The Kathá Sarit Ságara; or, Ocean of the Streams of Story
villages. Then the king went on to say to that noble messenger,
"Anangadeva, when you went there, what regions did you see, and
what object of interest did you meet with anywhere? Tell me, my
good fellow!" When Anangadeva had been thus questioned by the king,
he began to recount his adventures, as follows:--
The adventures of Anangadeva.
Having set out hence by Your Majesty's orders, I reached in course
of time that army of yours assembled under Vikramasakti, which
was like a broad sea resorted to by allied kings, adorned by many
princes of the Nágas that had come together with horses and royal
magnificence. [746] And when I arrived there, that Vikramasakti bowed
before me, and treated me with great respect, because I had been
sent by his sovereign; and while I was there considering the nature
of the triumphs he had gained, a messenger from the king of Sinhala
[747] came there.
And that messenger, who had come from Sinhala, told to Vikramasakti
in my presence his master's message as follows, "I have been told
by messengers, who have been sent by me to your sovereign and have
returned, that your sovereign's very heart Anangadeva is with you,
so send him to me quickly, I will reveal to him a certain auspicious
affair, that concerns your king." Then Vikramasakti said to me,
"Go quickly to the king of Sinhala; and see what he wishes to say to
you when he has you before him."
Then I went through the sea in a ship to the island of Sinhala with
that king of Sinhala's ambassador. And in that island I saw a palace
all made of gold, with terraces of various jewels, like the city of
the gods. And in it I saw that king of Sinhala, Vírasena, surrounded
by obedient ministers, as Indra is by the gods. When I approached him,
he received me politely, and asked me about Your Majesty's health,
and then he refreshed me with most sumptuous hospitality.
The next day the king summoned me, when he was in his hall of audience;
and showing his devotion to you, said to me in the presence of his
ministers, "I have a maiden daughter, the peerless beauty of the world
of mortals, Madanalekhá by name, and I offer her to your king. She
is a fitting wife for him, and he is a suitable husband for her;
for this reason I have invited you; so accept her in the name of your
king. [748] And go on in front with my ambassador to tell your master;
I will send my daughter here close after you."
When the king had said this, he summoned into that hall his daughter
whose load of ornaments was adorned by her graceful shape, loveliness,
and youth. And he made her sit on his lap, and shewing her, said to
me, "I offer this girl to your master, receive her." And when I saw
that princess, I was astonished at her beauty, and I said joyfully, "I
accept this maiden on behalf of my sovereign," and I thought to myself,
"Well, the Creator is never tired of producing marvels, since even
after creating Tilottamá, he has produced this far superior beauty."
Then, having been honoured by that king, I set forth from that island,
with this ambassador of his, Dhavalasena. So we embarked on a ship,
and as we were sailing along in it, through the sea, we suddenly
saw a great sandbank in the middle of the ocean. And on it we saw
two maidens of singular beauty; one had a body as dark as priyangu,
the other gleamed white like the moon, and they both looked more
splendid from having put on dresses and ornaments suited to their
respective hues. They made a sound like the clashing of cymbals with
their bracelets adorned with splendid gems, and they were making
a young toy-deer, which, though of gold and studded with jewels
to represent spots, possessed life, dance in front of them. [749]
When we saw this, we were astonished and we said to one another,
"What can this wonder mean? Is it a dream, magic, or delusion? Who
would ever expect to see a sandbank suddenly start up in the middle
of the ocean, or such maidens upon it? And who would ever have thought
of seeing such a thing as this living golden deer studded with jewels,
which they possess? Such things are not usually found together."
While we were saying this to one another, king, in the greatest
astonishment, a wind suddenly began to blow, tossing up the sea. That
wind broke up our ship, which was resting on the surging waves,
and the people in it were whelmed in the sea, and the sea-monsters
began to devour them. But those two maidens came and supported both
of us in their arms, and lifted us up and carried us to the sandbank,
so that we escaped the jaws of the sea-monsters. And then that bank
began to be covered with waves, at which we were terrified, but those
two ladies cheered us, and made us enter what seemed like the interior
of a cave. There we began to look at a heavenly wood of various trees,
and while we were looking at it, the sea disappeared, and the bank,
and the young deer, and the maidens.
We wandered about there for a time, saying to ourselves, "What is this
strange thing? It is assuredly some magic." And then we saw there
a great lake, transparent, deep, and broad, like the heart of great
men, looking like a material representation of Nirvána that allays
the fire of desire. [750]
And we saw a certain beautiful woman, coming to bathe in it,
accompanied by her train, looking like an incarnation of the beauty
of the wood. And that lady alighted from her covered chariot, [751]
and gathered lotuses in that lake, and bathed in it, and meditated on
Siva. And thereupon, to our astonishment, Siva arose from the lake,
a present god, in the form of a linga, composed of splendid jewels,
and came near her; and that fair one worshipped him with various
luxuries suited to her majesty, and then took her lyre. And she played
upon it, singing skilfully to it with rapt devotion, following the
southern style in respect of notes, time, and words. So splendid was
her performance that even the Siddhas and other beings appeared there
in the air, having their hearts attracted by hearing it, and remained
motionless as if painted. And after she had finished her music, [752]
she dismissed the god, and he immediately sank in the lake. Then the
gazelle-eyed lady rose up, and mounted her chariot, and proceeded to
go away slowly with her train.
We followed her, and eagerly asked her train over and over again, who
she was, but none of them gave us any answer. Then, wishing to shew
that ambassador of the king of Sinhala your might, I said to her aloud,
"Auspicious one, I adjure thee by the touch of king Vikramáditya's
feet, that thou depart not hence without revealing to me who thou
art." When the lady heard this, she made her train retire, and alighted
from her chariot, and coming up to me, she said with a gentle voice,
"Is my lord the noble king Vikramáditya well? But why do I ask,
Anangadeva, since I know all about him? For I exerted magic power,
and brought you here for the sake of that king, for I must honour him,
as he delivered me from a great danger. So come to my palace; there
I will tell you all, who I am, and why I ought to honour that king,
and what service he needs to have done him."
When she had said this, having left her chariot out of courtesy, that
fair one went along the path on foot and respectfully conducted me to
her castle, which looked like heaven; it was built of various jewels
and different kinds of gold; its gates were guarded on every side by
brave warriors wearing various forms, and bearing various weapons;
and it was full of noble ladies of remarkable beauty, looking as if
they were charms that drew down endless heavenly enjoyments. There
she honoured us with baths, unguents, splendid dresses and ornaments,
and made us rest for a time.
CHAPTER CXXI.
When Anangadeva had told this to king Vikramáditya in his hall of
audience, he continued as follows:--
Then, after I had taken food, that lady, sitting in the midst of her
attendants, said to me, "Listen, Anangadeva, I will now tell you all."
Story of Madanamanjarí.
I am Madanamanjarí, the daughter of Dundubhi the king of the Yakshas,
and the wife of Manibhadra the brother of Kuvera. I used always to
roam about happily with my husband on the banks of rivers, on hills,
and in charming groves.
And one day I went with my beloved to a garden in Ujjayiní called
Makaranda to amuse myself. There it happened that in the dawn
a low hypocritical scoundrel of a kápálika [753] saw me, when I
had just woke up from a sleep brought on by the fatigue of roaming
about. That rascal, being overcome with love, went into a cemetery,
and proceeded to try and procure me for his wife by means of a spell,
and a burnt-offering. But I by my power found out what he was about,
and informed my husband; and he told his elder brother Kuvera. And
Kuvera went and complained to Brahmá, and the holy Brahmá, after
meditating, said to him, "It is true that kápálika intends to rob
your brother of his wife, for such is the power of those spells for
mastering Yakshas, which he possesses. But when she feels herself
being drawn along by the spell, she must invoke the protection of king
Vikramáditya; he will save her from him." Then Kuvera came and told
this answer of Brahmá's to my husband, and my husband told it to me,
whose mind was troubled by that wicked spell.
And in the meanwhile that hypocritical kápálika, offering a
burnt-offering in the cemetery, began to draw me to him by means of
a spell, duly muttered in a circle. And I, being drawn by that spell,
reached in an agony of terror that awful cemetery, full of bones and
skulls, haunted by demons. And then I saw there that wicked kápálika:
he had made an offering to the fire, and he had in a circle a corpse
lying on its back, which he had been worshipping. And that kápálika,
when he saw that I had arrived, was beside himself with pride, and
with difficulty tore himself away to rinse his mouth in a river,
which happened to be near.
At that moment I called to mind what Brahmá had said, and I thought,
"Why should I not call to the king for aid? He may be roaming about
in the darkness somewhere near." When I had said this to myself,
I called aloud for his help in the following words, "Deliver me,
noble king Vikramáditya! See, protecting talisman of the world, this
kápálika is bent on outraging by force, in your realm, me a chaste
matron, the Yakshí Madanamanjarí by name, the daughter of Dundubhi,
and the wife of Manibhadra the younger brother of Kuvera."
No sooner had I finished this plaintive appeal, than I saw that king
coming towards me, sword in hand; he seemed to be all resplendent with
brightness of valour, and he said to me, "My good lady, do not fear;
be at ease; I will deliver you from that kápálika, fair one. For who
is able to work such unrighteousness in my realm?" When he had said
this, he summoned a Vetála, named Agnisikha. And he, when summoned,
came, tall, with flaming eyes, with upstanding hair; and said to
the king, "Tell me what I am to do." Then the king said, "Kill and
eat this wicked kápálika, who is trying to carry off his neighbour's
wife." Then that Vetála Agnisikha entered the corpse that was in the
circle of adoration, and rose up, and rushed forward, stretching out
his arms and mouth. And when the kápálika, who had come back from
rinsing his mouth, was preparing to fly, he seized him from behind
by the legs; and he whirled him round in the air and then dashed him
down with great force on the earth, and so at one blow crushed his
body and his aspirations.
When the demons saw the kápálika slain, they were all eager for flesh,
and a fierce Vetála, named Yamasikha, came there. As soon as he came,
he seized the body of the kápálika; then the first Vetála Agnisikha
said to him, "Hear, villain! I have killed this kápálika by the