When he was destroyed, the snake laid aside his awful form, and cursed Mrigankadatta and his followers, for helping the ascetic, in the following words, "Since you did what was quite unnecessary after all coming here with this man, you shall be for a certain time separated from one another." Then the snake disappeared, and all of them at the same time had their eyes dimmed with darkness, and were deprived of the power of hearing sounds. And they immediately went in different directions, separated from one another by the power of the curse, though they kept looking for one another and calling to one another. And when the delusion of the night was at an end, Mrigankadatta found himself roaming about in the wood without his ministers.

And, after two or three months had pa.s.sed, the Brahman Srutadhi, who was looking for him, suddenly fell in with him. Mrigankadatta received him kindly, and asked for news of his ministers, whereupon Srutadhi fell at his feet weeping, and consoled him, and said to him, "I have not seen them, prince, but I know they will go to Ujjayini, for that is the place we all have to go to." With these and similar speeches he urged the prince to go there, so Mrigankadatta set out with him slowly for Ujjayini.

And after he had journeyed a few days, he found his own minister Vimalabuddhi who suddenly came that way. When the minister saw him, he bowed before him with eyes filled with tears at seeing him, and the prince embraced him, and making him sit down, he asked him for tidings of the other ministers. Then Vimalabuddhi said to that prince, who was so beloved by his servants, "I do not know, king, where each of them has gone in consequence of the curse of the snake. But hear how I know that you will find them again."

The adventures of Vimalabuddhi after he was separated from the prince.

When the snake cursed me, I was carried far away by the curse, and wandered in the eastern part of the forest. And being fatigued, I was taken by a certain kind person to the hermitage of a certain hermit, named Brahmadandin. There my fatigue was removed by the fruits and water which the sage gave me, and, roaming away far from the hermitage, I saw a vast cave. I entered it out of curiosity, and I saw inside it a palace made of jewels, and I began to look into the palace through the lattice-windows. And lo! there was in it a woman causing to revolve a wheel with bees, and those bees made some of them for a bull, and others for a donkey, both which creatures were standing there. And some drank the foam of milk sent forth by the bull, and others the foam of blood sent forth by the donkey, and became white and black, according to the colour of the two objects on which they settled; and then they all turned into spiders. And the spiders, which were of two different colours, made two different-coloured webs with their excrements. And one set of webs was hung on wholesome flowers, and the other on poisonous flowers. And the spiders, that were clinging to those webs as they pleased, were bitten by a great snake which came there, having two mouths, one white, and the other black. Then the woman put them in various pitchers, but they got out again, and began to occupy the same webs again respectively. Then those, that were on the webs attached to the poisonous flowers, began to cry out, owing to the violence of the poison. And thereupon the others, that were on the other webs, began to cry out also. But the noise interrupted the meditation of a certain merciful ascetic who was there, who discharged fire at the webs. Then the webs, in which the spiders were entangled, were burnt up, and the spiders entered a hollow coral rod, and disappeared in a gleaming light at the top of it. In the meanwhile the woman disappeared with her wheel, her bull, and her donkey.

When I had seen this, I continued to roam about there in a state of astonishment; and then I saw a charming lake, which seemed by means of its lotuses, round which bees hummed, to summon me thither to look at it. And while I sat on the bank and looked at it, I beheld a great wood inside the water, and in the wood was a hunter, and the hunter had got hold of a lion's cub with ten arms which he brought up, and then banished from the wood in anger, on the ground that it was disobedient. [181] The lion then heard the voice of a lioness in a neighbouring wood, and was going in the direction of the sound, when his ten arms were scattered by a whirlwind. Then a man with a protuberant belly came and restored his arms as they were before, and he went to that forest in search of the lioness. He endured for her sake much hardship in that other forest, and at last obtained her whom he had had for a wife in a former state, and with her returned to his own forest. And when the hunter saw that lion return with his mate to the forest, which was his hereditary abode, [182] he resigned it to him and departed.

When I had seen this, I returned to the hermitage and described both those very wonderful spectacles to Brahmadandin. And that hermit, who knows the past, present, and future, kindly said to me, "You are fortunate; Siva has shewn you all this by way of favour. That woman, whom you saw, is Illusion, and the wheel which she caused to revolve, is the wheel of mundane existence, and the bees are living creatures. And the bull and the donkey are respectively symbols of Righteousness and Unrighteousness, and the foam of milk and the foam of blood discharged by them, to which the bees repaired, are typical of good and evil actions. And they acquired properties arising from the things on which they respectively settled, and became spiders of two kinds, white and foul respectively; and then with their energy, which was symbolized by excrement, they produced entangling nets of two kinds, such as offspring and so on, which were attached to wholesome and poisonous flowers, which signify happiness and misery. And while clinging each to its own web, they were bitten by a snake, typical of Death, with its two mouths, the white set with the white mouth symbolical of good fortune, the other with the black mouth symbolical of evil fortune.

