The Kathá Sarit Ságara; or, Ocean of the Streams of Story
the eastern quarter, made of a shoot from the wishing-tree of love. And
Vinítamati, seeing the world gradually illuminated with its numerous
rays, felt his heart leap within him, and said to himself, "Ha! the
ways are seen to be lighted up by the moonlight, as if whitened with
plaster, so why should I not go there and roam about? Accordingly
he went out with his bow and arrows, and roamed about, and after he
had gone only a cos, he suddenly heard a noise of weeping. He went
in the direction of the sound and saw a certain maiden of heavenly
appearance weeping, as she reclined at the foot of a tree. And he said
to her, "Fair one, who are you? And why do you make the moon of your
countenance like the moon when flecked with spots, by staining it
with tears?" When he said this to her, she answered, "Great-souled
one, I am the daughter of a king of the snakes named Gandhamálin,
and my name is Vijayavatí. Once on a time my father fled from battle,
and was thus cursed by Vásuki--'Wicked one, you shall be conquered
and become the slave of your enemy.' In consequence of that curse, my
father was conquered by his enemy, a Yaksha named Kálajihva, and made
his servant, and forced to carry a load of flowers for him. Grieved
thereat, I tried for his sake to propitiate Gaurí with asceticism,
and the holy goddess appeared to me in visible form, and said this
to me, 'Listen, my child; there is in the Mánasa lake a great and
heavenly lotus of crystal expanded into a thousand leaves. Its rays
are scattered abroad when it is touched by the sun-beams, and it
gleams like the many-crested head of Sesha, yellow with the rays of
jewels. Once on a time Kuvera beheld it, and conceived a desire for
that lotus, and after he had bathed in the Mánasa lake, he began to
worship Vishnu in order to obtain it. And at that time the Yakshas,
his followers, were playing in the water, in the shapes of Brahmany
ducks and geese, and other aquatic creatures. And it happened that
the elder brother of your enemy Kálajihva, a Yaksha named Vidyujjíva,
was playing with his beloved in the form of a Brahmany drake, and
while flapping his wings, he struck and upset the argha vessel held in
the extremity of Kuvera's hand. Then the god of wealth was enraged,
and by a curse made Vidyujjíva and his wife Brahmany ducks [205]
on this very Mánasa lake. And Kálajihva, now that his elder brother
is so transformed and is unhappy at night on account of the absence
of his beloved, assumes out of affection her form every night to
console him, and remains there in the day in his own natural form,
accompanied by your father Gandhamálin, whom he has made a slave. So
send there, my daughter, the brave and enterprising Vinítamati, of the
town of Ahichchhatrá, the son of the warder, and take this sword [206]
and this horse, for with these that hero will conquer that Yaksha, and
will set your father at liberty. And whatever man becomes the possessor
of this excellent sword, will conquer all his enemies and become a
king on the earth.' After saying this, the goddess gave me the sword
and horse, and disappeared. So I have come here to-day in due course
to excite you to the enterprise, and seeing you going out at night
with the favour of the goddess, I brought you here by an artifice,
having caused you to hear a sound of weeping. So accomplish for me
that desire of mine, noble sir!" When Vinítamati was thus entreated
by her, he immediately consented.
Then the snake-maiden went at once and brought that swift white
horse, that looked like the concentrated rays of the moon, rushing
forth into the extreme points of the earth to slay the darkness,
and that splendid sword, equal in brightness to the starlight sky,
appearing like a glance of the goddess of Fortune in search of
a hero, and gave them both to Vinítamati. And he set out with the
sword, after mounting that horse with the maiden, and thanks to its
speed he reached that very lake Mánasa. The lotus-clumps of the lake
were shaken by the wind, and it seemed by the plaintive cries of its
Brahmany ducks to forbid his approach out of pity for Kálajihva. And
seeing Gandhamálin there in the custody of some Yakshas, he wounded
those miserable creatures with his sword and dispersed them, in order
to set him at liberty. When Kálajihva saw that, he abandoned the form
of a Brahmany duck and rose from the middle of the lake, roaring like a
cloud of the rainy season. In the course of the fight Kálajihva soared
up into the air, and Vinítamati, with his horse, soared up after him,
and seized him by the hair. And when he was on the point of cutting off
his head with his sword, the Yaksha, speaking in a plaintive voice,
implored his protection. And being spared, he gave him his own ring,
that possessed the power of averting all the calamities called íti,
[207] and with all marks of deference he released Gandhamálin from
slavery, and Gandhamálin, in his delight, gave Vinítamati his daughter
Vijayavatí, and returned home. Then Vinítamati, being the possessor
of a splendid sword, ring, horse, and maiden, returned home as soon
as the day broke. There his father welcomed him and questioned him,
and was delighted at the account of his exploits, and so was his
sovereign, and then he married that Nága maiden. [208]
And one day his father Kamalamati said in secret to the youth,
who was happy in the possession of these four priceless things,
and of many accomplishments; "The king Udayatunga here has a
daughter named Udayavatí, well taught in all the sciences, and he
has publicly announced that he will give her to the first Bráhman or
Kshatriya who conquers her in argument. And by her wonderful skill
in argument she has silenced all other disputants, as by her beauty,
which is the theme of the world's wonder, she has put to shame the
nymphs of heaven. You are a distinguished hero, you are a disputant
of the Kshatriya caste; why do you remain silent? Conquer her in
argument, and marry her." [209] When Vinítamati's father said this
to him, he answered,--"My father, how can men like me contend with
weak women? Nevertheless, I will obey this order of yours." When
the bold youth said this, his father went to the king, and said to
him,--"Vinítamati will dispute with the princess to-morrow." And the
king approved the proposal, and Kamalamati returned home, and informed
his son Vinítamati of his consent.
