The Kathá Sarit Ságara; or, Ocean of the Streams of Story
order of king Vikramáditya; pray what have you to do with him?" When
Yamasikha heard that, he said to him, "Then tell me, what kind of
power has that king?" Then Agnisikha said, "If you do not know the
nature of his power, listen, I will tell you."
Story of the gambler Dágineya, who was too cunning for the Vetála
Agnisikha, and of Agnisikha's submission to king Vikramáditya.
There once lived in this city a very resolute gambler of the name
of Dágineya. Once on a time some gamblers, by fraudulent play, won
from him all he possessed, and then bound him in order to obtain from
him the borrowed money which he had lost in addition. And as he had
nothing, they beat him with sticks and other instruments of torture,
[754] but he made himself like a stone, and seemed as rigid as a
corpse. Then all those wicked gamblers took him and threw him into a
large dark well, fearing that, if he lived, he might take vengeance
on them.
But that gambler Dágineya, when flung down into that very deep well,
saw in front of him two great and terrible men. But they, when they
saw him fall down terrified, said to him kindly, "Who are you, and
how have you managed to fall into this deep well? Tell us!" Then the
gambler recovered his spirits, and told them his story, and said to
them "Do you also tell me who you are and whence you come." When
those men, who were in the pit, heard that, they said, "Good Sir,
we were Bráhman demons [755] dwelling in the cemetery belonging
to this city, and we possessed two maidens in this very city; one
was the daughter of the principal minister, the other of the chief
merchant. And no conjurer on the earth, however powerful his spells,
was able to deliver those maidens from us.
"Then king Vikramáditya, who had an affection for their fathers, heard
of it, and came to the place, where those maidens were with a friend
of their fathers'. The moment we saw the king, we left the maidens,
and tried to escape, but we were not able to do so, though we tried
our utmost. We saw the whole horizon on fire with his splendour. Then
that king, seeing us, bound us by his power. And seeing us unhappy,
as we were afraid of being put to death, he gave us this order,
'Ye wicked ones, dwell for a year in a dark pit, and then ye shall
be set at liberty. But when freed, ye must never again commit such
a crime; if ye do, I will punish you with destruction.' After king
Vishamasíla had given us this order, he had us flung into this dark
pit; but out of mercy he did not destroy us.
"And in eight more days the year will be completed, and with it
the period during which we were to dwell in this cave, and we shall
then be released from it. Now, friend, if you engage to supply us
with some food during those days, we will lift you out of this pit,
and set you down outside it; but if you do not, when lifted out,
supply us with food according to your engagement, we will certainly,
when we come out, devour you."
When the Bráhman demons made this proposal to the gambler, he consented
to it, and they put him out of the pit. When he got out of it, he went
to the cemetery at night to deal in human flesh, as he saw no other
chance of getting what he wanted. And I, happening to be there at that
time, saw that gambler, who was crying out, "I have human flesh for
sale; buy it somebody." Then I said, "I will take it off your hands;
what price do you want for it?" And he answered, "Give me your shape
and power." Then I said again to him, "My fine fellow, what will you do
with them?" The gambler then told me his whole story, and said to me,
"By means of your shape and power I will get hold of those enemies of
mine, the gamblers, together with the keeper of the gambling-house,
and will give them to the Bráhman demons to eat." When I heard that,
I was pleased with the resolute spirit of that gambler, and gave him
my shape and my power for a specified period of seven days. And by
means of them he drew those men that had injured him into his power,
one after another, and flung them into the pit, and fed the Bráhman
demons on them during seven days.
Then I took back from him my shape and power, and that gambler
Dágineya, beside himself with fear, said to me, "I have not given
those Bráhman demons any food this day, which is the eighth, so they
will now come out and devour me. Tell me what I must do in this case,
for you are my friend." When he said this, I, having got to like him
from being thrown with him, said to him, "If this is the case, since
you have made those two demons devour the gamblers, I for your sake
will in turn eat the demons. So shew them to me, my friend." When I
made the gambler this offer, he at once jumped at it, and took me to
the pit where the demons were.
I, suspecting nothing, bent my head down to look into the pit,
and while I was thus engaged, the gambler put his hand on the back
of my neck, and pushed me into it. When I fell into it, the demons
took me for some one sent for them to eat, and laid hold of me, and
I had a wrestling-match with them. When they found that they could
not overcome the might of my arms, they desisted from the struggle,
and asked me who I was.
Then I told them my own story from the point where my fortunes became
involved with those of Dágineya, [756] and they made friends with me,
and said to me, "Alas! What a trick that evil-minded gambler has played
you, and us two, and those other gamblers! But what confidence can be
placed in gamblers, who profess exclusively the science of cheating,
whose minds are proof against friendship, pity, and gratitude for a
benefit received? Recklessness and disregard of all ties are ingrained
in the nature of gamblers; hear in illustration of this the story
of Thinthákarála."
Story of Thinthákarála the bold gambler.
