The Katha Sarit Sagara or Ocean of the Streams of Story Part 28

When the Brahman Sumanas had told this story to the princess Bandhumati in Tarapura, whose husband was away, he went on to say to her--"Even thus, queen, do great ones, after enduring separation, enjoy prosperity, and following the example of the sun, after suffering a decline, they rise again. So you also, blameless one, shall soon recover your husband returning from his absence; use patient self-control, banish grief, and console yourself with the approaching gratification of your wishes in the return of your husband." When the virtuous Brahman had spoken these appropriate words, she honoured him with much wealth, and taking refuge in patience, she remained there awaiting her beloved. And in a few days her husband Mahipala returned, with his father, bringing that mother of his from a distant land. And when he returned, furnis.h.i.+ng a feast to all eyes, he gladdened Bandhumati, as the full moon gladdens the lovely water of the ocean. Then Mahipala, on whom her father had already devolved the burden of the kingdom, enjoyed as a king desired pleasures with her.

When prince Naravahanadatta, the son of the king of Vatsa, had heard in the company of his wife, from the mouth of his minister Marubhuti, this matchless romantic story, pleasing on account of its picture of affection, he was exceedingly pleased.

BOOK X.

CHAPTER LVII.

We wors.h.i.+p the elephantine proboseis of Ganesa, not to be resisted by his enemies, reddened with vermilion, a sword dispelling great arrogance. [1] May the third eye of Siva, which, when all three were equally wildly-rolling, blazed forth beyond the others, as he made ready his arrow upon the string, for the burning of Pura, protect you. May the row of nails of the Man-lion, [2] curved and red with blood, when he slew his enemy, and his fiery look askance, destroy your calamities.

Story of the porter who found a bracelet.

Thus Naravahanadatta, the son of the king of Vatsa, remained in Kausambi in happiness, with his wives, and his ministers. And one day, when he was present, a merchant living in the city, came to make a representation to his father, as he was sitting on his throne. That merchant, of the name of Ratnadatta, entered, announced by the warder, and bowing before the king, said as follows: "O king, there is a poor porter here, of the name of Vasundhara; and suddenly he is found of late to be eating, drinking, and bestowing alms. So, out of curiosity, I took him to my house, and gave him food and drink to his heart's content, and when I had made him drunk. I questioned him, and he gave me this answer, 'I obtained from the door of the king's palace a bracelet with splendid jewels, and I picked out one jewel and sold it. And I sold it for a lakh of dinars to a merchant named Hiranyagupta; this is how I come to be living in comfort at present." When he had said this, he shewed me that bracelet, which was marked with the king's name, and therefore I have come to inform your majesty of the circ.u.mstance." When the king of Vatsa heard that, he had the porter and the merchant of precious jewels summoned with all courtesy, and when he saw the bracelet, he said of himself; "Ah! I remember, this bracelet slipped from my arm when I was going round the city." And the courtiers asked the porter, "Why did you, when you had got hold of a bracelet marked with the king's name, conceal it?" He replied, "I am one who gets his living by carrying burdens, and how am I to know the letters of the king's name? When I got hold of it, I appropriated it, being burnt up with the misery of poverty." When he said this, the jewel-merchant, being reproached for keeping the jewel, said--"I bought it in the market, without putting any pressure on the man, and there was no royal mark upon it, though now it is said that it belongs to the king. And he has taken five thousand of the price, the rest is with me." When Yaugandharayana, who was present, heard this speech of Hiranyagupta's, he said--"No one is in fault in this matter. What can we say against the porter who does not know his letters? Poverty makes men steal, and who ever gave up what he had found? And the merchant who bought it from him cannot be blamed." The king when he heard this decision of his prime minister's, approved it. And he took back his jewel from the merchant, paying him the five thousand dinars, which had been spent by the porter, and he set the porter at liberty, after taking back his bracelet, and he, having consumed his five thousand, went free from anxiety to his own house. And the king, though in the bottom of his heart he hated that merchant Ratnadatta, as being a man who ruined those that reposed confidence in him, honoured him for his service. When they had all departed, Vasantaka came before the king, and said, "Ah! when men are cursed by destiny, even the wealth they obtain departs, for the incident of the inexhaustible pitcher has happened to this porter."

