The Katha Sarit Sagara or Ocean of the Streams of Story Part 35

"So women, who a.s.sociate with witches, fall into evil courses, but they are restrained and saved by the advice of the old. Now, prince, hear the story of the man who brought the amalaka fruit."

Story of the servant who tasted the fruit. [81]

A certain householder had a stupid servant. As the householder was fond of amalakas, he said to his servant, "Go, and bring me some perfectly sweet amalakas from the garden." The foolish fellow bit every one, to taste if it was sweet, and then brought them, and said; "Look, master, I tasted these and found them sweet, before bringing them." And his master, seeing that they were half eaten, sent them away in disgust and his stupid servant too.

"Thus a foolish person ruins his master's interests and then his own, and here by way of episode hear the story of the two brothers."

Story of the two brothers Yajnasoma and Kirtisoma.

There were two Brahmans, brothers, in the city of Pataliputra; the elder was called Yajnasoma and the younger Kirtisoma. And those two young Brahmans had much wealth derived from their father. Kirtisoma increased his share by business, but Yajnasoma exhausted his by enjoying and giving. Then, being reduced to poverty, he said to his wife; "My dear, how can I, who am reduced from riches to poverty, live among my relations? Let us go to some foreign country." She said,--"How can we go without money for the journey." Still her husband insisted, so she said to him: "If you really must go, then first go and ask your younger brother Kirtisoma for some money for the journey." So he went and asked his younger brother for his travelling expenses, but his younger brother's wife said to him: "How can we give even the smallest sum to this man who has wasted his substance. For every one who falls into poverty will sponge on us." When Kirtisoma heard this, he no longer felt inclined to give anything to his elder brother, though he loved him. Subjection to bad women is pernicious!

Then Yajnasoma went away silent, and told that to his wife, and set out with her, relying upon the help of Heaven only. When they reached the wood, it happened that, as he was going along, he was swallowed by a monstrous serpent. And when his wife saw it, she fell on the ground and lamented. And the serpent said with a human voice to the lady: "Why do you lament, my good woman?" The Brahman lady answered the snake: "How can I help lamenting, mighty sir, when you have deprived me in this remote spot of my only means of obtaining alms?" When the serpent heard that, he brought out of his mouth a great vessel of gold and gave it her, saying, "Take this as a vessel in which to receive alms." [82] The good Brahman lady said, "Who will give me alms in this vessel, for I am a woman?" The serpent said: "If any one refuses to give you alms in it, his head shall that moment burst into a hundred pieces. What I say is true." When the virtuous Brahman lady heard that, she said to the serpent, "If this is so, then give me my husband in it by way of alms." The moment the good lady said this, the serpent brought her husband out of his mouth alive and unharmed. As soon as the serpent had done this, he became a man of heavenly appearance, and being pleased, he said to the joyful couple: "I am a king of the Vidyadharas, named Kanchanavega, and by the curse of Gautama I was reduced to the condition of a serpent. And it was appointed that my curse should end when I conversed with a good woman." When the king of the Vidyadharas had said this, he immediately filled the vessel with jewels, and delighted flew up into the sky. And the couple returned home with abundance of jewels. And there Yajnasoma lived in happiness having obtained inexhaustible wealth.

"Providence gives to every one in accordance with his or her character. Hear the story of the foolish man who asked for the barber."

Story of the fool who wanted a barber.

A certain inhabitant of Karnata pleased his king by his daring behaviour in battle. His sovereign was pleased, and promised to give him whatever he asked for, but the spiritless warrior chose the king's barber.

"Every man chooses what is good or bad according to the measure of his own intellect: now hear the story of the foolish man who asked for nothing at all."

Story of the man who asked for nothing at all.

A certain foolish man, as he was going along the road, was asked by a carter to do something to make his cart balance evenly. He said, "If I make it right, what will you give me?" The carter answered; "I will give you nothing at all." Then the fool put the cart even, and said, "Give me the nothing-at-all you promised." But the carter laughed at him. "So you see, king, fools are for ever becoming the object of the scorn and contempt and reproach of men, and fall into misfortune, while the good on the other hand are thought worthy of honour."

When the prince surrounded by his ministers, had heard at night these amusing stories from Gomukha, he was enabled to enjoy sleep, which refreshes the whole of the three worlds.

CHAPTER LXII.

The next morning Naravahanadatta got up, and went into the presence of the king of Vatsa his loving father. There he found Sinhavarman, the brother of the queen Padmavati and the son of the king of Magadha, who had come there from his own house. The day pa.s.sed in expressions of welcome, and friendly conversation, and after Naravahanadatta had had dinner, he returned home. There the wise Gomukha told this story at night, in order to console him who was longing for the society of Saktiyasas.