Then that female, typifying Illusion [183] plunged them into various wombs typified by the jars, and they again emerged from them, and a.s.suming forms white and black, corresponding to what they had before, they fell into entangling webs, which are symbolical of sons and other worldly connexions, resulting in happiness and misery. Then the black spiders, entangled in their webs, being tortured by the poison, symbolical of pain, began in their affliction to invoke the supreme lord as their help. When the white spiders, who were in their own webs, perceived that, they also became averse to their state, and began to invoke that same lord. Then the G.o.d, who was present in the form of an ascetic, awoke from his trance, and consumed all their entangling webs with the fire of knowledge. Accordingly they ascended into the bright coral tube, typical of the orb of the sun, and reached the highest home, which lies above it. And then Illusion vanished, with the revolving wheel of births, and with her ox, and her a.s.s, typical of Righteousness and Unrighteousness.

Even thus in the circle of existence revolve creatures, fair and foul according to their actions, and they are liberated by propitiating Siva; and this spectacle has been shown to you by Siva to teach you this lesson, and to put an end to your delusion. As for that sight which you saw in the water of the tank, this is the explanation of it. The holy G.o.d produced this apparent reflection in the water, in order to teach you what was destined to befall Mrigankadatta. For he may be compared to a young lion-whelp, and he was brought up with ten ministers round him resembling ten arms, and he was banished in anger by his father, (typified by the hunter) from his native land, typified by the forest: and on hearing the report of Sasankavati, (who may be compared to a lioness,) coming from the land of Avanti, (symbolized by the other wood, [184]) he made towards her, and the wind which stripped him of his arms is the curse of the snake, which separated him from his ministers. Then Vinayaka [185] appeared as a man with a pendulous belly, and restored to him his arms, (that is to say, his ministers,) and so he recovered his former condition. Then he went and after enduring great hardship, obtained from another place the lioness, (that is Sasankavati,) and returned. And when the hunter, (that is his father,) saw him coming near with his wife, having swept away the obstacles which his foes put in his way, [186] he resigned to him the whole of his forest, (that is his kingdom,) and retired to a grove of ascetics. Thus has Siva shewn you the future as if it had already taken place. So you may be sure, your master will recover you, his ministers, and obtain his wife and his kingdom." When the excellent hermit had thus instructed me, I recovered hope and left that hermitage, and travelling along slowly I have met you here, prince, to-day. So you may rest a.s.sured, prince, that you will recover Prachandasakti, and your other ministers, and gain your object; you certainly gained the favour of Ganesa by worshipping him before you set out.

When Mrigankadatta had listened for a while to this strange story of Vimalabuddhi's, he was much pleased, and after he had again deliberated with him, he set out for the city of Avanti, with the double object of accomplishing his enterprise and recovering his other ministers.

CHAPTER LXXI.

Then, as Mrigankadatta was journeying to Ujjayini, with Srutadhi and Vimalabuddhi, to find Sasankavati, he reached the Narmada which lay in his path. The fickle stream, when she beheld him, shook her waves like twining arms, and gleamed white with laughing foam, as if she were dancing and smiling because he had so fortunately been reunited with his ministers. And when he had gone down into the bed of the river to bathe, it happened that a king of the Savaras, named Mayavatu, came there for the same purpose. When he had bathed, three water-genii [187] rose up at the same time and seized the Bhilla, whose retinue fled in terror. When Mrigankadatta saw that, he went into the water with his sword drawn, and killed those water-genii, and delivered that king of the Bhillas. When the king of the Bhillas was delivered from the danger of those monsters, he came up out of the water and fell at the feet of the prince, and said to him,--"Who are you, that Providence has brought here to save my life on the present occasion? Of what virtuous father do you adorn the family? And what is that country favoured by fortune to which you are going?" When he said this, Srutadhi told him the prince's whole story from the beginning, and then the Savara king shewed him exceeding respect, and said to him; "Then I will be your ally in this undertaking which you have in view, as you were directed by the G.o.d, and with me will come my friend Durgapisacha the king of Matangas. So do me the favour, my lord, of coming to my palace, since I am your slave."

Thus he entreated Mrigankadatta with various humble speeches, and then took him to his own village. And there he entertained the prince fittingly with all the luxuries he could command, and all the people of the village shewed him respect. And the king of the Matangas came and honoured him as the saviour of his friend's life, and placed his head on the ground to shew that he was his slave. Then Mrigankadatta remained there some days, to please that Mayavatu, the king of the Bhillas.