Story of the inexhaustible pitcher. [3]

For you must know that there lived long ago, in the city of Pataliputra, a man of the name of Subhadatta, and he every day carried in a load of wood from the forest, and sold it, and so maintained his household. Now one day he went to a distant forest, and, as it happened, he saw there four Yakshas with heavenly ornaments and dresses. The Yakshas, seeing he was terrified, kindly asked him of his circ.u.mstances, and finding out that he was poor, they conceived pity for him, and said--"Remain here as a servant in our house, we will support your family for you without trouble on your part." When Subhadatta heard that, he agreed, and remained with them, and he supplied them with requisites for bathing and performed other menial offices for them. When the time for eating came, those Yakshas said to him--"Give us food from this inexhaustible pitcher." But he hesitated, seeing that it was empty, and then the Yakshas again said to him, smiling--"Subhadatta, do you not understand? Put your hand in the pitcher, and you will obtain whatever you want, for this is a pitcher that supplies whatever is required." When he heard that, he put his hand in the pitcher, and immediately he beheld all the food and drink that could be required. And Subhadatta out of that store supplied them and ate himself.

Thus waiting on the Yakshas every day with devotion and awe, Subhadatta remained in their presence anxious about his family. But his sorrowing family was comforted by them in a dream, and this kindness on their part made him happy. At the termination of one month the Yakshas said to him, "We are pleased with this devotion of yours, we will grant you a boon, say what it shall be." When he heard that, he said to them, "Then give me this inexhaustible pitcher." Then the Yakshas said to him, "You will not be able to keep it, for, if broken, it departs at once, so choose some other boon." Though they warned him in these words, Subhadatta would not choose any other boon, so they gave him that inexhaustible pitcher. Then Subhadatta bowed before them delighted, and, taking that pitcher, quickly returned to his house, to the joy of his relations. Then he took out of that pitcher food and drink, and in order to conceal the secret, he placed them in other vessels, and consumed them with his relations. And as he gave up carrying burdens, and enjoyed all kinds of delights, his kinsmen one day said to him, when he was drunk; "How did you manage to acquire the means of all this enjoyment?" He was too much puffed up with pride to tell them plainly, but taking the wish-granting pitcher on his shoulder, he began to dance. [4] And as he was dancing, the inexhaustible pitcher slipped from his shoulder, as his feet tripped with over-abundance of intoxication, and falling on the ground, was broken in pieces. And immediately it was mended again, and reverted to its original possessors, but Subhadatta was reduced to his former condition, and filled with despondency.

"So you see that these unfortunate persons, whose intellects are destroyed with the vice of drinking, and other vices, and with infatuation, cannot keep wealth, even when they have obtained it." When the king of Vatsa had heard this amusing story of the inexhaustible pitcher, he rose up, and bathed, and set about the other duties of the day. And Naravahanadatta also bathed, and took food with his father, and at the end of the day went with his friends to his own house. There he went to bed at night, but could not sleep, and Marubhuti said to him in the hearing of the ministers: "I know, it is love of a slave-girl that prevents your summoning your wives, and you have not summoned the slave-girl, so you cannot sleep. But why in spite of your better knowledge do you still fall in love with hetaerae? For they have no goodness of character; in proof that they have not, hear the following tale:"

Story of the merchant's son, the hetaera, and the wonderful ape ala.

