Part 3
“When the Brahman (the guest) witnessed this occurrence, he rose up without eating anything. Then the master of the house said, ‘Why do you not eat?’ He replied, ‘How can one partake of food in his house where a diabolical deed has been perpetrated.’ On hearing this the householder arose, and going to another part of his house, brought a book on the science of restoring to life, took a charm from it, muttered some prayers, and brought his son back to life. Then that Brahman, seeing this wonder, began to ponder in his mind, ‘If this book were to fall into my hands I, too, could restore my beloved to life.’ Having made up his mind on this point, he ate the food, and tarried there. To be brief, when night came on, after some time all partook of supper, and went and lay down in their respective places, and were chatting together on one subject or another. The Brahman, too, went and lay down apart, but kept lying awake. When he thought that the night was far advanced, and all had gone to sleep, he arose quietly, softly entered his (host’s) room, took that book, and decamped; and in the course of several days he arrived at the place where he (the father) had burnt the Brahman’s daughter. He found the other two Brahmans there also, sitting and conversing together. Those two also, recognising him, approached and met him, and inquired, saying, ‘Brother! you have wandered from land to land, it is true; but, tell us, have you learned any science as well?’
“He said, ‘I have learned the science of restoring the dead to life.’ As soon as they heard this, they said, ‘If you have learned this, restore our beloved to life.’ He replied, ‘Make a heap of the ashes and bones, and I will restore it to life.’ They gathered together the ashes and bones. Then he took a charm out of the book, and muttered prayers; the girl rose up alive. Thereupon Cupid so blinded the three of them that they began wrangling among themselves.”
Having related so much of the tale, the sprite said, “O king! tell me this; to whom did that woman (by right) belong? (or, whose wife was she?).” King Vikram replied, “To him who built the hut and stayed there.” The sprite said, “If he had not preserved the bones, how could she have been restored to life? And if the other had not returned instructed in the science, how could he have restored her to life?” The king made answer thus:--“He who had preserved her bones, occupied the place of her son; and he who gave her life, became, as it were, her father; hence, she became the wife of him who built a hut and remained there with the ashes.” On hearing this answer, the sprite went again and suspended himself on that tree. The king, too, arrived close at his heels, and, having bound him, and placed him on his shoulder, started off with him again.
TALE III.
The sprite said, “O king! there is a city named Bardwãn, wherein is a king named Rüpsen. It happened one day that the king was seated in an apartment adjoining the gate (of his palace), when, from without the gate, the loud voices of some people reached him. The king said, ‘Who is at the gate? and what noise is that taking place?’ Upon this the gatekeeper replied, ‘Great king! you have asked a fine question! Knowing this to be the gate of a wealthy personage, numbers of persons of all kinds come and sit at it for the sake of money, and converse on a variety of topics; this is _their_ noise.’”
“On hearing this the king kept silent. In the meanwhile a traveller, named Birbar, a Rajput, came from the south to the king’s gate, in the hope of obtaining service. The gate-keeper, after ascertaining his circumstances, said to the king, ‘Your majesty! an armed man has come in the hope of entering your service, and stands at the door: with your majesty’s leave he shall come before you.’ Having heard this, the king gave the order to bring him in. He went and brought him. Then the king asked, ‘O Rãjpüt! How much shall I allow thee for daily expenses?’ On hearing this Birbar said, ‘Give me a thousand _tolas_ (about 833 oz.) of gold daily, and I shall be able to subsist.’ The king enquired, ‘How many persons are there with you (dependent on you)?’ He replied, ‘First, my wife; second, a son; third, a daughter; fourth, myself: there is no fifth person with me.’ Hearing him speak thus, all the people of the king’s court turned away their faces and began laughing; but the king began to consider why he had asked for a large sum of money. Ultimately he thought it out in his own mind, that a vast sum of money given away will some day prove of advantage. Coming to this conclusion, he sent for his treasurer and said, ‘Give this Birbar a thousand _tolas_ of gold daily from my treasury.’
