Hindu Tales from the Sanskrit by S. M. Mitra and Nancy Bell
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S. M. Mitra and Nancy Bell >> Hindu Tales from the Sanskrit
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15. What do you think was wrong in Putraka's way of looking at
the past?
16. Was his idea of leaving his country and his people a sign of
weakness or of strength?
CHAPTER IX
In the end the poor young king decided that he would go right away
as his father and uncles had done; and his mind being made up,
he became more cheerful and began to think he might meet with some
interesting adventures in a new country, where nobody knew anything
about him. As soon as it was light, he wandered off into the forest,
feeling, it is true, very lonely, but at the same time taking a
certain pleasure in being entirely his own master; which a king can
never really be, because he has to consider so many other people and
to keep so many rules.
After all Putraka did not find the forest so very lonely; for he
had not gone far in it before his sad thoughts were broken in upon
by his coming suddenly to a little clearing, where the trees had
been cut down and two strong-looking men were wrestling together,
the king watched them for a little while, wondering what they were
fighting about. Then he called out, "What are you doing here? What
are you quarrelling about?"
The men were greatly surprised to hear Putraka's voice, for they
thought that they were quite alone. They stopped fighting for a minute
or two, and one of them said: "We are fighting for three very precious
things which were left behind him by our father."
"What are those things?" asked Putraka.
"A bowl, a stick and a pair of shoes," was the reply. "Whoever wins
the fight will get them all. There they lie on the ground."
"Well, I never!" cried the king, laughing as he looked at the things,
which seemed to him worth very little. "I shouldn't trouble to fight
about such trifles, if I were you."
"Trifles!" exclaimed one of the men angrily. "You don't know what
you are talking about. They are worth more than their weight in
gold. Whoever gets the bowl will find plenty of food in it whenever he
wants it; the owner of the stick has only to write his wishes on the
ground with it and he will get them; and whoever puts on the shoes
can fly through the air in them to any distance."
17. Which of these things would you rather have had?
18. What lesson do you learn from what the men said about the things
on the ground?
CHAPTER X
When Putraka heard the wonders which, could be done with what he had
thought not worth having, he determined to get possession of the three
treasures for himself; not considering that it would he very wrong to
take what did not belong to him. "It seems a pity to fight," he said,
"why don't you race for the things, and let whichever wins the race
have them? That banyan tree over there would make a good winning post
and I will be the umpire."
Instead of guessing what Putraka had in his mind, the brothers, who
were very simple fellows, said at once: "All right. We won't fight,
we'll race instead, and you can give us the start." Putraka agreed,
and directly they were off he lost not a moment, but picked up the
bowl and the staff, put on the shoes, and flew straight up into the
air with the treasures. When the brothers came back, disputing about
which of them had won, there was not a sign of Putraka, the bowl,
the stick, or the shoes. They guessed at once what had happened;
and after staring up in the air for a long time, they went home,
feeling very much enraged with the man who had cheated them, and
ashamed of having been so stupid as to trust him.
19. What do you think of Putraka's behaviour in this matter?
20. If you could have had one of the three things Putraka stole,
which would you have chosen?
CHAPTER XI
On and on flew Putraka, full of eager delight in the new power of
flight. How he loved rushing through the air, cleaving it like a bird
on the wing! All he wanted to make him perfectly happy was someone
to enjoy his new powers with him. Presently he found himself above
a beautiful city with towers and pinnacles and minarets gleaming in
the sunshine. "Ah!" he thought, "that is the place for me. I will go
down there, and see if I can find a nice house to live in, and some
people to make friends with, who will not try to kill me or to cheat
me, but love me and be grateful to me for any kindness I show them."
As Putraka was hovering in the air above the town to which he had
taken such a fancy, he noticed a little house which rather pleased
him; for though it was poor-looking, there was something cheerful and
home-like about it. Down he sped and alighted at the door. Only one
poor old woman lived in the house, and when Putraka knocked and asked
if he might come in, she said "Yes" at once. He gave her some money,
and told her he would like to live with her, if she would let him
do so. She was only too glad to consent, for she was very lonely;
and the two lived happily together for a long time.
21. Do you think that if Putraka had flown home on his wonderful
shoes, taking his staff and bowl with him, his, father and uncles
would still have tried to kill him?