There is in this country a great and opulent city named Chitrakuta. In it there lived a merchant named Ratnavarman, a prince among the wealthy. He had one son born to him by propitiating Siva, and he gave that son the name of isvaravarman. After he had studied the sciences, his father the rich merchant, who had no other son but him, seeing that he was on the verge of manhood, said to himself: "Providence has created in this world that fair and frail type of woman, the hetaera, to steal the wealth and life of rich young men blinded with the intoxication of youth. So I will entrust my son to some kuttini, in order that he may learn the tricks of the hetaerae and not be deceived by them." Having thus reflected, he went with his son isvaravarman to the house of a certain kuttini, whose name was Yamajihva. There he saw that kuttini, with ma.s.sive jaw, and long teeth, and snub nose, instructing her daughter in the following words--"Every one is valued on account of wealth, a hetaera especially; and hetaerae who fall in love do not obtain wealth, therefore a hetaera should abandon pa.s.sion. For rosy red, love's proper hue, is the harbinger of eclipse to the hetaera as to the evening twilight; a properly trained hetaera should exhibit love without sincerity, like a well-trained actress. With that she should gain a man's affections, then she should extract from him all his wealth, when he is ruined, she should finally abandon him, but if he should recover his wealth, she should take him back into favour. A hetaera, like a hermit, is the same towards a young man, a child, an old man, a handsome man, and a deformed man, and so she always attains the princ.i.p.al object of existence." [5] While the kuttini was delivering this lesson to her daughter, Ratnavarman approached her, and after she had welcomed him, he took a seat by her side. And he said to her--"Reverend mother, teach my son this skill of the hetaera, in order that he may become clever in it. And I will give you a thousand dinars by way of recompense." When the kuttini heard his desire, she consented, and he paid the dinars, and made over his son isvaravarman to her, and then returned home.

Then isvaravarman, in the course of one year, learned in the house of Yamajihva all the graceful accomplishments, and then returned to his father's house. And after he had attained sixteen years, he said to his father--"Wealth gives us religion and love, wealth gives us consideration and renown." When his father heard this, he exclaimed in approval, "It is even so," and being delighted, he gave him five crores by way of capital. The son took it, and set out on an auspicious day with a caravan, with the object of journeying to Svarnadvipa. And on the way he reached a town named Kanchanapura, and there he encamped in a garden, at a short distance outside the town. And after bathing and anointing himself, the young man entered the town, and went to a temple to see a spectacle. And there he saw a dancing-girl, of the name of Sundari, dancing, like a wave of the sea of beauty [6] tossed up by the wind of youth. And the moment he saw her, he became so devoted to her, that the instructions of the kuttini fled far from him, as if in anger. At the end of the dance, he sent a friend to solicit her, and she bowed and said--"I am highly favoured." And isvaravarman left vigilant guards in his camp, to watch over his treasure, and went himself to the house of that Sundari. And when he came, her mother, named Makarakati, honoured him with the various rites of hospitality which became the occasion. And at nightfall she introduced him into a chamber with a canopy of flas.h.i.+ng jewels and a bed. There he pa.s.sed the night with Sundari, [7] whose name expressed her nature, and who was skilled in all movements of the dance. And the next day he could not bring himself to part from her, as she shewed great affection for him, and never left his side. And the young merchant gave her twenty-five lakhs of gold and jewels in those two days. But Sundari, with a false affectation of disinterestedness, refused to take them, saying--"I have obtained much wealth, but I never found a man like you; since I have obtained you, what should I do with wealth?" But her mother Makarakati, whose only child she was, said to her, "Henceforth, whatever wealth belongs to us, is as much his as his own property, so take it, my daughter, as a contribution to our common stock, what harm is there in that?" When Sundari's mother said this to her, she took it with affected unwillingness, and the foolish isvaravarman thought she was really in love with him. While the merchant remained in her house, charmed by her beauty, her dancing, and singing, two months pa.s.sed, and in course of time he bestowed upon her two crores.

Then his friend, named Arthadatta, of his own accord came to him and said--"Friend, has all that training of yours, though painfully acquired from the kuttini, proved useless, now that the occasion has presented itself, as skill in the use of weapons does to a coward, in that you believe that there is sincerity in this love of a hetaera? Is water ever really found in desert-mirages? So let us go before all your wealth is consumed, for, if your father were to hear of it, he would be very angry." When his friend said this to him, the merchant's son said, "It is true that no reliance can be placed upon hetaerae as a rule, but Sundari is not like the rest of her cla.s.s, for, if she were to lose sight of me for a moment, my friend, she would die. So do you break it to her, if we must in any case go."

