The Kathá Sarit Ságara; or, Ocean of the Streams of Story
mountain of Kailása, and he went of his own accord, with Gomukha,
to visit the god. And when he reached his hermitage, he saw and
adored the cow Surabhi and the sacred bull, and approached Nandin
the door-keeper. And Nandin was pleased when the king circumambulated
him, and opened the door to him, and then he entered and beheld Siva
accompanied by Deví. The god diffused gladness afar by the streams
of rays from the moon on his crest, that seemed to dart hither and
thither as if conquered by the splendour of Gaurí's face. He was
playing with his beloved with dice, that, like eyes, were allowed at
will to pursue their objects independently,--that, though under his
command, were ever restlessly rolling. And when Naraváhanadatta saw
that giver of boons, and that goddess the daughter of the Mountain,
he fell at their feet, and circumambulated them three times. The
god said to him, "It is well, my son, that thou hast come hither;
for otherwise thou mightest have suffered loss. But now all thy magic
powers shall ever be unfailing. So go thou to the Rishabha mountain,
that holy place, and obtain there at once in fitting time thy great
inauguration." When the emperor had received this command from
the god, he hastened to obey it, exclaiming "I will do thy will,"
and bowed before him and his wife, and returned to that palace of
Devamáya. The queen Madanamanchuká playfully said to him on his return,
"Where have you been, my husband? You appear to be pleased. Have you
managed to pick up here another set of five maidens?" When she made
use of these playful taunts, the prince gladdened her by telling her
the real state of affairs, and remained with her in happiness.
And the next day, Naraváhanadatta, accompanied by a host of Gandharvas
and Vidyádharas, making, as it were, a second sun in the heavens
by his glorious presence, ascended his splendid car, with his wives
and his ministers, and made for the Rishabha mountain. And when he
reached that heavenly hill, the trees, like hermits, with their
creepers like matted hair waving in the wind, shed their flowers
before him by way of a respectful offering. And there various kings
of the Vidyádharas brought the preparations for the coronation on a
scale suited to the might of their master. And the Vidyádharas came
to his coronation from all quarters, with presents in their hands,
all loyal, terrified, vanquished or respectful.
Then the Vidyádharas said to him, "Tell us, king; who is to occupy
half your throne, and to be anointed as queen consort?" The king
answered, "The queen Madanamanchuká is to be anointed together with
me;" and this at once set the Vidyádharas thinking. Then a bodiless
voice came from the air, "Hearken, Vidyádharas! This Madanamanchuká
is not a mortal; for she is Rati become incarnate, in order to be
the wife of this your master, who is the god of Love. She was not
born to Madanavega by Kalingasená, but, being of superhuman origin,
was immediately substituted by the gods, who employed their deluding
power, for the infant to which Kalingasená gave birth. [588] But the
infant to which she gave birth, was named Ityaka, and remained at the
side of Madanavega, having been assigned to him by the Creator. So
this Madanamanchuká is worthy to share the throne of her husband, for
Siva long ago granted her this honour as a boon, having been pleased
with her asceticism." When the voice had said so much, it ceased,
and the Vidyádharas were pleased, and praised the queen Madanamanchuká.
Then, on an auspicious day, the great hermits sprinkled with water
from many sacred bathing-places, brought in pitchers of gold,
Naraváhanadatta seated on the imperial throne, while Madanamanchuká
occupied the left half of it. And during the ceremony Sántisoma the
domestic chaplain was busily occupied, and the assembled cymbals of
the heavenly nymphs resounded aloud, and the murmur made by Bráhmans
reciting prayers filled the ten points of the sky. Strange to say! when
the water, made more purifying by holy texts, fell on his head, the
secret defilement [589] of enmity was washed out from the minds of his
foes. The goddess of fortune seemed to accompany in visible presence
that water of consecration, under the impression that it came from
the sea, and so was a connexion of her own, and to join with it in
covering the body of that king. A series of flower-garlands flung by
the hands of the nymphs of heaven, falling on him, appeared like the
Ganges spontaneously descending on his body with a full stream. Adorned
with red unguent and valour, he appeared like the sun in the glory
of rising, washed in the water of the sea. [590]
And crowned with a garland of mandára flowers, resplendent with
glorious raiment and ornaments, having donned a heavenly diadem,
he wore the majesty of Indra. And queen Madanamanchuká, having been
also anointed, glittered with heavenly ornaments at his side, like
Sachí at the side of Indra.
And that day, though drums sounded like clouds, and flowers fell
from the sky like rain, and though it was full [591] of heavenly
nymphs like lightning gleams, was, strange to say, a fair one. On that
occasion, in the city of the chief of mountains, not only did beautiful
Vidyádhara ladies dance, but creepers shaken by the wind danced also;
and when cymbals were struck by minstrels at that great festival,
the mountain seemed to send forth responsive strains from its echoing
caves; and covered all over with Vidyádharas moving about intoxicated
with the liquor of heavenly cordials, it seemed to be itself reeling
with wine; and Indra, in his chariot, having beheld the splendour of
the coronation which has now been described, felt his pride in his
own altogether dashed.