22. How could Putraka have prevented them from doing him harm if he
had returned to his home?
CHAPTER XII
The old woman grew very fond of Putraka, caring for him and waiting
on him as if he had been her own son. She was so anxious that he
should be happy that she became afraid he would become tired of
living alone with her. So she said to him one day: "My dear adopted
son, you ought to have a wife to keep you company. I know the very
one for you, the only one really worthy of you. She is a princess,
and her name is Patala. She is so very lovely that every man who sees
her falls in love with her and wants to carry her off. So she is most
carefully guarded in the top rooms of a great palace, as high as
the summits of the loftiest mountains." When Putraka heard this he
was all eagerness to see the princess, and at once determined to go
forth to seek her. He was more than ever glad now that he had stolen
the shoes, because he knew that they would carry him even to the top
of the highest mountains.
23. What qualities did the old woman show when she told Putraka about
the Princess?
24. What faults of character did the young king show when he decided
at once to leave the old woman who had been so good to him?
CHAPTER XIII
The very evening of the day when Putraka heard about the princess,
he started on his journey, taking with him his bowl and staff. The old
woman gave him very careful instructions which way to go, and begged
him to come back to tell her how he had got on. He promised he would,
thanked her for all she had done for him, and flew away in a great
state of excitement. She watched him till he was quite out of sight,
and then went sadly into her lonely home, wondering if she would ever
see him again.
It was not long before Putraka came in sight of the palace. It was a
beautiful night, and the moon was shining full upon the room in which
the princess was asleep. It was a very big one, with costly furniture
and priceless tapestry hung round the walls, and there were doors
behind the tapestry leading to other apartments, in some of which the
attendants on Patala slept, whilst others kept watch lest anyone should
intrude upon their mistress. No one thought of guarding the windows,
for they were so high up that only a bird could reach them.
The young king alighted on the ledge of the window of the princess'
room, and looked in. There, on a golden bed, amongst soft cushions
and embroidered coverings, lay the most lovely creature he had ever
beheld, so lovely that he fell in love with her at once and gave
a loud cry of delight. This woke the princess, who started up and
was about to scream out aloud in her terror at seeing a man looking
in at the window, when Putraka with the aid of his magic staff made
himself invisible. Then, thinking she had been dreaming, Patala lay
down again, and the king began talking to her in a low voice, telling
her he had heard of her beauty and had flown from far away to see
her. He begged her to allow him to show himself to her, and added:
"I will go away again directly afterwards if you wish it."
Putraka's voice was so gentle, and it seemed to Patala so wonderful
that a man could fly and make himself invisible, that she was full
of curiosity to see him and find out all about him. So she gave her
consent, and immediately afterwards the young king stood within the
room, looking so noble and so handsome that she too fell in love at
first sight. Putraka told her all about his life and adventures, which
interested her very much. She was glad, she said, that he was a king;
but she would have loved him just as well, whoever he might have been.
After a long talk, Patala begged him to leave her for fear her
attendants should discover him and tell her father about him. "My
father would never let me marry you," she declared, "unless you were
to come with many followers as a king to ask my hand; and how can
you do that when you are only a wandering exile?"
25. Was there any reason to fear that Putraka would be discovered
when he could make himself invisible at any moment?
26. What do you think would have been the right thing for Putraka
and Patala to do when they found out that they loved each other?
CHAPTER XIV
It was very difficult to persuade Putraka to go, but at last he
flew away. Every night after that, however, he came to see Patala,
spending the days sometimes in one place, sometimes in another, and
using his magic bowl to supply himself with food. Alas, he forgot
all about the dear old woman to whom he owed all his happiness,
and she slowly gave up hope of ever seeing him again. He might quite
easily have flown to her cottage and cheered her with his presence;
but he was so wrapped up in his love for Patala that everything else
went out of his head. This selfishness on his part presently got him
into serious trouble, for he became careless about making himself
invisible when he flew up to the princess' window. So that one night
he was discovered by a guardian of the palace. The matter was at once
reported to the king, who could not at first believe such a thing
was possible. The man must have seen a big bird, that was all. The
king, however, ordered one of his daughter's ladies to keep watch
every night in an ante-room, leaving the door open with the tapestry,
in which there was a slit, drawn carefully over it, and to come and
tell him in the morning if she had seen or heard anything unusual.
