The Kathá Sarit Ságara; or, Ocean of the Streams of Story
daughter and escape. For in this way we shall have revenged ourselves
upon the haughty monarch, and we shall not be thought lightly of in
the world for want of prowess. Now the king has given that daughter
of his, Vásavadattá, a female elephant called Bhadravatí. And no
other elephant but Nadágiri is swift enough to catch her up, and he
will not fight when he sees her. The driver of this elephant is a man
here called Áshádhaka, and him I have won over to our side by giving
him much wealth. So you must mount that elephant with Vásavadattá,
fully armed, and start from this place secretly by night. And you
must have the superintendent of the royal elephants here made drunk
with wine, in order that he may not perceive what is about to take
place, [176] for he understands every sign that elephants give. I,
for my part, will first repair to your ally Pulindaka in order that
he may be prepared to guard the road by which you escape." When he
had said this, Yaugandharáyana departed. So the king of Vatsa stored
up all his instructions in his heart; and soon Vásavadattá came to
him. Then he made all kinds of confidential speeches to her, and at
last told her what Yaugandharáyana had said to him. She consented to
the proposal, and made up her mind to start, and causing the elephant
driver Áshádhaka to be summoned, she prepared his mind for the attempt,
and on the pretext of worshipping the gods, she gave the superintendent
of the elephants, with all the elephant drivers, a supply of spirits,
and made them drunk. Then in the evening, which was disturbed with
the echoing roar of clouds, [177] Áshádhaka brought that female
elephant ready harnessed, but she, while she was being harnessed,
uttered a cry, which was heard by the superintendent of the elephants,
who was skilled in elephants' language; and he faltered out in a voice
indistinct from excessive intoxication,--"the female elephant says,
she is going sixty-three yojanas to-day." But his mind in his drunken
state was not capable of reasoning, and the elephant-drivers, who were
also intoxicated, did not even hear what he said. Then the king of
Vatsa broke his chains by means of the charms, which Yaugandharáyana
had given him, and took that lute of his, and Vásavadattá of her own
accord brought him his weapons, and then he mounted the female elephant
with Vasantaka. And then Vásavadattá mounted the same elephant with
her friend and confidante Kánchanamálá; then the king of Vatsa went
out from Ujjayiní with five persons in all, including himself and
the elephant-driver, by a path which the infuriated elephant clove
through the rampart.
And the king attacked and slew the two warriors who guarded that point,
the Rájpúts Vírabáhu and Tálabhata. Then the monarch set out rapidly
on his journey in high spirits, mounted on the female elephant,
together with his beloved, Áshádhaka holding the elephant-hook; in
the meanwhile in Ujjayiní the city-patrol beheld those guards of the
rampart lying dead, and in consternation reported the news to the
king at night. Chandamahásena enquired into the matter, and found
out at last that the king of Vatsa had escaped, taking Vásavadattá
with him. Then the alarm spread through the city, and one of his
sons named Pálaka mounted Nadágiri and pursued the king of Vatsa. The
king of Vatsa for his part, combated him with arrows as he advanced,
and Nadágiri, seeing that female elephant, would not attack her. Then
Pálaka, who was ready to listen to reason, was induced to desist from
the pursuit by his brother Gopálaka, who had his father's interests
at heart; then the king of Vatsa boldly continued his journey,
and as he journeyed, the night gradually came to an end. So by the
middle of the day the king had reached the Vindhya forest, and his
elephant having journeyed sixty-three yojanas, was thirsty. So the
king and his wife dismounted, and the female elephant having drunk
water, owing to its being bad, fell dead on the spot. Then the king
of Vatsa and Vásavadattá, in their despair, heard this voice coming
from the air--"I, O king, am a female Vidyádhara named Máyávatí, and
for this long time I have been a female elephant in consequence of
a curse; and to-day, O lord of Vatsa, I have done you a good turn,
and I will do another to your son that is to be: and this queen of
yours Vásavadattá is not a mere mortal; she is a goddess for a certain
cause incarnate on the earth." Then the king regained his spirits,
and sent on Vasantaka to the plateau of the Vindhya hills to announce
his arrival to his ally Pulindaka; and as he was himself journeying
along slowly on foot with his beloved, he was surrounded by brigands,
who sprang out from an ambuscade. And the king, with only his bow
to help him, slew one hundred and five of them before the eyes of
Vásavadattá. And immediately the king's ally Pulindaka came up,
together with Yaugandharáyana, Vasantaka shewing them the way. The
king of the Bheels ordered the surviving brigands [178] to desist,
and after prostrating himself before the king of Vatsa, conducted
him with his beloved to his own village. The king rested there that
night with Vásavadattá, whose foot had been cut with a blade of forest
grass, and early in the morning the general Rumanvat reached him, who
had before been summoned by Yaugandharáyana, who sent a messenger to
him. And the whole army came with him, filling the land as far as the
eye could reach, so that the Vindhya forest appeared to be besieged. So
that king of Vatsa entered into the encampment of his army, and
remained in that wild region to wait for news from Ujjayiní. And,
while he was there, a merchant came from Ujjayiní, a friend of
Yaugandharáyana's, and when he had arrived reported these tidings,
"The king Chandamahásena is pleased to have thee for a son-in-law,
and he has sent his warder to thee. The warder is on the way, but
he has stopped short of this place, however, I came secretly on in
front of him, as fast as I could, to bring your Highness information."