And one day, while he was staying there, that king of the Savaras began to gamble with Chandaketu his own warder. And while he was playing, the clouds began to roar, and the domestic peac.o.c.ks lifted up their heads and began to dance, and king Mayavatu rose up to look at them. Then the warder, who was an enthusiastic gambler, said to his sovereign, "What is the use, my master, of looking at these peac.o.c.ks which are not skilled in dancing? I have a peac.o.c.k in my house, to which you would not find an equal in the world. I will show it you to-morrow, if you take pleasure in such things." When the king heard that, he said to the warder, "You must certainly shew it to me," and then he set about the duties of the day. And Mrigankadatta, when he heard all that, rose up with his companions, and performed his duties such as bathing and eating.

The adventures of Mrigankadatta and the warder.

And when the night came, and thick darkness was diffused over the face of things, the prince went out alone and self-impelled from the chamber in which his companions were sleeping, in search of adventures, with his body smeared with musk, wearing dark-blue garments and with his sword in his hand. And as he was roaming about, a certain man, who was coming along the road and did not see him on account of the darkness, jostled against him, and struck his shoulder against his. Then he rushed at him angrily and challenged him to fight. But the person challenged, being a man not easily abashed, made an appropriate reply, "Why are you perplexed by want of reflection? If you reflect, you will see that you ought to blame the moon for not lighting up this night, or the Governor of the world for not appointing that it should rule with full sway here, [188] since in such darkness causeless quarrels take place."

Mrigankadatta was pleased with this clever answer and he said to him, "You are right. Who are you?" The man answered, "I am a thief." Whereupon the prince said falsely, "Give me your hand, you are of the same profession as myself." And the prince made an alliance with him, and went along with him out of curiosity, and at last reached an old well covered with gra.s.s. And there the man entered a tunnel, and Mrigankadatta went along it with him, and reached the harem of that king Mayavatu. And when he got there, he recognized the man by the light of the lamp, and lo! it was the warder Chandaketu, and not a robber. But the warder, who was the secret paramour of the king's wife, did not recognize the prince, because he had other garments on than those he usually wore, [189]

and kept in a corner where there was not much light.

But the moment the warder arrived, the king's wife, who was named Manjumati, and was desperately in love with him, rose up and threw her arms round his neck. And she made him sit down on a sofa, and said to him, "Who is this man that you have brought here to-day?" Then he said to her, "Make your mind easy, it is a friend of mine." But Manjumati said excitedly, "How can I, ill-starred woman that I am, feel at ease, now that this king has been saved by Mrigankadatta, after entering the very jaws of death?" When the warder heard her say that, he answered, "Do not grieve, my dear! I will soon kill the king and Mrigankadatta too." When he said this, she answered, as fate would have it, "Why do you boast? When the king was seized that day by monsters in the water of the Narmada, Mrigankadatta alone was ready to rescue him; why did you not kill him then? The fact is, you fled in fear. So be silent, lest some one hear this speech of yours, and then you would certainly meet with calamity at the hands of Mrigankadatta, who is a brave man." When she said this, her paramour the warder lost his temper with her. He said, "Wretched woman, you are certainly in love with Mrigankadatta, so receive now from me the just recompense of that taunt." And he rose up to kill her, dagger in hand. Then a maid, who was her confidante, ran and laid hold of the dagger with her hand and held it. In the meanwhile Manjumati escaped into another room. And the warder dragged the dagger out of the maid's hand, cutting her fingers in the process; and returned home by the way which he came, somewhat confused, with Mrigankadatta, who was much astonished.

Then Mrigankadatta, who could not be recognized in the darkness, said to the warder, "You have reached your own house, so I will leave you." But the warder said to the prince, "Sleep here to-night, without going further, for you are very tired." Then the prince consented, as he wished to learn something of his goings on; and the warder called one of his servants and said to him, "Take this man to the room where the peac.o.c.k is, and let him rest there and give him a bed." The servant said--"I will do as you command," and took the prince to the room and placed a light in it, and gave him a bed. He then departed, fastening the outer door with a chain, and Mrigankadatta saw the peac.o.c.k there in a cage. He said to himself, "This is the very peac.o.c.k, that the warder was speaking of," and out of curiosity he opened its cage. And the peac.o.c.k came out and, after looking intently at Mrigankadatta, it fell down and rolled at his feet again and again. And as it was rolling, the prince saw a string tied round its neck and at once untied it, thinking that it gave the bird pain. The peac.o.c.k, the moment that the thread was loosed from its neck, became before his eyes his minister Bhimaparakrama. Then Mrigankadatta embraced the affectionate minister, who bowed before him, and in his astonishment said to him, "Tell me, friend, what is the meaning of this?" Then Bhimaparakrama said to him in his delight, "Listen, prince, I will tell you my story from the beginning."

The adventures of Bhimaparakrama after his separation from the prince.