When he said this to Arthadatta, Arthadatta said to Sundari, in the presence of isvaravarman and her mother Makarakati, "You entertain extraordinary affection for isvaravarman, but he must certainly go on a trading expedition to Svarnadvipa immediately. There he will obtain so much wealth, that he will come and live with you in happiness all his life, consent to it, my friend." When Sundari heard this, she gazed on the face of isvaravarman with tears in her eyes and a.s.sumed despondency, and said to Arthadatta, "What am I to say? you gentlemen know best. Who can rely on any one before seeing the end? Never mind! Let fate deal with me as it will!" When she said this, her mother said to her, "Do not be grieved, control yourself; your lover will certainly return when he has made his fortune; he will not abandon you." In these words her mother consoled her, but made an agreement with her, and had a net secretly prepared in a well, that lay in the road they must take. And then isvaravarman's mind was in a state of tremulous agitation about parting, and Sundari, as if out of grief, took but little food and drink. And she shewed no inclination for singing, music, or dancing, but she was consoled by isvaravarman with various affectionate attentions.

Then, on the day named by his friend, isvaravarman set out from the house of Sundari, after the kuttini had offered a prayer for his success. And Sundari followed him weeping, with her mother, outside the city, as far as the well in which the net had been stretched. There he made Sundari turn back, and he was proceeding on his journey, when she flung herself into the well on the top of the net. Then a loud cry was heard from her mother, from the female slaves, and all the attendants, "Ah! my daughter! Ah! mistress!" That made the merchant's son and his friend turn round, and when he heard that his beloved had thrown herself into a well, he was for a moment stupefied with grief. And Makarakati, lamenting with loud cries, made her servants, who were attached to her, and in the secret, go down into the well. They let themselves down by means of ropes, and exclaiming, "Thank heaven, she is alive, she is alive," they brought up Sundari from the well. When she was brought up, she a.s.sumed the appearance of one nearly dead, and after she had mentioned the name of the merchant's son, who had returned, she slowly began to cry. But he, being comforted, took her to her house in great delight, accompanied by his attendants, returning there himself. And having made up his mind that the love of Sundari was to be relied on, and considering that, by obtaining her, he had obtained the real end of his birth, he once more gave up the idea of continuing his journey. And when he had taken up his abode there, determined to remain, his friend said to him once more, "My friend, why have you ruined yourself by infatuation? Do not rely on the love of Sundari simply because she flung herself into a well, for the treacherous schemes of a kuttini are not to be fathomed even by Providence. And what what will you say to your father, when you have spent all your property, or where will you go? So leave this place even at this eleventh hour, if your mind is sound." When the merchant's son heard this speech of his friend's, he paid no attention to it, and in another month he spent those other three crores. Then he was stripped of his all; and the kuttini Makarakati had him seized by the back of the neck and turned out of Sundari's house.

But Arthadatta and the others quickly returned to their own city, and told the whole story, as it happened, to his father. His father Ratnavarman, that prince of merchants, was much grieved when he heard it, and in great distress went to the kuttini Yamajihva, and said to her, "Though you received a large salary, you taught my son so badly, that Makarakati has with ease stripped him of all his wealth." When he had said this, he told her all the story of his son. Then the old kuttini Yamajihva said: "Have your son brought back here; I will enable him to strip Makarakati of all her wealth." When the kuttini Yamajihva made this promise, Ratnavarman quickly sent off that moment his son's well-meaning friend Arthadatta with a message, to bring him, and to take at the same time means for his subsistence.

