The Kathá Sarit Ságara; or, Ocean of the Streams of Story
Chandasinha, and smote him on the head with a formidable mace. When
Dhanavatí saw that her son had fallen under the stroke of the mace,
she cursed and paralysed both armies by means of her magic power. And
Naraváhanadatta on one side, in virtue of his imperial might, [580]
and on the other side, Mandaradeva were the only two that remained
conscious. Then even the gods in the air fled in all directions,
seeing that Dhanavatí, if angry, had power to destroy a world.
But Mandaradeva, seeing that the emperor Naraváhanadatta was left
alone, ran upon him with uplifted weapon. Naraváhanadatta, for his
part, descended from his chariot, and drawing the sword which was one
of his imperial jewels, quickly met him. Then Mandaradeva, wishing
to gain the victory by magic arts, assumed by his science the form
of a furious elephant maddened with passion. When Naraváhanadatta,
who was endowed with pre-eminent skill in magic, saw this, he assumed
by his supernatural power the form of a lion. Then Mandaradeva flung
off the body of an elephant, and Naraváhanadatta abandoned that of a
lion, and fought with him openly in his own shape. [581] Armed with
sabres, and skilled in every elaborate trick and attitude of fence,
they appeared like two actors skilled in gesticulation, engaged
in acting a pantomime. Then Naraváhanadatta by a dexterous sleight
forced from the grasp of Mandaradeva his sword the material symbol of
victory. And Mandaradeva, having been thus deprived of his sword, drew
his dagger, but the emperor quickly made him relinquish that in the
same way. Then Mandaradeva, being disarmed, began to wrestle with the
emperor, but he seized him by the ancles, and laid him on the earth.
And then the sovereign set his foot on his enemy's breast, and laying
hold of his hair, was preparing to cut off his head with his sword,
when the maiden Mandaradeví, the sister of Mandaradeva, rushed up to
him, and in order to prevent him, said, "When I saw you long ago in
the wood of ascetics, I marked you for my future husband, so do not, my
sovereign, kill this brother of mine, who is your brother-in-law." When
the resolute king had been thus addressed by that fair-eyed one,
he let go Mandaradeva, who was ashamed at having been conquered, and
said to him, "I set you at liberty; do not be ashamed on that account,
Vidyádhara chief; victory and defeat in war bestow themselves on heroes
with varying caprice." When the king said this, Mandaradeva answered
him, "Of what profit is my life to me, now that I have been saved in
war by a woman? So I will go to my father in the wood where he is,
and perform asceticism; you have been appointed emperor over both
divisions of our territory here. Indeed this occurrence was foretold
long ago to me by my father as sure to take place." When the proud
hero had said this, he repaired to his father in the grove of ascetics.
Then the gods, that were present in the air on that occasion,
exclaimed, "Bravo! great emperor, you have completely conquered your
enemies, and obtained sovereign sway." When Mandaradeva had gone,
Dhanavatí by her power restored her own son and both armies with him
to consciousness. So Naraváhanadatta's followers, ministers and all,
arose as it were from sleep, and finding out that the foe had been
conquered, congratulated Naraváhanadatta their victorious master. And
the kings of Mandaradeva's party, Kánchanadanshtra, Asokaka, Raktáksha,
Kálajihva and the others, submitted to the sway of Naraváhanadatta. And
Chandasinha, when he saw Kánchanadanshtra, remembered the blow of the
mace, which he received from him in fight, and was wroth with him,
brandishing his good sword firmly grasped in his strong hand. But
Dhanavatí said to him, "Enough of wrath, my beloved son! Who could
conquer you in the van of battle? But I myself produced that momentary
glamour, in order to prevent the destruction of both armies." With
these words she pacified her son and made him cease from wrath, and
she delighted the whole army and the emperor Naraváhanadatta [582]
by her magic skill. And Naraváhanadatta was exceedingly joyful, having
obtained the sovereignty of the north side of Kailása, the mountain of
Siva, a territory now free from the scourge of war, since the heroes,
who opposed him, had been conquered, or had submitted, or fled, and
that too with all his friends unharmed. Then shrill kettle-drums were
beaten for the great festival of his victory over his enemies, [583]
and the triumphant monarch, accompanied by his wives and ministers,
and girt with mighty kings, spent that day, which was honoured by the
splendid dances and songs of the Vidyádhara ladies, in drinking wine,
as it were the fiery valour of his enemies.
CHAPTER CX.
Then, the next day, the emperor Naraváhanadatta, with his army, left
that plateau of Kailása, and by the advice of king Kánchanadanshtra,
who shewed him the way, went to that city of Mandaradeva named
Vimala. And he reached that city, which was adorned with lofty ramparts
of gold, and looked like mount Sumeru come to adore Kailása, and
entering it, found that it resembled the sea in all but the presence
of water, being very deep, characterized by unfailing prosperity,
[584] and an inexhaustible mine of jewels.
And as the emperor was sitting in the hall of audience in that city
surrounded by Vidyádhara kings, an old woman of the royal harem
came and said to him, "Since Mandaradeva has gone to the forest,
having been conquered by you, his wives desire to enter the fire;
your Highness has now been informed and will decide upon the proper
course." When this had been announced, the emperor sent those kings
to them, and dissuaded them from suicide, and bestowed upon them
dwelling-houses and other gifts, treating them like sisters. By that
step he caused the whole race of the Vidyádhara chiefs to be bound
to him with bonds of affection.
And then the grateful monarch anointed Amitagati, who had been
designated beforehand by Siva, king over the realm of Mandaradeva,
since he was loyal and could be trusted not to fall away, and he
placed under him the princes who had followed Mandaradeva, namely,
Kánchanadanshtra and his fellows. And he diverted himself there in
splendid gardens for seven days, being caressed by the fortune of
the northern side of Kailása, as by a newly-married bride.
And then, though he had acquired the imperial authority over the
Vidyádhara kings of both divisions, he began to long for more. He
set out, though his ministers tried to dissuade him, to conquer the
inaccessible fields of Meru situated in the northern region, the
home of the gods. For high-spirited men, though abundantly loaded
with possessions, cannot rest without acquiring something still more
glorious, advancing like blazing forest-fires.
Then the hermit Nárada came and said to the king, "Prince, what
means this striving after things out of your reach, though you know
policy? For one who out of overweening self-confidence attempts
the impossible, is disgraced like Rávana, who, in his pride,
endeavoured to uproot Kailása. For even the sun and moon find Meru
hard to overstep; moreover, Siva has not bestowed on you the sway
over the gods, but the sway over the Vidyádharas. You have already
conquered the Himálayas, the home of the Vidyádharas, so what need
have you of Meru the home of the gods? Dismiss from your mind this
chimerical scheme. Moreover, if you desire good fortune, you must go
and visit the father of Mandaradeva, Akampana by name, in the forest,
where he is residing." When the hermit Nárada had said this, the
emperor consented to do as he directed, and so he took leave of him,
and returned whence he came.
And the politic emperor, having been advised by Nárada to relinquish
his enterprise, [585] and remembering the destruction of Rishabha, of
which he had heard from Devamáya, and having reflected over the matter
in his own mind, gave up the idea, and went to visit the kingly sage
Akampana in the grove of ascetics. And when he reached that ascetic
grove, it was crowded with great sages, engaged in contemplation,
sitting in the posture called padmásana, and so resembled the world
of Brahmá. There he saw that aged Akampana, wearing matted hair and
a deerskin, looking like a great tree resorted to by hermits. So he
went and worshipped the feet of that ascetic, and that royal sage
welcomed him and said to him, "You have done well, king, in coming
to this hermitage, for if you had passed on neglectful of it, these
hermits here would have cursed you."
While the royal sage was saying this to the emperor, Mandaradeva,
who was staying in that grove of ascetics, having taken the vows of a
hermit, came to his father, accompanied by his sister, the princess
Mandaradeví. And Naraváhanadatta, when he saw him, embraced him,
for it is fitting that truly brave men should show kindness to foes
when conquered and pacified.
Then the royal sage Akampana, seeing Mandaradeví come with her brother,
said to that emperor, "Here, king, is my daughter, Mandaradeví by name;
and a heavenly voice said that she should be the consort of an emperor;
so marry her, emperor, for I give her to you."
When the royal sage said this, his daughter said, "I have four
companions here, of like age, noble maidens; one is a maiden called
Kanakavatí, the daughter of Kánchanadanshtra; the second is the
daughter of Kálajihva, Kálavatí by name; the third is the offspring of
Dírghadanshtra named Srutá; the fourth is the daughter of the king of
Paundra, named Ambaraprabhá; and I am the fifth of those Vidyádhara
maidens. We five, when roaming about, saw previously in a grove of
ascetics this my destined husband, and setting our hearts on him,
we made an agreement together that we would all, at one and the same
time, take him for our husband, but that, if any single one married
him alone, the others should enter the fire, and lay the guilt at her
door. So it is not fitting that I should marry without those friends
of mine; for how could persons like myself commit the outrageous
crime of breaking plighted faith?"
When that self-possessed lady had said this, her father Akampana
summoned those four Vidyádhara chiefs, who were the fathers of the
four maidens, and told them exactly what had occurred, and they
immediately thought themselves very fortunate, and brought those
maidens their daughters. Then Naraváhanadatta married the five in
order, beginning with Mandaradeví. And he remained there with them
many days, worshipping the hermits three times a day, at dawn, noon,
and sunset, while his attendants held high festival.
And Akampana said to him, "King, you must now go to the Rishabha
mountain for the great ceremony of your coronation," and thereupon
Devamáya also said to him, "King, you must indeed do so, for the
emperors of old time, Rishabhaka and others, were anointed [586]
on that mountain." When Harisikha heard that, he spoke in favour of
Naraváhanadatta's being anointed emperor on the splendid mountain of
Mandara, which was near; but then a voice came from heaven, "King,
all former emperors went through the ceremony of their coronation
on the Rishabha mountain; do you also go there, for it is a holy
place." [587] When the heavenly voice said this, Naraváhanadatta bowed
before the hermits and Akampana, and set out thence for that mountain
on an auspicious day. And he reached that northern opening of the
cave of Trisírsha, with many great chiefs of the Vidyádharas headed by
Amitagati. There the emperor worshipped that Kálarátri, and entered the
cave by that opening, and came out by the southern opening. And after
he had come out with his forces, he rested, at Devamáya's request,
in his palace for that day, together with his attendants.
And while he was there, he reflected that Siva was near him on that