When I was separated from you by the curse of the Naga, I wandered about in the wood until I reached a salmali tree. [190] And I saw an image representing Ganesa carved in the tree, which I worshipped, and then I sat down at the foot of the tree being tired, and I said to myself, "All this mischief has been brought about by me, by telling my master that time the incident of the Vetala which took place at night. So I will abandon here this my sinful body." In this frame of mind I remained there, fasting, in front of the G.o.d. And after some days an old traveller came that way, and sat in the shade of that tree. And the good man, seeing me, questioned me with much persistence, saying, "Why do you remain in this solitary place, my son, with such a downcast face?" Then I told him my story, exactly as it took place, and the old traveller kindly said to me, to encourage me; "Why, being a man, are you killing yourself like a woman? Moreover, even women do not lose their courage in calamity; hear the following tale in proof of it."

Story of Kamalakara and Hansavali.

In the city of Kosala there was a king, named Vimalakara, and he had a son named Kamalakara, who was made by the Creator admirable in respect of the qualities of courage, beauty and generosity, as if to outdo Skanda, Kandarpa, and the wishing-tree of heaven. Then one day a bard, whom he had known before, came and recited a certain stanza in the presence of that prince, who deserved to be praised by bards in all the regions of the world. "Where can the row of swans [191] obtain satisfaction, until it reaches the lotus-bed, [192] round which sings a host of many noisy birds [193] delighted at obtaining the lotus-flower [194]?" When the bard, named Manorathasiddhi, had frequently recited this stanza, prince Kamalakara questioned him, and he said to him: "Prince, as I was roaming about, I reached the city of king Meghamalin, named Vidisa, the pleasure-ground of the G.o.ddess of prosperity. There I was staying in the house of a professor of singing, named Dardura, and one day he happened to say to me, 'To-morrow the daughter of the king, named Hansavali, will exhibit in his presence her skill in dancing, which she has lately been taught.' When I heard that, I was filled with curiosity, and managed to enter the king's palace with him the following day, and went into the dancing-hall. There I saw the slender-waisted princess Hansavali dancing before her father, to the music of a great tabor, looking like a creeper of the tree of Love agitated by the wind of youth, shaking her ornaments like flowers, curving her hand like a shoot. Then I thought, 'There is no one fitted to be the husband of this fawn-eyed one, except the prince Kamalakara; so, if she, being such, is not joined to him, why has the G.o.d of love taken the trouble of stringing his bow of flowers thus fruitlessly? So I will adopt some expedient in this matter.' Thus minded I went, after I had seen the spectacle, to the door of the king's court, and I put up a notice with this inscription on it; 'If there is any painter here, who is a match for me, let him paint a picture.' When no one else dared to tear it down, the king coming to hear of it, appointed me to paint his daughter's bower. Then I painted you and your servants, prince Kamalakara, on the wall of the bower of that Hansavali.

"I thought to myself, 'If I declare the matter openly, she will know that I am scheming, so I will let the princess know it by means of an artifice.' So I persuaded a handsome fellow, who was an intimate friend of mine, to come near the palace, and pretend to be mad, and I arranged with him beforehand how he was to behave. Now he was seen a long way off by the princes, as he was roaming about singing and dancing, and they had him brought into their presence to make game of him. Then Hansavali saw him, and had him brought by way of a joke into her bower, and, when he saw the picture of you, which I had painted there, he began to praise you, saying, 'I am fortunate in beholding this Kamalakara, who is, like Vishnu, an endless store of virtues, with his hand marked with the lotus and conch, the object of the favour of the G.o.ddess of Fortune.' When the princess heard him singing such songs, as he danced, she said to me, 'What does this fellow mean? Who is it that you have painted here?' When she asked me this persistently, I said, 'This mad fellow must have previously seen this prince, whom I have painted here out of regard for his beauty.' And then I told her your name, and described to her your good qualities. Then the young tree of pa.s.sion grew up in the heart of Hansavali, which was irrigated by the overflowing streams of gushing love for you. Then the king her father came and saw what was going on, and in wrath had the pretended madman, who was dancing, and myself, both turned out of doors. After that she pined away day by day with longing, and was reduced to such a state that, like a streak of the moon during the wane, she had only her beauty left. And on the pretence of illness she went to a temple of Vishnu that dispels calamity, and so managed to live a solitary life by the permission of her father. And being unable to sleep, owing to thinking on you, she could not endure the cruel moonlight, and remained there ignorant of the changes of day and night. Then she saw me one day from a window, as I was entering there, and she summoned me, and honoured me respectfully with dresses and ornaments. [195]

And then I went out, and saw this stanza which I have repeated to you written on the border of a garment that she had given me: hear it again; 'Where can the row of swans obtain satisfaction, until it reaches the lotus-bed, round which sings a host of many noisy birds delighted at obtaining the lotus-flower.' And when I read it, I knew for certain how she felt towards you, and I came here to inform you and recited the stanza in your presence, and here is the garment on which she wrote the stanza." When Kamalakara heard the speech of the bard, and saw the stanza, he joyed exceedingly, thinking on Hansavali, who had entered his heart, he knew not whether by eye or ear.