So Arthadatta went back to that city of Kanchanapura, and told the whole message to isvaravarman. And he went on to say to him--"Friend, you would not do what I advised you, so you have now had personal experience of the untrustworthy dispositions of hetaerae. After you had given that five crores, you were ejected neck and crop. What wise man looks for love in hetaerae or for oil in sand? Or why do you put out of sight this unalterable nature of things? [8] A man is wise, self-restrained, and possesses happiness, only so long as he does not fall within the range of woman's cajoleries. So return to your father and appease his wrath." With these words Arthadatta quickly induced him to return, and encouraging him, led him into the presence of his father. And his father, out of love for his only son, spoke kindly to him, and again took him to the house of Yamajihva. And when she questioned him, he told his whole story by the mouth of Arthadatta, down to the circ.u.mstance of Sundari's flinging herself into the well, and how he lost his wealth. Then Yamajihva said--"I indeed am to blame, because I forgot to teach him this trick. For Makarakati stretched a net in the well, and Sundari flung herself upon that, so she was not killed. Still there is a remedy in this case." Having said this, the kuttini made her female slaves bring her monkey named ala. And in their presence she gave the monkey her thousand dinars, and said--"Swallow these," and the monkey, being trained to swallow money, did so. Then she said, "Now, my son give twenty to him, twenty-five to him, and sixty to him, and a hundred to him." And the monkey, as often as Yamajihva told him to pay a sum, brought up the exact number of dinars, and gave them as commanded. [9] And after Yamajihva had shewn this device of ala, she said to isvaravarman, "Now take with you this young monkey. And repair again to the house of Sundari, and keep asking him day by day for sums of money, which you have secretly made him swallow. And Sundari, when she sees ala, resembling in his powers the wis.h.i.+ng-stone, will beg for him, and will give you all she has so as to obtain possession of the ape, and clasp him to her bosom. And after you have got her wealth, make him swallow enough money for two days, and give him to her, and then depart to a distance without delay."

After Yamajihva had said this, she gave that ape to isvaravarman, and his father gave him two crores by way of capital. And with the ape and the money he went once more to Kanchanapura, and despatching a messenger on in front, he entered the house of Sundari. Sundari welcomed him as if he were an incarnation of perseverance, which includes in itself all means for attaining an end, and his friend with him, embracing him round the neck, and making other demonstrations. Then isvaravarman, having gained her confidence, said to Arthadatta in her presence in the house: "Go, and bring ala." He said, "I will," and went and brought the monkey. And as the monkey had before swallowed a thousand dinars, he said to him, "ala, my son, give us to-day three hundred dinars for our eating and drinking, and a hundred for betel and other expenses, and give one hundred to our mother Makarakati, and a hundred to the Brahmans, and give the rest of the thousand to Sundari." When isvaravarman said this, the monkey brought up the dinars he had before swallowed, to the amounts ordered, and gave them for the various objects required.

So by this artifice ala was made to supply every day the necessary expenses, for the period of a fortnight, and in the meanwhile Makarakati [10] and Sundari began to think; "Why this is a very wis.h.i.+ng-stone which he has got hold of in the form of an ape, which gives every day a hundred dinars; if he would only give it us, all our desires would be accomplished." Having thus debated in private with her mother, Sundari said to that isvaravarman, when he was sitting at his ease after dinner,--"If you really are well pleased with me, give me ala." But when isvaravarman heard that, he answered laughingly, "He is my father's all in the world, and it is not proper to give him away." When he said this, Sundari said to him again, "Give him me and I will give you five crores." Thereupon isvaravarman said with an air of decision, "If you were to give me all your property, or indeed this city, it would not do to give him you, much less for your crores." When Sundari heard this, she said, "I will give you all I possess; but give me this ape, otherwise my mother will be angry with me." And thereupon she clung to isvaravarman's feet. Then Arthadatta and the others said, "Give it her, happen what will." Then isvaravarman promised to give it her, and he spent the day with the delighted Sundari. And the next day he gave to Sundari, at her earnest entreaties, that ape, which had in secret been made to swallow two thousand dinars, and he immediately took by way of payment all the wealth in her house, and went off quickly to Svarnadvipa to trade.

And to Sundari's delight, the monkey ala, when asked, gave her regularly a thousand dinars for two days. But on the third day he did not give her anything, though coaxed to do it, then Sundari struck the ape with her fist. And the monkey, being beaten, sprang up in a rage, and bit and scratched the faces of Sundari and her mother, who were thras.h.i.+ng him. Then the mother, whose face was streaming with blood, flew in a pa.s.sion and beat the ape with sticks, till he died on the spot. When Sundari saw that he was dead, and reflected that all her wealth was gone, she was ready to commit suicide for grief, and so was her mother. And when the people of the town heard the story, they laughed and said, "Because Makarakati took away this man's wealth by means of a net, he in his turn has stripped her of all her property, like a clever fellow that he is, by means of a pet; she was sharp enough to net him, but did not detect the net laid for herself. Then Sundari, with her scratched face and vanished wealth, was with difficulty restrained by her relations from destroying herself, and so was her mother. And isvaravarman soon returned from Svarnadvipa to the house of his father in Chitrakuta. And when his father saw him returned, having acquired enormous wealth, he rewarded the kuttini Yamajihva with treasure, and made a great feast. And isvaravarman, seeing the matchless deceitfulness of hetaerae, became disgusted with their society, and taking a wife remained in his own house. [11]

