The Kathá Sarit Ságara; or, Ocean of the Streams of Story
my lord. So now come to my house, and know that I am Agnidatta by name,
and this village is my grant from the king; be at ease here." After
saying this, Agnidatta made Gunasarman enter his splendid mansion,
in which were many cows, buffaloes, and horses. There he honoured that
guest with bath and unguents, and robes and ornaments, and with various
kinds of food. And he shewed him his daughter, Sundarí by name, whose
beauty was to be desired even by the gods, on the pretence of getting
him to inspect her marks. And Gunasarman, for his part, seeing that
she was unsurpassed in beauty, said "She will have rival wives. She
has a mole on her nose, and consequently I assert that she must have
a second one on her breast; and men say that such is the result of
spots in these two localities." When he said this, her brother, by
command of her father, uncovered her breast, and beheld there a mole.
Then Agnidatta said in astonishment to Gunasarman, "You are
all-knowing, but these moles of hers portend good fortune to us. For
wives generally have many rivals when the husband is fortunate, a poor
[684] man would find it difficult to support one, much more to support
many." When Gunasarman heard this, he answered him--"It is as you say;
how could ill fortune befall a shape with such auspicious marks?" When
he had said this, Agnidatta took occasion to ask him concerning the
meaning of moles and other marks; and he told him what moles and other
marks portended on every single limb, both in men and women. [685]
Then Sundarí, the moment she beheld Gunasarman, longed eagerly to
drink him in with her eyes, as the female partridge longs to drink
the moon. Then Agnidatta said in private to Gunasarman, "Illustrious
one, I give you this my daughter Sundarí. Do not go to a foreign land,
remain at ease in my house." When Gunasarman heard this speech of his,
he said to him--"True, I should be happy enough to do so, but as I have
been on a false charge scorched with the fire of the king's contempt,
it does not please me. A lovely woman, the rising of the moon, and
the fifth note of a lute, these delight the happy but afflict the
miserable. And a wife, who falls in love of her own accord with a man,
is sure to be chaste, but if she is given away by her father against
her will, she will be like Asokavatí. Moreover, the city of Ujjayiní is
near to this place, so the king may perhaps hear of my whereabouts and
oppress me. So I will wander round to holy places, and will wash off
the stains of sin contracted ever since my birth, and will abandon this
body, then I shall be at rest." When he said this, Agnidatta answered
him, smiling, "If even you show so much infatuation, what are we to
expect from others? What annoyance can you, a man of pure character,
derive from the contempt of a fool? Mud thrown at the heaven falls
upon the head of the thrower. The king will soon reap the fruit of
his want of discrimination, for Fortune does not long wait upon a
man blind with infatuation and wanting in discrimination. Besides,
if you are disgusted with women from your experience of Asokavatí,
do you not feel respect for them on beholding a good woman, for you
know signs? And even though Ujjayiní be near to this place where
you now are, I will take steps to prevent any one's knowing that you
are here. But if you desire to make a pilgrimage to sacred places,
then I say--that is approved by the wise only for a man, who cannot,
according to the scriptures, attain happiness by performing the actions
enjoined by the Vedas; but he who can acquire merit by offerings to
the gods, to the manes of deceased ancestors, and to the fire, by
vows, and muttering prayers, what is the use of his wandering about
on pilgrimages? A pilgrim whose pillow is his arm, who sleeps upon
the ground, and lives on alms, and drinks only water, is not free
from cares, even though he has attained equality with hermits. And as
for your desiring to abandon the body, [686] in this also you are led
astray, for in the next world suicides suffer more severe pains than
here. An unbecoming fault and folly is not to be committed by one
so young and wise: decide for yourself: you must certainly do what
I tell you. I will have made for you here a spacious and beautiful
subterranean dwelling; marry Sundarí and live at ease in it." When he
was thus diligently schooled by Agnidatta, Gunasarman agreed to his
proposal, and said to him, "I accept your offer, for who would abandon
a wife like Sundarí? [687] But I will not marry this your daughter till
I have accomplished my ends. In the meanwhile I will propitiate some
god with strict asceticism, in order that I may be revenged on that
ungrateful monarch." When he said this, Agnidatta gladly consented,
and Gunasarman rested there in comfort during the night. And the
next day Agnidatta had a secret subterranean dwelling constructed
for his comfort, called Pátálavasati. [688] And while he was there,
Gunasarman said in secret to Agnidatta: "Tell me, what god, granting
boons to his worshippers, shall I propitiate here by performing vows,
and what spell shall I use?" When the brave man said that, Agnidatta
answered him, "I have a spell for propitiating the god Svámikumára,
which was told me by a teacher; so with that propitiate the general of
the gods, the foe of Táraka, desiring whose birth the gods, oppressed
by their enemies, sent Káma to Siva, (and he, after burning him up,
decreed that henceforth he should be born in the mind;) whose origin
they say was various, from Siva, from the fire-cavity, from fire,
from the thicket of reeds and from the Krittikás; and who, as soon as
he was born, made the whole world bend by his irresistible might, and
slew the unconquered Asura Táraka." Then Gunasarman said, "Tell me that
spell." And Agnidatta gave Gunasarman that spell. With it Gunasarman
propitiated Skanda in the subterranean dwelling, unremitting in his
vow, waited upon by Sundarí. Then the six-faced god appeared to him in
visible form, and said, "I am pleased with you, choose a boon,-- [689]
You shall possess an inexhaustible treasury and, after conquering
Mahásena, you shall, my son, advance irresistibly and rule the
earth." After giving him this great boon, Skanda disappeared, and
Gunasarman obtained inexhaustible treasure. Then the successful hero
married, according to the prescribed rites, with splendour suited to
his greatness, the daughter of the Bráhman Agnidatta, who fell more in
love with him every day, like his future good fortune in affairs come
to him in bodily form. And then having collected, by virtue of his
surpassing accumulation of inexhaustible treasure, an army consisting
of many horses, elephants and foot-soldiers, he marched to Ujjayiní,
overrunning the earth with the forces of all the kings that crowded
to his banner out of gratitude for his gifts. And after proclaiming
there to the subjects that immodest conduct of Asokavatí, and after
conquering the king Mahásena in battle, and deposing him from the
throne, he obtained the dominion of the earth. And king Gunasarman
married many daughters of kings, besides Sundarí, and his orders were
obeyed even on the shores of the sea, and with Sundarí as his consort
he long enjoyed pleasures to his heart's content.
