The Kathá Sarit Ságara; or, Ocean of the Streams of Story
the king of Vatsa. And then the princess asked the daughter of Maya,
"Friend, how is it that he is called the king of Vatsa? In what
race was he born? And whence was he named Udayana? Tell me." Then
Somaprabhá said--"Listen, friend, I will tell you that. There is a
land, the ornament of the earth, named Vatsa. In it there is a city
named Kausámbí, like a second Amarávatí; and he is called the king of
Vatsa because he rules there. And hear his lineage, my friend, related
by me. Arjuna of the Pándava race had a son named Abhimanyu, and he,
skilled in breaking the close rings of the hostile army, destroyed the
force of the Kauravas. From him there sprang a king named Paríkshit,
the head of the race of Bharata, and from him sprang Janamejaya, who
performed the snake-sacrifice. His son was Satáníka who settled in
Kausámbí, and he was slain in a war between the gods and Asuras after
slaying many giants. His son was king Sahasráníka, an object of praise
to the world, to whom Indra sent his chariot, and he went to heaven and
returned thence. To him was born this Udayana by the queen Mrigávatí,
the ornament of the race of the Moon, a king that is a feast to the
eyes of the world. Hear too the reason of his name. That Mrigávatí,
the mother of this high-born king, being pregnant, felt a desire to
bathe in a lake of blood, and her husband, afraid of committing sin,
had a lake made of liquid lac and other coloured fluids in which she
plunged. Then a bird of the race of Garuda pounced upon her, thinking
she was raw flesh, and carried her off, and, as fate would have it,
left her alive on the mountain of the sunrise. And there the hermit
Jamadagni saw her, and comforted her, promising her reunion with her
husband, and she remained there in his hermitage. For such was the
curse inflicted upon her husband by Tilottamá jealous on account of
his neglecting her, which caused him separation from his wife for a
season. And in some days she brought forth a son in the hermitage of
Jamadagni on that very mountain of the sunrise, as the sky brings forth
the new moon. And because he was born on the mountain of the sunrise,
the gods then and there gave him the name of Udayana, uttering from
heaven this bodiless voice--'This Udayana, who is now born, shall be
sovereign of the whole earth, and there shall be born to him a son,
who shall be emperor of all the Vidyádharas.'
"Sahasráníka, for his part, who had been informed of the real state
of the case by Mátali, and had fixed his hope on the termination
of his curse, with difficulty got through the time without that
Mrigávatí. But when the curse had expired, the king obtained his token
from a Savara who, as fate would have it, had come from the mountain of
the sunrise. And then he was informed of the truth by a voice that came
from heaven, and making that Savara his guide, he went to the mountain
of the sunrise. There he found his wife Mrigávatí like the success
of his wishes, and her son Udayana like the realm of fancy. With them
he returned to Kausámbí, and appointed his son crown-prince, pleased
with the excellence of his qualities; and he gave him the sons of his
ministers, Yaugandharáyana and others. When his son took the burden
of the kingdom off his shoulders, he enjoyed pleasures for a long
time in the society of Mrigávatí. And in time the king established
his son, that very Udayana, on the throne, and being old, went with
his wife and ministers on the long journey. So, Udayana has obtained
that kingdom that belonged to his father, and having conquered all
his enemies, rules the earth with the help of Yaugandharáyana."
Having in these words quickly told her in confidence the story of
Udayana, she again said to her friend Kalingasená--"Thus that king
is called the king of Vatsa, fair one, because he rules in Vatsa,
and since he comes of the Pándava lineage, he is also descended
from the race of the sun. And the gods gave him the name of Udayana,
because he was born on the mountain of the sunrise, and in this world
even the god of love is not a match for him in beauty. He alone is a
husband fit for you, most beautiful lady of the three worlds, and he,
being a lover of beauty, no doubt longs for you, who are famous for
it. But, my friend, his head-wife is Vásavadattá, the daughter of
Chandamahásena. And she selected him herself, deserting her relations
in the ardour of her passion, and so sparing the blushes of Ushá,
Sakuntalá and other maidens. And a son has been born to him by her,
called Naraváhanadatta, who is appointed by the gods as the future
emperor of the Vidyádharas. So it is through fear of her that the king
of Vatsa does not send here to ask for your hand, but she has been
seen by me, and she does not vie with you in the gift of beauty." When
her friend Somaprabhá said this, Kalingasená, being in love with the
king of Vatsa, answered her--"I know all this, but what can I do,
as I am under the power of my parents? But in this, you, who know
all things and possess magic power, are my refuge." Somaprabhá then
said to her--"The whole matter depends on destiny; in proof of it
hear the following tale."
Story of Tejasvatí.
