Hindoo Tales by Translated by P. W. Jacob

T >> Translated by P. W. Jacob >> Hindoo Tales

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"'The devoted attendants kept the whole affair secret, removed the
infant as soon as it was born, and telling the mother it was dead,
gave it to a savari woman, who carried it to the public cemetery and
left it there.

"'As she was returning; she was stopped by the watchmen, and in her
fright told them what she had done. Information was given to the king,
and further inquiry being made, my offence was discovered, and one
night I was arrested, while quietly sleeping unsuspicious of danger.
Being condemned to death, I was led to execution outside the city. By
a fortunate chance I got my hands free, and snatching the sword from
the executioner, laid about me so vigorously that all the men fell
back, and I made my escape to the forest. There I wandered about for
some time, subsisting on wild fruits and roots, and sleeping in the
trees.

"'While living this precarious life, I was one day astonished at
meeting a young lady, with many female attendants. She addressed me by
my name, and desired me to sit down with her, under a large tree.

"'When, with much surprise, I asked who she was, and how she came to
be in that wild forest, with such a retinue, and why I was so favoured
by her, she told me the reason of her coming, saying: My name is
Taravali. I am the daughter of a chief Yaksha. A short time ago I
went to visit a friend, living on the Malaya Mountains, and while
flying through the air on my return, as I passed over the cemetery of
Benares, I heard the cry of a child.

"'Moved with compassion, I alighted on the ground, took it up and
carried it to my father. He took it to our master, the god Kuvera, who
sent for me, and asked, "What induced you to bring this child?" "A
strong feeling of compassion," I answered, as if it had been my own.

"'You are right,' he replied; 'there is good reason for what you have
done;' and he showed me how, in a former existence, when you were
Sudraka and I Aryadasi, the child, now born of the Princess Kantimati,
was ours; therefore, I am really your wife, and it was indeed a
maternal instinct which prompted me to save the infant. Kuvera,
however, would not allow me to keep the boy, but ordered me to take
him to the Queen Vasumati, that he might be brought up together with
her son, who will one day become a great monarch.

"Having performed the command of the god, I am permitted by him to
find you out, and relieve you from your present distress."

"So saying, she embraced me, and afterwards took me to a fairy palace
in the forest, furnished with all comforts and luxuries, where I
passed some time with her in great happiness.

"One day, when she was expressing her great love for me, I said: 'I
have a strong desire to take some vengeance on the king who would have
put me to death.' Upon which, with a smile, she said, 'Ah! you wish
to see Kantimati; I am not jealous, I will take you to her.'

"Then lifting me up, she bore me through the air to the palace, and
without disturbing the guards, placed me at the bedside of the king.

"Grasping a sword lying near him, I awakened him, and said: 'I am,
your son-in-law; I took your daughter without your consent, and am now
come to make submission and atone for my fault."

"Seeing the drawn sword held over him he was much alarmed, and said:
'I must have been mad to act as I did and reject such a son-in-law; I
will now acknowledge you, and you shall duly marry my daughter.'

"He kept his word, the next day announced the intended marriage to all
the court, and shortly afterwards publicly gave me his daughter.

"Taravali remained with me, became great friends with her fellow-wife,
told her the story which she had related to me, and how her son had
been preserved and was taken care of by Queen Vasumati.

"Thus I have for some years lived happily, holding, as you know, a
very important office."

[End of the story of Kamapala as told to his servant.]

* * * * *

"Some time after this, the death of the old king occurred, and as the
eldest son had died during his father's lifetime, of consumption
brought on by dissipation and debauchery; my master, together with the
other ministers, placed Sinhaghosha, a boy about five years old, on
the throne, and had him carefully educated.

"As the young king grew older, he was surrounded by companions nearer
his own age, and they not liking the restraint put upon them by the
wise and prudent Kamapala, endeavoured secretly to excite a prejudice
against him, saying, 'This fellow, who sets himself up to be so wise
and virtuous, is a wicked wretch, who first seduced the princess, and
then, having escaped the death he so well deserved, managed to get to
the bedside of the sleeping king, and to frighten him into compliance
with his demands. This Kamapala intends to make himself king; he
poisoned your eldest brother, and only spared you in order to obtain
the support of the people, knowing that the real power would remain in
his own hands. Depend on it you will not be suffered to live when you
are old enough to shake off his authority. If you wish to be safe you
should get rid of him at once.'

