The Katha Sarit Sagara or Ocean of the Streams of Story Part 23

Know, auspicious youth, that this is that very maiden Alankaravati, and that I am her mother Kanchanaprabha. And to-day she came to this temple of Siva without telling me. Then I, perceiving it by the Prajnapti science, came here, and I was told by the same science that you had come here also. So marry this daughter of mine who has been ordained your wife by the G.o.d. And to-morrow arrives the day of her marriage appointed by her father, so return for this day, my son, to Kausambi your own city. And we will go hence, but to-morrow the king Alankarasila will come from the grove of asceticism, and himself give you this daughter of his.

When she said this, Alankaravati and Naravahanadatta were thrown into a strange state of distraction, for their eyes were full of tears, since their hearts could not bear that they should be separated from one another even for a night, and they were like chakravakas when the end of the day is near. When Kanchanaprabha saw them in such a state, she said: "Why do you show such a want of self-restraint because you are to be separated for one night. People, who possess firmness, endure for a long time mutual separation to which no termination is a.s.signed; hear in proof of this the tale of Ramabhadra and Sita."

Story of Rama and Sita.

Long ago king Dasaratha, the sovereign of Ayodhya, had a son, named Rama, the elder brother of Bharata, Satrughna and Lakshmana. He was a partial incarnation of Vishnu for the overthrow of Ravana, and he had a wife named Sita, the daughter of Janaka, the lady of his life. As fate would have it, his father handed over the kingdom to Bharata, and sent Rama to the forest with Sita and Lakshmana. There Ravana carried off his beloved Sita by magic, and took her to the city of Lanka, having slain Jatayus on the way. Then Rama, in his bereaved state, made Sugriva his friend by killing Balin, and by sending Hanuman to Lanka, obtained news of his wife. And he crossed the sea by building a bridge over it, and slew Ravana, and gave the sovereignty of Lanka to Vibhishana and recovered Sita. Then he returned from the forest, and while he was ruling his kingdom, that Bharata had made over to him, Sita became pregnant in Ayodhya. And while the king was roaming through the city at leisure, with a small retinue, to observe the actions of his subjects, he beheld a certain man turning his wife, whom he held by the hand, out of his house, and giving out that her fault was going to the house of another man. [705] And king Rama heard the wife saying to her husband,--"King Rama did not desert his wife, though she dwelt in the house of the Rakshasa; this fellow is superior to him, for he abandons me for going to the house of a relation." So he went home afflicted; and afraid of the slander of the people, he abandoned Sita in the forest; a man of reputation prefers the sorrow of separation to ill-repute. And Sita, languid with pregnancy, happened to reach the hermitage of Valmiki, and that ris.h.i.+ comforted her, and made her take up her abode there. And the other hermits there debated among themselves; "Surely this Sita is guilty, otherwise how could her husband have deserted her? So, by beholding her, everlasting pollution will attach to us; but Valmiki does not expel her from the hermitage out of pity, and he neutralizes by means of his asceticism the pollution produced by beholding her, so come, let us go to some other hermitage." When Valmiki perceived that, he said; "Brahmans, you need not have any misgivings about the matter, I have perceived her by my meditation to be chaste. When even then they exhibited incredulity, Sita said to them; "Reverend sirs, test my purity by any means that you know of, and if I turn out to be unchaste, let me be punished by having my head cut off." When the hermits heard that, they experienced an emotion of pity, and they said to her, "There is a famous bathing-place in this forest, called t.i.thibhasaras, for a certain chaste woman named t.i.thibhi, being falsely accused by her husband, who suspected her of familiarity with another man, in her helplessness invoked the G.o.ddess Earth and the Lokapalas, and they produced it for her justification. There let the wife of Rama clear herself for our satisfaction." When they said that, Sita went with them to that lake. And the chaste woman said--"Mother Earth, if my mind was never fixed even in a dream on any one besides my husband, may I reach the other side of the lake,"--and after saying this, she entered the lake, and the G.o.ddess Earth appeared, and, taking her in her lap, carried her to the other side. Then all the hermits adored that chaste woman, and enraged at Rama's having abandoned her, they desired to curse him. But Sita, who was devoted to her husband, dissuaded them, saying,--"Do not entertain an inauspicious thought against my husband, I beg you to curse my wicked self." The hermits, pleased with that conduct of hers, gave her a blessing which enabled her to give birth to a son, and she, while dwelling there, in good time did give birth to a son, and the hermit Valmiki gave him the name of Lava. [706] One day she took the child and went to bathe, and the hermit, seeing that it was not in the hut, thought--"She is in the habit, when she goes to bathe, of leaving her child behind her, so what has become of the child? Surely it has been carried off by a wild beast. I will create another, otherwise Sita, on returning from bathing, will die of grief." Under this impression, the hermit made a pure babe of kusa gra.s.s, resembling Lava, and placed him there, and Sita came, and seeing it, said to the hermit, "I have my own boy, so whence came this one, hermit?" When the hermit Valmiki heard this, he told her exactly what had taken place, and said, "Blameless one, receive this second son named Kusa, because I by my power created him out of kusa gra.s.s." When he said this to her, Sita brought up those two sons Kusa and Lava, for whom Valmiki performed the sacraments. And those two young princes of the Kshatriya race, even when children, learned the use of all heavenly weapons, and all sciences from the hermit Valmiki.