“On hearing this order, Birbar took a thousand _tolas_ of gold for that day, and brought it to the place where he was staying, and dividing it into two parts, distributed one half among the Brahmans; and again dividing the remaining half into two parts, distributed one portion thereof among pilgrims, devotees, the worshippers of Vishnu, and religious mendicants; and of the one part which remained he had food cooked and fed the poor, and what remained over he consumed himself. In this way he, with his wife and children, used regularly to subsist. And every night he used to take his sword and shield and go and mount guard over the king’s couch; and when the king, roused from sleep, used to call out, ‘Is any, one in waiting?’ then he used to answer, ‘Birbar is in attendance; what may be your commands?’ Thus answered he whenever the king called out, and thereupon, whatever he (the king) ordered to be done, he executed.”
“In this way, through eagerness for wealth, he used to keep awake the whole night long; nay, whether eating, drinking, sleeping, sitting still, or moving about (that is to say) during the whole twenty-four hours (_lit._ eight watches), he used to keep his lord in mind. The practice is, that if one person sells another, this one becomes sold; but a servant, by entering service, sells _himself_; and, when sold, he becomes a dependant; and once dependant, he has no prospect of peace. It is notorious, that however clever, wise, and learned he may be, still, when he is in his master’s presence, he remains quite silent, like a dumb person, through fear. So long as he is aloof from him, he is at rest. On this account it is that the learned say, ‘To perform the duties of a servant is more difficult than to perform religious duties.’”
“(To) the story: It is related, that one day the weeping voice of a woman chanced to come at night-time from the burning-ground. On hearing it the king called out, ‘Is any one in waiting?’ Birbar instantly answered, ‘I am here; your commands.’ Thereupon the king gave him this order,--‘Go to the spot whence yon weeping voice of a woman proceeds, and enquire of her the cause of her weeping, and return quickly.’ Having given him this order the king began to say to himself, ‘Whosoever desires to test his servant should order him to do things in season and out of season; if he execute his order, know that he is worth something; and if he object, be sure that he is worthless. And in this same way prove brethren and friends in days of adversity, and a wife in poverty.’”
“In fine, on receiving this order, he took the direction whence the sound of her weeping proceeded; and the king also, after dressing himself in black, followed him secretly, for the purpose of observing his courage. In this interval Birbar arrived there. What does he behold in the burning-ground, but a beautiful woman, lavishly decked with jewels from head to foot, crying aloud and bitterly! At one moment she was dancing, at another leaping, at another running; and not a tear in her eyes! And while repeatedly beating her head, and crying out, ‘Alas! alas!’ she kept dashing herself on the ground. Seeing this her condition, Birbar asked, ‘Why art thou crying and beating thyself so violently? Who art thou? and what trouble has befallen thee?’”
“On this she said, ‘I am the royal glory.’ Birbar said, ‘Why art thou weeping?’ Upon this she began relating her case to Birbar, saying, ‘Impious acts (_lit_. acts such as a Shüdra performs) are committed in the king’s house, whence misfortune will find admission therein, and I shall depart thence; after the lapse of a month the king will suffer much affliction and die; this is the sorrow which makes me weep. Further, I have enjoyed great happiness in his house, and hence this regret: and this matter will in nowise prove false.’”
“Birbar then asked, ‘Is there any such remedy for it, whereby the king may escape, and live a hundred years?’ She said, ‘Towards the east, at a distance of four _kos_ (eight miles), is a temple sacred to (the goddess) Devi; if you will cut off your son’s head with your own hand, and offer it to that goddess, then the king will reign a hundred years precisely as he now reigns, and no harm of any kind will’ befall the king.’”
