The Kathá Sarit Ságara; or, Ocean of the Streams of Story
which there is truth; that is truth in which there is no deceit. Here
I am bound by magic, and on the floor, but my adversary here is on
a seat, and free; what fair controversy can there be between us?"
When Váyupatha heard this, he made Mánasavega also sit upon the floor,
as was just, and had Naraváhanadatta set free from his bonds. Then
before Váyupatha, and in the hearing of all, Naraváhanadatta made the
following reply to the accusations of Mánasavega; "Pray, whose harem
have I violated by coming to visit my own wife, Madanamanchuká here,
who has been carried off by this fellow? And if his sister came and
tricked me into marrying her by assuming my wife's form, what fault
have I committed in this? As for my desiring empire, is there any
one that does not desire all sorts of things?" When king Váyupatha
heard this, he reflected a little, and said, "This noble fellow says
what is quite just; take care, my good Mánasavega, that you do not
act unjustly towards one, whom great exaltation awaits."
Though Váyupatha said this, Mánasavega, blinded with delusion,
refused to turn from his wicked way; and then Váyupatha flew into a
passion. Then, out of regard for justice, he engaged in a contest
with Mánasavega, in which fully equipped armies were employed on
both sides. For resolute men, when they sit on the seat of justice,
keep only the right in view, and look upon the mighty as weak, and
one of their own race as an alien. [541] And then Naraváhanadatta,
looking towards the nymphs of heaven, who were gazing at the scene
with intense interest, said to Mánasavega, "Lay aside your magic
disguises, and fight with me in visible shape, in order that I may
give you a specimen of my prowess by slaying you with one blow."
Accordingly those Vidyádharas there remained quarrelling among
themselves, when suddenly a splendid pillar in the court cleft asunder
in the middle with a loud noise, [542] and Siva issued from it in
his terrific form. He filled the whole sky, in colour like antimony;
he hid the sun; the gleams of his fiery eyes flickered like flashes of
lightning; his shining teeth were like cranes flying in a long row; and
so he was terrible like a roaring cloud of the great day of doom. The
great god exclaimed "Villain, this future emperor of the Vidyádharas
shall not be insulted," and with these words he dismissed Mánasavega
with face cast down, and encouraged Váyupatha. And then the adorable
one took Naraváhanadatta up in his arms, and in order to preserve
his life, carried him in this way to the beautiful and happy mountain
Rishyamúka, and after setting him down there, disappeared. And then
the quarrel among the Vidyádharas in that court came to an end, and
Váyupatha went home again accompanied by the other Vidyádharas his
friends. But Mánasavega, making Madanamanchuká, who was distracted
with joy and grief, precede him, went despondent to Áshádhapura his
own dwelling.
CHAPTER CVII.
I think, a hero's prosperity must be unequal; Fate again and again
severely tests firmness by the ordeals of happiness and misery:
this explains why the fickle goddess kept uniting Naraváhanadatta to
wife after wife, when he was alone in those remote regions, and then
separated him from them.
Then, while he was residing on the mountain Rishyamúka, his beloved
Prabhávatí came up to him, and said, "It was owing to the misfortune of
my not being present that Mánasavega carried you off on that occasion
to the court, with the intention of doing you an injury. When I heard
of it, I at once went there, and by means of my magic power I produced
the delusion of an appearance of the god, and brought you here. For,
though the Vidyádharas are mighty, their influence does not extend
over this mountain, for this is the domain of the Siddhas. [543]
Indeed even my science is of no avail here for that reason, and that
grieves me, for how will you subsist on the products of the forest
as your only food?" When she had said this, Naraváhanadatta remained
with her there, longing for the time of deliverance, thinking on
Madanamanchuká. And on the banks of the sanctifying Pampá-lake near
that mountain, he ate fruits and roots of heavenly flavour, and he
drank the holy water of the lake which was rendered delicious and
fragrant by the fruits dropped from trees on its bank, as a relish
to his meal of deer's flesh. [544] And he lived at the foot of trees
and in the interior of caverns, and so he imitated the conduct of
Ráma who once lived in the forests of that region. And Prabhávatí,
beholding there various hermitages once occupied by Ráma, told him
the story of Ráma for his amusement.
Story of Ráma.
In this forest Ráma once dwelt accompanied by Lakshmana, and waited
on by Sítá, in the society of hermits, making to himself a hut at the
foot of a tree. And Sítá, perfuming the whole forest with the perfume
given her by Anasúyá, remained here in the midst of the hermits'
wives, wearing a robe of bark.
Here the Daitya Dundubhi was slain in a cave by Báli, which was the
original cause of the enmity between Báli and Sugríva. For Sugríva,
wrongly supposing that the Daitya had slain Báli, blocked up the
entrance of the cave with mountains, and went away terrified. But Báli
broke through the obstruction, and came out, and banished Sugríva,
saying, "This fellow imprisoned me in the cave because he wanted to
get my kingdom." But Sugríva fled, and came and established himself
on this plateau of Rishyamúka with the lords of the monkeys, of whom
Hanumán was the chief.
Then Rávana came here, and beguiling the soul of Ráma with the phantom
of a golden deer, he carried off his wife the daughter of Janaka. Then
the descendant of Raghu, who longed for news of Sítá, made an alliance
with Sugríva, who desired the slaughter of Báli. And in order to let
his might be known, he cleft seven palm-trees here with an arrow, while
the mighty Báli with great difficulty cleft one of them. And then the
hero went hence to Kishkindhya, and after slaying Báli with a single
arrow, which he launched as if in sport, gave his kingdom to Sugríva.