And one day they killed a deer belonging to the hermitage, and ate its flesh, and made use of a linga, which Valmiki wors.h.i.+pped, as a plaything. The hermit was offended thereby, but at Sita's intercession he appointed for those youths the following expiatory penance: "Let this Lava go quickly and bring from the lake of Kuvera golden lotuses, and mandara [707] flowers from his garden, then wors.h.i.+p, both of you brothers, this linga with those flowers; in this way this crime of those two will be atoned for." When Lava heard this, he went, though a boy, to Kailasa, and invaded that lake and garden of Kuvera, and after killing the Yakshas, brought back the lotuses and the flowers, and as he was returning, being tired, he rested in the way under a tree. And in the meanwhile Lakshmana came that way, seeking a man with auspicious marks for Rama's human sacrifice. [708]

He, according to the custom of Kshatriyas, challenged Lava to fight, and paralyzed him by the stupefying weapon, and taking him prisoner, led him to the city of Ayodhya. And in the meanwhile Valmiki comforted Sita, who was anxious about the return of Lava, and said to Kusa in his hermitage, "Lakshmana has taken prisoner the child Lava and has carried him off to Ayodhya; go and deliver him from Lakshmana, after conquering him with these weapons." When the sage said this, and gave to Kusa a heavenly weapon, he went and with it attacked and besieged the sacrificial enclosure in Ayodhya, and he conquered in fight Lakshmana, who advanced to repel him, by the help of those heavenly weapons; then Rama advanced to meet him; and when he could not, though exerting himself to the utmost, conquer with weapons that Kusa, owing to the might of Valmiki, he asked him who he was, and why he came. Then Kusa said, "Lakshmana has taken my elder brother prisoner and brought him here; I have come here to set him at liberty. We two are Kusa and Lava the sons of Rama, this is what our mother, the daughter of Janaka, says." Thereupon he told her story. Then Rama burst into tears, and summoned Lava and embraced both, saying, "I am that same wicked Rama." Then the citizens a.s.sembled and praised Sita, beholding those two heroic youths, and Rama recognised them as his sons. And then he summoned the queen Sita from the hermitage of Valmiki, and dwelt with her in happiness, transferring to his sons the burden of the empire.

"Thus heroic souls endure separation for so long a time, and how can you find it difficult to endure it for only one night?" When Kanchanaprabha had said this to her daughter Alankaravati, who was eager to be married, and to Naravahanadatta, she departed through the air with the intention of returning again, and took her daughter with her: and Naravahanadatta, for his part, returned despondent to Kausambi.

Then, as he could not sleep at night, Gomukha said to him to amuse him--"Prince, hear this story of Prithvirupa, which I will relate to you."

Story of the handsome king Prithvirupa.

There is in the Dekhan a city named Pratishthana, in it lived a very handsome king, named Prithvirupa. Once on a time two discerning Buddhist hermits came to him, and seeing that that king was very handsome, they said to him, "King, we have travelled through the world, and we have nowhere seen a man or woman equal to you in beauty, except the daughter of king Rupadhara and queen Hemalata, in the isle of Muktipura, Rupalata by name, and that maiden alone is a match for you, and you alone are a match for her; if you were to be united in marriage, it would be well." With these words of the hermit, which entered by his ears, the arrows of Love entered also and stuck in his heart. Then king Prithvirupa, being full of longing, gave this order to his admirable painter, k.u.maridatta by name; "Take with you my portrait, accurately painted on canvas, and with these two mendicants go to the isle of Muktipura, and there shew it by some artifice to the king Rupadhara and his daughter Rupalata. Find out if that king will give me his daughter or not, and take a likeness of Rupalata, and bring it back." When the king had said this, he made the painter take his likeness on canvas, and sent him with the mendicants to that island. And so the painter and the mendicants set out, and in course of time reached a city named Putrapura on the sh.o.r.e of the sea. There they embarked on a s.h.i.+p, and going across the sea, they reached in five days that island of Muktipura. There the painter went and held up at the gate of the palace a notice, to the effect that there was no painter like him in the world. When the king Rupadhara heard of that, he summoned him, and the painter entered the palace, and bowing, he said: "O king, though I have travelled all over the earth, I have never seen my match as a painter, so tell me, whom I am to paint of G.o.ds, mortals, and Asuras." When the king heard that, he summoned his daughter Rupalata into his presence, and gave him the following order: "Make a portrait of this daughter of mine, and shew it me." Then the painter k.u.maridatta made a portrait of the princess on canvas and shewed it, and it was exactly like the original. Then king Rupadhara was pleased, and thinking him clever, he asked that painter, in his desire to obtain a son-in-law, "My good fellow, you have travelled over the earth: so tell me if you have anywhere seen a woman or a man equal to my daughter in beauty." When the king said this, the painter answered him, "I have nowhere in the world seen a woman or a man equal to her, except a king in Pratishthana, named Prithvirupa, who is a match for her; if she were married to him, it would be well. Since he has not found a princess equal in beauty, he remains, though in his fresh youth, without a wife. And I, your majesty, having beheld that king, dear to the eyes, took a faithful likeness of him, out of admiration of his beauty." When the king heard that, he said: "Have you that portrait with you?" And the painter said, "I have,"

