The Kathá Sarit Ságara; or, Ocean of the Streams of Story
Arjuna. [473] And so the aggregated army of the Chandálas moved on,
blackening all the horizon with a dark hue, making those who beheld it
say in perplexity to themselves "Can this be a mass of rock that has
rolled down from the Anjana mountain, [474] or is it a premature bank
of the clouds of the day of doom, that has descended upon the earth?"
And their chief Durgapisácha came up to Mrigánkadatta, placing his
head upon the ground even when at a distance, and bowed before him,
and said "To-day the goddess Durgá is pleased with me, in that
your Highness, of such a noble race, has come to my house. On that
account I consider myself fortunate and successful. When the king of
the Mátangas had said this, he gave him a present of pearls, musk,
and other rarities. And the prince kindly accepted it with the usual
courtesies. Then they all encamped there. That great forest was covered
all over with elephants fastened to posts, with horses in stables,
and tented footmen; and was scarcely able to contain itself, being
confused with its good fortune in thus being assimilated to a city,
which was unprecedented in the course of its existence.
Then, in that wood, when Mrigánkadatta had bathed in the river for
good fortune, and had taken food, and was sitting at his ease,
in a secluded spot, surrounded by his ministers, Máyávatu also
being present, Durgapisácha said to Mrigánkadatta, in the course of
conversation, speaking in a tone softened by affection and regard,
"This king Máyávatu came here a long time ago, and has been remaining
here with me, my lord, awaiting your orders. So where, my prince,
have you all remained so long? And what have you done? Tell me, now,
the business that detained you." When the prince heard this speech of
his, he said, "After I had left the palace of our friend here Máyávatu,
with Vimalabuddhi and Gunákara, and Srutadhi, and Bhímaparákrama,
whom I had also recovered, I found on my way this Prachandasakti and
Vichitrakatha, and in course of time also this Vikramakesarin. Then
these men here found on the borders of a beautiful lake a tree sacred
to Ganesa, and climbed up it to pick its fruit, and so were turned
into fruits themselves by the curse of the god. Then I propitiated
Ganesa, and not without difficulty set them free, and at the same
time I delivered these other four ministers of mine, Dridhamushti
and Vyághrasena and Meghabala and Sthúlabáhu, who had previously
suffered the same transformation. With all these, thus recovered, I
went to Ujjayiní; but the gates were guarded, and we could not even
enter the town; much less could we think of any device for carrying
off Sasánkavatí. And as I had no army with me, I had no locus standi
for sending an ambassador. So we deliberated together, and came here
to you. Now, my friend, you and your allies have to decide whether
we shall attain our end or no."
When Mrigánkadatta had related his adventures in these words,
Durgapisácha and Máyávatu said, "Be of good courage; this is but a
little matter for us to accomplish at once; our lives were originally
created for your sake. We will bring here that king Karmasena in
chains, and we will carry off his daughter Sasánkavatí by force."
When the king of the Mátangas and Máyávatu said this, Mrigánkadatta
said lovingly and very respectfully, "What will you not be able
to accomplish, for this resolute courage of yours is a sufficient
guarantee that you will carry out that furtherance of your friend's
interests which you have undertaken. When the Creator made you
here, he infused into your composition qualities borrowed from your
surroundings, the firmness of the Vindhya hills, the courage of
the tigers, and the warm attachment to friends of the forest [475]
lotuses. So deliberate and do what is fitting." While Mrigánkadatta was
saying this, the sun retired to rest on the summit of the mountain
of setting. Then they also rested that night in the royal camp,
as was meet, sleeping in booths made by the workmen.
And the next morning Mrigánkadatta sent off Gunákara to bring
his friend Saktirakshita, the king of the Kirátas. He went and
communicated the state of affairs to that sovereign; and in a very
few days the king of the Kirátas returned with him, bringing a very
large force. Ten hundred thousand footmen, and two hundred thousand
horse, and a myriad of furious elephants on which heroes were mounted,
and eighty-eight thousand chariots followed that king, who darkened
the heaven with his banners and his umbrella. And Mrigánkadatta,
with his friends and ministers, went to meet him in high spirits and
honoured him and conducted him into the camp. And in the meanwhile
other friends and relations of the king of the Mátangas, and all those
of king Máyávatu, having been summoned by messengers, came in. [476]
And the camp swelled like the ocean, giving joy to the heart of
Mrigánkadatta: with shouts rising up like the roar of the waves,
and hundreds of battalions pouring in like rivers. And Durgapisácha
honoured [477] those assembled kings with musk, and garments, and
pieces of flesh, and spirits distilled from fruits. And Máyávatu the
king of the Savaras gave them all splendid baths, unguents, food,
drink, and beds. And Mrigánkadatta sat down to eat with all those
kings who were seated in their proper places. [478] He even went so
far as to make the king of the Mátangas eat in his presence though
at a little distance from him: the fact is, it is necessity and place
and time that take precedence, not one man of another.
