The Kathá Sarit Ságara; or, Ocean of the Streams of Story
fourteenth night of the black fortnight, and whenever you come here on
that [405] night, you will find me here under the banyan-tree." When
Asokadatta heard this, he agreed to come there on that night, and
took leave of that Rákshasí, and went first to his father's house. And
just as he was gladdening by his unexpected arrival his parents, who
were grieved by such an absence of his, which doubled their grief for
their separation from their younger son, the king his father-in-law,
who had heard of his arrival, came in. The king indulged in a long
outburst of joy, embracing him who bent before him, with limbs the
hairs of which stood on end like thorns, as if terrified at touching
one so daring. [406] Then Asokadatta entered with him the palace of
the king, like joy incarnate in bodily form, and he gave to the king
those two anklets matched together, which so to speak praised his
valour with their tinkling, and he bestowed on that king the beautiful
golden lotus, as it were the lotus, with which the presiding Fortune
of the Rákshasas' treasure plays, torn, from her hand; then being
questioned out of curiosity by the king and queen he told the story
of his exploits, which poured nectar into their ears. The king then
exclaimed--"Is glittering glory, which astonishes the mind by the
description of wonderful exploits, ever obtained without a man's
bringing himself to display boldness?" Thus the king spake on that
occasion, and he and the queen, who had obtained the pair of anklets,
considered their object in life attained, now that they had such a
son-in-law. And then that palace, resounding with festal instruments,
appeared as if it were chanting the virtues of Asokadatta. And on
the next day the king dedicated the golden lotus in a temple made
by himself, placing it upon a beautiful silver vessel; and the two
together, the vessel and the lotus, gleamed white and red like the
glory of the king and the might [407] of Asokadatta. And beholding them
thus, the king, a devout worshipper of Siva, with eyes expanded with
joy, spoke inspired with the rapture of adoration, "Ah! this lofty
vessel appears, with this lotus upon it, like Siva white with ashes,
with his auburn matted locks. If I had a second golden lotus like
it, I would place it in this second silver vessel." When Asokadatta
heard this speech of the king's, he said, "I, king, will bring you
a second golden lotus;" when the king heard that, he answered him,
"I have no need of another lotus, a truce to your temerity!" Then as
days went on, Asokadatta being desirous of bringing a golden lotus,
the fourteenth day of the black fortnight returned; and that evening
the sun, the golden lotus of the sky-lake, went to the mountain of
setting, as if out of fear, knowing his desire for a golden lotus;
and when the shades of night, brown as smoke, began immediately to
spread everywhere like Rákshasas, proud of having swallowed the red
clouds of evening as if they were raw flesh, and the mouth of night,
like that of an awful female goblin, began to yawn, shining and
terrible as tamála, full of flickering flames, [408] Asokadatta of
his own accord left the palace where the princess was asleep, and
again went to that cemetery. There he beheld at the foot of that
banyan-tree his mother-in-law the Rákshasí, who had again come,
and who received him with a courteous welcome, and with her the
youth went again to her home, the peak of the Himálayas, where his
wife was anxiously awaiting him. And after he had remained some time
with his wife, he said to his mother-in-law, "Give me a second golden
lotus from somewhere or other." When she heard that, she said to him,
"Whence can I procure another golden lotus? But there is a lake here
belonging to our king Kapálasphota, where golden lotuses of this
kind grow on all sides. From that lake he gave that one lotus to my
husband as a token of affection." When she said this, he answered
her, "Then take me to that lake, in order that I may myself take a
golden lotus from it." She then attempted to dissuade him saying,
"It is impossible; for the lake is guarded by terrible Rákshasas;"
but nevertheless he would not desist from his importunity. Then at last
his mother-in-law was with much difficulty induced to take him there,
and he beheld from afar that heavenly lake on the plateau of a lofty
mountain, covered with dense and tall-stalked lotuses of gleaming gold,
as if from continually facing the sun's rays they had drunk them in,
and so become interpenetrated with them.
So he went there and began to gather the lotuses, and while he was
thus engaged, the terrible Rákshasas, who guarded it, endeavoured to
prevent him from doing so. And being armed he killed some of them,
but the others fled and told their king Kapálasphota, [409] and when
that king of the Rákshasas heard of it, he was enraged and came there
himself, and saw Asokadatta with the lotuses he had carried off. And in
his astonishment he exclaimed as he recognised his brother: "What! is
this my brother Asokadatta come here?" Then he flung away his weapon,
and with his eyes washed with tears of joy, he quickly ran and fell at
his feet, and said to him: "I am Vijayadatta, your younger brother,
we are both the sons of that excellent Bráhman Govindasvámin. And by
the appointment of destiny, I became a Rákshasa such as you see, and
have continued such for this long time, and I am called Kapálasphota
from my cleaving the skull on the funeral pyre.