Now the lady chosen loved the princess, and, like many of her
fellow-attendants, thought it was very cruel of the king to punish his
own child for being so beautiful, by shutting her up as he did. It
so happened that the very first night she was on guard, Putraka had
flown a very, very long way, not noticing where he was going, because
he was thinking so earnestly of Patala. When at last he flew in at
her window, he was so weary that he sank down on a couch and fell
fast asleep. The princess too was tired, because she had lain awake
talking to her lover so many nights running that she had had hardly
any rest. So when the lady peeped through the slit in the tapestry,
there, by the light of the night lamp, she saw the young king lying
unconscious, whilst the princess also was asleep.
Very cautiously the attendant crept to the side of Putraka, and took a
long, long look at him. She noticed how handsome he was, and that he
was dressed in beautiful clothes. She especially remarked the turban
he wore, because in India the rank to which men belong is shown by
the kind of turbans they wear. "This is no common man," she thought,
"but a prince or king in disguise. What shall I do now? I will not
raise an alarm which might lead to this beautiful young lover being
killed and the heart of my dear mistress broken."
27. If you had been the lady who found Putraka in Patala's room,
what would you have done?
28. What could Putraka have done to guard against being discovered?
CHAPTER XV
After hesitating a long time, the lady made up her mind that she would
only put some mark in the turban of Putraka, so that he could be known
again, and let him escape that night at least. So she stole back to
her room, fetched a tiny, brooch, and fastened it in the folds of the
turban, where the wearer was not likely to notice it himself. This
done, she went back to listen at the door.
It was nearly morning when Putraka woke up, very much surprised at
finding himself lying on the couch, for he did not remember throwing
himself down on it. Starting up, he woke Patala, who was terribly
frightened, for she expected her ladies to come in any minute to help
her to dress. She entreated Putraka to make himself invisible and fly
away at once. He did so; and, as usual, wandered about until the time
should come to go back to the palace. But he still felt too tired to
fly, and instead walked about in the town belonging to Patala's father.
The lady who had been on guard had half a mind to tell her mistress
that her secret was discovered. But before she could get a chance to
do so, she was sent for by the king, who asked her if she had seen
or heard anything during the night. She tried very hard to escape
from betraying Patala; but she hesitated so much in her answers
that the king guessed there was something she wanted to hide, and
told her, if she did not reveal the whole truth, he would have her
head shaved and send her to prison. So she told how she had found
a handsome man, beautifully dressed, fast asleep in Patala's room;
but she did not believe her mistress knew anything about it, because
she too was asleep.
The king was of course in a terrible rage, and the lady was afraid
he would order her to be punished; but he only went on questioning
her angrily about what the man was like, so that he might be found
and brought before him. Then the lady confessed that she had put
the brooch in the turban, comforting herself with the thought that,
when the king saw Putraka and knew that Patala loved him, he might
perhaps relent and let them be married.
When the king heard about the brooch, he was greatly pleased; and
instead of ordering the lady to be punished, he told her that, when
the man who had dared to approach his daughter was found, he would
give her a great reward. He then sent forth hundreds of spies to
hunt for the man with a brooch in his turban, and Putraka was very
soon found, strolling quietly about in the market-place. He was so
taken by surprise that, though he had his staff in his hand and his
shoes and bowl in the pocket of his robes, he had no time to write
his wishes with the staff, or to put on the shoes, so he was obliged
to submit to be dragged to the palace. He did all he could to persuade
those who had found him to let him go, telling them he was a king and
would reward them well. They only laughed at him and dragged him along
with them to the palace, where he was at once taken before the king,
who was sitting on his throne, surrounded by his court, in a great hall
lined with soldiers. The big windows were wide open; and noticing this,
Putraka did not feel at all afraid, for he knew he had only to slip on
his shoes and fly out of one of the windows, if he could not persuade
the king to let him marry Patala. So he stood quietly at the foot of
the throne, and looked bravely into the face of his dear one's father.