Long ago there lived in this very city of Ujjayiní a ruffianly gambler,
who was rightly named Thinthákarála. [757] He lost perpetually,
and the others, who won in the game, used to give him every day a
hundred cowries. With those he bought wheat-flour from the market,
and in the evening made cakes by kneading them somewhere or other in
a pot with water, and then he went and cooked them in the flame of
a funeral pyre in the cemetery, and ate them in front of Mahákála,
smearing them with the grease from the lamp burning before him: and
he always slept at night on the ground in the court of the same god's
temple, pillowing his head on his arm.
Now, one night, he saw the images of all the Mothers and of the Yakshas
and other divine beings in the temple of Mahákála trembling from the
proximity of spells, and this thought arose in his bosom, "Why should
I not employ an artful device here to obtain wealth? If it succeeds,
well and good; if it does not succeed, wherein am I the worse?" When
he had gone through these reflections, he challenged those deities
to play, saying to them, "Come now, I will have a game with you, and
I will act as keeper of the gaming-table, and will fling the dice;
and mind, you must always pay up what you lose." When he said this
to the deities they remained silent; so Thinthákarála staked some
spotted cowries, and flung the dice. For this is the universally
accepted rule among gamblers, that, if a gambler does not object to
the dice being thrown, he agrees to play.
Then, having won much gold, he said to the deities, "Pay me the money
I have won, as you agreed to do." But though the gambler said this to
the deities over and over again, they made no answer. Then he flew in
a passion and said to them, "If you remain silent, I will adopt with
you the same course as is usually adopted with a gambler, who will not
pay the money he has lost, but makes himself as stiff as a stone. [758]
I will simply saw through your limbs with a saw as sharp as the points
of Yama's teeth, for I have no respect for anything." When he had said
this, he ran towards them, saw in hand; and the deities immediately
paid him the gold he had won. Next morning he lost it all at play,
and in the evening he came back again, and extorted more money from
the Mothers in the same way by making them play with him.
He went on doing this every day, and those deities, the Mothers, were
in very low spirits about it; then the goddess Chámundá said to them,
"Whoever, when invited to gamble, says 'I sit out of this game' cannot
be forced to play; this is the universal convention among gamblers,
ye Mother deities. So when he invites you, say this to him, and so
baffle him." When Chámundá had said this to the Mothers, they laid
her advice up in their minds. And when the gambler came at night and
invited them to play with him, all the goddesses said with one accord
"We sit out of this game."
When Thinthákarála had been thus repulsed by those goddesses, he
invited their sovereign Mahákála himself to play. But that god,
thinking that the fellow had taken this opportunity of trying to
force him to gamble, said, "I sit out of this game." Even gods, you
see, like feeble persons, are afraid of a thoroughly self-indulgent,
ruffianly scoundrel, flushed with impunity.
Then that Thinthákarála, being depressed at finding his gambler's
artifice baffled by a knowledge of the etiquette of play, was
disgusted, and said to himself, "Alas! I am baffled by these deities
through their learning the conventions of gamblers; so I must now
flee for refuge to this very sovereign of the gods." Having formed
this resolution in his heart, Thinthákarála embraced the feet of
Mahákála, and praising him, addressed to him the following petition;
"I adore thee that sittest naked [759] with thy head resting on thy
knee; thy moon, thy bull, and thy elephant-skin having been won at
play by Deví. When the gods give all powers at thy mere desire, and
when thou art free from longings, having for thy only possessions the
matted lock, the ashes and the skull, how canst thou suddenly have
become avaricious with regard to hapless me, in that thou desirest
to disappoint me for so small a gain? Of a truth the wishing-tree
no longer gratifies the hope of the poor, as thou dost not support
me, lord Bhairava, though thou supportest the world. So, as I have
fled to thee as a suppliant, holy Sthánu, with my mind pierced with
grievous woe, thou oughtest even to pardon presumption in me. Thou
hast three eyes, I have three dice, [760] so I am like thee in one
respect; thou hast ashes on thy body, so have I; thou eatest from a
skull, so do I; shew me mercy. When I have conversed with you gods,
how can I afterwards bear to converse with gamblers? So deliver me
from my calamity."
With this and similar utterances the gambler praised that
Bhairava, until at last the god was pleased, and manifesting
himself, said to him, "Thinthákarála, I am pleased with thee; do
not be despondent. Remain here with me; I will provide thee with
enjoyments." In accordance with this command of the god's that gambler
remained there, enjoying all kinds of luxuries provided by the favour
of the deity.
Now, one night, the god saw certain Apsarases, that had come to
bathe in that holy pool of Mahákála, and he gave this command to
Thinthákarála, "While all these nymphs of heaven are engaged in
bathing, quickly snatch up the clothes, which they have laid on the
bank, and bring them here; and do not give them back their garments,
until they surrender to you this young nymph, named Kalávatí." [761]
"When Thinthákarála had received this command from Bhairava, he went
and carried off the garments of those heavenly beauties, while they
were bathing; and they said to him, "Give us back our garments, please;
do not leave us naked." But he answered them, confident in the power
which Siva gave, "If you will give me the young nymph Kalávatí, I will
give you back these garments, but not otherwise." When they heard that,