Then the followers of Sugríva, headed by Hanumán, went hence in every
direction to gain information about Sítá. And Ráma remained here during
the rainy season with the roaring clouds, which seemed to share his
grief shedding showery tear-drops. At last Hanumán crossed the sea at
the suggestion of Sampáti, and by great exertions obtained for Ráma the
required information; whereupon he marched with the monkeys, and threw
a bridge over the sea, and killed his enemy the lord of Lanká, and
brought back queen Sítá in the flying chariot, passing over this place.
"So, my husband, you also shall attain good fortune: successes come of
their own accord to heroes who remain resolute in misfortunes." This
and other such tales did Prabhávatí tell, while she roamed about here
and there for her pleasure with Naraváhanadatta.
And one day, as he was in the neighbourhood of Pampá, two Vidyádharís,
Dhanavatí and Ajinávatí, descended from heaven and approached
him. These were the two ladies who carried him from the city of
the Gandharvas to the city of Srávastí, where he [545] married
Bhagírathayasas. And while Ajinávatí was conversing with Prabhávatí as
an old friend, Dhanavatí thus addressed Naraváhanadatta, "I long ago
bestowed on you this daughter of mine Ajinávatí, as far as promises
could do it; so marry her; for the day of your exaltation is nigh at
hand." Prabhávatí, out of love for her friend, and Naraváhanadatta
both agreed to this proposal. Then Dhanavatí bestowed that daughter
of hers Ajinávatí on that son of the king of Vatsa, with appropriate
ceremonies. And she celebrated the great feast of her daughter's
wedding in such style that the glorious and heavenly preparations
she had accumulated by means of her magic knowledge made it really
beautiful.
Then the next day she said to Naraváhanadatta, "My son, it will
never do for you to remain long in a nondescript place like this:
for the Vidyádharas are a deceitful race, and you have no business
here. So depart now with your wife for your own city of Kausámbí;
and I will come there with my son Chandasinha and with the Vidyádhara
chiefs that follow me, to ensure your success." [546] When Dhanavatí
had said this, she mounted up into the sky, illuminating it, as it
were, with moonlight, though it was day, by the gleam of her white
body and raiment.
And Prabhávatí and Ajinávatí carried Naraváhanadatta through the air
to his city of Kausámbí. When he reached the garden of the city,
he descended from heaven into his capital, and was seen by his
attendants. And there arose there a cry from the people on all sides,
"We are indeed happy; here is the prince come back." Then the king
of Vatsa, hearing of it, came there quickly in high delight, as
if irrigated with a sudden shower of nectar, with Vásavadattá and
Padmávatí, and the prince's wives, Ratnaprabhá and the rest; and
Yaugandharáyana and the other ministers of the king of Vatsa, and
Kalingasená and the prince's own ministers, Gomukha and his fellows,
approached him in order of precedence as eagerly as travellers make
for a lake in the hot season. And they saw the hero, whose high birth
qualified him for a lofty station, sitting between his two wives,
like Krishna between Rukminí and Satyabhámá. And when they saw him,
they hid their eyes with tears of joy, as if for fear lest they
should leap out of their skins in their delight. And the king of
Vatsa and his queens embraced after a long absence that son of theirs,
and could not let him go, for they were, as it were, riveted to him
by the hairs of their bodies erect from joy.
Then a great feast began by beat of drum, and Vegavatí, the daughter of
Vegavat, and sister of Mánasavega, who was married to Naraváhanadatta,
finding it all out by the might of her recovered science, came down to
Kausámbí through the air, and fell at the feet of her father-in-law
and mother-in-law, and prostrating herself before her husband, said
to him, "Auspicious sir, after I had become weak by my exertions on
your behalf, I recovered my magic powers by self-mortification in a
grove of ascetics and now I have returned into your presence." When
she had said this, she was welcomed by her husband and the others,
and she repaired to her friends Prabhávatí, and Ajinávatí.
They embraced her and made her sit between them; and at that moment
Dhanavatí, the mother of Ajinávatí, also arrived; and various kings
of the Vidyádharas came with her, surrounded by their forces, that
hid the heaven like clouds; her own heroic son, the strong-armed
Chandasinha, and a powerful relation of hers, Amitagati by name,
and Pingalagándhára the mighty father of Prabhávatí, and Váyupatha,
the president of the court, who had previously declared himself on
Naraváhanadatta's side, and the heroic king Hemaprabha, the father
of Ratnaprabhá, accompanied by his son Vajraprabha and followed by
his army. And Ságaradatta the king of the Gandharvas came there,
accompanied by his daughter Gandharvadattá, and by Chitrángada. And
when they arrived, they were becomingly honoured by the king of Vatsa
and his son, and sat in due order on thrones.
And immediately king Pingalagándhára said to his son-in-law
Naraváhanadatta, as he was in the hall of assembly, "King, you have
been appointed by the god [547] emperor over us all, and it is owing
to our great love for you, that we have all come to you. And queen
Dhanavatí here, your mother-in-law, a strict votary, possessing
divine knowledge, wearing the rosary, and the skin of the black
antelope, like an incarnation of Durgá, or Sávitrí having acquired
magic powers, an object of reverence to the noblest Vidyádharas, has