Story of the war between the crows and the owls. [83]

There was in a certain place a great and shady banyan-tree, which seemed, with the voices of its birds, to summon travellers to repose. There a king of the crows, named Meghavarna, had established his home, and he had an enemy named Avamarda, king of the owls. The king of the owls surprised the king of the crows there at night, and after inflicting a defeat on him and killing many crows, departed. The next morning the king of the crows, after the usual compliments, said to his ministers Uddivin, adivin, Sandivin, Pradivin, [84] and Chirajivin: "That powerful enemy, who has thus defeated us, may get together a hundred thousand soldiers, and make another descent on us. So let some preventive measure be devised for this case." When Uddivin heard this, he said; "King, with a powerful enemy, one must either retire to another country, or adopt conciliation." When adivin heard this, he said, "The danger is not immediate; let us consider the intentions of the adversary and our own power, and do the best we can." Then Sandivin said, "King, death is preferable to submission to the foe, or retiring to another country. We must go and fight with that feeble enemy; a brave and enterprising king, who possesses allies, conquers his foes." Then Pradivin said, "He is too powerful to be conquered in battle, but we must make a truce with him, and kill him when we get an opportunity." Then Chirajivin said, "What truce? Who will be amba.s.sador? There is war between the crows and the owls from time immemorial; who will go to them? This must be accomplished by policy; policy is said to be the very foundation of empires." When the king of the crows heard that, he said to Chirajivin,--"You are old; tell me if you know, what was originally the cause of the war between the crows and the owls. You shall state your policy afterwards." When Chirajivin heard this, he answered, "It is all due to an inconsiderate utterance. Have you never heard the story of the donkey?"

Story of the a.s.s in the panther's skin. [85]

A certain washerman had a thin donkey; so, in order to make it fat, he used to cover it with the skin of a panther and let it loose to feed in his neighbour's corn. While it was eating the corn, people were afraid to drive it away, thinking that it was a panther. One day a cultivator, who had a bow in his hand, saw it. He thought it was a panther, and through fear bending down, and making himself humpbacked, he proceeded to creep away, with his body covered with a rug. When the donkey saw him going away in this style, he thought he was another donkey, and being primed with corn, he uttered aloud his own asinine bray. Then the cultivator came to the conclusion that it was a donkey, and returning, killed with an arrow the foolish animal, which had made an enemy with its own voice. "In the same way our feud with the crows is due to an inconsiderate utterance."

How the crow dissuaded the birds from choosing the owl king. [86]

For once upon a time the birds were without a king. They all a.s.sembled together, and bringing an umbrella and a chowrie, were proceeding to anoint the owl king of the birds. In the meanwhile a crow, flying in the air above, saw it, and said; "You fools, are there not other birds, cuckoos and so on, that you must make this cruel-eyed unpleasant-looking wicked bird king? Out on the inauspicious owl! You must elect a heroic king whose name will ensure prosperity. Listen now, I will tell you a tale.

Story of the elephants and the hares. [87]

There is a great lake abounding in water, called Chandrasaras. And on its bank there lived a king of the hares, named Silimukha. Now, once on a time, a leader of a herd of elephants, named Chat.u.r.danta, came there to drink water, because all the other reservoirs of water were dried up in the drought that prevailed. Then many of the hares, who were the subjects of that king, were trampled to death by Chat.u.r.danta's herd, while entering the lake. When that monarch of the herd had departed, the hare-king Silimukha, being grieved, said to a hare named Vijaya in the presence of the others; "Now that that lord of elephants has tasted the water of this lake, he will come here again and again, and utterly destroy us all, so think of some expedient in this case. Go to him, and see if you have any artifice which will suit the purpose or not. For you know business and expedients, and are an ingenious orator. And in all cases in which you have been engaged the result has been fortunate." When despatched with these words, the hare was pleased, and went slowly on his way. And following up the track of the herd, he overtook that elephant-king and saw him, and being determined somehow or other to have an interview with the mighty beast, the wise hare climbed up to the top of a rock, and said to the elephant; "I am the amba.s.sador of the moon, and this is what the G.o.d says to you by my mouth; 'I dwell in a cool lake named Chandrasaras; [88] there dwell hares whose king I am, and I love them well, and thence I am known to men as the cool-rayed and the hare-marked; [89] now thou hast defiled that lake and slain those hares of mine. If thou do that again, thou shalt receive thy due recompense from me.'" When the king of elephants heard this speech of the crafty hare's, he said in his terror; "I will never do so again: I must shew respect to the awful moon-G.o.d." The hare said,--"So come, my friend, I pray, and we will shew him to you." After saying this, the hare led the king of elephants to the lake, and shewed him the reflection of the moon in the water. When the lord of the herd saw that, he bowed before it timidly at a distance, oppressed with awe, and never came there again. And Silimukha, the king of the hares, was present, and witnessed the whole transaction, and after honouring that hare, who went as an amba.s.sador, he lived there in security.

When the crow had told this story, he went on to say to the birds, "This is the right sort of king, whose name alone ensures none of his subjects being injured. So why does this base owl, who cannot see in the day, deserve a throne? And a base creature is never to be trusted, hear this tale in proof of it."

