth.

Having said this in the middle of his tale in answer to Kanabhuti's question, the wise Gunadhya again called to mind and went on with the main thread of his narrative. Then once upon a time, in the spring festival that king Satavahana went to visit the garden made by the G.o.ddess, of which I spake before. He roamed there for a long time like Indra in the garden of Nandana, and descended into the water of the lake to amuse himself in company with his wives. There he sprinkled his beloved ones sportively with water flung by his hands, and was sprinkled by them in return like an elephant by its females. His wives with faces, the eyes of which were slightly reddened by the collyrium washed into them, and which were streaming with water, and with bodies the proportions of which were revealed by their clinging garments, pelted him vigorously; and as the wind strips the creepers in the forest of leaves and flowers, so he made his fair ones who fled into the adjoining shrubbery lose the marks on their foreheads [90] and their ornaments. Then one of his queens tardy with the weight of her b.r.e.a.s.t.s, with body tender as a sirisha flower, became exhausted with the amus.e.m.e.nt; she not being able to endure more, said to the king who was sprinkling her with water,--"do not pelt me with water-drops;"

on hearing that, the king quickly had some sweetmeats [91] brought; then the queen burst out laughing and said again--"king, what do we want with sweetmeats in the water? For I said to you, do not sprinkle me with water-drops. Do you not even understand the coalescence of the words ma and udaka, and do you not know that chapter of the grammar,--how can you be such a blockhead?" When the queen, who knew grammatical treatises, said this to him, and the attendants laughed, the king was at once overpowered with secret shame; he left off romping in the water and immediately entered his own palace unperceived, crest-fallen, and full of self-contempt. Then he remained lost in thought, bewildered, averse to food and other enjoyments, and, like a picture, even when asked a question, he answered nothing. Thinking that his only resource was to acquire learning or die, he flung himself down on a couch, and remained in an agony of grief. Then all the king's attendants, seeing that he had suddenly fallen into such a state, were utterly beside themselves to think what it could mean. Then I and Sarvavarman came at last to hear of the king's condition, and by that time the day was almost at an end. So perceiving that the king was still in an unsatisfactory condition, we immediately summoned a servant of the king named Rajahansa. And he, when asked by us about the state of the king's health, said this--"I never before in my life saw the king in such a state of depression: and the other queens told me with much indignation that he had been humiliated to-day by that superficial blue-stocking, the daughter of Vishnusakti." When Sarvavarman and I had heard this from the mouth of the king's servant, we fell into a state of despondency, and thus reflected in our dilemma; "If the king were afflicted with bodily disease, we might introduce the physicians, but if his disease is mental it is impossible to find the cause of it. For there is no enemy in his country the thorns of which are destroyed, and these subjects are attached to him; no dearth of any kind is to be seen; so how can this sudden melancholy of the king's have arisen?" After we had debated to this effect, the wise Sarvavarman said as follows--"I know the cause, this king is distressed by sorrow for his own ignorance, for he is always expressing a desire for culture, saying 'I am a blockhead;'