"So you see, king, that there never dwells in the minds of hetaerae even an atom of truth, unalloyed with treachery, so a man who desires prosperity should not take pleasure in them, as their society is only to be gained by the wealthy, any more than in uninhabited woods to be crossed only with a caravan. [12]"

"When Naravahanadatta heard, from the mouth of Marubhuti, the above story, word for word, of ala and the net, he and Gomukha approved it, and laughed heartily.

CHAPTER LVIII.

When Marubhuti had thus ill.u.s.trated the untrustworthy character of hetaerae, the wise Gomukha told this tale of k.u.mudika, the lesson of which was the same.

Story of king Vikramasinha, the hetaera, and the young Brahman.

There was in Pratishthana a king named Vikramasinha, who was made by Providence a lion in courage, so that his name expressed his nature. He had a queen of lofty lineage, beautiful and beloved, whose lovely form was her only ornament, and she was called Sasilekha. Once on a time, when he was in his city, five or six of his relations combined together, and going to his palace, surrounded him. Their names were Mahabhata, Virabahu, Subahu, Subhata and Pratapaditya, all powerful kings. The king's minister was proceeding to try the effect of conciliation on them, but the king set him aside, and went out to fight with them. And when the two armies had begun to exchange showers of arrows, the king himself entered the fray, mounted on an elephant, confiding in his might. And when the five kings, Mahabhata and the others, saw him, seconded only by his bow, dispersing the army of his enemies, they all attacked him together. And as the numerous force of the five kings made an united charge, the force of Vikramasinha, being inferior in number, was broken. Then his minister Anantaguna, who was at his side, said, "Our force is routed for the present, there is no chance of victory to-day, and you would engage in this conflict with an overwhelming force in spite of my advice, so now at the last moment do what I recommend you, in order that the affair may turn out prosperously; come now, descend from your elephant, and mount a horse, and let us go to another country; if you live, you will conquer your enemies on some future occasion." When the minister said this, the king readily got down from his elephant, and mounted on a horse, and left his army in company with him. And in course of time, the king, in disguise, reached with his minister the city of Ujjayini. There he entered with his minister the house of a hetaera, named k.u.mudika, renowned for her wealth; and she, seeing him suddenly entering the house, thought, "This is a distinguished hero that has come to my house: and his majesty and the marks on his body shew him to be a great king, so my desire is sure to be attained if I can make him my instrument." Having thus reflected, k.u.mudika rose up and welcomed him, and entertained him hospitably, and immediately she said to the king, who was wearied,--"I am fortunate, to-day the good deeds of my former life have borne fruit, in that Your Majesty has hallowed my house by coming to it in person. So by this favour Your Majesty has made me your slave. The hundred elephants, and two myriads of horses, and house full of jewels, which belong to me, are entirely at your majesty's disposal." Having said this, she provided the king and his minister with baths and other luxuries, all in magnificent style.

Then the wearied king lived in her palace, at his ease, with her, who put her wealth at his disposal. He consumed her substance and gave it away to pet.i.tioners, and she did not show any anger against him on that account, but was rather pleased at it. Thereupon the king was delighted, thinking that she was really attached to him, but his minister Anantaguna, who was with him, said to him in secret: "Your majesty, hetaerae are not to be depended upon, though, I must confess, I cannot guess the reason why k.u.mudika shews you love." When the king heard this speech of his, he answered him: "Do not speak thus; k.u.mudika would even lay down her life for my sake. If you do not believe it, I will give you a convincing proof." After the king had said this to his minister, he adopted this artifice; he took little to eat and little to drink, and so gradually attenuated his body, and at last he made himself as dead, without movement, prostrate on the ground. Then his attendants put him on a bier, and carried him to the burning-ghat with lamentations, while Anantaguna affected a grief which he did not feel. And k.u.mudika, out of grief, came and ascended the funeral pyre with him, though her relations tried to prevent her. But before the fire was lighted, the king, perceiving that k.u.mudika had followed him, rose up with a yawn. And all his attendants took him home with k.u.mudika to his lodging, exclaiming, "Fortunate is it that our king has been restored to life."