The next morning the king, like a swan, took up his position in
the midst of the lotus-bed of the assembly of learned men, and the
disputant Vinítamati entered the hall, resplendent like the sun,
and being gazed on by the eyes of all the accomplished men who
were assembled there, that were turned towards him, he, as it were,
animated the lotus-bed with circling bees. And soon after the princess
Udayavatí came there slowly, like the bow of the god of love bent
with the string of excellence; adorned with splendid sweetly-tinkling
ornaments, that seemed, as it were, to intimate her first objection
before it was uttered. [210] A pure streak of the moon in a clear
heaven would give some idea of her appearance when she was seated on
her emerald throne. Then she made her first objection, stringing on
the threads of her glittering teeth a chain of elegant words like
jewels. But Vinítamati proved that her objection was based upon
premisses logically untenable, and he soon silenced the fair one,
refuting her point by point. Then the learned audience commended him,
and the princess, though beaten in argument, considered that she had
triumphed, as she had gained an excellent husband. And Udayatunga
bestowed on Vinítamati his daughter, whom he had won in the arguing
match. And the king loaded Vinítamati with jewels, and he lived united
to the daughter of a snake and the daughter of a king.
Once on a time, when he was engaged in gambling, and was being beaten
by other gamblers, and much distressed in mind thereat, a Bráhman
came and asked him for food with great importunity.
He was annoyed at that, and whispered in the ear of his servant, and
caused to be presented to the Bráhman a vessel full of sand wrapped
up in a cloth. The simple-minded Bráhman thought, on account of its
weight, that it must be full of gold, and went to a solitary place and
opened [211] it. And seeing that it was full of sand, he flung it down
on the earth, and saying to himself, "The man has deceived me," he went
home despondent. But Vinítamati thought no more of the matter, and left
the gambling, and remained at home with his wives in great comfort.
And in course of time, the king Udayatunga became unable to bear
the burden of the empire, as his vigour in negotiations and military
operations was relaxed by old age. [212] Then, as he had no son, he
appointed his son-in-law Vinítamati his successor, and went to the
Ganges to lay down his body. And as soon as Vinítamati obtained the
government, he conquered the ten cardinal points by the virtue of his
horse and his sword. And, by the might of his calamity-averting ring,
his kingdom was free from sickness and famine, like that of Ráma.
Now, once on a time, there came to that king from a foreign country
a mendicant, named Ratnachandrámati, who was among other disputants
like the lion among elephants. The king, who was fond of accomplished
men, entertained him, and the mendicant challenged him to dispute
on the following terms, which he uttered in the form of a verse;
"If thou art vanquished, O king, thou must adopt the law of Buddha;
if I am vanquished, I will abandon the rags of a Buddhist mendicant,
and listen to the teaching of the Bráhmans." The king accepted this
challenge, and argued with the mendicant for seven days, and on the
eighth day the mendicant conquered that king, who in the dispute with
Udayavatí had conquered the "Hammer of Shavelings." Then faith arose
in the breast of the king, and he adopted the Bauddha law taught by
that mendicant, which is rich in the merit of benefiting all creatures;
and becoming devoted to the worship of Jina, he built monasteries and
alms-houses for Buddhist mendicants, Bráhmans, and other sectaries,
and all men generally.
And being subdued in spirit by the practice of that law, he asked
that mendicant to teach him the rule for the discipline leading to the
rank of a Bodhisattva, a rule which involves benefits to all. And the
mendicant said to him; "King, the great discipline of a Bodhisattva is
to be performed by those who are free from sin, and by no others. Now
you are not tainted with any sin which is palpable, and therefore
visible to men like myself, but find out by the following method,
if you have any minute sin, and so destroy it." With these words
the mendicant taught him a charm [213] for producing dreams, and the
king, after having had a dream, said to the mendicant in the morning,
"Teacher, I fancied in my dream last night that I went to the other
world, and being hungry I asked for some food. And then some men with
maces in their hands said to me, 'Eat, O king, these numerous grains of
hot sand earned by you, which you gave long ago to the hungry Bráhman,
when he came to beg of you. If you give away ten crores of gold,
you will be liberated from this guilt.' When the men with maces had
said this to me, I woke up, and lo! the night had come to an end."
When the king had related his dream, he gave away, by order of the
mendicant, ten crores of gold as an atonement for his sin, and again
employed the charm for producing dreams. And again he had that dream,
and in the morning when he got up, he related it, and said; "Last night
also those mace-bearers in the other world gave me sand to eat, when
I was hungry, and then I said to them,--'Why should I eat this sand,
though I have bestowed alms?' Then they said to me--'Your gift was of