The Kathá Sarit Ságara; or, Ocean of the Streams of Story
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 Kamalákara, on the wall of the bower of that Hansávalí.
"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 Hansávalí 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 Kamalákara, 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 goddess 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 passion grew up in the heart of Hansávalí, 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 Kamalákara heard the speech of the
bard, and saw the stanza, he joyed exceedingly, thinking on Hansávalí,
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
Kamalákara 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 assigned 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 principal 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 Vidisá.
And encamping there he sent an ambassador to Meghamálin the father
of Hansávalí, to ask for her in marriage. When that king learnt from
the ambassador 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 Meghamálin, 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 ambassador? For
I desire this marriage; hear the reason. Seeing that this Hansávalí
was even in her childhood devoted to the worship of Vishnu, and that
she had a frame delicate as a sirísha, 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 petitioned
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 Hansávalí,
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 pass away. And you
need have no more anxiety about her marriage, since prince Kamalákara
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 Hansávalí's hand. And so the union of you two is appointed
by the god. Accordingly I bestow on you Hansávalí." 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 Hansávalí had heard it,
she said in secret to her confidante, named Kanakamanjarí, "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 Kanakamanjarí,
acting in accordance with her own will only.
And the confidante, having assumed 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 god that presides over the weapon
with which the god 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 assumed a
downcast expression of face, and went into the presence of Hansávalí,
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 Kamalákara. 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 Hansávalí 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
Kanakamanjarí 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 Kanakamanjarí 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 Asokakarí, her secret object. And with her she
waited during three days on the desponding Hansávalí, who agreed with
them on the measures to he taken.
And when the wedding-day came, the bridegroom Kamalákara arrived
at night, with a train of elephants, horses, and footmen. While
all the people of the palace were occupied with festal rejoicing,
Kanakamanjarí, keeping by an artifice the other maids out of the way,
quickly took Hansávalí 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 Asokakarí, and put her own dress on her accomplice
Asokakarí, and when night came, said to Hansávalí, "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 Hansávalí heard these words of her treacherous
friend, she agreed, and went out from the female apartments at night
clad in her garments, and she passed 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