Then a feast was made, and the king recovered his normal condition, and said in private to his minister,--"Did you observe the devotion of k.u.mudika?" Then the minister said,--"I do not believe even now. You may be sure that there is some reason for her conduct, so we must wait to get to the bottom of the matter. But let us reveal to her who we are, in order that we may obtain a force granted by her, and another force supplied by your ally, and so smite our enemies in battle." While he was saying this, the spy, that had been secretly sent out, returned, and when questioned, answered as follows; "Your enemies have overrun the country, and queen Sasilekha, having heard from the people a false report of your majesty's death, has entered the fire." When the king heard this, he was smitten by the thunderbolt of grief, and lamented--"Alas! my queen! Alas, chaste lady!"

Then k.u.mudika at last came to know the truth, and after consoling the king Vikramasinha, she said to him; "Why did not the king give me the order long ago? Now punish your enemies with my wealth and my forces." When she said this, the king augmented the force by means of her wealth, and repaired to a powerful king who was an ally of his. And he marched with his forces and those forces of his own, and after killing those five enemies in battle, he got possession of their kingdoms into the bargain. Then he was delighted, and said to k.u.mudika who accompanied him; "I am pleased with you, so tell me what I can do to gratify you." Then k.u.mudika said--"If you are really pleased, my lord, then extract from my heart this one thorn that has long remained there. I have an affection for a Brahman's son, of the name of Sridhara, in Ujjayini, whom the king has thrown into prison for a very small fault, so deliver him out of the king's hand. Because I saw by your royal marks, that your majesty was a glorious hero, and destined to be successful, and able to effect this object of mine, I waited on you with devoted attentions. Moreover, I ascended that pyre out of despair of attaining my object, considering that life was useless without that Brahman's son. When the hetaera said this, the king answered her; "I will accomplish it for you, fair one, do not despair." After saying this, he called to mind his minister's speech, and thought--"Anantaguna was right, when he said that hetaerae were not to be depended upon. But I must gratify the wish of this miserable creature." Thus resolved, he went with his troops to Ujjayini, and after getting Sridhara set at liberty, and giving him much wealth, he made k.u.mudika happy by uniting her with her beloved there. And after returning to his city, he never disobeyed the advice of his minister, and so in time he came to enjoy the whole earth.

"So you see, the hearts of hetaerae are fathomless and hard to understand."

Then Gomukha stopped, after he had told this story. But then Tapantaka said in the presence of Naravahanadatta--"Prince, you must never repose any confidence at all in women, for they are all light, even those that, being married or unmarried, dwell in their father's house, as well as those that are hetaerae by profession. I will tell you a wonder which happened in this very place, hear it.

Story of the faithless wife who burnt herself with her husband's body.

There was a merchant in this very city named Balavarman, and he had a wife named Chandrasri, and she beheld from a window a handsome merchant's son, of the name of Silahara, and she sent her female friend to invite him to her house, and there she used to have a.s.signations with him in secret. And while she was in the habit of meeting him there every day, her attachment to him was discovered by all her friends and relations. But her husband Balavarman was the only one who did not discover that she was unchaste; very often men blinded by affection do not discover the wickedness of their wives.

Then a burning fever seized Balavarman, and the merchant consequently was soon reduced to a very low state. But, though he was in this state, his wife went every day to her friend's house, to meet her paramour. And the next day, while she was there, her husband died. And on hearing of it she returned, quickly taking leave of her lover. And out of grief for her husband, she ascended the pyre with his body, being firmly resolved, though her attendants, who knew her character, tried to dissuade her. [13]

"Thus is the way of a woman's heart truly hard to understand. They fall in love with strange men, and die when separated from their husbands." When Tapantaka said this, Harisikha said in his turn, "Have you not heard what happened in this way to Devadasa?"