I long ago detected this desire of his, and we have heard that the occasion of the present fit is his having been humiliated by the queen." Thus we debated with one another and after we had pa.s.sed that night, in the morning we went to the private apartments of the sovereign. There, though strict orders had been given that no one was to enter, I managed to get in with difficulty, and after me Sarvavarman slipped in quickly. I then sat down near the king and asked him this question--"Why, O king, art thou without cause thus despondent?" Though he heard this, Satavahana nevertheless remained silent, and then Sarvavarman uttered this extraordinary speech, "King, thou didst long ago say to me, 'Make me a learned man.' Thinking upon that I employed last night a charm to produce a dream. [92] Then I saw in my dream a lotus fallen from heaven, and it was opened by some heavenly youth, and out of it came a divine woman in white garments, and immediately, O king, she entered thy mouth. When I had seen so much I woke up, and I think without doubt that the woman who visibly entered thy mouth was Sarasvati." As soon as Sarvavarman had in these terms described his dream, the king broke his silence and said to me with the utmost earnestness,--"In how short a time can a man, who is diligently taught, acquire learning? Tell me this. For without learning all this regal splendour has no charms for me. What is the use of rank and power to a blockhead? They are like ornaments on a log of wood." Then I said, "King, it is invariably the case that it takes men twelve years to learn grammar, the gate to all knowledge. But I, my sovereign, will teach it you in six years." When he heard that, Sarvavarman suddenly exclaimed in a fit of jealousy--"How can a man accustomed to enjoyment endure hards.h.i.+p for so long? So I will teach you grammar, my prince, in six months." When I heard this promise which it seemed impossible to make good, I said to him in a rage, "If you teach the king in six months, I renounce at once and for ever Sanskrit, Prakrit, and the vernacular dialect, these three languages which pa.s.s current among men;" [93] then Sarvavarman said--"And if I do not do this, I Sarvavarman, will carry your shoes on my head for twelve years." Having said this he went out; I too went home; and the king for his part was comforted, expecting that he would attain his object by means of one of us two. Now Sarvavarman being in a dilemma, seeing that his promise was one very difficult to perform, and regretting what he had done, told the whole story to his wife, and she grieved to hear it said to him, "My lord, in this difficulty there is no way of escape for you except the favour of the Lord Kartikeya." [94] "It is so," said Sarvavarman and determined to implore it. Accordingly in the last watch of the night, Sarvavarman set out fasting for the shrine of the G.o.d. Now I came to hear of it by means of my secret emissaries, and in the morning I told the king of it; and he, when he heard it, wondered what would happen. Then a trusty Rajput called Sinhagupta said to him, "When I heard, O king, that thou wast afflicted I was seized with great despondency. Then I went out of this city, and was preparing to cut off my own head before the G.o.ddess Durga in order to ensure thy happiness. Then a voice from heaven forbade me, saying, 'Do not so, the king's wish shall be fulfilled.' Therefore, I believe, thou art sure of success." When he had said this, that Sinhagupta took leave of the king, and rapidly despatched two emissaries after Sarvavarman; who feeding only on air, observing a vow of silence, steadfast in resolution, reached at last the shrine of the Lord Kartikeya. There, pleased with his penance that spared not the body, Kartikeya favoured him according to his desire; then the two spies sent by Sinhagupta came into the king's presence and reported the minister's success. On hearing that news the king was delighted and I was despondent, as the chataka joys, and the swan grieves, on seeing the cloud. [95] Then Sarvavarman arrived successful by the favour of Kartikeya, and communicated to the king all the sciences, which presented themselves to him on his thinking of them. And immediately they were revealed to the king Satavahana. For what cannot the grace of the Supreme Lord accomplish? Then the kingdom rejoiced on hearing that the king had thus obtained all knowledge, and there was high festival kept throughout it; and that moment banners were flaunted from every house, and being fanned by the wind, seemed to dance. Then Sarvavarman was honoured with abundance of jewels fit for a king by the sovereign, who bowed humbly before him, calling him his spiritual preceptor, and he was made governor of the territory called Vakakachchha, which lies along the bank of the Narmada. The king being highly pleased with that Rajput Sinhagupta, who first heard by the mouth of his spies, that the boon had been obtained from the six-faced G.o.d, [96] made him equal to himself in splendour and power. And that queen too, the daughter of Vishnusakti, who was the cause of his acquiring learning, he exalted at one bound above all the queens, through affection anointing [97]

her with his own hand.

CHAPTER VII.

Then, having taken a vow of silence, I came into the presence of the sovereign, and there a certain Brahman recited a sloka he had composed, and the king himself addressed him correctly in the Sanskrit language; and the people who were present in court were delighted when they witnessed that. Then the king said deferentially to Sarvavarman--"Tell me thyself after what fas.h.i.+on the G.o.d shewed thee favour." Hearing that, Sarvavarman proceeded to relate to the king the whole story of Kartikeya's favourable acceptance of him.