"But now from seeing you I have remembered my former Bráhman nature,
and that Rákshasa nature of mine, that clouded my mind with delusion,
has left me." When Vijayadatta said this, Asokadatta embraced him,
and so to speak, washed with copious tears of joy his body defiled by
the Rákshasa nature. And while he was thus engaged, there descended
from heaven by divine command the spiritual guide of the Vidyádharas,
named Kausika. And he approaching these two brothers, said, "You
and your family are all Vidyádharas, who have been reduced to this
state by a curse, and now the curse of all of you has terminated. So
receive these sciences, which belong to you, and which you must share
with your relations. And return to your own proper dwelling taking
with you your relations." Having said this, the spiritual guide,
after bestowing the sciences on them, ascended to heaven.
And they, having become Vidyádharas, awoke from their long dream,
and went through the air to that peak of the Himálayas, taking with
them the golden lotuses, and there Asokadatta repaired to his wife
the daughter of the king of the Rákshasas, and then her curse came
to an end, and she became a Vidyádharí. And those two brothers went
in a moment with that fair-eyed one to Benares, travelling through
the air. And there they visited their parents, who were scorched with
the fire of separation, and refreshed them by pouring upon them the
revivifying nectar of their own appearance. And those two, who, without
changing the body, had gone through such wonderful transformations,
produced joy not only in their parents, but in the people at large. And
when Vijayadatta's father, after so long a separation, folded him
in a close embrace, he filled full not only his arms, but also his
desire. Then the king Pratápamukuta, the father-in-law of Asokadatta,
hearing of it, came there in high delight; and Asokadatta, being
kindly received by the king, entered with his relations the king's
palace, in which his beloved was anxiously awaiting him, and which
was in a state of festal rejoicing. And he gave many golden lotuses
to that king, and the king was delighted at getting more than he had
asked for. Then Vijayadatta's father Govindasvámin, full of wonder
and curiosity, said to him in the presence of all: "Tell me, my son,
what sort of adventures you had, after you had become a Rákshasa in the
cemetery during the night." Then Vijayadatta said to him--"My father,
when in my reckless frivolity I had cloven the burning skull on the
funeral pyre, as fate would have it, I immediately, as you saw, became
a Rákshasa by its brains having entered my mouth, being bewildered
with delusion. Then I was summoned by the other Rákshasas, who gave
me the name of Kapálasphota, and I joined them. And then I was led
by them to their sovereign the king of the Rákshasas, and he, when he
saw me, was pleased with me and appointed me commander-in-chief. And
once on a time that king of the Rákshasas went in his infatuation to
attack the Gandharvas, and was there slain in battle by his foes. And
then his subjects accepted my rule, so I dwelt in his city and ruled
those Rákshasas, and while I was there, I suddenly beheld that elder
brother of mine Asokadatta, who had come for golden lotuses, and the
sight of him put a stop to that Rákshasa nature in me. What follows,
how we were released from the power of the curse, and thereby recovered
our sciences, [410] all this my elder brother will relate to you." When
Vijayadatta had told this story, Asokadatta began to tell his from the
beginning: "Long ago we were Vidyádharas, and from the heaven we beheld
the daughters of the hermits bathing in the Ganges near the hermitage
of Gálava, [411] and then we fell suddenly in love with them, and
they returned our affection; all this took place in secret, but their
relations, who possessed heavenly insight, found it out and cursed
us in their anger: 'May you two wicked ones be born both of you to a
mortal woman, and then you shall be separated in a marvellous manner,
but when the second of you shall behold the first arrived in a distant
land, inaccessible to man, and shall recognise him, then you shall
have your magic knowledge restored to you by the spiritual preceptor
of the Vidyádharas, and you shall again become Vidyádharas, released
from the curse and re-united to your friends.' Having been cursed in
this way by those hermits, we were both born here in this land, and
you know the whole story of our separation, and now by going to the
city of the king of the Rákshasas, by virtue of my mother-in-law's
magic power, to fetch the golden lotuses, I have found this younger
brother of mine. And in that very place we obtained the sciences from
our preceptor Prajnaptikausika, and suddenly becoming Vidyádharas
we have quickly arrived here." Thus Asokadatta spoke, and then that
hero of various adventures, delighted at having escaped the darkness
of the curse, bestowed on his parents and his beloved, the daughter
of the king, his own wonderful sciences of many kinds, so that their
minds were suddenly awakened, and they became Vidyádharas. Then the
happy hero took leave of the king, and with his brother, his parents,
and his two wives, flew up, and quickly reached through the air the
palace of his emperor. There he beheld him, and received his orders,
and so did his brother, and he bore henceforth the name of Asokavega,
and his brother of Vijayavega. And both the brothers, having become
noble Vidyádhara youths, went, accompanied by their relations,
to the splendid mountain named Govindakúta, which now became their
home. And Pratápamukuta the king of Benares, overpowered by wonder,
placed one of the golden lotuses in the second vessel in his temple,
and offered to Siva the other golden lotuses presented by Asokadatta,
and delighted with the honour of his connexion, considered his family
highly fortunate.
"Thus divine persons become incarnate for some reason, and are born
in this world of men, and possessing their native virtue and courage,
attain successes which it is hard to win. So I am persuaded that you, O
sea of courage, are some portion of a divinity, and will attain success
as you desire; daring in achievements hard to accomplish even by the
great, generally indicates a surpassingly excellent nature. Moreover