The Kathá Sarit Ságara; or, Ocean of the Streams of Story
and climbed up into a tree to spend the night there, dreading the
lions, and tigers, and other noisome beasts. And being sleepless,
he saw in the night at the foot of the tree a great body of divine
Mothers assembled, with Náráyaní at their head; waiting for the
arrival of the god Bhairava, having brought with them all kinds of
presents suited to their resources. And thereupon the Mothers asked
Náráyaní why the god delayed, but she laughed and gave no reason. And
being persistently questioned by them, she answered--"He has stopped
to curse a Guhyaka who has incurred his displeasure." [774] And on
account of that business some delay has taken place about his arrival,
but know that he will be here soon. While Náráyaní was saying this to
the Mothers, there came there Bhairava [775] the lord of the company
of Mothers. And he, having been honoured with gifts by all the Mothers,
spent some time in dancing, and sported with the witches.
And while Chandrasvámin was surveying that from the summit of a
tree, he saw a slave belonging to Náráyaní, and she saw him. And
as chance would have it, they fell in love with one another, and
the goddess Náráyaní perceived their feelings. And when Bhairava had
departed, accompanied by the witches, she, lingering behind, summoned
Chandrasvámin who was on the tree. And when he came down, she said
to him and her slave: "Are you in love with one another?" And they
confessed the truth, and said they were, and thereupon she dismissed
her anger and said to Chandrasvámin, "I am pleased with thee for
confessing the truth, so I will not curse thee, but I will give
thee this slave, live in happiness." When the Bráhman heard this, he
said--"Goddess, though my mind is fickle, I hold it in check, I do not
touch a strange woman. For this is the nature of the mind, but bodily
sin should be avoided." When that firm-souled Bráhman said this, the
goddess said to him--"I am pleased with thee and I give thee this boon:
thou shalt quickly find thy children. And receive from me this unfading
lotus that destroys poison." When the goddess had said this, she gave
the Bráhman Chandrasvámin a lotus, and disappeared from his eyes.
And he, having received the lotus, set out, at the end of the night,
and roaming along reached the city of Tárápura, where his son Mahípála
and his daughter were living in the house of that Bráhman minister
Anantasvámin. There he went and recited at the door of that minister,
in order to obtain food, having heard that he was hospitable. And
the minister, having been informed by the door-keepers, had him
introduced by them, and when he saw that he was learned, invited
him to dinner. And when he was invited, having heard that there
was a lake there, named Anantahrada, that washed away sin, he went
to bathe there. While he was returning after bathing, the Bráhman
heard all round him in the city a cry of grief. And when he asked
the cause, the people said to him--"There is in this city a Bráhman
boy, of the name of Mahípála, who was found in the forest by the
merchant Sárthadhara. The minister Anantasvámin, observing that he
had auspicious marks, with some difficulty begged him and his sister
from the merchant, and brought them both here. And being without a
son, he has adopted the boy, whose excellent qualities have endeared
him to king Tárávarman and his people. To-day he has been bitten
by a poisonous snake; hence the cry of grief in the city." When
Chandrasvámin heard that, he said to himself, "This must be my son,"
and reflecting thus, he went to the house of that minister as fast as
he could. There he saw his son surrounded by all, and recognized him,
and rejoiced, having in his hand the lotus that was an antidote to
snake-poison. And he put that lotus to the nose of that Mahípála, and
the moment he smelt it, he was free from the effects of poison. And
Mahípála rose up, and was as one who had just awoke from sleep,
[776] and all the people in the city, and the king rejoiced. And
Chandrasvámin was honoured with wealth by Anantasvámin, the king, and
the citizens, who said "This is some incarnation of the divinity." And
he remained in the house of the minister in great comfort, honoured
by him, and he saw his son Mahípála and his daughter Chandravatí. And
the three, though they mutually recognized one another, said nothing,
for the wise have regard to what is expedient, and do not discover
themselves out of season.
Then the king Tárávarman, being highly pleased with the virtues of
Mahípála, gave him his daughter Bandhumatí. Then that king, after
giving him the half of the kingdom, being pleased with him, laid the
whole burden of the kingdom upon him, as he had no other son. And
Mahípála, after he had obtained the kingdom, acknowledged his father,
and gave him a position next to his, and so lived in happiness.
One day his father Chandrasvámin said to him, "Come, let us go to our
own country to bring your mother. For if she hears that you are the
occupant of a throne, having been long afflicted, she might think,
'How comes it that my son has forgotten me,' and might curse you
in her anger. But one who is cursed by his father and mother does
not long enjoy prosperity. In proof of this hear this tale of what
happened long ago to the merchant's son."
Story of Chakra. [777]
In the city of Dhavala there was a merchant's son, named Chakra. He
went on a trading voyage to Svarnadvípa against the will of his
parents. There he gained great wealth in five years, and in order
to return embarked on the sea in a ship laden with jewels. And when
his voyage was very nearly at an end, the sea rose up against him,
troubled with a great wind, and with clouds and rain. And the huge
billows broke his vessel, as if angry because he had come against the
wish of his parents. Some of the passengers were whelmed in the waves,
others were eaten by sea-monsters. But Chakra, as his allotted term of
life had not run out, was carried to the shore and flung up there by
the waves. While he was lying there in a state of exhaustion, he saw
as if in a dream, a man of black and terrible appearance come to him,
with a noose in his hand. Chakra was caught in the noose by that man,
who took him up and dragged him a long distance to a court presided
over by a man on a throne. By the order of the occupant of the throne,
the merchant's son was carried off by that noose-bearer, and flung
into a cell of iron.
In that cell Chakra saw a man being tortured by means of an iron
wheel [778] on his head, that revolved incessantly. And Chakra
asked him,--"Who are you, by what crime did you incur this, and
how do you manage to continue alive?" And the man answered--"I am a
merchant's son named Khadga, and because I did not obey the commands
of my parents, they were angry and in wrath laid this curse upon me:
[779] 'Because, wicked son, you torture us like a hot wheel placed
on the head, therefore such shall be your punishment.' When they had
said this they ceased, and as I wept, they said to me, 'Weep not,
your punishment shall only last for one month.' When I heard that,
I spent the day in grief, and at night when I was in bed, I saw,
as if in a dream, a terrible man come. He took me off and thrust me
by force into this iron cell, and he placed on my head this burning
and ever-revolving wheel. This was my parents' curse, hence I do not
die. And the month is at an end to-day; still I am not set free." When
Khadga said that, Chakra in pity answered him--"I too did not obey my
parents, for I went abroad to get wealth against their will, and they
pronounced against me the curse that my wealth, when acquired, should
perish. So I lost in the sea my whole wealth, that I had acquired
in a foreign island. My case is the same as yours. So what is the
use of my life? Place this wheel on my head. Let your curse, Khadga,
depart." When Chakra said this, a voice was heard in the air "Khadga,
thou art released, so place this wheel on the head of Chakra." When
Khadga heard this, he placed the wheel on the head of Chakra, and
was conveyed by some invisible being to his parents' house.
There he remained without disobeying again the orders of his parents:
but Chakra put that wheel upon his head, and then spake thus--"May
other sinners also on the earth be released from the result of their
sins; until all sins are cancelled, may this wheel revolve on my
head." When the resolute Chakra said this, the gods in heaven, being
pleased, rained flowers and thus addressed him: "Bravo! Bravo! man of
noble spirit, this compassion has cancelled thy sin, go; thou shalt
possess inexhaustible wealth." When the gods said this, that iron
wheel fell from the head of Chakra, and disappeared somewhere. Then
a Vidyádhara youth descended from heaven, and gave him a valuable
treasure of jewels, sent by Indra pleased with his self-abnegation,
and taking Chakra in his arms, carried him to his city named Dhavala,
and departed as he had come. Then Chakra delighted his relations
by his arrival at the house of his parents, and, after telling his
adventures, remained there without falling away from virtue.
When Chandrasvámin had told this story, he said again to Mahípála,
"Such evil fruits does opposition to one's parents produce, my son,
but devotion to them is a wishing-cow of plenty: in illustration of
this hear the following tale."
Story of the hermit and the faithful wife.
There was in old time a hermit of great austerity, who roamed in the
forest. And one day a hen-crow, as he was sitting under the shade of
a tree, dropped dirt upon him, so he looked at the crow with angry
eyes. And the crow, as soon as he looked at it, was reduced to ashes;
and so the hermit conceived a vain-glorious confidence in the might
of his austerities.
Once on a time, in a certain city, the hermit entered the house of a
Bráhman, and asked his wife for alms. And that wife, who was devoted
to her husband, answered him, "Wait a little, I am attending upon my
husband." Then he looked at her with an angry look, and she laughed
at him and said, "Remember, [780] I am not a crow." When the hermit
heard that, he sat down in a state of astonishment, and remained
wondering how she could possibly have come to know of the fate of the
crow. Then, after she had attended upon her husband in the oblation
to the fire and in other rites, the virtuous woman brought alms,
and approached that hermit. Then the hermit joined his hands in the
attitude of supplication, and said to that virtuous woman: "How did
you come to know of my adventure with the crow in the forest; tell
me first, and then I will receive your alms?" When the hermit said
this, that wife, who adored her husband, said, "I know of no virtue
other than devotion to my husband, accordingly by his favour I have
such power of discernment. But go and visit a man here who lives by
selling flesh, whose name is Dharmavyádha, from him thou shalt learn
the secret of blessedness free from the consciousness of self." The
hermit, thus addressed by the all-knowing faithful wife, took the
portion of a guest, and after bowing before her, departed.
Story of Dharmavyádha the righteous seller of flesh. [781]
The next day he went in search of that Dharmavyádha, and approached
him, as he was selling flesh in his shop. And as soon as Dharmavyádha
saw the hermit, he said, "Have you been sent here, Bráhman, by that
faithful wife?" When the hermit heard that, he said to Dharmavyádha
in his astonishment,--"How come you to have such knowledge, being a
seller of flesh?" When the hermit said this, Dharmavyádha answered
him--"I am devoted to my father and mother, that is my only object
in life. I bathe after I have provided them with the requisites for
bathing, I eat after I have fed them, I lie down after I have seen