"Thus king Mahásena, in old time, suddenly incurred calamity through
being unable to discriminate the characters of men, being a man of
dull intellect, but the clear-headed Gunasarman, with the help of
his own resolute character alone, obtained the highest prosperity."
After Súryaprabha had heard this chivalrous tale at night from the
mouth of his minister Vítabhíti, the royal hero, who was longing
to traverse the great sea of battle, gained great confidence, and
gradually dropped off to sleep.
CHAPTER L.
Then Súryaprabha and his ministers rose up early in the morning,
and accompanied by all the troops of the Dánavas and their allies,
went to the field of battle. And Srutasarman came surrounded by all
the forces of the Vidyádharas; and all the gods, Asuras, and others
again came to look on. Both armies adopted the crescent formation, then
there took place a battle between those two armies. The swift arrows,
[690] winged with feathers, clashing against one another and cutting
one another in pieces, also fought. The long sword-blades issued from
the mouths of the scabbards, and drinking blood, and waving to and fro,
appeared like the tongues of Death. The field of battle seemed like
a lake, the full-blown lotuses of which were the faces of heroes; on
these the shower of discuses descended like a flight of Brahmany ducks,
and so ruined the kingly swans. The combat appeared, with the severed
heads of heroes flying up and down, like a game of ball, with which
Death was amusing himself. When the arena of combat was cleared from
the obscuring dust by the sprinkling of bloody drops, there took place
on it the single combats of furious champions. There Súryaprabha fought
with Srutasarman, and Prabhása fought with Dámodara, and Siddhártha
fought with Mahotpáta, and Prahasta with Brahmagupta, and Vítabhí with
Sangama, and Prajnádhya with Chandragupta, and Priyankara with Ákrama,
and Sarvadamana fought with Atibala, and Kunjarakumáraka fought with
Dhurandhara, and other great champions fought with others respectively.
Then first Mahotpáta silenced the arrows of Siddhártha with his arrows,
and after cleaving his bow, slew his horses and charioteer. Siddhártha,
though deprived of his chariot, charged him angrily, and with a large
iron mace broke in pieces his chariot and horses. Then Siddhártha
fought on foot with Mahotpáta also on foot, and in a wrestling-bout
hurled him to the ground. But while he was trying to crush him, that
Vidyádhara was delivered by his father Bhaga, and flying up into the
air left the battle-field. And Prahasta and Brahmagupta destroyed
one another's chariots, and then fought with swords, shewing various
arts of fence; and Prahasta cleft his foe's shield in the course of
their sword-play, and with a dexterous sleight laid him low on the
earth; but when he was about to cut off his head, as he lay on the
ground, he was forbidden by his father Brahmá himself by a sign from
a distance; then all the Dánavas laughed the gods to scorn, saying,
"You gods have come to save your sons, not to behold the fray." In
the meanwhile Vítabhaya, after cutting in two the bow of Sankrama,
and slaying his charioteer, slew him by piercing his heart with the
weapon of Káma. And Prajnádhya, fighting on foot with Chandragupta,
sword to sword, after both their chariots had been destroyed, killed
him by cutting off his head. Then the Moon, angry at the death of his
son, himself came and fought with Prajnádhya, and the two combatants
were evenly matched. And Priyankara, who had lost his chariot, fighting
with Ákrama, who had also had his chariot destroyed, cut him in two
with one blow of his sword. And Sarvadamana easily killed Atibala
in fight, for when his bow was cleft, he threw his elephant-hook and
smote him in the heart.
Then Kunjarakumára in a contest, in which missiles were opposed by
answering missiles, frequently deprived Dhurandhara of his chariot,
and as frequently Vikramasakti brought him a chariot, and defended him
in sore straits, repelling weapons with weapons; then Kunjarakumára
in wrath rushed forward, and swiftly hurled a great rock on to the
chariot of Vikramasakti, and, when Vikramasakti retired with broken
chariot, he crushed Dhurandhara with that very stone. [691]
Then Súryaprabha, while fighting with Srutasarman, being angry
on account of the slaughter of Virochana, killed Dama with one
arrow. Enraged at that, the two Asvins descended to the combat,
but Sunítha received them with showers of arrows, and a great fight