And the next day, when the newly arrived force of Kirátas and others
had rested, Mrigánkadatta, sitting on a throne of ivory in the assembly
of the kings, where he had been duly honoured, after he had had the
place cleared of attendants, said to his friends, the king of the
Mátangas, and the others, "Why do we now delay? Why do we not quickly
march towards Ujjayiní with the whole of this force?" When the Bráhman
Srutadhi heard this, he said to that prince, "Listen prince, I now
speak according to the opinion of those who know policy. A king who
wishes to be victorious must first see the distinction between what is
practicable and what is not practicable. What cannot be accomplished by
an expedient, he should reject as impracticable. That is practicable
which can be accomplished by an expedient. Now expedients in this
matter are of four kinds, and are enumerated as conciliation, gifts,
division and force. This order represents their comparative advantages,
the first being better than the second, and so on. So, my prince,
you ought first to make use of conciliation in this business. For, as
king Karmasena is not greedy of gain, gifts are not likely to succeed;
nor is division likely to be of any use, for none of his servants
are angry, or covetous, or indignant with him, on account of having
been treated with neglect. As for force, its employment is risky; as
that king lives in a difficult country, has a very formidable army,
and has never been conquered by any king before. Moreover even mighty
ones cannot always be assured of having the fortune of victory on their
side in battles; besides, it is not becoming in one, who is a suitor
for a maiden's hand, to slaughter her relations. So let us send an
ambassador to that monarch, adopting the method of conciliation. If
that does not succeed, the method of force shall be employed as being
unavoidable." All there, when they heard this speech of Srutadhi's,
approved it, and praised his statesmanship.
Then Mrigánkadatta deliberated with them all, and sent a servant of
the king of the Kirátas, a noble Bráhman, Suvigraha by name, who
possessed all the requisites of a diplomatist, to king Karmasena,
as an ambassador to communicate the result of their deliberations,
and he carried with him a letter, and was also entrusted with a verbal
message. The ambassador went to Ujjayiní, and, being introduced by the
warder, entered the king's palace, the interior of which looked very
magnificent, as its zones were crowded with splendid horses, and with
elephants; and he saw that king Karmasena, sitting on his throne,
surrounded by his ministers. He did obeisance to that sovereign,
who welcomed him; and after he had sat down, and his health had
been enquired after, he proceeded to deliver to him his letter. And
the king's minister, named Prajnákosa, took it, and broke the seal,
and unfolding the letter, proceeded to read it out to the following
effect. "All-Hail! The auspicious Mrigánkadatta, ornament of the
circle of the earth, son of the great king of kings who is lord of
the city of Ayodhyá, the fortunate Amaradatta, from the slope of the
forest at the foot of the castle of Karabhagríva, where he now is,
with kings submissive and obedient to him, sends this plain message
to the great king Karmasena in Ujjayiní, who is the moon of the
sea of his own race, with all due respect; You have a daughter,
and you must without fail give her to another, so give her to me;
for she has been declared by the gods a suitable wife for me. In this
way we shall become allies, and our former enmity will be at an end;
if you do not consent, I will appeal to my own strong arms to give
me this object of my desires." When the letter had been thus read by
the minister Prajnákosa, king Karmasena, inflamed with rage, said to
his ministers, "These people are always hostile to us; and observe,
this man, not knowing his place, has on the present occasion worded
his communication in an objectionable form. He has put himself first
and me last, out of contempt; and at the end the conceited fellow has
bragged of the might of his arm. So, I do not consider that I ought
to send any reply; as for giving him my daughter, that is out of the
question. Depart, ambassador; let your master do what he can." [479]
When king Karmasena said this, that Bráhman ambassador Suvigraha,
being a man of spirit, gave him an answer well-suited to the occasion,
"Fool, you boast now, because you have not seen that prince; make
ready; when be arrives, you will learn the difference between yourself
and your opponent." When the ambassador said this, the whole court
was in a state of excitement; but the king, though in wrath, said,
"Away with you! Your person is inviolable, so what can we do?" Then
some of those present, biting their lips, and wringing their hands
together, said one to another, "Why do we not follow him and kill him
this moment." But others, being masters of themselves, said, "Let the
young fool of a Bráhman go! why do you trouble yourselves about the
speech of this babbler? We will shew what we can do." Others again,
appearing to foreshadow by their frowns the speedy bending of their
bows, remained silent, with faces red with rage.
The whole court being thus incensed, the ambassador Suvigraha went
out, and repaired to Mrigánkadatta in his camp. He told him and his
friends what Karmasena had said; and the prince, when he heard it,
ordered the army to march. Then the sea of soldiers, set in motion
by the order of the commander, as by a violent gust of wind, in which
men, horses, and elephants moved like bounding sea-monsters, exciting
satisfaction in the mind of the allied monarchs, [480] assumed an
agitation terrifying to the minds of timid men. Then Mrigánkadatta,
making the earth miry with the foam of high-mettled horses, and the
frontal ichor of elephants, and deafening the world with the noise
of his drums, moved on slowly to Ujjayiní to victory.
CHAPTER CIII.
Then Mrigánkadatta, accompanied by his friends, crossed the Vindhya
range, and with his army ready for battle, reached the frontier of
Ujjayiní. When the brave king Karmasena heard that, he also made
ready for the fight, and with his army moved out from the city