"With these, and other similar speeches, they so prejudiced the young
king against his guardian and minister, that he would gladly have got
rid of him at once, but was deterred by fear of the power of his
Yaksha wife.

"One day the queen, seeing the Princess Kantimati very sad, asked her
the reason of her sadness, saying, 'Tell me the truth; you cannot
deceive me; what is the cause of this depression?' 'Did I ever deceive
you?' she answered; 'my friend and fellow-wife, Taravali, has taken
offence at something done or said by our husband, and though we tried
to soothe her, she went away, and has not returned; this is the cause
of my distress.'

"The queen hearing this, immediately told her husband, 'Kamapala has
quarrelled with his fairy wife, and she has left him. There is nothing
now to prevent your proceeding against him as you please.'

"Sinhaghosha, longing to be freed from restraint, caused his minister
to be arrested, when he came the next day to the palace, as usual,
unsuspicious of danger. This very day he will be led round the city,
be proclaimed a traitor, and have his eyes put out.

"I, having lost my only friend and protector, have no wish to live,
and was fastening my sash to hang myself, when you interrupted me."

When Purnabhadra had finished this story, I said to him, "I am that
child who was exposed in the cemetery, and saved by the fairy. My
coming here is indeed opportune, and with your assistance I will
engage to deliver my father. I would boldly attack the guards as they
lead him round the city, but fear, lest in the confusion he might be
killed, when all my exertions would have been in vain; some other plan
must therefore be thought of."

While I was thus speaking to him a serpent put out his head from a
hole near me, and, knowing how to charm serpents, I made it come
forth, and secured it.

Then I said to Purnabhadra: "O friend, this is just what I wanted. I
will mix with the crowd when my father is led round, let this serpent
fall on him as if by chance, and then run up to him and say that I am
skilled in charms, and can save his life. No doubt they will allow me
to try, and I will stop the effect of the poison in such a manner that
he will not die, and yet remain insensible, as if dead. Meanwhile, do
you go to my mother, ask to see her in private, and tell her that the
son whom she had lost is now here. Explain to her my plan for saving
my father, and say that when she hears of the death of her husband,
she must go to the king as if in the greatest grief, and ask for
permission to burn herself together with the dead body. When this
request is granted, as no doubt it will be, she must prepare the
funeral pile, and make ready for self-immolation, laying the
apparently dead body on a couch in a private room till I come, when I
will tell her what is further to be done."

Purnabhadra, delighted with the plan which I proposed, no longer
wished to destroy himself. He set out at once to do as I had directed
him, and I went immediately into the city. There I saw great crowds
already collected, and ascertained where the executioner would stand
when the proclamation was made.

Overhanging the place, there happened to be a large tree, with thick
foliage. Into this I climbed, and waited patiently, listening to the
talk of the people collected underneath.

Presently the executioner and his men came, bringing the prisoner, and
the proclamation was made three times.

"Know all men that this traitor, Kamapala, has not only poisoned the
late king and his eldest son, but has been convicted of plotting
against the life of his present majesty; he endeavoured to persuade
two of the king's faithful attendants to administer poison, but they
have given information, and his life is justly forfeited; the king,
however, in consideration of his being a brahman, and nearly
connected with himself, has spared his life, and only sentenced him to
have his eyes put out. Let all evil-doers take warning by his
punishment."

While this proclamation was being read, I climbed to a branch of the
tree just over my father, and dropped on him the poisonous serpent,
which immediately bit him. In the confusion which ensued, I slipped
down from the tree, and, having mixed with the crowd, managed, while
shouting out "This is a just punishment from heaven; so may all
traitors perish," to get close to my father, and quickly applied a
charm in such a manner that, though he fell down apparently dead, the
effect of the poison was stopped. The executioner being also bitten;
and his assistants, as well as the crowd of spectators, being alarmed
and dispersed from dread of the poisonous serpent; this act of mine
was not noticed.