This only made the king more angry, and he began calling Putraka all
manner of names and asking him how he dared to enter the room of his
daughter. Putraka answered quietly that he loved Patala and wished
to marry her. He was himself a king, and would give her all she had
been used to. But it was all no good, for it only made the king more
angry. He rose from his throne, and stretching out his hand, he cried:
"Let him be scourged and placed in close confinement!"
Then Putraka with his staff wrote rapidly on the ground his wish that
no one should be able to touch him, and stooping down slipped on his
magic shoes. The king, the courtiers and the soldiers all remained
exactly as they were, staring at him in astonishment, as he rose up in
the air and flew out of one of the windows. Straight away he sped to
the palace of Patala and into her room, where she was pacing to and fro
in an agony of anxiety about him; for she had heard of his having been
taken prisoner and feared that her father would order him to be killed.
29. What do you think would have been the best thing for the king to
do when Putraka was brought before him?
30. If Putraka had not had his shoes with him, how could he have
escaped from the king's palace?
CHAPTER XVI
Great indeed was the delight of Patala when her beloved Putraka once
more flew in at her window; but she was still trembling with fear
for him and begged him to go away back to his own land as quickly
as possible.
"I will not go without you," replied Putraka. "Wrap yourself up warmly,
for it is cold flying through the air, and we will go away together,
and your cruel father shall never see you again."
Patala wept at hearing this, for it seemed terrible to her to have to
choose between the father she loved and Putraka. But in the end her
lover got his own way, and just as those who were seeking him were
heard approaching, he seized his dear one in his arms and flew off
with her. He did not return to his own land even then, but directed
his course to the Ganges, the grand and beautiful river which the
people of India love and worship, calling it their Mother Ganga. By
the banks of the sacred stream the lovers rested, and with the aid of
his magic bowl Putraka soon had a good and delicious meal ready, which
they both enjoyed very much. As they ate, they consulted together
what they had better do now, and Patala, who was as clever as she
was beautiful, said:
"Would it not be a good thing to build a new city in this lovely
place? You could do it with your marvellous staff, could you not?"
"Why, of course, I could," said Putraka laughing. "Why didn't I think
of it myself?" Very soon a wonderful town rose up, which the young
king wished to be as much as possible like the home he had left,
only larger and fuller of fine buildings than it. When the town was
made, he wished it to be full of happy inhabitants, with temples
in which they might worship, priests to teach them how to be good,
markets in which food and all that was needed could be bought, tanks
and rivulets full of pure water, soldiers and officers to defend the
gates, elephants on which he and his wife could ride, everything in
fact that the heart of man or woman could desire.
The first thing Putraka and Patala did after the rise of their own
town, which they named Patali-Putra [1] after themselves, was to get
married in accordance with the rites of their religion; and for many,
many years they reigned wisely over their people, who loved them and
their children with all their hearts. Amongst the attendants on those
children was the old woman who had shown kindness to Putraka in his
loneliness and trouble. For when he told Patala the story of his life,
she reproached him for his neglect of one to whom he owed so much. She
made him feel quite ashamed of himself, and he flew away and brought
the dear old lady back with him, to her very great delight.
31. Which of the people in this story do you like best?
32. Do you think Putraka deserved all the happiness which came to
him through stealing the wand, the shoes and the bowl?
33. Can you suggest any way in which he could have atoned for the
wrong he did to the brothers whose property he took?
34. What is the chief lesson to be learnt from this story?
STORY V
The Jewelled Arrow.
CHAPTER I
In the city of Vardhamana in India there lived a powerful king named
Vira-Bhuja, who, as was the custom in his native land, had many wives,
each of whom had several sons. Of all his wives this king loved best
the one named Guna-Vara, and of all his sons her youngest-born, called
Sringa-Bhuja, was his favourite. Guna-Vara was not only very beautiful
but very good. She was so patient that nothing could make her angry,
so unselfish that she always thought of others before herself, and
so wise that she was able to understand how others were feeling,
however different their natures were from her own.
Sringa-Bhuja, the son of Guna-Vara, resembled his mother in her beauty
and her unselfishness; he was also very strong and very clever, whilst
his brothers were quite unlike him. They wanted to have everything
their own way, and they were very jealous indeed of their father's
love for him. They were always trying to do him harm, and though they
often quarrelled amongst themselves, they would band together to try
and hurt him.