and showed the portrait. Thereupon the king Rupadhara, beholding the beauty of that king Prithvirupa, found his head whirl round with astonishment. And he said, "Fortunate are we to have beheld that king even in a picture; I felicitate those who behold him in the flesh. When Rupalata heard this speech of her father's, and saw the king in the picture, she was full of longing, and could neither hear nor see anything else. Then the king Rupadhara, seeing that his daughter was distracted with love, said to that painter k.u.maridatta, "Your pictures exactly correspond to the original, so that king Prithvirupa must be an appropriate husband for my daughter. So take this portrait of my daughter, and set off immediately, and shew my daughter to king Prithvirupa; and tell the whole incident as it took place, and if he pleases, let him come here quickly, to marry her." Thus the king spake, and honoured the painter with gifts, and sent him off with his amba.s.sador, in the company of the mendicants.

The painter, the amba.s.sador, and the mendicants crossed the sea, and all reached the court of Prithvirupa in Pratishthana. There they gave the present to that king, and told him the whole transaction, as it took place, and the message of Rupadhara. And then that painter k.u.maridatta shewed to that king his beloved Rupalata in a painting. As the king gazed, [709] his eye was drowned in that sea of beauty her person, so that he could not draw it out again. For the king, whose longing was excessive, could not be satisfied with devouring her form, which poured forth a stream of the nectar of beauty, as the partridge cannot be satisfied with devouring the moonlight. And he said to the painter, "My friend, worthy of praise is the Creator who made this beauty, and yourself who copied it. So I accept the proposal of king Rupadhara; I will go to the island of Muktipura and marry his daughter." After saying this, the king honoured the painter, the amba.s.sador, and the hermits, and remained looking at the picture.

And afflicted with the sorrow of absence, the king spent that day in gardens and other places, and set out the next day on his expedition, after ascertaining a favourable moment. And the king mounted the great elephant Mangalaghata, and proceeded on his way with many horses and elephants, with chiefs and Rajputs, and with the painter and the hermits, together with the amba.s.sador of Rupadhara, and in a few days he reached the entrance of the Vindhya forest, and encamped there in the evening. The next day, the king Prithvirupa mounted an elephant named Satrumardana, and going on entered that forest. And as he was slowly proceeding, he beheld his army, which was marching in front of him, suddenly fleeing. And while he was perplexed as to what it could mean, a Rajput named Nirbhaya, mounted on an elephant, came up and said to him, "King, a very large army of Bhillas attacked us in front there; in the fight that ensued those Bhillas slew with their arrows just fifty of our elephants, and a thousand of our footmen, and three hundred horses; but our troops laid low two thousand Bhillas, so that for every single corpse seen in our host two were seen in theirs. Then our forces were routed, galled with their arrows, which resemble thunderbolts." When the king heard that, he was angry, and advancing he slew the army of the Bhillas, as Arjuna slew that of the Kauravas. Then the other bandits were slain by Nirbhaya and his comrades, [710] and the king cut off with one crescent-headed arrow the head of the commander of the Bhillas. The king's elephant Satrumardana, with the blood flowing from arrow-wounds, resembled a mountain of collyrium pouring forth streams coloured with cinnabar. Then his whole army, that had been dispersed, returned, finding themselves victorious, and those Bhillas, that had escaped slaughter, fled in all directions. And the king Prithvirupa, having brought the fight to an end, had his might extolled by the amba.s.sador of Rupadhara, and being victorious, encamped in that very forest district, on the bank of a lake, to recruit the strength of his wounded troops.

And in the morning the king set out thence, and slowly advancing he reached that city of Putrapura on the sh.o.r.e of the sea. There he rested for a day, being entertained in becoming fas.h.i.+on by the king of that place, named Udaracharita. And he crossed the sea in s.h.i.+ps supplied by him, and in eight days reached the isle of Muktipura.

And the king Rupadhara, hearing of it, came to meet him delighted, and the two kings met and embraced one another. Then the king Prithvirupa entered his city with him, being, so to speak, drunk in by the eyes of the ladies of the city. Then the queen Hemalata and the king Rupadhara, seeing that he was a suitable husband for their daughter, rejoiced. And that king Prithvirupa remained there, and Rupadhara honoured him with entertainment in accordance with his own magnificence.