Meanwhile, my mother, who had been prepared by Purnabhadra to hear of
her husband's death, went immediately to the king, attended by a large
number of friends, and said; "The gods know if my husband was your
enemy or not; I will not now attempt to defend him; but, whether he
was innocent or guilty, your anger should cease now he is dead. I pray
you to allow me to burn his body, and according to the custom of
widows of my rank, to ascend the funeral pile together with him. Were
I not to perform this duty, disgrace would fall on you and on the
whole family, as well as on myself."

The king, well pleased to have got rid of the obnoxious minister,
without incurring the sin of killing him, exclaimed: "This death is
indeed the act of fate!" And, immediately granting her request,
permitted the body of Kamapala to be taken to his own house, where I
had by that time arrived, and was ready to receive it.

Meanwhile, my mother prepared for death, and, resisting all the
entreaties of her friends and servants, expressed her determination to
be burnt together with her husband.

When everything for the funeral was arranged, she came into the
private room, where the body had been laid, and there saw her husband
fully recovered, and me sitting by him. Great was her delight and
astonishment at this wonderful and sudden change; and having first
embraced her husband, she threw her arms round me, and, with a voice
broken by sobs of joy, said: "O, my darling son, how can I deserve
such happiness?--I, who so cruelly abandoned you at your birth, and
suffered you to be taken away, as if dead? but your father was not to
blame for that; he, indeed, deserves to have been restored to life by
you, and to have the happiness of seeing you. Cruel, indeed, was
Taravali, who, when she had received you again from Kuvera, did not
bring you at once to me; but what could I expect from her? It is
through her unkindness in leaving us that all this misfortune has
happened; but I must not complain; I was not worthy, without previous
suffering, to enjoy such great happiness. Come and embrace me."

Saying this, she again threw her arms round me, and kissed me
repeatedly, trembling with emotion, and shedding many tears of joy.
My father's feelings were scarcely less excited. He seemed to have
risen from the lowest depth of misery to the summit of felicity, and
esteemed himself more fortunate than even Indra the King of the Gods.

When we were all somewhat calmed, and I had explained to my father all
that had occurred, I said: "There is much yet to be done; the king
will soon find out the deception which has been practised, and send to
arrest you again; so we must consider how we can defend ourselves."

My father answered: "This house is a very large one; the walls are
strong; there are many secret passages; I have a great store of
weapons; my servants are brave and faithful, so that we could hold out
for several days. Besides this I have many friends in the city; most
of the authorities will favour me; many of the soldiers will be on my
side, and there are many persons discontented and ready to rebel
against the king. Therefore, if we act prudently, we shall have much
assistance, and be able to cut off that tyrant."

With this I entirely agreed, and we prepared for defence. As I had
expected, the king, finding how he had been deceived, sent soldiers to
take us; but, though they made many attempts, we drove them back day
after day, with very small loss to ourselves.

Meanwhile, fearing lest we should at last be overpowered, if something
more were not done, I determined, if possible, to seize the person of
the king; and, as my father's house was not far from the palace, I
began to make an underground passage inside, in order to reach his
sleeping-room, the exact position of which I had learnt from my
father. After digging for some distance, I came, to my great
astonishment, into a large, lofty, well-lighted room, occupied by a
number of women, among whom was a young lady of surpassing beauty,
resembling the wife of Kama, or the tutelary goddess of the city, who
had hidden herself here to avoid the sight of so much wickedness
above.

The women were equally astonished at seeing me, and ran away, alarmed,
into other adjoining rooms. One old woman, however, remained behind,
and, falling at my feet, said "Have pity on us poor helpless women;
surely thou art a god, for no mortal could have thus found his way
hither. O tell us why thou art come."

"Calm yourself," I answered, "You have nothing to fear from me. I am
Arthapala, the son of the minister Kamapala and the Princess
Kantimati, and have come thus unexpectedly on you while making an
underground passage from my father's house to the palace; but tell me
who you all are, and how you come to be living here."