It was very much the same with the king's wives. They hated Guna-Vara,
because their husband loved her more than he did them, and they
constantly came to him with stories they had made up of the wicked
things she had done. Amongst other things they told the king that
Guna-Vara did not really love him but cared more for some one else
than she did for him. The most bitter of all against her was the
wife called Ayasolekha, who was cunning enough to know what sort of
tale the king was likely to believe. The very fact that Vira-Bhuja
loved Guna-Vara so deeply made him more ready to think that perhaps
after all she did not return his affection, and he longed to find
out the truth. So he in his turn made up a story, thinking by its
means to find out how she felt for him. He therefore went one day
to her private apartments, and having sent all her attendants away,
he told her he had some very sad news for her which he had heard from
his chief astrologer. Astrologers, you know, are wise men, who are
supposed to be able to read the secrets of the stars, and learn from
them things which are hidden from ordinary human beings. Guna-Vara
therefore did not doubt that what her husband was about to tell her
was true, and she listened eagerly, her heart beating very fast in
her fear that some trouble was coming to those she loved.
Great indeed was her sorrow and surprise, when Vira-Bhuja went on
to say that the astrologer had told him that a terrible misfortune
threatened him and his kingdom and the only way to prevent it was to
shut Guna-Vara up in prison for the rest of her life. The poor queen
could hardly believe that she had heard rightly. She knew she had
done no wrong, and could not understand how putting her in prison
could help anybody. She was quite sure that her husband loved her,
and no words could have expressed her pain at the thought of being
sent away from him and her dear son. Yet she made no resistance,
not even asking Vira-Bhuja to let her see Sringa-Bhuja again. She
just bowed her beautiful head and said: "Be it unto me as my Lord
wills. If he wishes my death, I am ready to lay down my life."
This submission made the king feel even more unhappy than before. He
longed to take his wife in his arms and tell her he would never let
her go; and perhaps if she had looked at him then, he would have
seen all her love for him in her eyes, but she remained perfectly
still with bowed head, waiting to hear what her fate was to be. Then
the thought entered Vira-Bhuja's mind: "She is afraid to look at me:
what Ayasolekha said was true."
1. Can true love suspect the loved one of evil?
2. Is true love ever jealous?
CHAPTER II
So the king summoned his guards and ordered them to take his wife
to a strong prison and leave her there. She went with them without
making any resistance, only turning once to look lovingly at her
husband as she was led away. Vira-Bhuja returned to his own palace and
had not been there very long when he got a message from Ayasolekha,
begging him to give her an interview, for she had something of very
great importance to tell him. The king consented at once, thinking
to himself, "perhaps she has found out that what she told me about
my dear Guna-Vara is not true."
Great then was his disappointment when the wicked woman told him she
had discovered a plot against his life. The son of Guna-Vara and some
of the chief men of the kingdom, she said, had agreed together to kill
him, so that Sringa-Bhuja might reign in his stead. She and some of
the other wives had overheard conversations between them, and were
terrified lest their beloved Lord should be hurt. The young prince,
she declared, had had some trouble in persuading the nobles to help
him, but he had succeeded at last.
Vira-Bhuja simply could not believe this story, for he trusted his
son as much as he loved him; and he sent the mischief maker away,
telling her not to dare to enter his presence again. For all that
he could not get the matter out of his head. He had Sringa-Bhuja
carefully watched; and as nothing against him was found out, he
was beginning to feel more easy in his mind, and even to think of
going to see Guna-Vara in her prison to ask her to confide in him,
when something happened which led him to fear that after all his
dear son was not true to him. This was what made him uneasy. He had
a wonderful arrow, set with precious jewels, which had been given to
him by a magician, and had the power of hitting without fail whatever
it was aimed at from however great a distance. The very day he had
meant to visit his ill-treated wife, he missed this arrow from the
place in which he kept it concealed. This distressed him very much;
and after seeking it in vain, he summoned all those who were employed
in the palace to his presence, and asked if any of them knew anything
about the arrow. He promised that he would forgive any one who helped
him to get it back, even if it were the thief himself; but added that,
if it was not found in three days, he would have all the servants
beaten until the one who had stolen it confessed.
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