“As soon as he had heard these words, Birbar went home, and the king also followed him. To be brief, when he got home, he awoke his wife, and minutely related the whole story to her. On hearing the circumstances, she roused the son alone; but the daughter also awoke. Then that woman said to her boy, ‘Son! by sacrificing your head the king’s life will be saved, and the government, too, will endure.’ When the boy heard this, he said, ‘Mother! in the first place, it is your command; in the second, it is for my lord’s service; thirdly, if this body come of use to a deity, nothing in the world is better for me; in my opinion, than this: it is not right to delay any longer now in this business. There is a saying, ‘If one have a son, to have him under control,--a body, free from disease,--science, such that one benefits thereby,--a friend, prudent,--a wife, submissive,--if these five things are obtainable by man, they are the bestowers of happiness and the averters of trouble: if a servant be unwilling, a king parsimonious, a friend insincere, and a wife disobedient, these four things are the banishers of peace and the promoters of misery.’”
“Birbar again addressed his wife, saying, ‘If thou wilt willingly give up thy child, I will take him away and sacrifice him for the king.’ She replied, saying, ‘I have no concern with son, daughter, brother, kinsfolk, mother, father, or any one; from you it is that my happiness proceeds; and in the moral Code, too, it is thus written,--‘A woman is purified neither by offerings nor by religious offices; her religion consists in serving and honouring her husband, no matter whether he be lame, maimed in the hands, dumb, deaf, blind of both eyes, blind of one eye, a leper, hunch-backed,--of whatever kind he be, if she perform any description of virtuous action in the world, while she does not obey her husband, she will fall into hell.’ His son said, ‘Father! the man by whom’ his master’s business is accomplished--_his_ continuing to live in the world is attended with advantage; and in this there is advantage in both worlds.’ Then his daughter said, ‘If the mother give poison to the daughter, and the father sell the son, and the king seize everything, then whose protection shall we seek?”’
“The four, deliberating with one another somewhat after the above fashion, went to the temple of Devi. The king also secretly followed them. When Birbar arrived there, he entered the temple, paid his adoration to Devi, and joined his hands in supplication, and said, ‘O Devi! grant that by the sacrificing of my son the king may live a hundred years.’ Saying so much, he struck such a blow with the sword that his son’s head fell upon the ground. On witnessing her brother’s death, the daughter struck a blow with the sword on her own neck, so that her head and body fell asunder. Seeing her son and daughter dead, Birbar’s wife struck such a stroke with the sword on her own neck, that her head was severed from her body. Further, seeing the death of those three, Birbar, reflecting in his mind, began to say, ‘When my _son_ is dead, for whose sake shall I retain service? and to whom shall I give the gold I receive from the king?’ Having reflected thus, he struck such a blow with the sword on his own neck, that his head was severed from his body. Again, beholding the death of these four, the king sajd to himself, ‘For my sake the lives of his family have perished; accursed is it any longer to govern a realm for which the whole family of one is destroyed, while one holds sovereignty; it is no virtue thus to reign.’ Having deliberated thus, the king was on the point of killing himself with the sword; in the meantime, however, Devi came and seized his hand, and said, ‘Son! I am well pleased at thy courage, and will grant thee whatever boon thou mayest ask of me.’ The king said, ‘Mother! if thou art pleased, restore all these four to life.’ Devi said, ‘This same shall take place,’ and on the instant of saying it, Bhawãni brought the water of life from the nether regions, and restored all four to life. After that the king bestowed half his kingdom on Birbar.”
Having related so much, the sprite said, “Blessed is the servant who did not grudge his life, and that of his family, for his master’s sake! And happy is the king who showed no eagerness to cling to his dominion and his life. O king! I ask you this,--Whose virtue, of those five, was the most excellent?” Then King Vikramãjït said, “The king’s virtue was the greatest.” The sprite asked, “Why?” Then the king answered, saying, “It behoves the servant to lay down his life for his master, for this is his duty; but since the king gave up his throne for the sake of his servant, and valued not his life at a straw, the king’s merit was the superior.” Having heard these words, the sprite again went and suspended himself on the tree in that burning-ground.
TALE IV.