"O prince," she answered, "I had heard of your birth, but not of your
preservation, and happy am I now to see you. Know that the young lady
whom you have just seen is the granddaughter of your maternal
grandfather, Chandasinha. The eldest son of that king died before his
father, leaving his wife pregnant, and she lost her life in giving
birth to this daughter, who was committed to my care. One day the king
sent for me, and said: 'I intend this child when grown up to be given
in marriage to Darpasara, son of the King of Malwa; and, remembering
the misconduct of her aunt, I am determined that nothing of the kind
shall happen with her. I have therefore caused a spacious palace to be
made underground, and have furnished it with provisions and all other
necessaries for even a hundred years. I have great confidence in you;
you will therefore go down into this subterranean dwelling, taking
with you the princess and such attendants as you may think desirable,
and will remain there until she is grown up, when I shall fetch you
from below, and give her in marriage as I have intended.' So saying,
he lifted up a small trap-door in the court-yard close to his own
apartment, and showed me the steps leading to this place. The next day
we all came down, and have remained here ever since. Twelve years have
now passed, and the king seems to have forgotten us. I must tell you
also that the princess, though destined by her grandfather for
Darpasara, was originally intended for you; for her mother, while the
child was as yet unborn, promised that her daughter should become the
wife of the son of Kantimati if he should ever return. Look on her,
therefore, as your intended, and do what is best for us."

Having received this account from the old woman, I told her to have no
fear on the princess's account, but to trust entirely in me, and that
I would soon liberate them from their long and tedious imprisonment.

She then took a lamp and showed me the steps leading to the trap-door,
which I forced open, and soon found my way into the king's bed-room.
There, before he was sufficiently awake to call for help, I seized,
gagged, and bound him, and dragging him along, as an ichneumon drags a
serpent, past the astonished women and through the tunnel which I had
made, I brought him, trembling with fear and bowed down by shame, to
my father's house, and showed him to my parents, telling them how I
had captured him, and how I had discovered the princess in the
subterranean palace.

When the seizure of the king was known, those who were previously
well-disposed to my father immediately joined us, and all opposition
ceased.

Soon afterwards I married the princess, who looked on me as her
deliverer from the dungeon; Sinhaghosha was deposed; and I, having
double claim to the throne, was acknowledged king in his stead.

Hearing that the King of Anga, a devoted friend of your father, was at
war, and attacked by a strong enemy, we have marched hither with an
army to his assistance, and I have had the pleasure of helping to
deliver him from his enemies, and the still greater happiness of
meeting with you. I now beg of you to decide what shall be done with
the deposed king, our prisoner, whom we have brought with us. My
mother is very anxious to liberate him, but hitherto it has not been
thought safe to do so.

The prince answered: "Let that unworthy young man be freed, on
condition of giving up all claim to the throne and leading a private
life; and let him devote himself to pious meditation, which is the
purifier of evil deeds." Then turning with a kind look to Pramati, he
said: "Do you now relate your adventures," with which request he at
once complied:--

* * * * *

ADVENTURES OF PRAMATI.

My lord, while wandering like the rest of your friends in search of
you, I found myself one evening in a large forest, far from any
habitation. Thinking it useless to attempt to go further in an unknown
country and in darkness, I prepared to sleep there. Having bathed in
the water of a small lake, and made myself a bed of leaves, I lay down
under a large tree, commending myself to the deities presiding over
the place, and was very soon asleep.

Presently a strange and delightful feeling came over me, gladdening my
inmost soul; and I awoke, hardly knowing whether what I saw was a
reality or a dream, for on looking round me I saw that I was no longer
in the forest, but in a very large and lofty room, lying on a soft
couch with white muslin curtains; all around me were a number of
sleeping women. Among them my eyes were especially attracted towards a
young lady of exceeding beauty, lying in a very graceful attitude,
covered only by a silken petticoat, her bosom slowly rising and
falling, and her bud-like lower lip quivering with the soft movement
of the breath in quiet sleep.

Lost in astonishment, I said to myself; "What has become of that great
forest wrapt in darkness? How is my bed of leaves exchanged for this
soft couch? Whence is this dome above me, lofty as the great temple of
Siva? Who are all these lovely women, like a troop of Apsaras lying
down wearied with play? And who can this beautiful lady be? She
cannot be a goddess, for the gods do not sleep thus, nor do they
perspire, and I see the drops breaking forth on her forehead. She must
then be a mortal; but O how lovely! how peacefully she sleeps, as if
she had never known the anxieties of love! My heart is drawn towards
her."