Now it happened that, while he was thinking with eager longing about the best means of obtaining this princess, his father summoned him and said to him; "My son, unenterprising kings perish like snakes arrested by a charm, and how can kings rise up again when they have once perished? But you have been addicted to pleasures, and up to the present time you have not been visited by any longing for conquest; so arouse yourself, and fling off sloth; advance and conquer that enemy of mine the king of Anga, who has left his own country on an enterprise against me, and I will remain at home. When the brave Kamalakara heard this, he agreed to undertake the enterprise, being desirous of marching towards the country of his beloved. Then he set out with the forces which his father a.s.signed him, making the earth and the hearts of his enemies tremble. And he reached in a few marches the army of the king of Anga, and when that prince turned round to make a counter-attack, he fought with him. And the brave hero drank up his army, as Agastya did the water of the sea, and being victorious, captured the king alive. And he sent that enemy in chains to his father, committing him to the care of the princ.i.p.al warder in accordance with a letter, which he sent with him. But he commissioned the warder to give the following message by word of mouth to the king, "I now leave this place, my father, to conquer other enemies." So he went on conquering other enemies, and with his army augmented by their forces, he at last arrived in the vicinity of the city of Vidisa.

And encamping there he sent an amba.s.sador to Meghamalin the father of Hansavali, to ask for her in marriage. When that king learnt from the amba.s.sador that he had come, not as an enemy, but for the sake of his daughter, he paid a friendly visit to him in person. The prince welcomed him; and Meghamalin, after he had complimented the prince, said to him, "Why did you take the trouble of coming in person about a business which might have been negotiated by an amba.s.sador? For I desire this marriage; hear the reason. Seeing that this Hansavali was even in her childhood devoted to the worship of Vishnu, and that she had a frame delicate as a sirisha, I became anxious about her, and kept saying to myself, 'Who will be a fitting husband for this girl.' And, as I could not think of a suitable husband for her, I was deprived of sleep by my anxiety about the matter, and contracted a violent fever. And in order to allay it, I worshipped and pet.i.tioned Vishnu, and one night, when I was only able to sleep a little on account of pain, Vishnu said to me in a dream, 'Let that Hansavali, on account of whom you have contracted this fever, touch you with her hand, my son, then your fever will be allayed. For her hand is so holy from worshipping me, that whenever she touches any one with it, his fever, even though incurable, will certainly pa.s.s away. And you need have no more anxiety about her marriage, since prince Kamalakara is destined to be her husband. But she will endure some misery for a short time.' When I had been thus instructed by Vishnu in a dream, I woke up at the end of the night. Then my fever was removed by the touch of Hansavali's hand. And so the union of you two is appointed by the G.o.d. Accordingly I bestow on you Hansavali." When he had said this, he had an auspicious moment fixed for the marriage and returned to his capital.

There he told all that he had done, and when Hansavali had heard it, she said in secret to her confidante, named Kanakamanjari, "Go and see with your own eyes whether that prince, to whom I am to be given, is the same as he, who, when painted here by the artist, captivated my heart. For it is just possible that my father may wish, out of fear, to bestow me as a gift on some prince of the same name, that has come here with an army." With these words she sent off Kanakamanjari, acting in accordance with her own will only.

And the confidante, having a.s.sumed the complete disguise of an ascetic, with rosary of Aksha beads, deer-skin, and matted hair, went to the camp of that prince, and entered introduced by his attendants, and beheld him looking like the G.o.d that presides over the weapon with which the G.o.d of love conquers the world. And her heart was fascinated by his beauty, and she remained a moment looking as if she were in profound meditation. And full of longing she said to herself, "If I am not united with this charming prince, I shall have been born in vain. So I will take the necessary steps to ensure that, whatever comes of it." Then she went up to him, and gave him her blessing, and bestowed on him a jewel, and he received the gem politely and sat down; then she said to him, "This is an excellent jewel of which I have often seen the properties tested. By holding it in your hand you can render ineffectual the best weapon of your enemy. And I give it you out of regard for your excellence, for it is not of so much use to me, prince, as it is to you." When she said this, the prince began to speak to her, but she forbade him, on the ground that she had vowed an exclusive devotion to the life of a beggar, and departed thence.