The king, having gone there again, bound the sprite and brought him away. Then the sprite said, “O king! there is a town named Bhogwati, of which Rüpsen is the king, and he has a parrot named Chürãman. One day the king asked the parrot, ‘What different things do you know?’ Then the parrot said, ‘Your majesty! I know everything.’ The king rejoined, ‘Tell me, then, if you know where there is a beautiful maiden equal to me in rank.’ Then the parrot said, ‘Your majesty! in the country of Magadh there is a king named Magadheshwar, and his daughter’s name is Chandrãvatï; you will be married to her. She is very beautiful, and very learned.’”
“On hearing these words from the parrot, the king summoned an astrologer named Chandrakãnt, and asked him, ‘To what maid shall I be married?’ He also, having made the discovery through his knowledge of astrology, said, ‘There is a maiden named Chandrãvatï; you will be married to her.’
“Hearing these words, the king summoned a Brahman, and after explaining all, said to him at the moment of despatching him to King Magadheshwar, ‘If you return, after placing the arrangements for my marriage on a firm basis, I will make you happy.’ Having heard these words, the Brahman took leave.”
“Now, in the possession of King Magadheshwar’s daughter was a _maina,_ whose name was _Madanmanjari._
“In the same way the princess, too, one day asked Madanmanjari, ‘Where is there a husband worthy of me?’ On this the _maina_ said, ‘Rüpsen is the King of Bhogwati; _he_ will be thy lord.’ To be brief, unseen (of one another), the one had become enamoured of the other, when, in the course of a few days, the Brahman also arrived there, and delivered his own sovereign’s message to that king. He too consented to his proposal, and summoning a Brahman of his own, entrusted to him the nuptial gifts and all customary things, sent him along with that Brahman, and gave him this injunction, ‘Do you go and present my compliments to the king, and having marked his forehead with the usual unguents, return quickly: when you return I will make preparations for the wedding.’”
“The short of the story is, the two Brahmans set out thence. In the course of some days they arrived at King Rüpsen’s, and related all the occurrences of that place. On hearing this the king was pleased, and after making all (necessary) preparations, set out to be married. Reaching that country after some days, he married, and after receiving the bridal gifts and dowry, and bidding adieu to the king, started for his own kingdom. When leaving, the princess took Madanmanjari’s cage with her too. After some days they arrived in their own country, and commenced living happily in their palace.”
“It happened one day that the cages of both the parrot and the _mainã_ were placed near the throne, and the king and queen entered into conversation, saying, ‘No one’s life passes happily without a companion; hence it is best for us to marry the parrot and _mainã_ to one another, and put them both in one cage; then will they also live happily.’ After conversing together thus, they had a large cage brought, and put both into it.”
“Some days after, the king and queen were seated conversing with each other, when the parrot began to talk to the _mainã_, saying, ‘Sexual intercourse is the essence of all bliss in this world; and he who, on being born into the world, has not enjoyed sexual intercourse--his life has been passed in vain. Hence, do thou let me copulate with thee.’ On hearing this the _mainã_ said, ‘I have no desire for a male.’ Thereupon he inquired ‘Why?’ The _mainã_ said, ‘The male sex are sinful, irreligious, deceivers, and wife-killers.’ Hearing this, the parrot said, ‘The female sex, too, are deceitful, false, stupid, avaricious creatures, and murderesses.’”
“When the two commenced wrangling in this manner, the king asked, ‘Why are you two quarrelling with each other?’ The _maina_ replied, ‘Great king! the male sex are evil-doers and wife-killers, and hence I have no desire to have a male partner. Your majesty! I will tell you a tale, do you be pleased to hearken; for such (as I describe them) are men.’”
THE MAINA’S STORY.
“‘There was a city named Ilãpur, and a merchant named Mahãdhan dwelt there, who could not get a family. On this account he was continually making pilgrimages and keeping fasts, and always hearing the Purãnas read, and he used to give gifts largely to the Brahmans. In fine, after some considerable time, by God’s will, a son was born in that merchant’s house. He celebrated the event with great pomp, and gave large gifts to the Brahmans and bards, and also gave away a good deal to the hungry, thirsty, and indigent. When he reached the age of five years, he placed him (in school) for instruction. He used to leave home for the purpose of learning, but used to gamble with the boys when he got there.”