Naraváhanadatta, having thus obtained his long-desired inauguration as
emperor, thought with yearning of his father. And having at once taken
counsel with Gomukha and his other ministers, the monarch summoned
Váyupatha and said to him, "Go and say to my father, 'Naraváhanadatta
thinks of you with exceeding longing,' and tell him all that has
happened, and bring him here, and bring his queens and his ministers
too, addressing the same invitation to them." When Váyupatha heard
this, he said "I will do so," and made for Kausámbí through the air.
And he reached that city in a moment, beheld with fear and
astonishment by the citizens, as he was encircled by seventy million
Vidyádharas. And he had an interview with Udayana king of Vatsa, with
his ministers and wives, and the king received him with appropriate
courtesy. And the Vidyádhara prince sat down and asked the king
about his health, and said to him, while all present looked at him
with curiosity, "Your son Naraváhanadatta, having propitiated Siva,
and beheld him face to face, and having obtained from him sciences
difficult for his enemies to conquer, has slain Mánasavega and
Gaurímunda in the southern division of the Vidyádhara territory,
and conquered Mandaradeva who was lord in the northern division, and
has obtained [592] the high dignity of emperor over all the kings of
the Vidyádharas in both divisions, who acknowledge his authority; and
has now gone through his solemn coronation on the Rishabha mountain,
and is thinking, king, with eager yearning of you and your queens and
ministers. And I have been sent by him, so come at once; for fortunate
are those who live to see their offspring elevate their race."
When the king of Vatsa heard Váyupatha say this, being full of
longing for his son, he seemed like a peacock that rejoices when
it hears the roaring of the rain-clouds. So he accepted Váyupatha's
invitation, and immediately mounted a palanquin with him, and by the
might of his sciences travelled through the air, accompanied by his
wives and ministers, and reached that great heavenly mountain called
Rishabha. And there he saw his son on a heavenly throne, in the midst
of the Vidyádhara kings, accompanied by many wives; resembling the
moon reclining on the top of the eastern mountain, surrounded by the
planetary host, and attended by a company of many stars. To the king
the sight of his son in all this splendour was a shower of nectar,
and when he was bedewed with it, his heart swelled with joy, and he
closely resembled the sea when the moon rises.
Naraváhanadatta, for his part, beholding that father of his after a
long separation, rose up hurriedly and eager, and went to meet him
with his train. And then his father embraced him, and folded him to
his bosom, and he went through a second sprinkling, [593] being bathed
in a flood of his father's tears of joy. And the queen Vásavadattá
long embraced her son, and bathed him with the milk that flowed from
her breasts at beholding him, so that he remembered his childhood. And
Padmávatí, and Yaugandharáyana, and the rest of his father's ministers,
and his uncle Gopálaka, beholding him after a long interval, drank in
with thirsty eyes his ambrosial frame, like partridges; while the king
treated them with the honour which they deserved. And Kalingasená,
beholding her son-in-law and also her daughter, felt as if the whole
world was too narrow for her, much less could her own limbs contain her
swelling heart. And Yaugandharáyana and the other ministers, beholding
their sons, Harisikha and the others, on whom celestial powers had been
bestowed by the favour of their sovereign, congratulated them. [594]
And queen Madanamanchuká wearing heavenly ornaments, with Ratnaprabhá,
Alankáravatí, Lalitalochaná, Karpúriká, Saktiyasas and Bhagírathayasas,
and the sister of Ruchiradeva, who bore a heavenly form, and Vegavatí,
and Ajinávatí with Gandharvadattá, and Prabhávatí and Átmaniká and
Váyuvegayasas, and her four beautiful friends, headed by Káliká,
and those five other heavenly nymphs, of whom Mandaradeví was the
chief,--all these wives of the emperor Naraváhanadatta bowed before the
feet of their father-in-law the king of Vatsa, and also of Vásavadattá
and Padmávatí, and they in their delight loaded them with blessings,
as was fitting.
And when the king of Vatsa and his wives had occupied seats suited to
their dignity, Naraváhanadatta ascended his lofty throne. And the queen
Vásavadattá was delighted to see those various new daughters-in-law,
and asked their names and lineage. And the king of Vatsa and his
suite, beholding the godlike splendour of Naraváhanadatta, came to
the conclusion that they had not been born in vain.
And in the midst of this great rejoicing [595] at the reunion
of relations, the brave warder Ruchideva entered and said "The
banqueting-hall is ready, so be pleased to come there." When they
heard it, they all went to that splendid banqueting-hall. It was
full of goblets made of various jewels, which looked like so many
expanded lotuses, and strewn with many flowers, so that it resembled
a lotus-bed in a garden; and it was crowded with ladies with jugs full
of intoxicating liquor, who made it flash like the nectar appearing in
the arms of Garuda. There they drank wine that snaps those fetters of
shame that bind the ladies of the harem; wine, the essence of Love's
life, the ally of merriment. Their faces, expanded and red with wine,
shone like the lotuses in the lakes, expanded and red with the rays
of the rising sun. And the goblets of the rosy hue of the lotus,
finding themselves surpassed by the lips of the queens, and seeming
terrified at touching them, hid with their hue the wine.
Then the queens of Naraváhanadatta began to show signs of intoxication,
with their contracted eye-brows and fiery eyes, and the period of
quarrelling seemed to be setting in; [596] nevertheless they went
thence in order to the hall [597] of feasting, which was attractive
with its various viands provided by the power of magic. It was