Then she laid aside the dress of a female ascetic, and a.s.sumed a downcast expression of face, and went into the presence of Hansavali, and when questioned by her, made the following false statement; "I must out of love for you reveal the king's secret, although it is a matter which ought to be concealed. When I went from here to the camp of the prince dressed as a female ascetic, a man came up to me of his own accord and said in a low voice, 'Reverend madam, do you know the rites for exorcising demons?' When I heard that, I said to him, looking upon him as the warder, 'I know them very well. This is a trifling matter for me.' Then I was immediately introduced into the presence of that prince Kamalakara. And I saw him crouching, possessed by a demon, having horns on his head, and his attendants were trying to restrain him; besides he had herbs and a talismanic jewel on him. I performed certain pretended ceremonies to avert evil, and went out immediately, saying, 'To-morrow I will come and take away his affliction.' Accordingly, being exceedingly grieved with the sight of such an unexpected calamity, I have come here to tell you; it is for you to decide what you will do next."

When the unsuspecting Hansavali heard this trumped-up tale of her maid's, terrible as a thunderstroke, she was distracted and said to her, "Out on the spite of destiny! she brings trouble on her handiwork, even when full of excellences; indeed the spot on the moon is a disgrace to him who created it. As for this prince, I chose him as my husband, but I cannot see him, so it is best for me to die or to retire into some forest. So tell me what I had better do in this matter." When the guileless lady said this, the treacherous Kanakamanjari answered, "Have some maid of yours, dressed in your clothes, married to him, and we will escape to some place of refuge; for the people of the palace will be all in a state of excitement at that time." When the princess heard that, she said to her wicked confidante, "Then do you put on my clothes, and marry that prince; who else is as faithful to me as you?" The wicked Kanakamanjari answered, "Cheer up, I will manage to effect this by a stratagem, happen to me what may. But when the time comes, you must do as I direct you." When she had consoled her with these words, she went and told an intimate friend of hers, named Asokakari, her secret object. And with her she waited during three days on the desponding Hansavali, who agreed with them on the measures to he taken.

And when the wedding-day came, the bridegroom Kamalakara arrived at night, with a train of elephants, horses, and footmen. While all the people of the palace were occupied with festal rejoicing, Kanakamanjari, keeping by an artifice the other maids out of the way, quickly took Hansavali into her chamber, ostensibly for the purpose of decking her, and put the princess's dress on herself, and clothed her in the dress of Asokakari, and put her own dress on her accomplice Asokakari, and when night came, said to Hansavali, "If you go out only the distance of a cos from the western gate of this city, you will find an old hollow Salmali-tree. Go and hide inside it, and await my arrival. And after the business is accomplished, I will certainly come there to you." When Hansavali heard these words of her treacherous friend, she agreed, and went out from the female apartments at night clad in her garments, and she pa.s.sed out unperceived by the western gate of the city, which was crowded with the bridegroom's attendants, and reached the foot of that Salmali-tree. But when she saw that the hollow of it was black with thick darkness, she was afraid to go into it, so she climbed up a banyan-tree near it. There she remained hidden by the leaves, watching for the arrival of her treacherous friend, for she did not see through her villainy, being herself of a guileless nature. [196]

In the palace meanwhile, the auspicious moment having arrived, the king brought Kanakamanjari, who was dressed as Hansavali, and placed her on the sacrificial platform, and Kamalakara married that fair-hued maid, and on account of its being night n.o.body detected her. And the moment the marriage was over, the prince set out for his own camp at full speed by that same western gate of the city, in order to gain the benefit of propitious constellations, and he took with him the supposed Hansavali, together with Asokakari, who was personating Kanakamanjari. And as he went along, he came near that Salmali-tree, in the banyan-tree near which was concealed Hansavali, who had been so cruelly deceived. And when he arrived there, the supposed Hansavali, who was on the back of the elephant, which the king had mounted, embraced him, as if she were terrified. And he asked her eagerly the reason of that terror, whereupon she artfully replied with gushing tears; "My husband, I remember that, last night, in a dream, a woman like a Rakshasi rushed out from this tree, and seized me to eat me. Then a certain Brahman ran forward and delivered me, and after he had consoled me, he said, 'My daughter, you should have this tree burnt, and if this woman should come out of it, she must be thrown back into it. So all will turn out well.' When the Brahman had said this, he disappeared. And I woke up. Now that I have seen this tree I remember it. That is why I am frightened." When she said this, Kamalakara immediately ordered his servants to burn the tree and the woman too. So they burned the tree; and the pretended Hansavali thought that her mistress was burned in it, as she did not come out of it. Then she was satisfied, and Kamalakara returned with her to the camp, thinking that he had got the real Hansavali. And the next morning he returned rapidly from that place to his city of Kosala, and he was anointed king by his father, who was pleased at his success. And after his father had gone to the forest, he ruled the earth, having for his wife Kanakamanjari the pretended Hansavali. But the bard Manorathasiddhi kept at a distance from the palace, because he feared for his own safety in case she were to find out who he was.