Once on a time there lived in Ujjayiní a king named Vikramasena,
and he had a daughter named Tejasvatí, matchless in beauty. And
she disapproved of every king who sued for her hand. But one day,
while she was on the roof of her palace, she saw a man, and as
fate would have it, she felt a desire to meet him as he was very
handsome, and she sent her confidante to him, to communicate to him
her desire. The confidante went and entreated the man, who shrank from
such an audacious step, and at last with much difficulty she made him
against his will agree to an assignation, saying, "Await, good sir,
the arrival of the princess at night in this retired temple which you
see here." After saying this, she took leave of him, and went and told
the princess Tejasvatí, who for her part remained watching the sun. But
that man, though he had consented, fled somewhere else out of fear;
a frog is not capable of relishing the fibres of a bed of red lotuses.
In the meanwhile a certain prince of high lineage came, as his father
was dead, to visit the king who had been his father's friend. And that
handsome young prince, named Somadatta, whose kingdom and wealth had
been taken by pretenders, arriving at night, entered by accident,
to pass the night there, that very temple in which the confidante
of the princess had arranged a meeting with the man. While he was
there, the princess, blind with passion, approached him, without
distinguishing who he was, and made him her self-chosen husband. The
wise prince gladly received in silence the bride offered him by fate,
who foreshadowed his union with the future Fortune of Royalty. And
the princess soon perceived that he was very charming, and considered
that she had not been deceived by the Creator. Immediately they
conversed together, and the two separated according to agreement;
the princess went to her own palace, while the king spent the rest
of the night there. In the morning the prince went and announced his
name by the mouth of the warder, and being recognised, entered into
the presence of the king. There he told his sorrow on account of
his kingdom having been taken away, and other insults, and the king
agreed to assist him in overthrowing his enemies. And he determined to
give him the daughter he had long desired to give away, and then and
there told his intention to the ministers. Then the queen told the
king his daughter's adventure, having been informed of it before by
herself, through the mouths of trusty confidantes. Then the king was
astonished at finding that calamity had been averted and his desire
attained by mere chance, as in the fable of the crow and the palm,
[476] and thereupon one of the ministers said to the king, "Fate
watches to ensure the objects of auspicious persons, as good servants
of their masters, when the latter are not on the look-out. And to
illustrate this, I will tell you the following tale: listen!"
Story of the Bráhman Harisarman.
There was a certain Bráhman in a certain village, named
Harisarman. [477] He was poor and foolish and in evil ease for want of
employment, and he had very many children, that he might reap the fruit
of his misdeeds in a former life. He wandered about begging with his
family, and at last he reached a certain city, and entered the service
of a rich householder called Sthúladatta. He made his sons keepers of
this householder's cows and other possessions, and his wife a servant
to him, and he himself lived near his house, performing the duty of
an attendant. One day there was a feast on account of the marriage
of the daughter of Sthúladatta, largely attended by many friends of
the bridegroom, and merry-makers. And then Harisarman entertained
a hope that he would be able to fill himself up to the throat with
ghee and flesh and other dainties, together with his family, in the
house of his patron. While he was anxiously expecting that occasion,
no one thought of him. Then he was distressed at getting nothing to
eat, and he said to his wife at night; "It is owing to my poverty
and stupidity that I am treated with such disrespect here: so I will
display by means of an artifice an assumed knowledge, in order that I
may become an object of respect to this Sthúladatta, and when you get
an opportunity, tell him that I possess supernatural knowledge." He
said this to her, and after turning the matter over in his mind,
while people were asleep he took away from the house of Sthúladatta
a horse on which his son-in-law rode. He placed it in concealment at
some distance, and in the morning the friends of the bridegroom could
not find the horse, though they searched in every direction. Then,
while Sthúladatta was distressed at the evil omen, and searching for
the thieves who had carried off the horse, the wife of Harisarman
came and said to him--"My husband is a wise man, skilled in astrology
and sciences of that kind; and he will procure for you the horse;
why do you not ask him?" When Sthúladatta heard that, he called that
Harisarman, who said, "Yesterday I was forgotten, but to-day, now the
horse is stolen, I am called to mind," and Sthúladatta then propitiated
the Bráhman with these words--"I forgot you, forgive me"--and asked him
to tell him who had taken away their horse? Then Harisarman drew all
kinds of pretended diagrams and said,--"The horse has been placed by
thieves on the boundary line south from this place. It is concealed
there, and before it is carried off to a distance, as it will be
at close of day, quickly go and bring it." When they heard that,
many men ran and brought the horse quickly, praising the discernment
of Harisarman. Then Harisarman was honoured by all men as a sage,
and dwelt there in happiness, honoured by Sthúladatta. Then, as days
went on, much wealth consisting of gold and jewels was carried off
by a thief from the palace of the king. As the thief was not known,
the king quickly summoned Harisarman on account of his reputation for
supernatural knowledge. And he, when summoned, tried to gain time, and
said "I will tell you to-morrow," and then he was placed in a chamber
by the king, and carefully guarded. And he was despondent about his
pretended knowledge. [478] Now in that palace there was a maid named
Jihvá, [479] who, with the assistance of her brother had carried off
that wealth from the interior of the palace: she, being alarmed at
Harisarman's knowledge, went at night and applied her ear to the door
of that chamber in order to find out what he was about. And Harisarman,
who was alone inside, was at that very moment blaming his own tongue,
that had made a vain assumption of knowledge. He said--"O Tongue, what