And the next day, the long-desiring Rupalata ascended the altar in an auspicious moment, and he with exultation received her hand in marriage. And when they beheld one another's beauty, the expanded eye of each was extended to the ear, as if to inform that organ that the report it had heard before was true. When the parched grain was thrown, Rupadhara gave jewels in such abundance to the happy couple, that men thought he was a perfect mine of jewels. And after his daughter's marriage had taken place, he honoured the painter and the two mendicants with dresses and ornaments, and bestowed gifts on all the others. Then that king Prithvirupa, remaining in that city with his attendants, enjoyed the best meat and drink the isle could produce. The day was spent in singing and dancing, and at night the eager king entered the private apartments of Rupalata, in which jewelled couches were spread, which was adorned with jewelled pavement, the circuit of which was propped on jewelled pillars, and which was lit up with jewel-lamps. And in the morning he was woke up by the bards and heralds reciting, and he rose up and remained as the moon in heaven.

Thus king Prithvirupa remained ten days in that island, amusing himself with ever-fresh enjoyments furnished by his father-in-law. On the eleventh day, the king, with the consent of the astrologers, set out with Rupalata, after the auspicious ceremony had been performed for him. And he was escorted by his father-in-law as far as the sh.o.r.e of the sea, and accompanied by his retainers, he embarked on the s.h.i.+ps with his wife. He crossed the sea in eight days, and his army, that was encamped on the sh.o.r.e, joined him, and the king Udaracharita came to meet him, and then he went to Putrapura. There king Prithvirupa rested some days, and was entertained by that king, and then he set out from that place. And he mounted his beloved Rupalata on the elephant Jayamangala, and he himself mounted an elephant named Kalyanagiri. And the king, proceeding by continual stages, in due course reached his good city of Pratishthana, where flags and banners were waving. Then, after beholding Rupalata, the ladies of the city lost at once all pride in their own beauty, and gazed on her with eyes unwinking from wonder. Then king Prithvirupa entered his palace, making high festival, and he gave to that painter villages and wealth, and he honoured those two hermits with wealth as they deserved, and gave complimentary presents to the chiefs, ministers and Rajputs. Then that king, having attained his object, enjoyed there this world's happiness in the society of Rupalata.

After the minister Gomukha had told Naravahanadatta this tale with the object of amusing him, he went on to say to the impatient prince,--"Thus the resolute endure painful separation for a long time, but how is it that you cannot endure it even for one night, O king? For to-morrow your Highness shall marry Alankaravati." When Gomukha had said this, Marubhuti the son of Yaugandharayana came up at that instant, and said, "What stuff will you not prate, being ungalled, and never having felt the agony of love? A man possesses firmness and discernment and morality, only so long as he does not come within the range of the arrows of Love. Happy in the world are Sarasvati, Skanda, and Buddha, these three, who have brushed off and flung away love, like a blade of gra.s.s clinging to the skirt of the robe." When Marubhuti said this, Naravahanadatta, perceiving that Gomukha was distressed, said in order to comfort him,--"What Gomukha said to me was appropriate, and it was said to amuse me, for what loving friend exults over one in the agony of separation? One afflicted by the pain of separation should be comforted by his friends to the best of their ability, and the sequel should be left to the disposal of the five-arrowed G.o.d." Talking in this style, and hearing various tales from his attendants, Naravahanadatta somehow managed to get through that night. And when morning came, he rose up and performed his necessary duties, and saw Kanchanaprabha descending from heaven, accompanied by her husband Alankarasila, and her son Dharmasila, and that Alankaravati her daughter; and they all descended from the chariot and came near him, and he welcomed them as was fitting, and they saluted him in like manner. And in the meanwhile thousands of other Vidyadharas descended from heaven, carrying loads of gold, jewels, and other valuables; and after hearing of this occurrence, the king of Vatsa came there with his ministers and his queens, delighted at the advancement of his son. After the king of Vatsa had performed the rites of hospitality duly, the king Alankarasila said to him, bowing graciously,--"King, this is my daughter Alankaravati, and when she was born, she was declared by a voice, that came from heaven, to be destined to be the wife of this thy son Naravahanadatta, the future emperor of all the Vidyadhara kings. So I will give her to him, for this is a favourable moment for them; for this reason I have come here with all these." The king of Vatsa welcomed that speech of the Vidyadhara sovereign's, saying, "It is a great favour that you do me." Then the ruler of the Vidyadharas sprinkled with water, produced in the hollow of his hand by virtue of his science, the ground of the courtyard. Immediately there was produced there an altar of gold, covered with a heavenly cloth, and a pavilion, not made with hands, for the preliminary ceremony, composed of various jewels. Then the successful king Alankarasila said to Naravahanadatta--"Rise up, the favourable moment has arrived--bathe." After he had bathed, and had the marriage-thread put on, the king Alankarasila, being delighted, gave him with all his heart his daughter, after bringing her to the altar in her bridal dress. And when the grain was thrown into the fire, he and his son gave to his daughter thousands of loads of jewels, gold, garments and ornaments, and heavenly nymphs. And after the marriage was over, he honoured them all, and then took his leave of them, and with his wife and son departed, as he came, through the air. Then the king of Vatsa, seeing his son destined to advancement, being honoured by the bending kings of the Vidyadharas, was delighted, and prolonged that feast to a great length. And Naravahanadatta, having obtained Alankaravati, charming on account of her good conduct, and of n.o.ble virtues, like a skilful poet who has obtained a style, charming on account of its excellent metre, and of splendid merits, remained delighted with her. [711]

CHAPTER LII.

Then Naravahanadatta, the son of the king of Vatsa, being united to Alankaravati his new wife, remained in the house of his father, pleased with the heavenly dancing and singing of her maids, and enjoying banquets with his ministers.

And one day his mother-in-law Kanchanaprabha, the mother of Alankaravati, came to him and said, after he had hospitably entertained her--"Come to our palace, behold that city of Sundarapura, and take your delight in its gardens with Alankaravati." When he heard this, he consented, and he informed his father, and by his advice took Vasantaka with him, and with his wife and his minister, he ascended a splendid chariot created by his mother-in-law by her science, and set out through the air, and while in the chariot, he looked down from heaven, and beheld the earth of the size of a mound, and the seas small as ditches, and in due course he reached the Himalayas with his mother-in-law, wife, and attendants, and it resounded with the songs of the Kinnaris, and was adorned with the companies of heavenly nymphs. There he saw a great many wonderful sights, and then he reached the city of Sundarapura. It was adorned with many palaces of gold and jewels, and, thus, though it was on the Himalayas, it made the beholder suppose that he was looking on the peaks of mount Meru. [712] And he descended from the heaven, and getting out of the carriage entered that city, which, as it were, danced with the waving silk of its banners, in its joy at having once more a king. And he entered that palace, with the auspicious ceremony performed for him by his mother-in-law, accompanied by Alankaravati, and with his favourites and Vasantaka. There the fortunate prince spent the day in his father-in-law's palace, in enjoyments which were provided for him by the power of his mother-in-law. And on the next day his mother-in-law Kanchanaprabha said to him; "There is in this city an image of the holy self-existent husband of Uma. [713] He, if visited and wors.h.i.+pped, gives enjoyment and even salvation. Around it the father of Alankaravati made a great garden, and brought down to it a holy water, rightly named the Ganges-pool: go there to-day to wors.h.i.+p the G.o.d and to amuse yourselves." When his mother-in-law said this to him, Naravahanadatta, accompanied by his wife Alankaravati, and followed by his attendants, went to that garden of Siva. It looked lovely with its golden-trunked trees, which were charming with their branches of jewels, the clear white flowers of which were cl.u.s.ters of pearls, and the shoots of which were coral. [714] There he bathed in the Ganges-pool and wors.h.i.+pped Siva, and wandered round the tanks that were adorned with ladders of jewels and lotuses of gold. And, accompanied by his attendants, he amused himself with Alankaravati on their charming banks, and in bowers of the wish-granting creeper. And in those he delighted his soul with heavenly banquets and concerts, and amusing jokes caused by the simplicity of Marubhuti. And so Naravahanadatta dwelt a month there, amusing himself in gardens, thanks to the resources of his mother-in-law. Then that Kanchanaprabha bestowed on him, his wife, and his ministers, garments and ornaments fit for G.o.ds, and with his mother-in-law and his attendants, he returned in that same chariot to Kausambi, accompanied by his wife, and he gladdened the eyes of his parents.

There Alankaravati was thus addressed by her mother in the presence of the king of Vatsa; "You must never by jealous anger make your husband unhappy, for the fruit of that fault, my daughter, is separation that causes great affliction. Because I was jealous in old time and afflicted my husband, I am now consumed with remorse, as he has gone to the forest." After saying this, she embraced her daughter with eyes blinded with tears, and flying up into the air went to her own city.

Then, that day having come to an end, the next morning Naravahanadatta, having performed the appropriate duties, was sitting with his ministers, when a woman rushed into the presence of Alankaravati and said--"Queen, I am a woman in the utmost terror, protect me, protect me! For there is a Brahman come to slay me, and he is standing outside; through fear of him I have fled and come in here to implore protection." The queen said, "Do not fear. Tell your tale. Who is he? Why does he wish to slay you?" When thus questioned, the woman began to say:--

Story of Asokamala.

My sovereign, I am the daughter of a Kshatriya in this city, named Balasena, and my name is Asokamala. When I was a virgin, I was demanded from my father by a rich Brahman named Hathasarman, who was captivated by my beauty. And I said to my father; "I do not like this ugly grim-visaged man for a husband; if you give me to him, I will not remain in his house." Though Hathasarman heard that, he sat in dharna at the door of my father's house, until he gave me to him, being afraid of causing the death of a Brahman. Then the Brahman married me and carried me off reluctant, and I deserted him, and fled to another man, the son of a Kshatriya. But that Hathasarman managed to crush him by the power of his wealth, and then I went to another Kshatriya, who was well off. Then this Brahman went at night and set his house on fire. Then he abandoned me, and I went to a third Kshatriya, and this Brahman burnt his house also at night. Then I was abandoned by him also, and I became a fugitive, flying in terror, as the sheep flies from the jackal, from that Hathasarman, who wishes to slay me, and follows me step by step. In this very city I entered the service of the mighty Virasarman your servant, a Rajput who protects the helpless. When the wicked Hathasarman found that out, he was miserable at having no hope of recovering me, and being afflicted with separation, he was reduced to skin and bone. But the Rajput Virasarman, when disposed to imprison him for my protection, was prevented by me, O queen. To-day it chanced that I went outside the house, and Hathasarman, seeing me, drew his sword and rushed on me to kill me, but I thereupon fled here, and the female warder, melted with compa.s.sion, opened the door and let me enter, but he, I know, is waiting for me outside.

When she said this, the king had the Brahman Hathasarman summoned into his presence; he looked at Asokamala with an eye inflamed with anger, his form was distorted, he held a sword in his hand, and the joints of his limbs trembled with rage. The king said to him, "Wicked Brahman, do you try to kill a woman, and for her sake set on fire your neighbours' houses? Why are you so wicked?" When the Brahman heard that, he said, "She is my lawful wife. She has left my protection and gone elsewhere, how could I endure that?" When he said this, Asokamala, in distress, exclaimed, "O guardians of the world, tell me this; did he not in your presence marry me and carry me off by force against my own will? And did I not say at the time, 'I will not dwell in his house?'" When she said this, a heavenly voice said, "The statement of Asokamala is true. But she is not a woman; hear the truth about her. There is a heroic king of the Vidyadharas named Asokakara. He had no sons, and once on a time it happened that a daughter was born to him, and she grew up in the house of her father, under the name of Asokamala. And when she arrived at an adult age, and he, desiring to perpetuate his race, offered her in marriage, she would not take any husband, through exceeding pride in her own beauty. For that reason her father, vexed with her obstinacy, denounced this curse on her; 'Become a mortal, and in that state thou shalt have the same name. And an ugly Brahman shall marry thee by force; thou shalt abandon him, and in thy fear resort to three husbands in succession. Even then he shall persecute thee, and thou shalt take refuge with a mighty Kshatriya as his slave, but even then the Brahman shall not desist from persecuting thee. And he shall see thee, and run after thee, with the object of killing thee, but thou shalt escape, and entering the king's palace, shalt be delivered from this curse.'

Accordingly that very Vidyadhari, Asokamala, who was in old time cursed by her father, has now been born as a woman under the same name. And this appointed end of her curse has now arrived. She shall now repair to her Vidyadhara home, and enter her own body which is there. There she, remembering her curse, shall live happily with a Vidyadhara prince, named Abhiruchita, who shall become her husband." When the heavenly voice had said this, it ceased, and immediately that Asokamala fell dead on the ground. But the king and Alankaravati, when they saw that, had their eyes suffused with tears, and so had their courtiers. But in Hathasarman grief overpowered anger, and he wept, blinded with pa.s.sion. Then his eyes suddenly became expanded with joy. All of them thereupon said to him,--"What does this mean?" Then that Brahman said, "I remember my former birth, and I will give an account of it, listen."

Story of Sthulabhuja.

On the Himalayas there is a splendid city, named Madanapura; in it dwelt a Vidyadhara prince, named Pralambabhuja. He had born to him, my lord, a son named Sthulabhuja, and he in course of time became a handsome prince in the flower of youth. Then a king of the Vidyadharas, named Surabhivatsa, came with his daughter to the palace of that king Pralambabhuja, and said to him: "I give this daughter of mine, called Surabhidatta, to your son Sthulabhuja; let the accomplished youth marry her now." When Pralambabhuja heard this, he approved it, and summoning his son, he communicated the matter to him. Then his son Sthulabhuja, out of pride in his beauty, said to him, "I will not marry her, my father, for she is not a first-cla.s.s beauty." His father thereupon said to him, "What does her plainness matter? For she is of high lineage and must be honoured on that account, and her father offered her to me for you, and I have accepted her, so do not refuse." Although Sthulabhuja was thus entreated a second time by his father, he would not consent to marry her. Then his father, in his anger, denounced against him the following curse--"On account of this your pride in your good looks, be born as a man, and in that state you shall be ugly and with a large mouth. And you shall acquire by force a wife named Asokamala, also fallen by a curse, and she, not liking you, shall leave you, and you shall experience the grief of separation. And as she shall be attached to another, you shall commit for her sake arson and other crimes, being maddened with pa.s.sion and emaciated with grief." When Pralambabhuja had uttered this curse, that virtuous Surabhidatta clung to his feet, weeping, and entreated him, "p.r.o.nounce a curse on me also, let our lot be the same, let not my husband alone suffer calamity owing to my fault." When she said this, Pralambabhuja was pleased, and, in order to comfort that virtuous woman, he appointed for her this end to his son's curse: "Whenever Asokamala shall be released from her curse, then he shall remember his birth and be released from this curse, and he shall regain his own body, and remembering his curse, he shall be free from pride, and soon marry you; then he shall live with you in happiness." When the virtuous woman was thus addressed by him, she managed to recover her self-composure.

"Know that I am that very Sthulabhuja, fallen here by a curse, and I have experienced this great grief owing to the fault of pride. How can proud men have happiness in a previous or in a present state of existence? And that curse of mine is now at an end." After saying this, Hathasarman abandoned that body, and became a Vidyadhara youth. And he took by the might of his science the body of Asokamala, and flung it, without its being seen, into the Ganges, out of compa.s.sion. And he sprinkled immediately the chamber of Alankaravati all round with water of the Ganges, brought by the might of his science, and after bending before Naravahanadatta, his future lord, he flew up into the heaven to his destined prosperity.

All being astonished, Gomukha told this story of Anangarati, which was appropriate to the incident--

Story of Anangarati and her four suitors.

There is on the earth a city, rightly named Surapura, [715] and in it there lived a king named Mahavaraha, the destroyer of his foes. That king had a daughter named Anangarati, born to him by his wife Padmarati, owing to his having propitiated Gauri, and he had no other children. And in course of time she attained womanhood, and proud of her beauty, she did not wish to have any husband, though kings asked her in marriage. But she said decidedly; "I must be given to a man who is brave and handsome, and knows some one splendid accomplishment.

Then there came from the Dekhan four heroes, who, having heard tidings of her, were eager to obtain her, and they were furnished with the qualities which she desired. They were announced by the warder and introduced, and then king Mahavaraha asked them in the presence of Anangarati; "What are your names? what is your descent, and what do you know?" When they heard this speech of the king's, one of them said--"I am Panchaphuttika by name, a Sudra; I possess a peculiar talent; I weave every day five pairs of garments, one of them I give to a Brahman, and the second I offer to Siva, and the third I wear myself, and as for the fourth, if I had a wife, I would give it to her, and the fifth I sell, and live upon the proceeds." Then the second said, "I am a Vaisya named Bhashajna; I know the language of all beasts and birds." [716]

Then the third said, "I am a Kshatriya named Khadgadhara, and no one surpa.s.ses me in fighting with the sword." And the fourth said, "I am an excellent Brahman named Jivadatta; by means of the sciences which I possess by the favour of Gauri, I can raise to life a dead woman." [717] When they had thus spoken, the Sudra, the Vaisya, and the Kshatriya one after another praised their own beauty, courage and might, but the Brahman praised his might and valour, and said nothing about his beauty.

Then king Mahavaraha said to his door-keeper--"Take all these now and make them rest in your house." The door-keeper, when he heard the order, took them to his house. Then the king said to his daughter Anangarati, "My daughter, which of these four heroes do you prefer?" When Anangarati heard that, she said to her father; "Father, I do not like any one of the four; the first is a Sudra and a weaver, what is the use of his good qualities? The second is a Vaisya, and what is the use of his knowing the language of cattle, and so on? How can I give myself to them, when I am a Kshatriya woman? The third indeed is a meritorious Kshatriya, equal to me in birth, but be is a poor man and lives by service, selling his life. As I am the daughter of a king, how can I become his wife? The fourth, the Brahman Jivadatta, I do not like; he is ugly and is addicted to unlawful arts, and, as he has deserted the Vedas, he has fallen from his high position. You ought to punish him, why do you offer to give me to him? For you, my father, being a king, are the upholder of the castes and the various stages of life. And a king, who is a hero in upholding religion, is preferred to a king, who is only a hero with the sword. A hero in religion will be the lord of a thousand heroes with the sword." When his daughter had said this, the king dismissed her to her own private apartments, and rose up to bathe and perform his other duties.

And the next day, the four heroes went out from the house of the door-keeper, and roamed about in the town out of curiosity. And at that very time a vicious elephant, named Padmakabala, broke his fastening, and in his fury rushed out from the elephant-stable, trampling down the citizens. And that great elephant, when he saw the four heroes, rushed towards them to slay them, and they too advanced towards him with uplifted weapons. Then the one Kshatriya among them, named Khadgadhara, putting aside the other three, alone attacked that elephant. And he cut off with one blow the protended trunk of that roaring elephant, with as much ease as if it had been a lotus-stalk. And after showing his agility by escaping between his feet, he delivered a second blow on the back of that elephant. And with the third he cut off both his feet. Then that elephant gave a groan and fell down and died. All the people were astonished when they beheld that valour of his, and king Mahavaraha was also amazed when he heard of it.

The next day, the king went out to hunt, mounted on an elephant, and the four heroes, with Khadgadhara at their head, accompanied him. There the king with his army slew tigers, deer, and boars, and the lions rushed out upon him in anger, hearing the trumpeting of the elephants. Then that Khadgadhara cleft in twain, with one blow of his sharp sword, the first lion that attacked them, and the second he seized with his left hand by the foot, and das.h.i.+ng it on the earth, deprived it of life. And in the same way Bhashajna, and Jivadatta, and Panchaphuttika, each dashed a lion to pieces on the earth. Thus in turn those heroes killed on foot many tigers, and lions, and other animals, with ease, before the eyes of the king. Then that king, being pleased and astonished, after he had finished his hunting, entered his city, and those heroes went to the house of the door-keeper. And the king entered the harem, and though tired, had his daughter Anangarati quickly summoned. And after describing the valour of those heroes, one by one, as he had seen it in the chase, he said to her who was much astonished--"Even if Panchaphuttika and Bhashajna are of inferior caste, and Jivadatta, though a Brahman, is ugly and addicted to forbidden practices, what fault is there in the Kshatriya Khadgadhara, who is handsome, and of n.o.ble stature, and is distinguished for strength and valour; who slew such an elephant, and who takes lions by the foot and crushes them on the ground, and slays others with the sword? And if it is made a ground of reproach against him that he is poor and a servant, I will immediately make him a lord to be served by others: so choose him for a husband, if you please, my daughter." When Anangarati heard this from her father, she said to him--"Well then, bring all those men here, and ask the astrologer, and let us see what he says." When she said this to him, the king summoned those heroes, and in their presence he, accompanied by his wives, said to the astrologer with his own mouth: "Find out with which of these Anangarati has conformity of horoscope, and when a favourable moment will arrive for her marriage." When the skilful astrologer heard that, he asked the stars under which they were born, and after long considering the time, he said to that king--"If you will not be angry with me, king, I will tell you plainly. Your daughter has no conformity of lot with any one of them. And she will not be married on earth, for she is a Vidyadhari fallen by a curse; that curse of hers will be at an end in three months. So let these wait here three months, and if she is not gone to her own world then, the marriage shall take place." All those heroes accepted the advice of that astrologer, and remained there for three months.

When three months had pa.s.sed, the king summoned into his presence those heroes, and that astrologer, and Anangarati. And the king, when he saw that his daughter had suddenly become exceedingly beautiful, rejoiced, but the astrologer thought that the hour of her death had arrived. And while the king was saying to the astrologer--"Now tell me what it is proper to do, for those three months are gone,"

Anangarati called to mind her former birth, and covering her face with her garment, she abandoned that human body. The king thought--"Why has she put herself in this position?" But when he himself uncovered her face, he saw that she was dead, like a frost-smitten lotus-plant, for her eyes like bees had ceased to revolve, the lotus-flower of her face was pale, and the sweet sound of her voice had ceased, even as the sound of the swans departs. Then the king suddenly fell to earth motionless, smitten by the thunderbolt of grief for her, crushed by the extinction of his race. [718] And the queen Padmarati also fell down to the earth in a swoon, and with her ornaments fallen from her like flowers, appeared like a cl.u.s.ter of blossoms broken by an elephant.

The attendants raised cries of lamentation, and those heroes were full of grief, but the king, immediately recovering consciousness, said to that Jivadatta, "In this matter those others have no power, but now it is your opportunity; you boasted that you could raise to life a dead woman; if you possess power by means of science, then recall my daughter to life; I will give her, when restored to life, to you as being a Brahman." When Jivadatta heard this speech of the king's, he sprinkled that princess with water, over which charms had been said, and chanted this arya verse: "O thou of the loud laugh, adorned with a garland of skulls, not to be gazed on, Chamunda, the terrible G.o.ddess, a.s.sist me quickly." When, in spite of this effort of Jivadatta's, that maiden was not restored to life, he was despondent, and said--"My science, though bestowed by the G.o.ddess that dwells in the Vindhya range, has proved fruitless, so what is the use to me of my life that has become an object of scorn?" When he had said this, he was preparing to cut off his head with a great sword, when a voice came from the sky--"O Jivadatta, do not act rashly, listen now. This n.o.ble Vidyadhara maiden, named Anangaprabha, has been for so long a time a mortal owing to the curse of her parents. She has now quitted this human body, and has gone to her own world, and taken her own body. So go and propitiate again the G.o.ddess that dwells in the Vindhya hills, and by her favour you shall recover this n.o.ble Vidyadhara maiden. But as she is enjoying heavenly bliss, neither you nor the king ought to mourn for her." When the heavenly voice had told this true tale, it ceased. Then the king performed his daughter's rites, and he and his wife ceased to mourn for her, and those other three heroes returned as they had come.

But hope was kindled in the breast of Jivadatta, and he went and propitiated with austerities the dweller in the Vindhya hills, and she said to him in a dream:

"I am satisfied with thee, so rise up and listen to this that I am about to tell thee."