But when Hansavali, who remained that night in the banyan-tree, heard and saw all that, she perceived that she had been tricked. And she said to herself, as soon as Kamalakara had departed; "Alas! my wicked confidante has robbed me of my lover by treachery. Alas! she even desires to have me burned in order to ensure her own peace of mind. But to whom is reliance upon treacherous people not a source of calamity? So I will throw my unlucky self into the glowing ashes of the Salmali-tree, that was burnt for me, and so pay my debt to the tree." After these reflections she descended from the tree, determined to destroy herself, but as fate would have it, she returned to her sober reason, and thought thus within herself; "Why should I destroy myself without reason? If I live, I shall soon be revenged on that betrayer of her friend. For when my father was seized with that fever, Vishnu appeared to him in a dream, and after saying that he was to be healed by the touch of my hand, said this to him, 'Hansavali shall obtain Kamalakara, who will be a suitable husband for her, but she shall endure calamity for a short time.' So I will go somewhere and wait a little." When she had formed this resolution, she set out for an uninhabited forest.

And after she had gone a long distance, and was weary, and her steps began to falter, the night disappeared, as if out of pity, in order to let her see her way. And the heaven being, as it were, moved with compa.s.sion at beholding her, let fall a flood of tears in the form of drops of dew. And the sun, the friend of the virtuous, rose up so as to comfort her, by revealing to her both hopes and the face of the country, and stretched out the fingers of his rays to wipe away her tears. Then the princess, being a little consoled, went on slowly by by-paths, avoiding the sight of men; and wounded by the spikes of kusa gra.s.s, she at last reached with difficulty a certain forest, full of birds which seemed to be singing, "Come here, come here!" She entered the wood fatigued, and was, as it were, courteously fanned by the trees with their creepers waving in the wind. So she, full of longing for her beloved, beheld that wood in all the pomp of spring, where the cuckoos cooed sweetly on fragrant mango-trees in full blossom. And in her despondency she said to herself; "Although this breeze from the Malaya mountain, red with the pollen of flowers, scorches me like a fire, and these showers of flowers falling from the trees, while the bees hum, strike me like showers of the arrows of Love, still I will remain here worshipping with these flowers the husband of Rama, [197] and by so doing purge away my sin." Having formed this resolution, she remained bathing in tanks and living on fruit, devoted to the worship of Vishnu, in order to gain Kamalakara.

In the meanwhile it happened that Kamalakara was seized with a chronic quartan fever. Then the wicked Kanakamanjari, who personated Hansavali, was terrified, and thought thus in her heart, "I have always one fear in my heart, lest Asokakari should reveal my secret, and now a second has come on the top of it. For the father of Hansavali said to my husband, in the presence of a large number of persons, that the touch of his daughter's hand removed fever; and as soon as in his present attack he shall call that to mind, I shall be exposed, as not having that power, and ruined. So I will perform on his behalf with all due rites an incantation for obtaining control over an imp of the fever-demon, who has the power of removing fever, and who was mentioned to me long ago by a certain witch. And I will by a stratagem kill this Asokakari, in front of the imp, in order that the offering to him may be made with human flesh, and so he may be enlisted in my service and bring about the desired result. So the king's fever will be cured and Asokakari removed at the same time, and both my fears will be ended; I do not see any chance of a prosperous issue in any other way."

Having formed this resolution, she told Asokakari all the harmless points of her plan, taking care to omit the necessity of slaying a human being. Then Asokakari consented, and brought the necessary utensils, and Kanakamanjari by an artifice dismissed her attendants, and, accompanied by Asokakari only, went out from the women's apartments secretly at night by a postern-door, and sword in hand, [198] made for a deserted temple of Siva in which there was one linga. There she killed with the sword a goat, and anointed the linga with its blood, and made an offering to it of its flesh, and threw the animal's entrails round it by way of a garland, and honoured it by placing on its summit the goat's lotus-like heart, and fumigated it with the smoke of its eyes, and lastly presented to it the animal's head by way of oblation. Then she smeared the front of the sacrificial platform with blood and sandalwood, and painted on it with yellow paint a lotus, having eight leaves, and on its pericarp she traced with crushed mango a representation of the demon of fever, with three feet and three mouths, and with a handful of ashes by way of weapon; and she represented on the leaves the fever's attendant imps in proper form, and summoned them with a spell which she knew. [199] And then she wished to make an offering to them, preparatory to bathing, with human flesh, as I said before, so she said to Asokakari, "Now, my friend, prostrate yourself flat on the earth before the G.o.d, for thus you will obtain prosperous fortune." Then she consented, and flung herself flat on the earth, and the wicked Kanakamanjari gave her a cut with the sword. As it happened, the sword only wounded her slightly on the shoulder, and she rose up terrified, and ran away, and seeing Kanakamanjari pursuing her, she exclaimed again and again, "Help, help!" And thereupon some policemen, who happened to be near, ran to her a.s.sistance. When they saw Kanakamanjari pursuing her, sword in hand, with a ferocious expression of countenance, they thought she was a Rakshasi, and slashed her with their swords till she was almost dead. But when they heard from the lips of Asokakari the real state of the case, they took both the women to the king's court, with the governor of the town at their head. When king Kamalakara heard their story, he had that wicked wife and her confidante brought into his presence. And when they were brought, what with fear and the severe pain of her wounds, Kanakamanjari died on the spot.