“‘After some time the merchant died, and he (the son) becoming his own master, used to spend his days in gambling and his nights in fornication. Thus he dissipated his whole wealth in a few years, and having no alternative, quitted his country, and proceeding from bad to worse, arrived at the city of Chandrapur. In that place dwelt a merchant named Hemgupt, who possessed much wealth. He went to him, and mentioned his father’s name and circumstances. He (the merchant) felt instant pleasure on hearing these accounts; and rising and embracing him, inquired, ‘How came you here?’ Then he said, ‘I had engaged a vessel, and set out for an island to trade, and having arrived there, and sold the goods, had taken in other goods as cargo, and left with the vessel for my own land, when suddenly so violent a storm arose that the ship was wrecked, and I was left seated on a plank; and so, drifting on, I have reached this shore. But I feel a sense of shame at having lost all my property and wealth. How can I now return and show my face to my fellow-citizens in this state?’”
“‘To be brief, when he uttered such words in his presence, he (the merchant) too began to think to himself, ‘God has relieved me of any anxiety without any effort of my own (_lit_. I sitting at home); now, a coincidence like this occurs through the mercy of God alone; it behoves me to make no delay now. The best thing to be done is to give my girl in marriage * to him; whatever is done now is best; as for the morrow--who knows what it may bring forth!’ Forming this grand design in his mind, he came to his wife and began to say, ‘A merchant’s son has arrived; if you approve, we will give Ratnãvati in marriage to him.’ She, too, was delighted on hearing (this), and said, ‘Sir merchant! when God brings about a coincidence like this, then alone does it occur; for the desire of our hearts has been obtained without our bestirring ourselves in the least (_lit_., we sitting quietly at home); hence, it is best not to delay, but quickly send for the family priest, have the auspicious moment determined, and give her away in marriage.’ Hereupon the merchant sent for the priest, had the fortunate planetary conjunction determined, and gave his daughter away, bestowing a large dowry upon her. In fine, when the marriage had taken place, they commenced living together there.”
* Lit. “make the girl’s hands yellow.” Among the Hindus, for some days before marriage, the hands of a betrothed couple are stained yellow with turmeric.
“‘To proceed:--After some days, he said to the merchant’s daughter, ‘A long time has passed since I arrived in your land, and no news of my household has reached me, and my mind remains troubled in consequence. I have told you my whole case; you should now so explain matters to your mother that she may, of her own free will, allow me to depart, that I may return to my own city. If it be your wish, do you also come.’ On this, she said to her mother, ‘My husband desires permission to depart to his own land; do you, too, act in such a manner now that his mind may receive no pain.’”
“‘The merchant’s wife went to her husband, and said, ‘Your son-in-law asks leave to return home.’ On hearing this, the merchant said, ‘Very well; we will let him go, for we can exercise no authority over a stranger’s son; we will, do that alone wherein his pleasure consists.’ Having said this, he sent for his daughter, and asked, ‘Will you go to your father-in-law’s, or remain at your mother’s? Speak your own mind.’ At this she blushed, and gave no answer, (but) returned to her husband, and said, ‘My parents have declared that they will do that wherein your pleasure consists; don’t you leave me behind.’ To be brief, the merchant summoned his son-in-law, loaded him with wealth, and dismissed him, and allowed his daughter to accompany him in a litter, together with a female servant. After this, he set out from thence.”
“‘When he reached a certain jungle, he said to the merchant’s daughter, ‘There is great danger here; if you will take off your jewels and give them to me, I will fasten them round my waist; when we come to a town you can put them on again.’ She no sooner heard this than she took off all her ornaments, and he having taken them, and sent away the bearers of the litter, killed the woman-servant and threw her into a well, and pushing her (his wife) into a well also, went off to his own country with all the jewels.”