"I went, O king, on that occasion fasting and silent from this place, so when the journey came to an end, being very despondent, and emaciated with my severe austerities, worn out I fell senseless on the ground. Then, I remember, a man with a spear in his hand came and said to me in distinct accents, 'Rise up, my son, everything shall turn out favourably for thee.' By that speech I was, as it were, immediately bedewed with a shower of nectar, and I woke up, and seemed free from hunger and thirst and in good ease. Then I approached the neighbourhood of the G.o.d's temple, overpowered with the weight of my devotion, and after bathing I entered the inner shrine of the G.o.d in a state of agitated suspense. Then that Lord Skanda [98] gave me a sight of himself within, and thereupon Sarasvati in visible shape entered my mouth. So that holy G.o.d, manifested before me, recited the sutra beginning 'the traditional doctrine of letters.' On hearing that, I, with the levity which is so natural to mankind, guessed the next sutra and uttered it myself. Then that G.o.d said to me, 'if thou hadst not uttered it thyself, this grammatical treatise would have supplanted that of Panini. As it is, on account of its conciseness, it shall be called Katantra, and Kalapaka, from the tail (kalapa) of the peac.o.c.k on which I ride.' Having said this, that G.o.d himself in visible form revealed to me that new and short grammar, [99] and then added this besides; 'That king of thine in a former birth was himself a holy sage, a pupil of the hermit Bharadvaja, named Krishna, great in austerity: and he, having beheld a hermit's daughter who loved him in return, suddenly felt the smart of the wound which the shaft of the flowery-arrowed G.o.d inflicts. So, having been cursed by the hermits, he has now become incarnate here, and that hermit's daughter has become incarnate as his queen.

So this king Satavahana, being an incarnation of a holy sage, [100]

when he beholds thee, will attain a knowledge of all the sciences according to thy wish. For the highest matters are easily acquired by great-souled ones, having been learnt in a former birth, the real truth of them being recalled by their powerful memories.' [101] When the G.o.d had said this, he disappeared, and I went out, and there grains of rice were presented me by the G.o.d's servants. Then I proceeded to return, O king, and wonderful to say, though I consumed those grains on my journey day after day, they remained as numerous as ever." When he had related his adventure, Sarvavarman ceased speaking, and king Satavahana in cheerful mood rose up and went to bathe.

Then I, being excluded from business by my vow of silence, took leave, with a low bow only, of that king who was very averse to part with me, and went out of that town, accompanied by only two disciples, and, with my mind bent on the performance of austerities, came to visit the shrine of the dweller in the Vindhya hills, and having been directed by the G.o.ddess in a dream to visit thee, I entered for that purpose this terrible Vindhya forest. A hint given by a Pulinda enabled me to find a caravan, and so somehow or other, by the special favour of destiny, I managed to arrive here, and beheld this host of Pisachas, and by hearing from a distance their conversation with one another, I have contrived to learn this Paisacha language, which has enabled me to break my vow of silence; I then made use of it to ask after you, and, hearing that you had gone to Ujjayini, I waited here until your return; on beholding you I welcomed you in the fourth language, (the speech of the Pisachas), and then I called to mind my origin; this is the story of my adventures in this birth.

When Gunadhya had said this, Kanabhuti said to him,--"hear, how your arrival was made known to me last night. I have a friend, a Rakshasa of the name of Bhutivarman, who possesses heavenly insight; and I went to a garden in Ujjayini, where he resides. On my asking him when my own curse would come to an end, he said, we have no power in the day, wait, and I will tell you at night. I consented and when night came on, I asked him earnestly the reason why goblins [102] delighted in disporting themselves then, as they were doing. Then Bhutivarman said to me, 'Listen, I will relate what I heard Siva say in a conversation with Brahma. Rakshasas, Yakshas, and Pisachas have no power in the day, being dazed with the brightness of the sun, therefore they delight in the night. And where the G.o.ds are not wors.h.i.+pped, and the Brahmans, in due form, and where men eat contrary to the holy law, there also they have power. Where there is a man who abstains from flesh, or a virtuous woman, there they do not go. They never attack chaste men, heroes, and men awake.' [103] When he said this on that occasion Bhutivarman continued, 'Go, for Gunadhya has arrived, the destined means of thy release from the curse.' So hearing this, I have come, and I have seen thee, my lord; now I will relate to thee that tale which Pushpadanta told; but I feel curiosity on one point; tell me why he was called Pushpadanta and thou Malyavan."