Then the king, in great despondency, said to Asokakari, who was wounded, "What is the meaning of this? Tell me without fear." Then Asokakari related from the very beginning the history of the daring treachery accomplished by Kanakamanjari. Then king Kamalakara, having found out the truth, thus bewailed his lot on that occasion, "Alas! I have been deceived by this supposed Hansavali into burning the real Hansavali with my own hand, fool that I was! Well! this wicked woman has met the just reward of her actions, in that, after becoming the wife of a king, she has been thus put to death. But how came I to permit cruel Destiny to deceive me with mere outward appearances, like a child, and so to rob me by taking away my jewel and giving me gla.s.s instead. Moreover, I did not remember that touch of the hand of Hansavali, of which Vishnu spoke to her father, which has given evidence of its power to remove fever." While Kamalakara was thus lamenting, he suddenly recollected the words of Vishnu and said to himself, "Her father Meghamalin told me that Vishnu said that she should obtain a husband, but that she should suffer some little affliction, and that word of the G.o.d, made known to men, will not have been spoken in vain. So it is quite possible that she may have gone somewhere else, and be still alive, for who knows the mysterious ways of a woman's heart, any more than those of destiny? So in this matter the bard Manorathasiddhi must once more be my refuge."

Thus reflecting, the king sent for that excellent bard, and said to him, "How is it, my good friend, that you are never seen in the palace?" But how can those obtain their wishes, who are deceived by rogues? When the bard heard that, he said, "My excuse is that this Asokakari was well nigh slain, out of fear that she would reveal the secret. But you must not be despondent about Hansavali, for Vishnu revealed that she would suffer calamity for a short time. And he certainly protects her, because she is ever intent on worshipping him; for virtue prevails; has it not been seen in the present instance? So I will go, king, to obtain tidings of her." When the bard said this to the king, he answered him, "I myself will go in search of her with you. For otherwise my mind cannot be at rest even for a moment."

When the king had said this, he resolved on the course to be taken, and next day he entrusted his kingdom to the care of his minister Prajnadhya. And though the minister did all he could to dissuade him, the king left the town un.o.bserved with Manorathasiddhi. And he went round to many holy places, hermitages, and forests in search of her, disregarding physical suffering, for weighty is the command of Love. And it happened that he and Manorathasiddhi at last reached the wood, where Hansavali was performing austerities. There he saw her at the foot of a red Asoka-tree, thin and pale, but yet charming, like the last digit of the gleaming moon. And he said to the bard; "Who is this silent and motionless, engaged in meditation? Can she be a G.o.ddess, for her beauty is more than human?" When the bard heard that, he looked and said, "You are fortunate, my sovereign, in finding Hansavali; for it is she herself that is standing there." When Hansavali heard that, she looked at them, and recognising that bard, she cried out with renewed grief; "Alas! my father, I am ruined! alas my husband, Kamalakara! alas Manorathasiddhi! alas, Destiny, source of untoward events!" Thus lamenting, she fell on the ground in a faint, and when Kamalakara heard and saw her, he too fell on the earth overpowered with grief. Then they were both brought round by Manorathasiddhi; and when they had recognised one another for certain, they were much delighted, and, having crossed the ocean of separation, they experienced indescribable joy, and they told one another in due course all their adventures. Then Kamalakara returned with Hansavali and that bard to the city of Kosala. There he received in marriage her hand that had the power of removing disease, after summoning her father the famous Meghamalin. Then Kamalakara shone exceedingly bright, being united with Hansavali, both whose wings were pure. [200] And having attained his object in life, he lived happily with her whose endurance had borne fruit, ruling the earth, inseparable from Manorathasiddhi.

"So you see those who do not lose heart, even in calamity, obtain all they desire, and on the same principle you should abstain from suicide, for, if you live, you will be reunited to that lord." With these words the old traveller closed his tale, and after dissuading me from death, departed whither he would.

After Bhimaparakrama had told all this to Mrigankadatta at night in the house of Chandaketu, he went on to say: