The Kathá Sarit Ságara; or, Ocean of the Streams of Story
those haughty chiefs attacked Prabhása with heavenly weapons. Prabhása
repelled their weapons with the weapon of Náráyana, and easily cut
asunder the bow of each eight times; then he repelled the arrows and
clubs which they hurled, and slaying their horses and charioteers,
deprived them all of their chariots. When Srutasarman saw that,
he quickly sent other ten lords of the Vidyádharas, chiefs of lord
of hosts of lords of hosts of warriors, two called Dama and Niyama,
who exactly resembled one another in appearance, two sons born to
the Asvins in the house of the lord of Ketumálá, and Vikrama and
Sankrama, and Parákrama and Ákrama, and Sammardana and Mardana,
and Pramardana and Vimardana, the eight similar sons of the Vasus
born in the house of Makaranda. And when they came, the previous
assailants mounted other chariots. Wonderful to say, though all those
fourteen joined together, and showered arrows on Prabhása, he alone
fought with them fearlessly. Then, by the order of Súryaprabha,
Kunjarakumára and Prahasta left the mêlée and flying up from the
front of the line, weapons in hand, white and black in hue, came to
the aid of Prabhása, like Ráma and Krishna over again. They, though
fighting on foot, harassed Dama and Niyama, by cutting asunder their
bows and killing their charioteers. When they, in their fear, soared
up to heaven, Kunjarakumára and Prahasta soared up also, weapons in
hand. When Súryaprabha saw that, he quickly sent them his ministers
Mahábuddhi and Achalabuddhi to act as charioteers. Then Prahasta and
Kunjarakumára discovered, by employing magic collyrium, those two sons
of the Vidyádharas, Dama and Niyama, though they had made themselves
invisible by magic power, and riddled them so with showers of arrows
that they fled. And Prabhása, fighting with the other twelve, cleft
all their bows asunder, though they kept continually taking fresh
ones. And Prahasta came and killed at the same time the charioteers of
all, and Kunjarakumára slew their horses. Then those twelve together,
being deprived of their chariots, and finding themselves smitten by
three heroes, fled out of the battle.
Then Srutasarman, beside himself with grief, anger and shame, sent
two more Vidyádharas, captains of hosts of warriors and distinguished
warriors; one was called Chandragupta born in the house of the lord
of the great mountain Chandrakula, beautiful as a second moon, and
the second was his own minister named Narangama, of great splendour,
born in the house of the lord of the mountain Dhurandhara. They also,
after discharging a shower of arrows, were in a moment deprived of
their chariots by Prabhása and his comrades, and disappeared.
Then the men and Asuras shouted for joy; but thereupon Srutasarman
came himself, with four great warriors of mighty force, named Mahaugha,
Árohana, Utpáta and Vetravat, the sons respectively of Tvashtri, [674]
Bhaga, Aryaman and Púshan, born in the houses of the four Vidyádhara
kings, Chitrapada and others, that ruled over mount Malaya. And
Srutasarman himself, blinded with furious anger, was the fifth, and
they all fought against Prabhása and his two companions. Then the host
of arrows, which they shot at one another, seemed like a canopy spread
in the sky by the Fortune of war in the full blaze of the sun. Then
those other Vidyádharas, who had been deprived of their chariots,
and had fled from the battle, came back into the fight.
Then Súryaprabha, seeing many of them assembled in fight, under the
leadership of Srutasarman, sent other great warriors of his own to
support Prabhása and his comrades, his own friends with Prajnádhya
at their head, and the princes of whom Satáníka and Vírasena were
the chief. They flew through the air, and Súryaprabha sent the other
warriors also through the air in the chariot Bhutásána. When all those
archers had gone chariot-borne, the other Vidyádhara kings, who were on
the side of Srutasarman, also came up. Then a fight took place between
those Vidyádhara princes on the one side, and Prabhása and his comrades
on the other, in which there was a great slaughter of soldiers. And in
the single combats between the two hosts, many warriors were slain on
both sides, men, Asuras, and Vidyádharas. Vírasena slew Dhúmralochana
and his followers; but having been deprived of his chariot, he was in
his turn killed by Harisarman. Then the Vidyádhara hero Hiranyáksha
was killed by Abhimanyu, but Abhimanyu and Haribhata were slain
by Sunetra. And Sunetra was killed by Prabhása, who cut off his
head. And Jválámálin and Maháyu killed one another. But Kumbhíraka
and Nirásaka fought with their teeth, after their arms were cut
off, and so did Kharva and the mighty Susarman. And the three,
Satrubhata, Vyághrabhata, and Sinhabhata were slain by Pravahana,
the Vidyádhara king. Pravahana was killed by the two warriors Suroha
and Viroha, and those two were slain by Sinhabala, the dweller in
the cemetery. That very Sinhabala, whose chariot was drawn by ghosts,
and Kapilaka, and Chitrápída the Vidyádhara king, and Jagajjvara, and
the hero Kántápati, and the mighty Suvarna, and the two Vidyádhara
kings Kámaghana and Krodhapati, and king Baladeva and Vichitrápída,
these ten were slain by the prince Satáníka. When these heroes had
been slain, Srutasarman, beholding the slaughter of the Vidyádharas,
himself attacked Satáníka in his anger. Then a terrible fight took
place between those two, lasting to the close of the day, and causing
a great slaughter of soldiers, exciting the wonder even of the gods,
and it continued until hundreds of corpses, rising up all round, laid
hold of the demons as their partners, when the time arrived for the
joyous evening dance. At the close of day the Vidyádharas, depressed
at the great slaughter of their army, and grieved at the death of
their friends, and the men and Asuras having won the victory by sheer
force stopped the combat, and went each of them to their own camps.
At that time two Vidyádharas, chiefs of captains of bands of warriors,
who had deserted the cause of Srutasarman, came, introduced by
Sumeru, and said to Súryaprabha, after bowing before him: "We are
named Maháyána and Sumáya, and this Sinhabala was the third of us;
we had obtained magic power by having the rule of a great cemetery,
and were unassailable by the other Vidyádharas. While we, such as
you have heard, were once taking our ease in a corner of the great
cemetery, there came to us a good witch named Sarabhánaná, of great
and godlike power, who is always well disposed towards us. We bowed
before her and asked her, 'Where have you been, honoured lady, and what
have you seen there strange?' She thereupon related this adventure."
Adventure of the witch Sarabhánaná.
'I went with the witches to visit my master, the god Mahákála, [675]
and while I was there, a king of the Vetálas came and reported:
"See, O master, the chiefs of the Vidyádharas have killed our
commander-in-chief named Agnika, and one named Tejahprabha is swiftly
carrying off his lovely daughter. But the holy sages have foretold that
she shall be the wife of the emperor of the Vidyádharas, so grant us
a boon, and have her released before he forcibly carries her off to
a distance." When the god heard this speech of the afflicted Vetála,
he said to me--"Go and set her free," then I went through the air
and came up with the maiden. Tejahprabha said, "I am carrying off
the girl for our rightful emperor Srutasarman," but I paralyzed
him by my magic power, and bringing back the maiden, gave her to
my master. And he made her over to her own family. I in truth went
through this strange adventure. Then I remained there some days,
and after taking a reverent farewell of the god I came here.'
"When that witch Sarabhánaná had said this, we said to her--'Tell us,
who is to be the future emperor of the Vidyádharas? You in truth know
all.' She said--'Súryaprabha will certainly be.' Whereupon Sinhabala
said to us--'This is untrue, for have not the gods and Indra girded up
their loins to support the cause of Srutasarman?' When the noble woman
heard that, she said to us--'If you do not believe this, listen; I tell
you that soon there will be war between Súryaprabha and Srutasarman,
and when this Sinhabala shall be slain before your eyes by a man
in battle, you will recognise this token, and will know that this
speech of mine is true.' When that witch had said this, she departed,
and those days passed away, and now we have seen with our own eyes,
that in truth this Sinhabala has been slain. Relying upon that, we
think that you are indeed appointed emperor of all the Vidyádharas,
and submitting ourselves to your rule, we have repaired to your two
lotus-like feet." When the Vidyádharas Maháyána and Sumáyaka said
this, Súryaprabha, in concert with Maya and the rest, received them
into confidence and honoured them, and they rejoiced. When Srutasarman
heard that, he was in great consternation, but Indra comforted him by
a message, sending to him Visvávasu, and commissioning him to say--"Be
of good cheer! To-morrow I will aid thee with all the gods in the
van of battle." This he said to him out of love, to comfort him. And
Súryaprabha, having been encouraged by beholding the breaking of his
enemies' line, and having seen in the front of battle the slaughter
of his rival's partisans, again forwent the society of his charmers,
and entered his dwelling at night surrounded by his ministers.
CHAPTER XLIX.
Then Súryaprabha, lying on his couch at night, eager for battle,
apart from his wives, said to his minister Vítabhíti--"I cannot sleep,
so tell me, my friend, some strange story of courage and endurance,
to amuse me during the night." When Vítabhíti heard this request of
Súryaprabha's, he answered--"I will obey your order," and he told
this story.
Story of king Mahásena and his virtuous minister Gunasarman.
There is a city Ujjayiní, the ornament of this earth, full of
numberless jewels of pellucid water. In that city there lived a king
named Mahásena, beloved by the virtuous, an unequalled treasury of
accomplishments, having the beauty both of the sun and moon. He had a
wife named Asokavatí, whom he loved as his life, there was not another
woman in the three worlds equal to her in beauty. The king ruled his
realm with her for consort, and he had besides a friend, a Bráhman
named Gunasarman, whom he respected and loved. And that Bráhman was
brave and very handsome, and, though young, had thoroughly mastered
the lore of the Vedas, and knew the accomplishments, the Sástras,
and the use of weapons, and was always in attendance on the king.
And one day, as he was within the palace, a conversation arose
about dancing, and the king and queen said to Gunasarman, who was
in attendance,--"You know everything, there is no doubt about that;
so we have a curiosity to see you dancing; if you know how to dance,
kindly exhibit your skill." When Gunasarman heard this, he said with
a smile on his face; "I know how to dance, but dancing is a thing not
becoming in the king's court; foolish dancing is generally ridiculous
and is censured in the Sástras. And far from me be shame here in the
presence of the king and queen." When Gunasarman said that, the king
answered him, being urged on to it by the queen out of curiosity--"This
will not be like a dance on the stage, or in such places, which would
make a man feel ashamed, but merely a private display of skill in
the society of friends. And at present I am not your king, I am your
friend without ceremony, so rest assured that I will not eat to-day,
until I have seen your skill in dancing." When the king pressed him
in this style, the Bráhman consented to do it. For how can servants
refuse the request of an importunate lord? Then that Gunasarman danced