With these thoughts I rose up and approached the bed where she lay,
and stood looking at her as if entranced, becoming every moment more
enamoured, longing to touch her, but held back by the fear of
disturbing her.

While I was thus gazing, she gradually awoke, and raising herself into
a sitting posture, looked at me attentively with eyes more than half
closed. At first her lips were opened, as if she were about to cry
out; but, apparently restrained by some secret power, she remained
silent, trembling all over, and showing in her countenance the signs
of mingled doubt, fear, astonishment, bashfulness, and love; till at
last, overcome again by sleep, she slowly sank down again on the bed.

Almost at the same time I felt myself irresistibly overcome by
drowsiness, and was very soon fast asleep.

When I awoke, I found myself on the bed of leaves once more, alone in
the gloomy forest, and day was beginning to appear.

When I was quite awake I had some difficulty in collecting my
thoughts, and I said to myself: "Can all this of which I have such a
vivid impression be other than a reality, or was it only a dream, a
magical delusion? Whatever it may be, I will not quit this place till
I find out the truth, and I will place myself under the protection of
the deity who sent the vision."

Having formed this resolution, I was waiting where I had slept, when I
saw approaching me a female form faded like a flower scorched by the
sun, with eyes red from weeping, lips parched by the hot breath of
sighs, wearing a scanty black dress, without ornaments, and with her
hair in a single braid, like an affectionate wife mourning for the
absence of her husband;[6] and with all this having an air of divine
dignity, which made me regard her with reverence, and think that she
might be the tutelary goddess of the place, to whom I had commended
myself; and I prostrated myself before her. But she raised me up with
her arms, and after kissing me again and again, said, with a voice
broken by tears and sobs, "O, my darling, surely you have heard from
the Queen Vasumati how one night a fairy appeared to her, and placing
the child Arthapala[7] in her arms, told her husband's name and her
own; and how the child was brought by order of Kuvera; and then
disappeared. I am that fairy--your mother. Bewildered by unreasonable
jealousy and anger, I abandoned my husband, your father, Kamapala; and
for that sin I was cursed by Durga, who condemned me to be possessed
by an evil spirit for a year. That year, which seemed to me like a
thousand years, is ended; and I am now come from the great festival
of Siva, where I have met my relations, who had assembled there, and
have received full pardon from the goddess.

"In my way thither, I passed by this place, saw you about to lie down,
and heard your prayer to the local deity.

"Being still partly under the influence of the curse, I did not
recognise you as my son. Yet even as a stranger I felt an interest in
you, and could not bear the thought of leaving you exposed to danger
in such a wild place. I therefore waited till you were fast asleep;
and having considered where I could deposit you while I was gone to
meet the goddess, since I could not take you with me, it occurred to
me to carry you to the palace of the King of Sravasti, and leave you
to sleep there till my return. I therefore carried you through the
air, and placed you in the sleeping apartment of the Princess
Navamalika, feeling sure that no one would disturb you there. I then
went to the temple; and after paying due worship to Siva, and
receiving the congratulations of my assembled friends, I was dismissed
by the goddess, who said: 'You are forgiven; the curse is ended; go
and be happy with your husband.' After which I returned to the palace;
and taking you up, brought you to this place, and laid you, still
sleeping, on your bed of leaves. Since then, I have been watching for
your awaking; for as soon as the curse was removed, I knew you to be
my son.

"I must now leave you, and go to your father. I know what passed in
the palace; how you have fallen in love with the princess, and her
feelings towards you. Do not despond; before long you will see her
again."

She then warmly embraced me; and saying: "I go with reluctance,
farewell for the present," she departed.

Having thus found the supposed dream to be a reality, and that the
lady whom I had seen was the Princess Navamalika, I was confirmed in
my love, and set out for Sravasti, determined, if possible, to see her
again.

On the road, I came to a village where there was a large fair and a
great concourse of traders. Various amusements were going on; among
others, a cock-fight, which I stopped to look at, and sat down near an
old brahman, who was watching the fight with great interest. On seeing
me smile, he asked the reason; and I answered: "What simpletons some
of the breeders here must be to pit a Balaka cock against one of the
Narikela breed, which is sure to win."

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