Story of Pushpadanta.

Hearing this question from Kanabhuti, Gunadhya said to him. On the bank of the Ganges there is a district granted to Brahmans by royal charter, named Bahusuvarnaka, and there lived there a very learned Brahman named Govindadatta, and he had a wife Agnidatta who was devoted to her husband. In course of time that Brahman had five sons by her. And they, being handsome but stupid, grew up insolent fellows. Then a guest came to the house of Govindadatta, a Brahman Vaisvanara by name, like a second G.o.d of fire. [104] As Govindadatta was away from home when he arrived, he came and saluted his sons, and they only responded to his salute with a laugh; then that Brahman in a rage prepared to depart from his house. While he was in this state of wrath Govindadatta came, and asked the cause, and did his best to appease him, but the excellent Brahman nevertheless spoke as follows--"Your sons have become outcasts, as being blockheads, and you have lost caste by a.s.sociating with them, therefore I will not eat in your house; if I did so, I should not be able to purify myself by any expiatory ceremony." Then Govindadatta said to him with an oath, "I will never even touch these wicked sons of mine." His hospitable wife also came and said the same to her guest; then Vaisvanara was with difficulty induced to accept their hospitality. One of Govindadatta's sons, named Devadatta, when he saw that, was grieved at his father's sternness, and thinking a life of no value which was thus branded by his parents, went in a state of despondency to the hermitage of Badarika to perform penance; there he first ate leaves, and afterwards he fed only on smoke, persevering in a long course of austerities in order to propitiate the husband of Uma [105]. So Sambhu, won over by his severe austerities, manifested himself to him, and he craved a boon from the G.o.d, that he might ever attend upon him. Sambhu thus commanded him--"Acquire learning, and enjoy pleasures on the earth, and after that thou shalt attain all thy desire." Then he, eager for learning, went to the city of Pataliputra, and according to custom waited on an instructor named Vedak.u.mbha. When he was there, the wife of his preceptor distracted by pa.s.sion, which had arisen in her heart, made violent love to him; alas! the fancies of women are ever inconstant! Accordingly Devadatta left that place, as his studies had been thus interfered with by the G.o.d of love, and went to Pratishthana with unwearied zeal. There he repaired to an old preceptor named Mantrasvamin, with an old wife, and acquired a perfect knowledge of the sciences. And after he had acquired learning, the daughter of the king Susarman, Sri by name, cast eyes upon the handsome youth, as the G.o.ddess Sri upon Vishnu. He also beheld that maiden at a window, looking like the presiding G.o.ddess of the moon, roaming through the air in a magic chariot. Those two were, as it were, fastened together by that look which was the chain of love, and were unable to separate. The king's daughter made him a sign to come near with one finger, looking like Love's command in fleshly form. Then he came near her, and she came out of the women's apartments, and took with her teeth a flower and threw it down to him. He, not understanding this mysterious sign made by the princess, puzzled as to what he ought to do, went home to his preceptor. There he rolled on the ground unable to utter a word, being consumed within with burning pain, like one dumb and distracted; his wise preceptor guessing what was the matter by these love-symptoms, artfully questioned him, and at last he was with difficulty persuaded to tell the whole story. Then the clever preceptor guessed the riddle, and said to him, [106] "By letting drop a flower with her tooth she made a sign to you, that you were to go to this temple rich in flowers called Pushpadanta, and wait there: so you had better go now." When he heard this and knew the meaning of the sign, the youth forgot his grief. Then he went into that temple and remained there. The princess on her part also went there, giving as an excuse that it was the eighth day of the month, and then entered the inner shrine in order to present herself alone before the G.o.d; then she touched her lover who was behind the panel of the door, and he suddenly springing up threw his arms round her neck. She exclaimed, "this is strange; how did you guess the meaning of that sign of mine?" He replied, "it was my preceptor that found it out, not I." Then the princess flew into a pa.s.sion and said, "Let me go, you are a dolt," and immediately rushed out of the temple, fearing that her secret would be discovered. Devadatta on his part went away, and thinking in solitude on his beloved, who was no sooner seen than lost to his eyes, was in such a state that the taper of his life was well nigh melted away in the fire of bereavement. Siva, who had been before propitiated by him, commanded an attendant of his, of the name of Panchasikha, to procure for him the desire of his heart. That excellent Gana thereupon came, and consoled him, and caused him to a.s.sume the dress of a woman, and he himself wore the semblance of an aged Brahman. Then that worthy Gana went with him to king Susarman the father of that bright-eyed one, and said to him; "My son has been sent away somewhere, I go to seek him: accordingly I deposit with thee this daughter-in-law of mine, keep her safely, O king." Hearing that, king Susarman afraid of a Brahman's curse, took the young man and placed him in his daughter's guarded seraglio, supposing him to be a woman. Then after the departure of Panchasikha, the Brahman dwelt in woman's clothes in the seraglio of his beloved, and became her trusted confidante. Once on a time the princess was full of regretful longing at night, so he discovered himself to her and secretly married her by the Gandharva form of marriage. And when she became pregnant, that excellent Gana came on his thinking of him only, and carried him away at night without its being perceived. Then he quickly rent off from the young man his woman's dress, and in the morning Panchasikha resumed the semblance of a Brahman; and going with the young man to the king Susarman he said; "O king, I have this day found my son: so give me back my daughter-in-law." Then the king, supposing that she had fled somewhere at night, alarmed at the prospect of being cursed by the Brahman, said this to his ministers. "This is no Brahman, this is some G.o.d come to deceive me, for such things often happen in this world.

Story of king Sivi.

So in former times there was a king named Sivi, self-denying, compa.s.sionate, generous, resolute, the protector of all creatures; and in order to beguile him Indra a.s.sumed the shape of a hawk, and swiftly pursued Dharma, [107] who by magic had transformed himself into a dove. The dove in terror went and took refuge in the bosom of Sivi. Then the hawk addressed the king with a human voice; 'O king, this is my natural food, surrender the dove to me, for I am hungry. Know that my death will immediately follow if you refuse my prayer; in that case where will be your righteousness?' Then Sivi said to the G.o.d,--'this creature has fled to me for protection, and I cannot abandon it, therefore I will give you an equal weight of some other kind of flesh.' The hawk said, 'if this be so, then give me your own flesh.' The king, delighted, consented to do so. But as fast as he cut off his flesh and threw it on the scale, the dove seemed to weigh more and more in the balance. Then the king threw his whole body on to the scale, and thereupon a celestial voice was heard, 'Well done! this is equal in weight to the dove.' Then Indra and Dharma abandoned the form of hawk and dove, and being highly pleased restored the body of king Sivi whole as before, and, after bestowing on him many other blessings, they both disappeared. In the same way this Brahman is some G.o.d that has come to prove me." [108]

Having said this to his ministers, that king Susarman of his own motion said to that excellent Gana that had a.s.sumed the form of a Brahman, prostrating himself before him in fear, "Spare me; that daughter-in-law of thine was carried off last night. She has been taken somewhere or other by magic arts, though guarded night and day." Then the Gana, who had a.s.sumed the Brahman's semblance, pretending to be with difficulty won over to pity him, said, "If this be so, king, give thy daughter in marriage to my son." When he heard this, the king afraid of being cursed, gave his own daughter to Devadatta: then Panchasikha departed. Then Devadatta having recovered his beloved, and that in an open manner, flourished in the power and splendour of his father-in-law who had no son but him. And in course of time Susarman anointed the son of his daughter by Devadatta, Mahidhara by name, as successor in his room, and retired to the forest. Then having seen the prosperity of his son, Devadatta considered that he had attained all his objects, and he too with the princess retired to the forest. There he again propitiated Siva, and having laid aside his mortal body, by the special favour of the G.o.d he attained the position of a Gana. Because he did not understand the sign given by the flower dropped from the tooth of his beloved, therefore he became known by the name of Pushpadanta in the a.s.sembly of the Ganas. And his wife became a door-keeper in the house of the G.o.ddess, under the name of Jaya: this is how he came to be called Pushpadanta: now hear the origin of my name.

Long ago I was a son of that same Brahman called Govindadatta the father of Devadatta, and my name was Somadatta. I left my home indignant for the same reason as Devadatta, and I performed austerities on the Himalaya continually striving to propitiate Siva with offerings of many garlands. The G.o.d of the moony crest, being pleased, revealed himself to me in the same way as he did to my brother, and I chose the privilege of attending upon him as a Gana, not being desirous of lower pleasures. The husband of the daughter of the mountain, that mighty G.o.d, thus addressed me; "Because I have been wors.h.i.+pped by thee with garlands of flowers growing in trackless forest-regions, brought with thy own hand, therefore thou shalt be one of my Ganas, and shalt bear the name of Malyavan." Then I cast off my mortal frame, and immediately attained the holy state of an attendant on the G.o.d. And so my name of Malyavan was bestowed upon me by him who wears the burden of the matted locks, [109] as a mark of his special favour. And I, that very Malyavan, have once more, O Kanabhuti, been degraded to the state of a mortal, as thou seest, owing to the curse of the daughter of the mountain, therefore do thou now tell me the tale told by Siva, in order that the state of curse of both of us may cease.

NOTE TO CHAPTER VII.

"Rakshasas, Yakshas, and Pisachas have no power in the day, being dazed with the brightness of the sun therefore they delight in the night."

Farmer commenting on Hamlet, Act I, Sc. I, 150, quotes the following lines of Prudentius Ad Gallicinium. Ferunt vagantes daemonas, Laetos tenebris noctium, Gallo canente exterritos, Sparsim timere et cedere. Hoc esse signum praescii Norunt repromissae spei, Qua nos soporis liberi Speramus adventum Dei. Douce quotes from another hymn said to have been composed by Saint Ambrose and formerly used in the Salisbury service. Praeco dici jam sonat, Noctis profundae pervigil; Nocturna lux viantibus, A nocte noctem segregans. Hoc excitatus Lucifer Solvit polum caligine; Hoc omnis errorum cohors Viam nocendi deserit. Gallo canente spes redit &c.

See also Grossler's Sagen der Grafschaft Mansfeld, pp. 58 and 59; the Pentamerone of Basile, translated by Liebrecht, Vol. I, p. 251; Dasent's Norse Tales, p. 347, "The Troll turned round, and, of course, as soon as he saw the sun, he burst;" Grimm's Irische Marchen, p. x; Kuhn's Westfalische Marchen, p. 63; Schoppner's Sagenbuch der Bayerischen Lande, Vol. I, pp. 123, and 228; and Bernhard Schmidt's Griechische Marchen, p. 138. He quotes the following interesting pa.s.sage from the Philopseudes of Lucian, Synen achri de alektryonon ekousamen adonton tote de he te Selene aneptato eis ton ouranon kai he Hekate edy kata tes ges, kai ta alla phasmata ephanisthe, &c.

CHAPTER VIII.