When he heard this, the king of Vatsa rejoiced, and told it all to
Vásavadattá, and she was exceedingly delighted. Then Vásavadattá,
having abandoned her own relations, and being anxious for the
ceremony of marriage, was at the same time bashful and impatient:
then she said, in order to divert her thoughts, to Vasantaka who was
in attendance--"Tell me some story." Then the sagacious Vasantaka
told that fair-eyed one the following tale in order to increase her
affection for her husband.
Story of Devasmitá.
There is a city in the world famous under the name of Támraliptá, and
in that city there was a very rich merchant named Dhanadatta. And he,
being childless, assembled many Bráhmans and said to them with due
respect; "Take such steps as will procure me a son soon." Then those
Bráhmans said to him: "This is not at all difficult, for Bráhmans
can accomplish all things in this world by means of ceremonies in
accordance with the scriptures. To give you an instance there was
in old time a king who had no sons, and he had a hundred and five
wives in his harem. And by means of a sacrifice to procure a son,
there was born to him a son named Jantu, who was like the rising of
the new moon to the eyes of his wives. Once on a time an ant bit the
boy on the thigh as he was crawling about on his knees, so that he
was very unhappy and sobbed loudly. Thereupon the whole harem was
full of confused lamentation, and the king himself shrieked out
'My son! my son!' like a common man. The boy was soon comforted,
the ant having been removed, and the king blamed the misfortune of
his only having one son as the cause of all his grief. And he asked
the Bráhmans in his affliction if there was any expedient by which he
might obtain a large number of children. They answered him,--'O king,
there is one expedient open to you; you must slay this son and offer
up all his flesh in the fire. By smelling the smell of that sacrifice
all thy wives will obtain sons.' When he heard that, the king had
the whole ceremony performed as they directed; and he obtained as
many sons as he had wives. So we can obtain a son for you also by a
burnt-offering." When they had said this to Dhanadatta, the Bráhmans,
after a sacrificial fee had been promised them, performed a sacrifice:
then a son was born to that merchant. That son was called Guhasena,
and he gradually grew up to man's estate. Then his father Dhanadatta
began to look out for a wife for him.
Then his father went with that son of his to another country, on the
pretence of traffic, but really to get a daughter-in-law, there he
asked an excellent merchant of the name of Dharmagupta to give him his
daughter named Devasmitá for his son Guhasena. But Dharmagupta, who was
tenderly attached to his daughter, did not approve of that connexion,
reflecting that the city of Támraliptá was very far off. But when
Devasmitá beheld that Guhasena, her mind was immediately attracted by
his virtues, and she was set on abandoning her relations, and so she
made an assignation with him by means of a confidante, and went away
from that country at night with her beloved and his father. When they
reached Támraliptá they were married, and the minds of the young couple
were firmly knit together by the bond of mutual love. Then Guhasena's
father died, and he himself was urged by his relations to go to the
country of Katáha [179] for the purpose of trafficking; but his wife
Devasmitá was too jealous to approve of that expedition, fearing
exceedingly that he would be attracted by some other lady. Then,
as his wife did not approve of it, and his relations kept inciting
him to it, Guhasena, whose mind was firmly set on doing his duty, was
bewildered. Then he went and performed a vow in the temple of the god,
observing a rigid fast, trusting that the god would shew him some way
out of his difficulty. And his wife Devasmitá also performed a vow
with him; then Siva was pleased to appear to that couple in a dream;
and giving them two red lotuses the god said to them,--"take each,
of you one of these lotuses in your hand. And if either of you shall
be unfaithful during your separation, the lotus in the hand of the
other shall fade, but not otherwise [180]." After hearing this, the
two woke up, and each beheld in the hand of the other a red lotus,
and it seemed as if they had got one another's hearts. Then Guhasena
set out, lotus in hand, but Devasmitá remained in the house with her
eyes fixed upon her flower. Guhasena for his part quickly reached
the country of Katáha, and began to buy and sell jewels there. And
four young merchants in that country, seeing that that unfading
lotus was ever in his hand, were greatly astonished. Accordingly
they got him to their house by an artifice, and made him drink a
great deal of wine, and then asked him the history of the lotus,
and he being intoxicated told them the whole story. Then those four
young merchants, knowing that Guhasena would take a long time to
complete his sales and purchases of jewels and other wares, planned
together, like rascals as they were, the seduction of his wife out of
curiosity, and eager to accomplish it set out quickly for Támraliptá
without their departure being noticed. There they cast about for some
instrument, and at last had recourse to a female ascetic of the name
of Yogakarandiká, who lived in a sanctuary of Buddha; and they said
to her in an affectionate manner, "Reverend madam, if our object is
accomplished by your help, we will give you much wealth." She answered
them; "No doubt, you young men desire some woman in this city, so tell
me all about it, I will procure you the object of your desire, but I
have no wish for money; I have a pupil of distinguished ability named
Siddhikarí; owing to her kindness I have obtained untold wealth." The