Story of the bird, the hare, and the cat. [90]

Once on a time I lived in a certain tree, and below me in the same tree a bird, named Kapinjala, had made a nest and lived. One day he went away somewhere, and he did not return for many days. In the meanwhile a hare came and took possession of his nest. After some days Kapinjala returned, and an altercation arose between him and the hare, as both laid claim to the nest, exclaiming; "It is mine, not yours." Then they both set out in search of a qualified arbitrator. And I, out of curiosity, followed them un.o.bserved, to see what would turn up. After they had gone a little way they saw on the bank of a lake a cat, who pretended to have taken a vow of abstinence from injury to all creatures, with his eyes half-closed in meditation. They said to one another; "Why should we not ask this holy cat here to declare what is just?"--Then they approached the cat and said; "Reverend sir, hear our cause, for you are a holy ascetic." When the cat heard that, he said to them in a low voice,--"I am weak from self-mortification, so I cannot hear at a distance, pray, come near me. For a case wrongly decided brings temporal and eternal death." With these words the cat encouraged them to come just in front of him, and then the base creature killed at one spring both the hare and Kapinjala.

"So, you see, one cannot confide in villains whose actions are base. Accordingly you must not make this owl king, for he is a great villain." When the crow said this to the birds, they admitted the force of it, and gave up the idea of anointing the owl king, and dispersed in all directions. And the owl said to the crow; "Remember; from this day forth you and I are enemies. Now I take my leave of you." And he went away in a rage. But the crow, though he thought that he had spoken what was right, was for a moment despondent. Who is not grieved when he has involved himself in a dangerous quarrel by a mere speech?

"So you see that our feud with the owls arose from an inconsiderate utterance." Having said this to the king, Chirajivin continued, "The owls are numerous and strong, and you cannot conquer them. Numbers prevail in this world, hear an instance."

Story of the Brahman, the goat, and the rogues. [91]

A Brahman had bought a goat, and was returning from a village with it on his shoulder, when he was seen on the way by many rogues, who wished to deprive him of the goat. And one of them came up to him, and pretending to be in a great state of excitement, said; "Brahman, how come you to have this dog on your shoulder? Put it down." When the Brahman heard that, he paid no attention to it, but went on his way. Then two more came up and said the very same thing to him. Then he began to doubt, and went along examining the goat carefully, when three other rascals came up to him and said: "How comes it that you carry a dog and a sacrificial thread at the same time? Surely you must be a hunter, not a Brahman, and this is the dog with the help of which you kill game." When the Brahman heard that, he said: "Surely some demon has smitten my sight and bewildered me. Can all these men be under the influence of an optical delusion?" Thereupon the Brahman flung down the goat, and after bathing, returned home, and the rogues took the goat and made a satisfactory meal off it.

After Chirajivin had told this tale, he said to the king of the crows: "So you see, king, numerous and powerful foes are hard to conquer. So you had better adopt, in this war with powerful foes, the following expedient, which I suggest. Pluck out some of my feathers, [92] and leave me under this tree, and go to that hill there, until I return, having accomplished my object. The king of the crows agreed, and plucked out some of his feathers, as if in anger, and placed him under the tree, and went off to the mountain with his followers: and Chirajivin remained lying flat under the tree which was his home.

Then the king of the owls, Avamarda, came there at night with his followers, and he did not see a single crow on the tree. At that moment Chirajivin uttered a feeble caw below, and the king of the owls, hearing it, came down, and saw him lying there. In his astonishment he asked him who he was, and why he was in that state. And Chirajivin answered, pretending that his voice was weak from pain; "I am Chirajivin, the minister of that king of the crows. And he wished to make an attack on you in accordance with the advice of his ministers. Then I rebuked those other ministers, and said to him, 'If you ask me for advice, and if I am valued by you, in that case you will not make war with the powerful king of the owls. But you will endeavour to propitiate him, if you have any regard for policy.' When the foolish king of the crows heard that, he exclaimed, 'This fellow is a partisan of my enemies,' and in his wrath, he and his followers pecked me, and reduced me to this state. And he flung me down under the tree, and went off somewhere or other with his followers." When Chirajivin had said this, he sighed, and turned his face to the ground. And then the king of the owls asked his ministers what they ought to do with Chirajivin. When his minister Diptanayana heard this, he said, "Good people spare even a thief, though ordinarily he ought not to be spared, if they find that he is a benefactor."

Story of the old merchant and his young wife. [93]

For once on a time there was a certain merchant in a certain town, who, though old, managed to marry by the help of his wealth a young girl of the merchant caste. And she was always averse to him on account of his old age, as the bee turns away from the forest-tree when the time of flowers is past. [94] And one night a thief got into his house, while the husband and wife were in bed; and, when the wife saw him, she was afraid, and turned round and embraced her husband. The merchant thought that a wonderful piece of good fortune, and while looking in all directions for the explanation, he saw the thief in a corner. The merchant said; "You have done me a benefit, so I will not have you killed by my servants." And so he spared his life and sent him away.

"So we ought to spare the life of this Chirajivin, as he is our benefactor." When the minister Diptanayana had said this, he remained silent. Then the king of the owls said to another minister, named Vakranasa, "What ought we to do? Give me proper advice." Then Vakranasa said, "He should be spared, for he knows the secrets of our foes. This quarrel between the enemies' king and his minister is for our advantage. Listen, and I will tell you a story which will ill.u.s.trate it."