In accordance with this request of Gunadhya that heavenly tale consisting of seven stories was told by Kanabhuti in his own language, and Gunadhya for his part using the same Paisacha language threw them into seven hundred thousand couplets in seven years; and that great poet, for fear that the Vidyadharas should steal his composition, wrote it with his own blood in the forest, not possessing ink. And so the Vidyadharas, Siddhas and other demiG.o.ds came to hear it, and the heaven above where Kanabhuti was reciting, was, as it were, continually covered with a canopy. And Kanabhuti, when he had seen that great tale composed by Gunadhya, was released from his curse and went to his own place. There were also other Pisachas that accompanied him in his wanderings: they too all of them attained heaven, having heard that heavenly tale. Then that great poet Gunadhya began to reflect, "I must make this Great Tale [110] of mine current on the earth, for that is the condition that the G.o.ddess mentioned when she revealed how my curse would end. Then how shall I make it current? To whom shall I give it?" Then his two disciples that had followed him, one of whom was called Gunadeva, and the other Nandideva said to him, "The glorious Satavahana alone is a fit person to give this poem to, for being a man of taste he will diffuse the poem far and wide, as the wind diffuses the perfume of the flower." "So be it," said Gunadhya, and gave the book to those two accomplished disciples and sent them to that king with it; and went himself to that same Pratishthana, but remained outside the city in the garden planted by the G.o.ddess, where he arranged that they should meet him. And his disciples went and showed the poem to king Satavahana, telling him at the same time that it was the work of Gunadhya. When he heard that Paisacha language and saw that they had the appearance of Pisachas, that king, led astray by pride of learning, said with a sneer, "The seven hundred thousand couplets are a weighty authority, but the Paisacha language is barbarous, and the letters are written in blood; away with this Paisacha tale." Then the two pupils took the book, and returned by the way which they came, and told the whole circ.u.mstance to Gunadhya. Gunadhya for his part, when he heard it, was immediately overcome with sorrow; who indeed is not inly grieved when scorned by a competent authority? Then he went with his disciples to a craggy hill at no great distance, in an unfrequented but pleasant spot, and first prepared a consecrated fire cavity. Then he took the leaves one by one, and after he had read them aloud to the beasts and birds, he flung them into the fire while his disciples looked on with tearful eyes. But he reserved one story, consisting of one hundred thousand couplets, containing the history of Naravahanadatta, for the sake of his two disciples, as they particularly fancied it. And while he was reading out and burning that heavenly tale, all the deer, boars, buffaloes and other wild animals, came there, leaving the pasturage, and formed a circle around him, listening with tears in their eyes, unable to quit the spot. [111]

In the meanwhile king Satavahana fell sick. And the physicians said that his illness was due to eating meat wanting in nutritive qualities. And when the cooks were scolded for it, they said--"The hunters bring in to us flesh of this kind." And when the hunters were taken to task, they said,--"On a hill not very far from here there is a Brahman reading, who throws into the fire every leaf as soon as he has read it; so all the animals go there and listen without ever grazing, they never wander anywhere else, consequently this flesh of theirs is wanting in nutritive properties on account of their going without food." When he heard this speech of the hunters he made them shew him the way, and out of curiosity went in person to see Gunadhya, and he beheld him owing to his forest life overspread with matted locks, that looked like the smoke of the fire of his curse, that was almost extinguished.

Then the king recognized him as he stood in the midst of the weeping animals, and after he had respectfully saluted him, he asked him for an explanation of all the circ.u.mstances. That wise Brahman then related to the king in the language of the demons his own history as Pushpadanta, giving an account of the curse and all the circ.u.mstances which originated the descent of the tale to earth. Then the king, discovering that he was an incarnation of a Gana, bowed at his feet, and asked him for that celestial tale that had issued from the mouth of Siva. Then Gunadhya said to that king Satavahana; "O king I have burnt six tales containing six hundred thousand couplets; but here is one tale consisting of a hundred thousand couplets, take that: [112] and these two pupils of mine shall explain it to you." So spake Gunadhya and took leave of the king, and then by strength of devotion laid aside his earthly body, and released from the curse ascended to his own heavenly home. Then the king took that tale which Gunadhya had given, called Vrihat Katha, containing the adventures of Naravahanadatta, and went to his own city. And there he bestowed on Gunadeva and Nandideva, the pupils of the poet who composed that tale, lands, gold, garments, beasts of burden, palaces, and treasures. And having recovered the sense of that tale with their help, Satavahana composed the book named Kathapitha, in order to shew how the tale came to be first made known in the Paisacha language. Now that tale was so full of various interest, that men were so taken up with it as to forget the tales of the G.o.ds, and after producing that effect in the city it attained uninterrupted renown in the three worlds.

BOOK II.

CALLED KATHaMUKHA.

This nectarous tale sprang in old time from the mouth of Siva, set in motion by his love for the daughter of the Himalaya, as the nectar of immortality sprang from the sea, when churned by the mountain Mandara. Those who drink eagerly the nectar of this tale, have all impediments removed and gain prosperity, and by the favour of Siva attain, while living upon earth, the high rank of G.o.ds.

CHAPTER IX.